How to Pick a Gaming Laptop - Avoid These Mistakes!

[@JarrodsTech]

After you buy your new gaming laptop, learn how to set it up next! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6LamWB9hdmBh7c 💲Find the best gaming laptop deals at my site gaminglaptop.deals

[@vishalghuman]

Ok

[@technicalactivity]

Ok

[@mohamedaityoussef9965]

Already did 💀

[@byakuyaxgara100]

Can u include laptop specs with gpu power limits

[@tiredsoap953]

Nice site!

[@fuzzybunny2350]

one of the best parts of these videos is the fact that major factors of the hardware not listed on specs when buying are adequately explained. great advice!

[@Mc_rich-omega-]

No reply at this many likes is stupid

[@Nova5s]

Is there more to check other than CPU, GPU, RAM, SSD, & display?

[@xEmpo04]

@@Nova5s Thermal, ports, build quality. Sound if you dont plan to always use headphones/earphones. Battery life if you need to use it without plugging in a lot.

[@Nova5s]

@@xEmpo04 ah, the sound and battery are not needed for me who try to get the budget gaming laptop $1000 or under. For the thermal and build quality, isn't it depends on how you taking care of it? And for ports, are there some ports that you need to have as a gaming laptop standard? Because I don't think I would need (at least for me) thunderbolt or something

[@xEmpo04]

@@Nova5s Well, thermal meaning how hot the laptop can get can vary depending on thermal paste used, how clean you keep the laptop etc, yes, however it can also vary between different laptop designs as well, and some laptop can just straight up be cooler than others. Build quality is sadly the same as well. In general how long the laptop last depends on how you take care of it but sometimes you can use it carelessly without knowing, or if certain unexpected things happen, this is when it depends on the build quality. Also, laptops will wear out over time even if you use it carefully, and the more well-built a laptop, the more it can age. The most common thing about this that happens is the hinge, following by the keyboards, then screen. As for ports, if you only plan to game, i would say its irrelevant matter to you then, but it helps to have enough ports in case you need it, better safe than sorry.

[@gregoriusbernardus8065]

first step : check your wallet

[@user-sv9nf5jb3m]

This is a legit reason tho 😂 Need to know what's your budget afterall 😂😂

[@zacharysherry2910]

Just a fly in there

[@alexh.9550]

@@zacharysherry2910dead one too and some cotton balls from the pocket 😂😂😂

[@zacharysherry2910]

@@alexh.9550 haha

[@eridaniarodriguez5969]

😭😂

[@monesh1994]

After close to a decade on KZbin and this is one of my first comments because this video deserves it. Absolutely thorough in his explanation and any noob can follow through and grasp everything there is to know about gaming laptops. Respect for the effort!

[@GridNomofTheShyulk]

Jarrod works so hard. Thanks for including so many timestamps!

[@vontrap6942]

He earns a lot of money on youtube making these videos. He doesn't do it for free.

[@SchrodingersLife]

@@vontrap6942 what do you meant?

[@Myaseen321]

​@@SchrodingersLife he is out of his mind

[@shoaibahmad8786]

​@@vontrap6942why would he.? Who r u to him.? 😂

[@enga-qs6co]

​@@vontrap6942 of course he does. You can do clickbaity videos with low effort and still get so many views. Yet he actually cares about quality and puts effort into his videos. Why do you gotta be this jealous and dumb

[@lapin_noir]

I'm not looking to buy a gaming laptop at the moment, but this video is a really amazing guide! Loved how you covered all the hidden "gotchas" that manufacturers like to sneak in.

[@BrianTalmage-s3w]

I like to use all this information and sit back and watch places like Facebook marketplace, ebay, let go, and look fore sales at the major outlets and such so when you find the balance of power(that you can actually use) options, size and esthetics. The unicorn laptop if you will. I'll be able to jump on it. I purchased a Lenovo Legion Pro 5i with the 16" 240Hz WQXGA Display, Intel Core i9-14900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 8Gb G.P.U. 2 X 2TB NVMe M.2 2280 Samsung Pro 990 SSD's and 32GB 5800mhz GDDR5 Memory. All for the amazing price of $1799.99 and I'm still under the manufacturers warranty!

[@awwk8452]

​@@BrianTalmage-s3w Nice just got a new legion 5i 4070 1tb SSD 32gb DDR5 and 165hz display. First gaming laptop so I'm excited. Found it for 1699 coming this Friday

[@jfloww]

As someone who is fairly new to computers as a whole, this was extremely helpful to figure out what to consider when buying a laptop. You made it so easy for people like me who have a basic understanding of computer parts, but need more details to truly know what to look for. Thank you so much!

[@squidigin9515]

In my experience, you should prioritise airflow. I got a laptop that looked amazing on paper, but thermal throttles bc there’s barely any holes for air to go in/out. Doesn’t seem too bad at first, but causes serious, almost irreparable hardware damage over time

[@Some1The4Got10]

Try undervolting and laptop pads.

[@TheMarkhhuk]

After having an MSI that got so hot you couldn't touch the top of the keyboard I moved to the HP Omen due to airflow, its a bit bigger yes but it's never too hot to touch:-) we live and learn.

[@squidigin9515]

@@TheMarkhhuk HP Omen is the one I was referring to, I’ve received legit burns from it. The top does stay cool, but the bottom absolutely does not. Usually hovers around 100-110°C under load. Also sounds like a jet engine lmao

[@aaravmalik7646]

did you try a cooling pad @@squidigin9515

[@crymore...]

