I have an Asus G751jy with similar specs to the Dominator. It's a great laptop. The 980m runs The Witcher 3 on Ultra at about 40-45 fps.

And I don't play the latest and greatest games. Getting the higher GPU is more about future-proofing, extending its useful life as a gaming machine; it so happens that this one is hitting that point. So while a 970 or 980 would be overkill for what I play today, it'll likely be just right 4-5 years from now when I do start to get into games that are new now. It mostly goes back to getting that 4-5 years of useful life instead of replacing a lesser model more often.

Sagers were looking good until I noticed that a couple otherwise-great models (NP8678 and NP8677) seem to have built-in batteries. Not a great design choice: I replaced batteries on my last two laptops, and even though I'm plugged-in 99%+ of the time it still matters. Gonna have to check to see what that actually means for longevity, and see if that spec listing is correct.

I knew desktops would come into this eventually. ; ) I'm a road warrior: gaming laptop it is.

The external GPU deal... that's pretty cool but maybe more overkill than the 970/980 option already seems to be. But thanks for the heads-up on the upcoming releases.

I'll take a peek at the Asus models, too. They seem to be mentioned around here quite a bit in these discussions, though the gamer aesthetic doesn't go very well on customer visits - but maybe they've been toned-down a bit. Need sort of a stealth game rig. XD That's a nice thing about the old XPS units - good power in a plain brown wrapper.

Just curious does anyone know which laptop which can run Witcher 3 at low at 30-40fps? I'm thinking of changing my current laptop but I don't have much to spend.

I buy a new gaming laptop probably every 4-5 years. In my experience, $1500-$2000 seems about right for something good that's going to last a while. I try to be patient and wait for a sale to get closer to the $1500 mark.

My Samsung isn't quite up to playing some of the newer games that I'd like to try, so I'm looking, too (tho I'm not in much of a hurry). I'll let you know if I find anything promising.

I recall reading an article about mobile GPUs catching up with desktops these days, but I don't have a link handy or remember the site.

Are you sure you need a laptop? Steam Machines and Mini-ITXes are pretty formidable these days coupled with a portable monitor like Vanguard. You'd be gaming plugged in anyway. What's your budget and what do you need your new rig to be capable of doing?

I'm not a fan of any company that partners with unauthorized resellers https://www.msi.com/news/detail/jAaWhJhiqaJXl_uofvj6lg50TZGGG4uEdCGXjUPik3CFiyFz2QAtz2I8B0SOdwVqU2RIPBtgr_0pCbv045cWpw~~ so I would go with another brand personally and call it -$2,000 for them.

Spending that much on a laptop just seems insane to me.
I guess if you're rich or very well off it's not a problem though.
Personally I'd never get the latest and greatest, desktop or laptop.

Mostly it's just a matter of prioritizing and budgeting. In general, I prefer to buy something nice, something that's going to last for a while and not need to be replaced next year, rather than something cheap every year.

You can also get something nicer on a payment plan, in which case you'll pay more (interest) but will also help your credit rating in the process (as long as you make the payments, of course). The trick is not overestimating what you can comfortably pay every month.

I know people who drop $600 on a phone every year or two... now that I just don't get. ;)

Yes, I'm sure I need a laptop. Mini-machine and screen are not going to fit into my roller bag, and I don't want to dink around with plugging it in and setting it up for periodic use at a customer. I don't use it often at the customer sites, but when I do I need to be able to use it anywhere and be able to move it around easily.

Capabilities: play muh games, office work, portable for on-the-spot access, portable for ease of the travel schedule, will last several years while still being able to play said games, 17" screen, full keyboard (backlit would be good). 4+ USB ports. HDMI out. Optical drive would be nice but not required. Maybe some other details that com down to personal preference.

And ditto what SeduceMePlz says: buy the capability you'll need a few years down the road, and buy it less often. The cost comes out in the wash when considering its useful lifespan.

