Best laptop under $1k? well, could go $1150. Was thinking Lenovo Legion 5. EQ doesn't need a gaming laptop.. althought I can't see not having a dedicate GPU in a laptop. But, I would like to also have a nice display (2k+)... or get away with 120-144 mhz.. (being 1080). Lowest gpu would be 1650 1650ti 1660ti. I need your thoughts....I'm not upto par with recent laptops.
Just make sure it's 64 bit & can do dx 12 - the rest is gravy https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/117124/the-best-cheap-gaming-laptops
Dell XPs laptops, Alienware any, and go to Ibuypower.com and they have several. just remember you buy cheap get cheap. I have used the same Alienware laptop for 7 years now and still runs eq great.
If you are in the United States, Costco tends to offer computers on good terms (90 day return, 2-4 year warranty). Computers | Costco
ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G15 15.6" Laptop - AMD Ryzen 7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 - 1TB SSD was listed at $1400 but got it at $1200 off some sale. These go up and down in price alot at best buy. I use it when I travel or at a friends etc. It plays EQ REALLY nice. I had never had a AMD chip before but its really fast and crisp feeling.
I love the title of this thread. As soon as I saw the title I knew it was asking about the best laptop for under $1,000, and since I know nothing about that, I could easily ignore it without having to open it.
Right now it is very hard to find a desktop system with a good video card that is not completely over priced. Funny watching some of the youtube reviews ripping on the dell / alienware computers. Laptops with discrete video don't seem have the quite the same supply issues so its possible to get a better value from a laptop. I haven't personally been looking so I'm just passing on what I've been following from the computer tech sites I follow.
This us true. Desktop gpu's are scalped. People are literally camping to get them when in stock to re-sell or mine. (Mostly resell). I have seen a few laptops now. Lenovo legion 5 is/16gb/ 1660ti. https://www.costco.com/lenovo-legio...p-display---moss-green.product.100568543.html ASUS - ROG Zephyrus M15 i7/16gb/1660ti https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-r...-512gb-ssd-prism-gray/6403813.p?skuId=6403813 ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 ryzen 9 (4900hs) /16gb/2060 max-q. But I think this bottlenecks itself. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-r...b-ssd-moonlight-white/6403816.p?skuId=6403816 MSI GF65 Thin i7/8gb/1660Ti https://www.walmart.com/ip/MSI-GF65...0-Ti-8GB-DDR4-512GB-NVMe-SSD-Window/576608484 One thing, costco gives me e tra ram on Lenovo Legion to 16gb compared to best buy. Costco also has long warranty if using their city card. But I like the fact it has a number pad. I use numlock a lot, and - key for screen shots. I know I could program keys different, but it's just a thought to mention. I do like the MSU weight and looks as well. I don't know why, I just don't like the Asus Z 15. It's coming down to MSI, Lenovo and MAYBE the Asus Z 15. So far. I think they are all overpriced.
I recently bought a MSI GF75, to play waaaay more graphics demanding games than EQ, and I am very happy with it. I paid like $900 tax and all on Amazon.
I have an MSI GV62. Great machine. Really happy with it. Biggest problem is that I got the 128 GB SSD. I wish I would have gotten the 256. It adds up really fast. Other than that, it's a great laptop. Happy I bought it.