​@@TheMarkhhukim a msi user was a omen but my god they suck ass. I got the ge76 raider 11uh , undervolt and now i play triple a games without the getting too hot problem. Its a high end gaming but i stay away from omen its a plastic walking laptop. But again you do you m8

[@thatotherandrew_]

This is it - the ultimate response to the age-old question of "what do you need to look for in a gaming laptop". Thank you for making the world of laptops a better place!

[@Patriqu]

The cooling solution is also super important (more and thicker heatsinks, better fans, thermal paste applied) if you play demanding games at high fps because heat dissipation is more efficient. A bigger laptop size helps maintain lower temperatures inside the case.

[@siyzerix]

Don't forget not having blocked vents. MSI gf65 thin has a great cooling solution, but blocked vents limit it severely

[@yudhaadityasukmanto]

Except for mcbook air, so thin so effective yet so efficient

[@Protobeans69]

This is why I love Jarrod's videos. He always goes well in depth without making it hard to understand.

[@Beefy-Tech]

Watched so many of your videos before shooting the shoot on a laptop for myself and my gf, but you made the process significantly easier. Thanks to you we made the right choices bro, so keep up the good work👍

[@fractalelf7760]

As someone who has owned around 12 gaming laptops, the #1 criteria is repair process. You can dance around on specs, airflow, screen brightness all that jazz but these things are out of date fast and most will have a support issue within two to three years. The rest amounts to matter of taste ultimately. The only other hard criteria is get 32 Megs of RAM and the best GPU you can afford.

[@orlandofranconovesterasjr.5548]

Which laptop would you recommend for best value?

[@fractalelf7760]

@@orlandofranconovesterasjr.5548 From Alienware or in general? It’s hard to say - it changes a bit all the time. I put a premium on laptop repairs - unless you flip them about every two years you can expect (usually) one big repair. I stick with Dell as a result, but lean also towards Lenovo.

[@smokegames1179]

@@orlandofranconovesterasjr.5548gigabyte g5 kf with 4060, bought one for $750 some 3060 goes around for more

[@saigudbai]

Been gaming on laptops for 20 years because I travel for work. This guy is giving very good information. You will always be limited by temp and many times cpu bottlenecked on a laptop compared to a desktop or new gen console. Only get a gaming laptop if you absolutely need to have your gaming rig traveling. I also just focus on games that are a bit older so I can enjoy better fps. I can play Witcher 3 at 140fps and love it.

[@baselessowl]

Damn ur comment got hearted 10 months after the video release

[@saigudbai]

@@baselessowl Yeah, I'm pretty impressed with the quality of information on this channel. Good stuff.

[@digitalwabbit6620]

Very in depth and informative as usual ! Also i was able to pick up a G15 advantage edition for 1100usd a couple days ago thanks to your videos, its definity going to be a massive jump from a 1050ti to a 6800m

[@tanimhasan3162]

I am waiting for my one to receive. I was also a 1050ti user.

[@XxGAMERxXPS3]

I was a no gpu user 😂 now a 3070 thanks to black friday

[@innocentiuslacrim2290]

Nice catch

[@digitalwabbit6620]

@@XxGAMERxXPS3 seems like we are getting an massive upgrade

[@digitalwabbit6620]

@@tanimhasan3162 upgrades, personally i will finally feel what over 100fps feels like XD

[@Zemtex47]

Man you got by far the best laptop review channel. I have watched you for years. The amount of information and detail that you bring up and talk about is top level.

[@haninditohaidarsatrio7393]

Finally, a comprehensive and easily-understood guide Thanks, Mr. Jarrod 👌👌

[@Jesse-cx4si]

Damn, homeskillet. This may be the most in-depth breakdown I’ve seen in years. Muchas el thankuous! Danke. Merci, et al. 👍

[@wangxiao1982]

SO scientific, SO fair and subjective! I think this is by far the BEST guide for those who is shopping a gaming laptop. Thanks for the efforts and presentation. Well done!

[@JarrodsTech]

Wow, thanks!

[@cruxmalik]

I watched way too many of your videos to help me purchase a new gaming laptop. I ended up getting the legion 7i 3070 ti 32gb /2tb from the sale. I got nearly 1300 off with rakuten too. 2k was a great deal and it will keep me satisfied for what I need for years to come.

[@synetic]

Which sale was this? I didn't see that spec on sale in Canada 😐

[@cruxmalik]

@@synetic It was US. about a week or so before black friday when that one went on sale. With the added discounts, senior discount and rakuten 11% off. That was around the total off.

[@amirbahalegharn365]

comprehensive and watchable for years to come for future viewers.

[@arico7923]

I have learnt a lot about gaming laptops from Jarrod's videos. It helped me decide getting a 3060 gaming laptop for 1080p gaming

[@ew3612]

36:50 I LOVE making that tapping noise! Its a good thing that only 30% of my job is at a desk typing!

[@joelconolly5574]

Usually when people asked for opinions, I usually opt for "follow your guts" approach. Somehow people are happier with their choices and their purchases lasts them until their next upgrade or build. Even if it's not the most powerful or the latest, as long as their happy, I consider it a good purchase. So I never really push them to a product unless I know it's lackluster. People's choice still counts.

