I think a good "litmus test" for me is whether I can bring it with me, including all the accessories (monitor, keyboard etc.?) in a backpack to an airplane. Can I do so with Steam Machines and Mini-ITXs, or do either their weight or dimensions go over the limits that most air carriers allow? Some of the heavier gaming laptops are even pushing those limits when you pack them with accessories...

That said, I personally would probably be fine with a "mini desktop PC" which would be easy to pack and carry with you in a backpack. I very rarely e.g. use my laptops on only battery power (my smaller work laptop, sometimes, but rarely), in fact I have even taken the battery out from my gaming laptop. Then again if you are in an area where electricity is flaky, it is nice to have battery backup so that your PC doesn't get shut down abruptly during a short electricity break (like e.g. in Thailand).

Yes, you are right. mobile GPUs have caught up, and they have caught up in a big way. I was apparently still on 2014 benches and info.

What can you say about your Dell XPS? Are XPS machines good? What is not so nice about them?
I'm looking at their 13 inch laptop, and it looks very nice. I can't afford it right now, but maybe later this year I'll reconsider it. However, I have heard that Dell's laptops are not so good, so I'd like to know more about what you think of them.

Yup, work and play laptop. 17"+ is not a problem. Been doing it since, oh, 2002 or so. Got a roller bag to accommodate it. One advantage to my travel is I've pretty much nixed flying, so it's rare that I need to deal with that aspect of having a bigger machine. But for the other reasons mentioned earlier, laptop is still the solution for my needs.

LOL - Yup again. It's not like I decided out of the blue to pursue the most expensive option just for the hell of it. 21-year road warrior: by now I've figured out the best form factor for the way I use a PC. ; ) I understand the price-performance compromises, the restricted upgrade paths, and that 17" isn't what many would consider portable. But a 17" gaming laptop is exactly the solution for my wants and needs. Paired with an external monitor for office use, it's a middle-road solution that works really well for my purposes.

And really, how many desktop owners don't themselves feel the performance pinch anyway - despite the ability to upgrade - and eventually replace their rig every 5 years or so? And when they talk about it being cheaper, do they factor in the cost of those upgrades? I mean, when the CPU becomes the bottleneck and that requires a new motherboard (and cooler)... that's a lot of work and expense to upgrade. Been there, done that. It's not so much different than replacing a laptop. Or they don't upgrade at all, in which case it's no different from a laptop except in the initial cost.

That GE looks pretty nice. How sturdy is the chassis? This XPS has virtually no flex, and I like that. The SteelSeries keyboard on the MSI units also appears to be a bit on the small side.

Keep in mind that mine is pushing 5-years old at this point, and designs have changed a lot. My first big Dell 17"er came with my old job. It was an Inspiron, which is their general purpose line. This was early 2000s. No problems with that one.

Left the company, got my own Inspiron 17" with a dedicated GPU, don't remember which model. This one wasn't as reliable - after 3 years the GPU started crapping out and I eventually went through 3 of them. The DVD burner died, and the coup de grace was that the screen gave up. But, Dell Service took care of me so I gave them another shot.

Current one, then, is the XPS 17 with 555GT GPU that is starting to hit it limitations. I added a second internal hard drive (removed the drive from the previous laptop) and doubled the RAM myself. Sturdy chassis, nice screen, good performance for its time. This one has been almost fault-free. Only recently I now have a horizontal line running across the screen. I can get a new screen for under $100 and replace it myself. Haven't done that since I'm approaching the 5-year replacement mark. It was around $1,600 new, so that's $320 per year - quite reasonable from my perspective.

As mentioned earlier, what I liked about Dell was that they gave a whole mess of options to configure your XPS just the way you wanted it. They don't really do that anymore. And I should note that the XPS seems much better built than the Inspiron line-up - metal chassis instead of plastic that flexes, better cooling, etc. The other important factor - which came into play on that second unit that I tore into several times - is that their Support website is quite good. They have factory-level disassembly manuals online that walk you through every single little screw and connector to take the thing completely apart and put it back together again. As a technician myself, this warms my heart.

I have not touched the current XPS units, but from my perspective they have been better built than the Inspiron machines.

Take a look here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-GE72-6QF-Apache-Pro-Notebook-Review.153798.0.html
I for myself have the GS series, because I wanted my comp even lighter, but the Steelseries keyboard is the same in GE, GS and GT and is one of the best I ever had.

Thanks. I see it mentions "low torsional stiffness" in the chassis, which can lead to mobo flex and the problems that can arise from that. I suppose stuffing the same components into a beefier chassis from the other line-ups should cure that. At added cost. But it sounds like they generally like the performance of those components.