They are getting more powerful, to the rate of being more powerful than many high ends GPUs of the previous generations, but the sheer higher amount of power, space and cooling available to newer GPUs still makes them quite weak compared to them. Temperature is a big issue here, since higher clocks = higher temps and laptops aren't very good at cooling the GPUs and don't have good airflow or size to disperse the heat. Power will also be an issue since getting so much juice from a battery is so difficult.

For lots of customization and laptops where you can even upgrade the gpu later try Eurocom.

Though I think most of the high-end laptops allow you to upgrade your gpu via MXM 3.0.

While I think the customization has improved somewhat for laptops, that's one thing that's the big draw for me when it comes to desktops. Unless the technology changes appreciably, like the memory and expansion card buses have in the past, I find it more cost effective to put an entire machine together from its constituent parts and then upgrade it piece-meal over the life of the machine.

Adding faster or more RAM, larger storage solution, a Solid State Drive or upgrading the GPU (which is typically what most newer games drive people to do) is a lighter hit on the wallet than a new machine, even if you do upgrade every five years.

Maybe I'll get back into a laptop at some point, it is nice to have the mobility option if ever needed.

I recall you are on the road all the time, so will that be also your work laptop? Is your current (work) laptop similarly big?

I still have the big bulky 17.3" ASUS G75VW. Sure I could bring it with me every day to places, but I'd rather not, it is quite heavy and I had to look for a big enough laptop backpack so that it fits in. Even the power supply unit is gigantic and heavy.

So it is more like a desktop replacement laptop than something I'd keep with me all the time, but still it is nice to be able to pack it easily and move around, even within my home, or occasionally take it even to our summer cottage or abroad. I've taken it once to e.g. Thailand, but damn I think I went over the 8kg hand baggage limit with it (including its accessories, a pair of USB speakers etc. in the same laptop bag) when I went to the airport... Next time I left it home and took my work laptop only (14" or so) abroad, it can run older games passably.

This is not really true anymore, as some Laptops can run a 980, which is nearly as fast as the desktop 980 and the 980m is 10%-15% slower than a normal 970. The 970m beats the normal 960. So you can play without a problem wih a laptop with the right cooling system. The monster gaming laptops like the GT series ave a very good cooling system, although it gets loud when on full power.
Just take a look here to compare desktop and laptop GPUs: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

Now coming to buying a laptop. You can easily upgrade HD and often Ram in MSI laptops and even video cards in the GT series. My GS70 for example has 2 msaa slots for SSDs which can be put in within 5 mins,
For power gaming i would not recommend a slim model, as they tend to get quite hot and then throttle, so GT series is the best for a power gamer who lets his laptop at home. GE series for me is best jack of all trades with 970m and great ability to expand. I would not buy the lower series as they dont cost much less.
Gaming laptops are not built to play high usage games without power plugged in, else you have way lower performance and well, after an hour or so no power at all ;)

My choice would be a MSI GE72 with 970m and 8GB Ram and no SSD, then buy another 8GB Ram and a m2 SSD of your choice and plug them in easily. This one has 3kg, so still quite mobile and as it is noot too wide can fit in bags easier than the high end gaming laptops. I use an Eastpak Goof with my GS70 for some years. For a gaming laptop you will not find many cheaper alternatives with FHD ;)

God damn, whenever someone writes about gaming laptops, most comments seem to be "don't buy a laptop, buy a desktop", as if they know better what you want.

Desktops are for dinosaurs, Laptops are where it's at. Like you, I just don't want to buy a desktop PC anymore which will be bolted to one place/room, even if it has a better bang for buck. I just love the portability of (even heavier gaming) laptops so much at this point. If the desktops can't provide that, then they are out of question, period.

It also helps though that I quite a lot play older (GOG) games, so I don't necessarily need the very latest and greatest GPUs, even if it makes sense to look forward a bit too so that it will last for several years, even with newer games. I can run even The Witcher 3 passably on my 4 years old gaming laptop, and that's good enough for me for now.

Seconded, i love the mobility, be it in my comfortable chair, on balcony, in garden, on vacations, I even take it to work daily and always have everything I need with me and know where it is. Portability and more comfort are more important than a few bucks ;)