[@yellowflash511]

Normies just buy on brand, looks and build quality. For example, they'll be happy with a laptop with a i3, 4gb RAM, HDD if it was from Apple. It's hilarious.

[@loowick4074]

@@yellowflash511 apple and windows computer are completely different things. Your probably not looking for a "gaming" laptop if your buying an apple product.

[@yellowflash511]

@@loowick4074 apple was just an example of a trusted brand. Chose apple because of their rabid fanbase.

[@ShrekShrooms]

@@yellowflash511 god your are right..... My brother bought Lenovo legion 5 with rtx 3050 for like 1200$....i told him that it was a bad deal...but he insisted on buying it cuz ..LENOVO

[@pretzelstick320]

@@ShrekShroomssometimes I go by brand if I’ve had a bad experience. I’ll never buy an rog again.

[@FarmStrong88]

its not fair how they advertise gpus in laptops. I have a $2000 Legion 7i with a 3070ti that smokes my buddies $3600 Asus with a 3080ti...

[@Kevin-mx4vm]

LOL 😂

[@TheMaxAwesome]

2k/2.8k is the absolute sweet spot for resolution really regardless of the screen size. You can always run games at a lower resolution if needed for performance, but everything else will just look so much more crisp (movies, productivity apps, creative suite, etc.).

[@cameronbosch1213]

True. 2560x1600 is a really amazing sweet spot!

[@BanjoJeff]

I'm pleased to see a Linux segment! As a gamer and Linux-focused software engineer I'd love to game on a Linux laptop, but (aside from the tinkering) there's too many compromises aside from the performance. Most come down to third party software support: worse battery life even when not gaming due to imperfect handling of the dGPU; RGB tools, fan controls, peripheral (particularly wireless) configuration tools, etc. I revisit Linux laptop gaming every couple of years and I am due another go, so I hope your Linux gaming video will touch on some of these areas.

[@cameronbosch1213]

AMD Advantage laptops don't have that issue because AMD & Intel GPUs have open source drivers, unlike Nvidia.

[@trashstar9925]

Asus ROG Advantage Edition are one of the best laptops for Linux

[@starboyibz]

Ya but can you tutor me in sql

[@ChinchillaBONK]

Next year feels like the start of a great era for mobile computing. We can finally work remotely and still do serious rendering work along with great gaming performance at decent power consumption and temperatures.

[@shavkatibragimov1732]

a year ago I switched to MAC but still watch every video of u ! love how u give info without water needless shit . thank you so much for all your effort Jarrod !

[@christianb427]

You really nailed it!!! A very good video just before black friday sales. Thanks for this in depth video with advices to consider while choosing the laptop for my needs and preferences. I am sure a lot of people will benefit from this video. I am curious to see the difference between windows and Linux. I will stay tuned. :)

[@yobro1163]

What should I choose? i7-11800H and RTX 3060 or i7-12700H and RTX 3050

[@phenazepamuser5639]

depends on price, ofcourse in games 3060 performs much better

[@azuajecarl65]

Incredible amount of work put into this video, even the smallest yet important details are included. I'm doing my reaserch in order to buy a gaming laptop and this video really helped me a lot. We all appreciate the hard work Jarrod, thanks!

[@k1taru195]

Legion 5 (2021) R7 4000 series RTX 2060 so far no issue, have used it 24/7 for almost a year

[@GoldenApplezYT]

Been searching around for an upgrade from my MacBook Air for a little while now. Thanks for this in-depth guide! Made things a lot easier 😊.

[@Aflay1]

My advice: Storage space. Super important. Cheaper gaming laptops perform well, but oh boy, they love coming with a measley 250 or 500GB storage. You learn quickly, a lot of games allow you to capture footage, and you will need a lot of space for this. At least 1Tb, 2Tb to be safe.

[@auspex9847]

Oh yes. I hat that so much when you see a gaming laptop with great system specs but then you check the storage and it's so small that 3 AAA games would just fill it up completely.

[@xXDeiviDXx]

@@auspex9847 And even worse that nowadays all gaming laptops only come with NVMe slots and absolutely 0 SATA slots for HDDs so at the end you'll have to shell out an additional 100$ for a 1tb M2 SSD.

[@mrbobgamingmemes9558]

@@xXDeiviDXx i dont know why but sata ssd barely any cheaper than nvme at the same price unless it is 3000mbps nvme

[@hillsongbest3818]

May I ask if I could plug in portable SSD for downloading games, and plug in laptop when I wanna boot and play games ?

[@thedemondevii883]

hey jarrod, been watching for a year or so, finally made the move and got my hands on a lenovo legion 5 with a rx6600m and r7 5800h. got it for 1000$ here where i live and i think its a good deal. thanks alot!

[@balalaika1233]

Haha same here. If I hadn't stumbled upon this video I'd probably buy legion with rtx 3060 and spent visibly more than 1000$ even tho the difference in performance is so small.

[@namecollision]

This was very helpful. My focus is on software development, not gaming. Your explanations of current hardware were very useful. My old HP Zbook 17 laptop died after 8 years. Technology moved on, I didn't :) I also like the mentions of Ubuntu, my OS of choice. When I need windows for Solidworks or other windows-only program, I just run windows under VMware.