Thing is, there will be similar performance from just about any manufacturer using those components so it will come down to the little details - such as the Sager battery issue that I'm looking into, Dell's extra info on their support site, warranty options, USB port count and location on the chassis, etc. And price factors in a bit, too.

I swear, it's easier buying a car. : )

Hehe, yes it is a bit hard to find the right one you like. And no this low torsional stiffness is not really something that leads to mobo flex. It is just not as sturdy as a massive comp, as its low weight, so you can for example bend the screen a bit as in EVERY high mobility laptop ;)
For other options the cost factor just is way higher, as i would take the base unit here and upgrade on your own. Its quite easy, just removing the backside and sliding the new toys in. You wont even loose the warranty for just upgrading.

Interesting. I've seen some threads elsewhere complaining that they put a Warranty Void sticker directly atop one of the screws that needs to be removed to access those otherwise-simple upgrades. And yeah, the GE series seems to knock about $300 or more off similarly-equipped i7-6700 / 970M models in a different chassis. You lose a few other things in the process so it needs to be looked at carefully. Battery is smaller, fewer USB ports, some other details.

Went over to Best Buy just now to put my hands on an Asus ROG. Dang, they are still huge. About an inch / 25mm larger in len/wid than seems necessary. Much thinner than they used to be, though. Nice keyboard. Was hoping they had an Alienware R3 to eyeball but none in stock.

If I used laptop instead of tower, I'd get this, even if only for the mechanical keyboard xDD.
If you use this kind of laptops, it doesn't seem that bad (if you got the dough, that is).

This thread is only MOSTLY dead!

Been looking around this morning because, well, why not wake up at 2:15am for no apparent reason? As stated in other laptop threads over the years, I've long had my eye on Sager (Clevo) units. Found this one at a good price: http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8678s-clevo-p670rg-p-8669.html. 17" 1920x1080, Skylake i7-6700HQ, 16GB RAM, GTX 980M w/ 8GB. 2-year warranty.

For the cash price of $1,841 US, my prospective upgrades could add:

- 32 GB RAM ($30)
- Win10 ($80)
- Intel wireless ($0, read a bunch of gripes about the Killer unit)
- USB DVD drive ($19)

Yeah yeah, Win10. Compatibility issues mean Windows, and I'll likely need to go to 10 at some point anyway. Might be a way to do the free upgrade using an existing Win7 license, but not sure. For $80, I'll let someone else dink around with the installation plus drivers instead of sucking up my own time to install 7 and then upgrade to 10.

Hard to see how that wouldn't last - performance-wise - for at least 5 years given the way I use my machines, so around $370 per year.

Clevos offer great value for money. You can't go wrong with those.

Btw, this is a really good website for the latest gaming laptop reviews and deals. If you're still unsure which one to get ask in the forums and Junky will help you pick the right laptop for you.

C'mon people, let the man buy a laptop if he wants to buy a laptop!

I game on only a laptop too, although mines a 13". I've got a haswell based i7 + an nvidia GTX765M optimas setup, and so far it can play pretty much everything I throw at it at 1080P.

I bought a Clevo from Pro-Star a few years ago, and have been very happy with it. Easily the best laptop I've owned, and I've owned a few.

If I had one complaint about my Clevo, it's that the battery life isn't that great, but then I've got both msata slots populated plus a 1TB spinny drive. I'm sure if I reduced my storage space a bit, I could get a bit better battery life.

Thanks for telling me I'm not crazy looking at Sager. Seems like the Clevo units are re-branded under a dozen or more names worldwide, so that says something for the quality. And it also seems like Sager is among the lower-cost Clevo re-brands, by a good $200 - $300 for a near-identical setup according to a few quick configuration sessions at various sites.

The Asus RoGs are also tempting; I really need to get my hands on one to see if the 17" chassis fits inside my 'rolling office'. That large back end is the thing holding me back on their lineup - replacing the bag to fit an RoG will set me back another $150 or so, which may as well come into the equation especially since this bag is less than a year old and in good condition.

Going to mull it over a bit more - the current XPS is still chugging along and I can play lower-spec games for a good long while yet. The cooling fan is spinning a lot more lately so I probably need to open it up for a good cleaning, and maybe that will help its performance a bit and help me delay the decision - and expense.

Just my two cents, I think you guys are crazy for spending that kind of money on laptops.

If I'm going to spend upwards of $1500 for a computer, I want it to be the size of a small refrigerator and call itself a desktop.

I've always wanted a laptop, so I'm not knocking you all. I just don't see the love for laptops. I want to, I really do. But that passion... just ain't there. But lacking even more than passion is the whole 'discretionary cash reserve.'