You do not want what I have but it is some valuable information. I have a MacBook pro and I bootcamp windows. Windows can't run off a USB stick but EQ runs just fine on a USB 3.0. This means you can do a full install of EQ on a thumb drive and play on any computer you can access. It is only about 10GB. (You can actually run windows from USB 3.0 and EQ will run on the same USB 3.0 drive, but it's a lag fest). I am not sure if you should get a 2k display if you mostly want to play EQ. My MacBook is 1800p (2K is 1440). My screen is 15". EQ scales very poorly and is not a good experience on a 1800p 15" screen. I'm not saying not to get a 2k screen, but definitely do not get a 4k screen (in addition, I had a 4k 15" Omen laptop that broke right out of the box. It performed very poorly. It's best to let the screen run at it's native resolution. HP should not sell gaming laptops with screen resolutions higher than the laptop can push.) I can easily 3box on my MacBook. It is only an i5 and I do NOT have a dedicated graphics card. You do not need dedicated graphics for EQ. My MacBook does get very hot, but 1 or 3 clients doesn't seem to affect the temps. This is true, but you don't need a graphics card for EQ. EQ runs just fine on integrated graphics on my MacBook. I wouldn't want to full time game on my MacBook because of the heat, but it does very fine for a remote raid on nights I need to. If my MacBook can do it, a desktop with a decent cooler definitely can. It is a solid value to consider getting a desktop with integrated graphics and adding a graphics card when the opportunity presents itself. If size and portability is a factor, but a laptop is not a requirement, consider the Node 202 case and the mITX form factor. EQ runs fine from a USB stick. Some other games do too. Windows had to be installed on my SSD but DCUO, EQ1, EQ2 etc all run from my USB. I have a nice low profile Samsung 256 USB that I have been pretty happy with. It was $45 and is small enough to be left in the computer, but I 3D printed a holder that made it a keychain. Here's the link to the drive I got. https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MUF-...ocphy=9012135&hvtargid=pla-569789296688&psc=1 Can't help you specifically with a laptop, but I did get a HP Omen which broke right after I got it. While it was working, it ran very poorly due to the 4k screen. I can't respect a company that sells a "gaming" laptop while pushing screen resolutions the computer can't handle, and oh yeah, it broke the POS. My MacBook works well but is expensive. The MacBook is basically an Ultrabook like the Surface and the XPS. I looked at the MSI stealth in store and they were very hot at idle like my macbook can get. I can't imagine heavy gaming wont be harsh on the solders. Unless you need that size, it's best to go with a larger body. I am very pleased with my Logitech G602 gaming mouse. It has extra keys, so if you can't find a Laptop you like you can assign the num keys to those mouse buttons. They're much less ergonomic than a numpad. You can buy a USB numbpad as well. Never owned one, but I did look at a few and I think they could be a good option. It's worth considering the Node 202 or similar model with an integrated graphics and adding a card later as I mentioned above. I was specing one out but haven't built it yet. I was looking at... Case - Node 202 CPU - Intel 10500 Fan upgrade - Noctua NH-l9i RAM - DDR4 2400 2x4gb (or more if you can afford it) MOBO - mITX of your choice that includes wifi and m.2 NVME. Drive - Samsung 860 evo (evo plus, WD black, whichever fits your budget), the Node 202 will support 2 2.5" drives. You could do a small m.2 NVME boot drive which is super fast and save money with a larger but slower 2.5" drive. PSU - 450w full modular PSU (there is an option for the node 202 that includes a PSU) GPU - whatever you pick that fits If you are mostly traveling, then the Laptop is the way to go, but if it's just a GPU issue, then maybe consider integrated graphics and adding a GPU after. Agreed.
This reply was fun to read. I'm very impressed about your Mac playing EQ. The Logitech 602 sounds like a good idea. I pondered on the Lenovo Legion. There was one 4500h 8gb 1650ti from Walmart. I read the display was low but good laptop w/number pad (15.6"). There was Legion 5 at Costco (I linked above) but read charging issues from some members and it was i7 10750h 16gb 1660ti, but had 1tb rpm +512 M.2. It was $1199.99. An ACER Nitro 5 with i5 9300h 16gb 2060 max-q. The cpu seemed to be a lower 9th generation i5. It does have number pad for a 15... I just pondered on it. 1tg M.2. The bestbuy ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14. 14" 4900hs 16gb 2060 max-q (huge battery 91wh) 1tb M.2. But the cpu is way overkill for the gpu. Many complaints on heat and bottleneck. That is $1149. Still pondering on it, but people said the setup would be less performance then a 1660ti. So, I went with the MSI from Walmart GF65 thin. $979. i7 10750h 8gb 512 M.2 1660ti (no idea if max-q). Anyone reading, please give your thoughts.
EQ uses very little GPU. EQ is old school and very processor intensive. Basically any GPU works fine. Any modern CPU works fine. Getting a powerful CPU and a weak GPU is a waste, since EQ doesn't need either and all modern games use the GPU. Note that M.2 is a form factor, not a speed. NVME is the faster SSD. You can get m.2 SSD that run on Sata just like 2.5" SSDs, so m.2 can be just an advertising gimmick. Unless the m.2 is faster than the SSD on read or write, it means nothing. The one picked will be fine for EQ. You could have gone to produce and gotten a potato and been fine for EQ.