[@yellowflash511]

Great video Jarrod, although I think you might have to update this video soon as 2022 Advantage Edition laptops have MUX in the form of "Smart Access Graphics". I recently got a Omen 16 with 6800H and 6650M and it works well in Dota 2, Witcher 3, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition and Elden Ring ofc Dota 2 being the important one as a eSports game. *Edit:* forgot to mention this thing called Smartshift Max works really well on this laptop. It constantly shifts power between the CPU and GPU keeping the performance up and temperatures down. I've yet to see the CPU go beyond 85 degrees and the GPU go beyond 78 degrees while gaming. The 6650M gets 132 watts of juice because of this feature while normally GPUs in Omen 16 top out at 115w across the board.

[@joaovitorleite3898]

what about the display, can you say it´s nice? i´m looking foward to buy one, but haven´t really found any good review of it in yt, beyond, i keep changing my mind about the 6650m or 3060.

[@yellowflash511]

@@joaovitorleite3898 yes it's very good, 1080p 144hz with Freesync Premium, 100% sRGB and 300 nits brightness. 6650M is the obvious choice, it's faster, cheaper and has more VRAM. Plus this laptop also has auto MUX

[@cameronbosch1213]

@Saurabh I also have an AMD Advantage laptop; the Legion 7 2022. Sadly, while it DOES have a MUX Switch and Smart Access *Memory,* it does NOT have Smart Access Graphics, meaning in order to change the MUX switch from having the iGPU on or off (it comes off out of the box), you need to reboot. And it takes at least a whole minute before the computer reboots while the MUX transition occurs. Still love my Legion 7, but shocked that they wouldn't implement an auto MUX for AMD Advantage laptops, given their Nvidia laptops DO have Advanced Optimus.

[@yellowflash511]

@@cameronbosch1213 hmm weird why it doesn't have SAG while the Omen does tbh. Legion 7 is also a more premium laptop, Omen 16 is a 5 Pro competitor

[@LukeDhey]

this video is distinctly improved by this man's choice of t-shirt

[@joshmosh-sx7ej]

I got a 2022 model Acer nitro with a 3060, i5 and 16gb memory for a great deal in the UK (£800) as I was looking for a work station for remote work that I could use for moderate gaming also. It was a great deal and is a lot of bang for its buck, especially at that reduced price!

[@pohjademaniratana2567]

Wow. You summarize your expert experience for us. Thanks. People who are interested in purchasing a new laptop should follow your channel. I already purchase mine based on your suggestion.

[@austinburlingham0560]

What kind did you get. And I guess since this is a year old, how did it age😅

[@SirRFI]

Thanks for the video. This is what I'd want to see in laptops more often: • AMD combo (Ryzens + Radeons) - hopefully Ryzen 7000 series + Radeon RX 7000 series will make it to the market spring next year • TKL keyboard layout (like normal full keyboard but without Numpad section - arrays and Insert/Home/etc keys not smashed up) - across AMD+AMD laptops I've checked so far, only the recent HP OMEN 16 has this • Ports at the back • Ethernet (RJ45) port • Video ports (such as HDMI) directly connected to dGPU

[@cameronbosch1213]

Legion 7 has all of those except for it DOES have a number pad. That being said, I do like having one, so it works out.

[@SirRFI]

@@cameronbosch1213 Numpad is useful when working with numbers, yes. I don't mind it, but it takes a bit of space that could be used on something else. As developer, I use the middle section (arrows, Insert/Home/PgUP/Delete/End/PageDown keys) extensively, and having them squashed and split across the keyboard is bad. Sure, I can plug in external keyboard or remote access the device, but that's missing the point of having useful mobile device.

[@cameronbosch1213]

@SirRFI The arrow keys aren't squished on the Legion. They're full sized.

[@SirRFI]

​@@cameronbosch1213 Saying in general. Specifically for Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 7 - looks decent. It doesn't seem to be available in my country - official website has buy button and nothing happens, 3rd party shops don't have it at all. HP OMEN 16 (AMD) 2022 is in similar spot - "available soon". How do you think, when will AMD 7000+7000 combo be available? We are at this time of year where it makes sense to buy last gen stuff, as new gen is around the corner and waiting few months may pay off - at least in the desktop PC realm. AMD combo laptops seem to come out when they please, but maybe that's because AMD only started partnering for the "Advantage edition" program.

[@cameronbosch1213]

@@SirRFI Based on previous years, not before May/June.

[@sagarrajput7051]

I hope I remember this when I finally have enough money to buy a laptop 10 years later.

[@Mayank_Gupta]

To be honest i think buying a laptop with medium level graphic cards like 3060,3070,4060,4070 is a better choice because most people buys laptops with these cards so it has a bigger community and bigger community means large number of gamers because of which game developers have to optimize their games for these GPUs, that means you will not face any problem with the performance of the game.

[@lippyboi2371]

I have no clue what to go with😅 I'm in Alaska on deployment, trying to get the best laptop I can get for gaming, and can let me do classes while I'm here.

[@Atticvs32]

I get it, low-end budget 3050, 3050 Ti, mid-range 3060, high-end 3070 Ti, 3080 Ti - But where would the 3070 fall (performance-wise)? Is that in between that large gap between a 3060 and a 3070 Ti, or closer to one of them?

