Gaming laptop expectations

[LetalisK]

What's the gaming laptop scene like nowadays? I have no idea what it's like since I haven't even looked at laptops since 2007. I'm getting one for myself/my wife so we can game on the road/together and wanting to know what to expect.

My primary concern is value. I don't need a machine that is half a CPU generation from sentient AI. I would like to play games at a moderate fidelity without regretting not just buying a desktop and saving a ton of money. Also, I'll be tethered to an electrical outlet at all times, so battery life isn't an issue. Examples of games I'd be playing on it:

NBA 2k16
Warframe
Borderlands 2
World of Warcraft

Mind you, my current desktop rig is about 5 years old(cost $1200 back then including monitor and all perpherials) and can play all of those to my liking. If I can't find a laptop that can outperform my 5 year old desktop without sodomizing my wallet, I'll probably reconsider getting a laptop.

What price should I be expecting to pay in order to accomplish this? Any suggestions for me?

 

[Subbies]

I have a lenovo y-70. It cost me 1400 CHF when new and I've played Warframe on highest settings on it without issues.

All middleware laptops that cost around 1200CHF to 1500CHF pretty much have the same componants and can all play the games you listed.

I personally never used Asus but all of my friends owned one at one point and they all had problems with either their monitor, battery or cooling.

Basically any "gaming" laptop from MSI, lenovo, or Asus at around the 1200$ mark should be fine.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

I have a lenovo y-70. It cost me 1400 CHF when new and I've played Warframe on highest settings on it without issues.

All middleware laptops that cost around 1200CHF to 1500CHF pretty much have the same componants and can all play the games you listed.

I personally never used Asus but all of my friends owned one at one point and they all had problems with either their monitor, battery or cooling.

Basically any "gaming" laptop from MSI, lenovo, or Asus at around the 1200$ mark should be fine.

Solid answer, especially with gaming in quotes. You have experience with computers before so I'm sure you know just how poor a value proposition a laptop is. But, if you and your wife really want one then yeah, any run of the mill gaming laptop will play those games just fine. None of them are that demanding. Borderlands and Warframe require GT 8500 and GT 8600 card respectively which are ancient, and NBA 2k16 just says a 512mb VRAM card which is, again, very low.

Either of these would be overkill for what you play while giving you a little more oomph for newer stuff. Note, these are the M version of the GPUs so not as powerful as the desktop versions. Something to consider when comparing system requirements if you buy one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Leopard-Notebook-i7-6700HQ-Windows-Computer/dp/B01AVFXCWG/ref=sr_1_3/186-8327981-8859134?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1464875582&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=msi+gaming+computer&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GL62-6QF-893-NOTEBOOK-i7-6700HQ/dp/B01D8VJ0K8/ref=sr_1_11/186-8327981-8859134?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1464875582&sr=1-11&keywords=msi+gaming+computer

 

[TotalerKrieger]

At $500, I think this may be a really good choice for the games you listed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834315302

Keep in mind, this laptop isn't really up to the task of playing brand new AAA games (some will probably work at low to mid settings).