[@bigdoze172]

I thank you for this video. I was looking into laptops as a complete novice. This video was crazy helpful. I ended up with a legion pro 5 with rtx 4070, ryzen 9 7945hx, 240hz screen above your nit recommend, and 32g ram and 1tb ssd. Got a great deal on it through your site. Bought in the middle of may 2024. Then watched a different video of yours after the fact where you said dont but in 2024 unless you get a great deal. You said wait for prime day, start of school deals, or black Friday. Prime day hit today and i got a better deal in may. I am legion now 😂 i absolutely love it. Your setup video was also super helpful. Thanks ✌🏼

[@toyboxlemonza3293]

I only made one mistake buying my first laptop and it was not getting the highest tier I could. My second gaming laptop I made sure to buy the absolute top end hardware spec I could find. Also went with a larger framed 17" unit and didn't buy into a 2k screen either, 144hz 1080p is amazing. Ended up buying a gigabyte aero YB, at the time, the 2080 G max was the best gpu money could be in a laptop. I then backed it up with a good laptop cooler because heat is an issue if your doing a 12 hour sesh on the witcher 3.

[@IMR95]

what's your laptop cooler?

[@toyboxlemonza3293]

@@IMR95 I use a Deep cool N80

[@Coolagreen16]

Never bought a gaming laptop before, learning a lot from this guy!

[@Pedone_Rosso]

Great summary, very comprehensive and clear. Thanks for your videos!

[@mr.normalguy69]

By far, the best and the most in depth laptop purchasing guide I've found on KZbin. Really appreciate the creator for creating this video. Great work 👍

[@KennyFromthaA]

Jarrod.. once again you prove to the world why you a LEGEND! The only person I go-to for my laptop gaming info 💻

[@burningbelow4424]

Dooodd that's an awesome COB shirt! RIP wild child

[@thebleeb1681]

Thanks a lot Jarrod! 🤯 I've OD'ed on your videos! First I wanted the ROG Strix G15 AAA @ $1099 because of the battery life and ram upgrade performance, but that sale ended. Now I'm leaning towards the Raider 67HX because of the CPU/GPU/OLED combo at $1999. By the time I pull the trigger, I may be in the $3K range for no rational reason. 😬

[@fluffypotato7475]

That sale has been there for 2 months already it comes back after a week or so ( Strix AAA)

[@thebleeb1681]

@@fluffypotato7475 I hope you are correct! I am somehow drawn to that Strix AAA.

[@roshaun411]

I bought the Advantage edition and I’m waiting to pick it up

[@JarrodsTech]

Fluffy Potato is right. That $1099 sale comes and goes pretty often if that is what you're set on getting. It'll go up on the deals site whenever it happens next.

[@Roscke]

I’ve had terrible luck with msi. I just bought the ge76 raider (3080) and the gpu is pegged at 210mhz. Won’t boost, budge, nothing. I’ve already been through the ringer about it just figured it throw it out there. I also have one other negative occurrence with an older msi laptop.

[@MichusubPl]

During summer I managed to buy Legion 5 i511400 with RTX 3050Ti while it was on sale. Perfect for college projects and for playing games when bored

[@E5rael]

I really like Jarrod's no-nonsense presentation style that still has nice pinches of humour sprinkled throughout. Thank you very much for all your valuable work! Thanks to you, I was able to purchase a good value laptop for last Christmas. EDIT: Just noticed your Children of Bodom T-shirt. As a Finn, I'm obligated to head off towards the nearest market square to celebrate.

[@siyzerix]

There's several key things missing from this video and inaccuracies. Panel Coating: This is either matte or glossy. Most gaming laptops, including the high end ones have matte. Matte is literally worse than glossy in every way except it reduces reflections a bit. OLED laptops tend to have glossy coating as well as looking better than IPS, hence offer the best image quality AND lowest response times. This is very crucial in AAA games, where visuals takes precedence over pure FPS, unlike competitive games. Ideally we should have glossy IPS screens on all gaming laptops. Because if phones and TV's can have glossy displays, there's no reason gaming laptops shouldn't have it. Tuning: Once again, tuning is not mentioned at all. This means you can undervolt your CPU or GPU. Intel allows undervolting on their HX or HK parts and this can help lower temps and boost performance. Combine this with a GPU undervolt, which only nvidia allows and not AMD, you can have lower temps with either similar performance or slightly better performance. GPU tuning also includes overclocking the GPU vram and doing a undervolt + overclock to its core clocks. Blocked vents: Not mentioned in the video, but companies like asus and MSI are infamous for blocking their budget gaming laptop's vents, ruining otherwise competent cooling systems by literally not allowing the fans to intake more air. This means that they artifically run the GPU's at lower watts and cause unnecessary overheating. Sales and price ranges: Generally, when a new GPU comes out, the xx60 class GPU budget laptops would hit $1000ish during sales and the xx50 class GPU budget laptops would hit around $750. And as the laptop gpu's age, they should get cheaper. For example, the rtx 3060 used to cost $1100, but now that price is occupied by the rtx 3070. The rtx 3050 used to cost $850 but now its down to $550. So plan your purchases around sales to get the best bang for buck. RAM configuration: If you see single channel ram budget laptops, do buy them. Because you can very easily add in another stick without removing the other stick of ram. Its also going to be cheaper to do so. Storage: Contrary to the video, a HDD is very practical for storage. 4tb hdd's in the 2.5' form factor cost about $130. That means you can have a simple 256gb nvme ssd for your OS and main programs, and use the 4tb hdd for the massive AAA games you might have + anything else you want to store. A 2tb nvme ssd will still be about $120 and will be quite a bit faster. So you can choose what you want. A 2.5' bay also gives you the advantage of choosing either cheap large amounts of storage, or less but faster storage. m.2 slots only allow you to install ssd's. VRAM: 6gb of vram is the minimum amount you'd want these days for modern AAA titles and even older AAA titles. Plenty of examples exist where maxing out textures will eat the 4gb vram buffer, like doom eternal, forza horizon 5, skyrim se modded, resident evil 8 and remakes, wolfenstien eating the whole 4gb vram buffer, etc. In addition to newer games using more vram or older games updating and eating more vram like no man's sky, which can easily use more than 4gb of vram now. And do you really, want your new budget GPU to have the same vram amount as budget gpu's from nearly a decade ago like the gtx 850m? The rtx 3050 is already nearly 3-4x faster (depending on power limits), it should well have 6gb of vram. You are going to keep your laptop for a few years, the least you want is to be able to have are good textures. There's obviously other factors this video also didn't cover such as flipped motherboards which may cause headaches to upgrade, how friendly the laptop is to repaste because as the years go by the thermal paste will dry up hence needing a repasting, etc. This isn't a great guide to buying a gaming laptop as many things are not given proper consideration.

[@JarrodsTech]

I don't have time to individually dismantle each thing you've presented so I'll instead just leave it at this - I tend to not talk about things that I don't think matter very much. The video is already more than too long as is.

[@backers0416]

Damn this video is so much needed in the time of incoming new gen laptop. I already bought mine (Legion 5) but I hope this serves as a guide for buying their new gaming laptop. Thanks Jarrod! 🥰🥰

[@Doof777]

Is the portability good?

[@backers0416]

@@Doof777 pretty much decent, despite on a bit heavier side but can still get use to the weight. Battery life is good provided I was using the ryzen variant and turned off anything that can consume the battery unnecessarily.

[@monicasanchezbellido3234]

@@backers0416 how many hours does it last if you’re not gaming?

[@backers0416]

@@monicasanchezbellido3234 mine lasted more than 2 hours doing excel + web browsing, from 80% to 19%. Optimus on, rgb off, screen down to 83 hz (idk how to force it to 60). And that was on a 60wh battery variant. The 80wh could last you longer with battery.

[@monicasanchezbellido3234]

@@backers0416 thanks

[@kolawoleOlulana]

Best gaming laptop review video so far

[@Eleganttf2]

It's kinda weird to think that Nvidia would release a new variant of RTX 3050 with 6gigs of vram i think they did it as an alternative for people who cant afford the RTX 40 series laptops and that worries me about the upcoming new gen laptop prices

[@Eleganttf2]

@@ShrekShrooms you haven't read the news ? Chec wccf tech they have confirmed entire rtx 4000 series performance and also Nvidia is going to release rtx 3050 with 6gb of vram

[@ShrekShrooms]

Mate thanks for the info.....still in charts ..4050 seems to be less powerful than rtx 3060..what a disappointment

[@ankit-qk9jm]

production quality is on another level...keep up the good work Jarrod!!!

[@SirRFI]

Always glad to see Linux segment in your videos. Actually I am looking for decent laptop for work, and have ability to play less demanding games on it, while desktop PC remains the main gaming rig. However, I noticed that you are using Ubuntu LTS for the tests - please note that LTS distros ship older Kernel, therefore may have worse hardware support. That said please consider using something newer - I suggest Fedora, maybe gaming oriented distro like Nobara would be more accurate and convenient to test.

[@frankholland5301]

Many thanks Jarrod for a comprehensive guide. As a retired electronics engineer I appreciate the high level of technical content given. Brilliant.

[@onlytheneeded412]

The most reasonable most updated laptop yet currently: MSI GE67HX 3070ti and i7-12800HX. Right now it was listed at $1999, and at under $2000 it definitely provides returnable value I think. i9-12900H would sometimes stutter in most that I had, just ever so slightly, however for some reason the HX no matter what I do there is zero stutter. For work that in itself is worth it for me, and right now the MSI laptop literally offers the best CPU and one of the best CPU's under 2K, while Razer and all of them are still expensive.

[@siyzerix]

Nah. I'd say the best value would be the gigabyte aero 16x. Has the 100w 3070ti and i7 12700h, but packs a 4k oled display and costs $1300. Or the gigabyte aorus 15p for $1100 with a 140w 3070 and i7 12700h.

[@vmafarah9473]

GP66 is worth more than GE. I hate too much RGB. 140w 3070ti is far better than 100w.

[@onlytheneeded412]

@@siyzerix very underwhelming power. I have tried the lower wattage on the 100W 3070 versus a 140W 3070, the 100W 3070 did not perform well, and most of the time it's in the same chassis or similar size as the higher watt variant. They just cheap out on some materials, such as cooling capabilities even though Razer has shown they can be thin and light but have close or full power chips/cards. 4K also on a laptop is very underwhelming and you can't see the difference. OLED 1440p on a laptop is simply perfect, and that is what the GE67HX has. The CPU/GPU destroys my multi monitor workflows and playing games at the exact same time.

[@siyzerix]

@@onlytheneeded412 Its $700 cheaper. Which is quite a big difference. And the 3070ti at 100w inside of it is like a 130w 3060, but with more vram. At least that's how I see it. The $2000 msi is 54% more expensive, but I don't think its that much faster, probably about 20% or so faster. And sure, I'd love for it to have a 1440p oled, but there's barely any laptops with a oled. At the gigabyte aero 16's price, you just get a 50w 3050 and 5800h vivobook laptops with a 1080p oled. Compared to that the aero 16 is a upgrade in almost every way.

[@masterdynamite1015]

I love the Legion 7i. Amazing build quality and performance.

[@casperellison5729]

In-depth selection process... really in-depth. But yeah, personal preference is still key and as always budget - what you want to accept, what you can live without and what you can buy. Personally, I also add the speaker quality (even if I can use headphones) and local service support presence. This is a master-class video Jarrod, excellent! .. .. .. makes me want to buy a new laptop... again, hahaha

[@mohamedaityoussef9965]

Bruh 39 minutes of the best laptop reviewer on yt 🔥

[@thelowmein9143]

Hi! Question for Jarrod or experienced viewers. I shop on amazon for some of the laptops he reviews, but I notice many seem to be sold by 3rd party companies that aren’t the manufacturer or amazon. These companies seem to upgrade the laptops with more ram or storage space and then re-sell them... ...Question is, is this a safe / wise way to purchase a laptop? Are these companies reliable? Should I stick to only the manufacturers? Or buy brick and mortar? Thanks for any advice.

[@rahulshah1408]

This is thorough, detailed and not overwhelming. Pretty impressive vid.

[@rickgear2579]

What drives me crazy is how few laptops have GSync support. Any nvidia GPU that's at least a 3050 should have GSync at this point.

[@cameronbosch1213]

The problem is that G-Sync requires a direct connection to the dGPU to work. And unless you have a MUX switch on said laptop, don't expect more than 3 - 4 hours of battery life.

[@xanderwilliams8400]

I love this channel. The gamer and nerd in me is just jumping for joy as I'm learning things for when I go get my gaming laptop this week

[@xXSonyKilerXx]

Man I needed this video a month ago x.x I bought Legion 7i after seeing some of your vids but I am not pleased with how hot the laptop gets, from what I understood it's because the vapor chamber lay right below the metal case and that absorbs the heat. Cpu runs up to 70-72c and gpu up to 75c when I'm playing games like Cyberpunk which is fine. I love the laptop but I feel bad for not doing more homework, I never knew MSI existed lmao. **Edit: I haven't checked alot of brands if any, my older laptop was Lenovo legion too and I liked it, and did not considered that metalic laptops tend to be hotter to touch..

[@aceb2660]

You've dodged a bullet. MSI's laptops are known to have reliability issues in the long term more frequently.

[@xXSonyKilerXx]

@@aceb2660 oh really? Ive read about Asus Scar17 and it looks interesting I suppose, but that was after I bought the legion.

[@ayanpande6821]

those temps seem extemely reasonable for a laptop lol

[@xXSonyKilerXx]

@@ayanpande6821 I know that, its just that the exterior gets really warm, the area around the power button where the vapor chamber gets sometimes incredibly hot to the point I can't touch it more than 5-10sec. From what I understood this happens because the vapor chamber is directly below the metal case of the laptop and metal absorbs and spreads the heat

[@Thymed]

My Alienware laptop gets up to 100c on the cpu and I can’t touch some parts for more than 2-3 seconds Lmao

[@rosuadlTsi]

Man, this has to be one of the most comprehensive videos ever on this platform

[@SwiftArrowMCSGPvP]

Hey Jarrod, are you going to review the Legion 7 with Radeon RX 6850m xt graphics?

[@VK92KL]

Def the best channel when it comes to laptop reviews.

[@joemayne2265]

Really great video Jarrod! And I think a very timely one as we approach Black Friday and buying for the holiday season. I regularly enjoy your content above many other popular KZbinrs. Thanks very much for the great suggestions and excellent analysis!

[@bluetech2809]

Love this video, just kinda unnerving that you almost never blink! I just have this mental image of you sitting in a dark room blinking profusely in between video takes.

[@littleyoshi3760]

Great video. I do follow your reviews before I decided to go for a purchase of gaming laptop, and now I have a bit of dilema: I want to go for MSI GE66 I am torn between 2 models: The differences are: 1. has 16GB DDR5 / 1080p 360Hz IPS display and it is open box 2. Has 32 GB DDR5 / 1440p OLED 240Hz, new. Anu advice which one should I go for?

[@someguywithmtndew5691]

1440p it’s so much better

[@NedimTabakovic]

What you pay is not what you get if you don’t do some research 😃

[@Datz_grief]

I seen a asus laptop costing like 1000€ with the gtx1650

[@killertruth186]

With Nvidia no longer calling them mobile versions and not having better power limit to performance standardization, it made them worse. Since most companies would try to have the power limit as low as possible to fit them in thin and light gaming laptops. Which it feels like you’re having a previous gen GPU performance.

[@lostskull7467]

Started watching about 1 or 2 weeks ago. Your overall quality through time is superb. Love it.

[@sondertekken]

Jarrod, the points you've listed in this video are great and informative. However, I'm afraid you've completely skipped over the most important factor when choosing a gaming laptop. I think we both know what I'm talking about :)

[@rickinwast]

7 decades old guy here. My computer knowledge simply has not kept up since a TRS-80. Overwhelmed w/gaming laptop choices these days. Think => Putting a puzzle together w/o seeing the box top image. Recommendations for a gaming laptop between $1200 - $1500 that would easily support PGA 2k23. ~ Much Thanks ~

[@nishantharepalli1222]

I'm leaning towards a lenovo legion slim 7 (2022) because of its battery life and portability, plus its non aggressive looks allow me to get away with bringing it into the office! But can't bring myself to pull the trigger yet, considering the zephyrus g15 is also a thing... any thoughts? Thanks Jarrod for the great overview!

[@cameronbosch1213]

Try to get a Legion 7 (not Slim, but AMD). You get even better battery life, more ports with USB4, even better performance for the price (I mean the Ryzen 7 6800H & Radeon 6700M config I bought was $1800 on Lenovo's website, which is honestly great for what you get), and while it is a bit less portable, it makes up in terms of storage and RAM upgradability. I love my Legion 7 because again, the battery life is so good (sometimes topping 8 hours of mixed use with the iGPU on; mine came with it off, but there is a MUX switch) and the performance is great. I would try to go for the Legion 7 and not the Slim 7 if at all possible.

[@nafis6668]

Same here. Able to enjoy red dead redemption 2 is mandatory. I'm leaning for the AMD version at the moment.

[@nafis6668]

@@cameronbosch1213 are you able to play red dead redemption 2 at highest setting in that AMD version? ☺️

[@nishantharepalli1222]

@@cameronbosch1213 thanks for the feedback! But honestly the rgb bar in the legion 7 is a pretty big turn-off for me (I know I can switch it off but it just being there I think will be a distraction for work when I'm trying to look professional), plus the weight difference and slimness of the slim were more appealing to me... the only thing against the slim for my needs was the lack of an ethernet port, but I was just gonna buy a USB-C dongle for it. I do appreciate the input!

[@cameronbosch1213]

@@nafis6668 Yes. The game now has FSR 2.1. Though the setting levels Jarrod mentioned in his reviews up until this point are gone; I used Hardware Unboxed's guidelines and changed a few things, like turning the lighting quality up to high.

[@s2korpionic]

2:14 oh you bet it's gonna cause an uproar. Some people still think that they "need" 10+ GB of VRAM while playing Minecraft. Most 3060 laptops in my area are still in the 2.2K range, so definitely no affordable. the 3050 Ti laptop hits the correct sweet spot.

[@TheFFsage]

I hope 4060 will have 8gb vram. It will make buying much easier But then again, they usually slap the 3060 on 1080p laptops instead of 3070 ones My copium for 2023 is 4060 with 8gb vram on 1440p display

[@Eleganttf2]

have you seen the news ? its confirmed it will have 8gigs of vram and the performance will even beats rtx 3070 mobile, even the rtx 4050 will finally have 6gigs of vram but oddly Nvidia also gonna release an rtx 3050 with 6gigs of vram variant

[@TheFFsage]

@@Eleganttf2 Oooooh I havent. Thats wonderful news!

[@Gamex99999]

From what I saw nope but the 4060Ti will.

[@aaz1992]

I'm sure it will be 8gb

[@Gamex99999]

@@aaz1992 I hope!

[@dr3amboy3657]

Man. Your videos are awesome. Just the facts, small details, no frills, no crazy hot cakes. Just the goods. Great work.

[@JarrodsTech]

Thanks!

[@jayp9059]

your videos are underrated. in depth and straight to the point... keep em coming

[@ghosu5306]

I am looking to buy a good laptop for under 1000 I found an Nitro acer 5 with an rtx 3060 and a ryzen 5, do you recommend this one or a different one

[@seanmhar123]

Good Day sir! I am choosing between Acer Nitro 5 core i5 12500h with rtx 3050ti 4vram and Acer Nitro 5 Core i5 11400h with rtx 3060 6vram with both 8gig ram. What do you suggect? I hope you reply. Thank you

[@Amai__]

Thank you for this video. I’m someone who’s looking for decent gaming laptop but I’m a newbie with all these specs so your simple explanations help! :)

[@nizzan91]

Type-C charging is an absolute life saver of a feature. If you actually carry around the laptop with you for work / school you can buy a tiny PD charger and keep the laptop topped up. No need for a gigantic brick in your bag for the everyday stuff. I wouldn't even consider a new laptop without this feature.

[@billardon514]

That must've been a lot of work but great video here!!! Lots and lots of useful information from new or experienced buyers alike.

[@JarrodsTech]

Glad it was helpful!

[@herpderp1662]

Bought a asus zepherus G14 ryzen 9 7940HS @5.2ghz, 48 gigs of 5800 ddr5, and RTX4060 8g for 1000 dollars. So this info is rather irrelivant, given its more important WHEN you buy than anything. Plays every existing game at ultra settings at the native resolution of 2160x1600 at perfect framerates. Never once had to lower a setting.

[@JogieGlenMait16]

Straight to the point. This is the video you send out to that friend who knows nothing about the new stuff.

[@Evkayne]

i hope you reach 1M subscribers super soon, thank you for being so thorough.

[@felipepizzin]

This is a top notch video. Basis on you analysis throughout this year, bought my legion 5i 3070ti... No regrets at all... Except metro exodus, the game kills it's self

[@regiuseques6333]

This might be the most clear, concise, informative video I have ever seen regardless of topic. Bravo! You've been extremely helpful when it comes to learning everything I needed to know about gaming laptops in this and many other videos. Thank you!

[@smokegames1179]

Just bought a g5 KF with i5 12500h and 4060 for $750

[@TheDarksideFNothing]

Wow this is so comprehensive!!! Great content, this is gonna help so many people.