Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

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JDP
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:39 am

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:30 pm Any thoughts on this machine from Costco?

https://www.costco.com/msi-ge76-raider- ... 63831.html
I'm not a member so can't see the price. What is it? You're a few days too late for an excellent gaming laptop through Costco.

Lenovo Legion 7 G6 for $1500
16" 2560x1600 165Hz 500-nits IPS Display, 100% sRGB, HDR400, G-Sync, FreeSync
Ryzen 7 5800H 3.2 GHz 8C/16T CPU (4.4 GHz Boost, 20MB Cache)
16GB (8GBx2) DDR4 3200 MHz Ram
1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics, 125W TGP, 140W /w Dynamic Boost

This was a phenomenal deal. Great build quality, good thermals, amazing 4k screen, top notch CPU and Video card. Deals like the above show up every 2-3 weeks. There are a lot of decent deals that pop up; I'd keep an eye out for another great deal.

Also, I wouldn't blanket coat any laptop manufacturer as "good" or "bad." Some have better overall reputations than others but they have all had crappy models or years where their products weren't as good as the competition. Personally, I'm a big fan of Asus and Lenovo's ThinkPad P series. My ThinkPad's screen crapped out after a month. Got it replaced and it's been fine for the last five years. Do I think ThinkPads are garbage? No. Sometimes you unfortunately get a lemon. I've had a low end HP laptop that has been working fine for 15 years. Do I think HPs are the most reliable? Heck no.

Yes, HP, Dell, Acer, etc. have made good laptops as well. When a great deal pops up, do your homework on that particular model. Read/watch multiple reviews and check out the user experiences.
Last edited by JDP on Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:45 am, edited 3 times in total.
lazydavid
Posts: 5155
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:37 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by lazydavid »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:30 pm Any thoughts on this machine from Costco?

https://www.costco.com/msi-ge76-raider- ... 63831.html
Looks pretty good overall, but if it's for real gaming, I'd be wary of the mobile 3060, which will likely turn out to be underpowered for his needs (and of course can never be upgraded). The Lenovo in the post above this one (which is no longer on special) has a 3070, which would be a better choice.
Rex66
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Rex66 »

boogiehead wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:18 pm This reminds me of the good ol days when I would scout the Fry’s newspaper ad every Sunday for their motherboard/cpu (best deals) combos and then figure out how to overclock the cpu 😏. I’m assuming those deals are long gone since last I heard is Fry’s on the verge of bankruptcy 🤨
Fry’s is gone

It’s micro center or search slickdeals.net hot deals forum
JDP
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:39 am

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

Rex66 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:41 am
boogiehead wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:18 pm This reminds me of the good ol days when I would scout the Fry’s newspaper ad every Sunday for their motherboard/cpu (best deals) combos and then figure out how to overclock the cpu 😏. I’m assuming those deals are long gone since last I heard is Fry’s on the verge of bankruptcy 🤨
Fry’s is gone

It’s micro center or search slickdeals.net hot deals forum
Slickdeals is great. Make sure to search both the Popular and Frontpage deals. The newly discovered deals start out in the popular section and once they hit frontpage, they usually don't last long. Also check out reddit's r/LaptopDeals for laptops and r/buildapcsales for desktop components or prebuilts. I often find deals on reddit before they show up on slickdeals.
tortoise84
Posts: 464
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:03 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by tortoise84 »

Beware that the GeForce laptop GPUs are around 25% slower than the desktop GPUs with the same name. E.g. a 3070 Laptop is only around a desktop 2060 Super.

https://youtu.be/rCrCV71x8G0?t=1028
Rex66
Posts: 2955
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 5:13 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Rex66 »

JDP wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:06 am
Rex66 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:41 am
boogiehead wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:18 pm This reminds me of the good ol days when I would scout the Fry’s newspaper ad every Sunday for their motherboard/cpu (best deals) combos and then figure out how to overclock the cpu 😏. I’m assuming those deals are long gone since last I heard is Fry’s on the verge of bankruptcy 🤨
Fry’s is gone

It’s micro center or search slickdeals.net hot deals forum
Slickdeals is great. Make sure to search both the Popular and Frontpage deals. The newly discovered deals start out in the popular section and once they hit frontpage, they usually don't last long. Also check out reddit's r/LaptopDeals for laptops and r/buildapcsales for desktop components or prebuilts. I often find deals on reddit before they show up on slickdeals.
The best way is actually just to go to the hot deals forum

The pages are affected by advertisement revenue but anything that gets tons of posts will be first page or two of the forum and is routinely a good deal or discussed why not.
JDP
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:39 am

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

tortoise84 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:59 am Beware that the GeForce laptop GPUs are around 25% slower than the desktop GPUs with the same name. E.g. a 3070 Laptop is only around a desktop 2060 Super.

https://youtu.be/rCrCV71x8G0?t=1028
Unfortunately, that's a con with getting a laptop. There are different 3070 TGP versions ranging from 85W - 130W, with considerable clock differences. The higher watt options are the best mobile versions available.
JDP
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:39 am

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

Rex66 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:08 am
JDP wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:06 am
Rex66 wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:41 am
boogiehead wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:18 pm This reminds me of the good ol days when I would scout the Fry’s newspaper ad every Sunday for their motherboard/cpu (best deals) combos and then figure out how to overclock the cpu 😏. I’m assuming those deals are long gone since last I heard is Fry’s on the verge of bankruptcy 🤨
Fry’s is gone

It’s micro center or search slickdeals.net hot deals forum
Slickdeals is great. Make sure to search both the Popular and Frontpage deals. The newly discovered deals start out in the popular section and once they hit frontpage, they usually don't last long. Also check out reddit's r/LaptopDeals for laptops and r/buildapcsales for desktop components or prebuilts. I often find deals on reddit before they show up on slickdeals.
The best way is actually just to go to the hot deals forum

The pages are affected by advertisement revenue but anything that gets tons of posts will be first page or two of the forum and is routinely a good deal or discussed why not.
Definitely agree about the hot deals forum.

I prefer to search all the slickdeal forums by keywords, such as laptop, notebook, gaming laptop, a particular brand name, etc. I also surf individual forums for things I may have missed.
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
Posts: 4880
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

JDP wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:22 am
Wannaretireearly wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:30 pm Any thoughts on this machine from Costco?

https://www.costco.com/msi-ge76-raider- ... 63831.html
I'm not a member so can't see the price. What is it? You're a few days too late for an excellent gaming laptop through Costco.

Lenovo Legion 7 G6 for $1500
16" 2560x1600 165Hz 500-nits IPS Display, 100% sRGB, HDR400, G-Sync, FreeSync
Ryzen 7 5800H 3.2 GHz 8C/16T CPU (4.4 GHz Boost, 20MB Cache)
16GB (8GBx2) DDR4 3200 MHz Ram
1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics, 125W TGP, 140W /w Dynamic Boost

This was a phenomenal deal. Great build quality, good thermals, amazing 4k screen, top notch CPU and Video card. Deals like the above show up every 2-3 weeks. There are a lot of decent deals that pop up; I'd keep an eye out for another great deal.

Also, I wouldn't blanket coat any laptop manufacturer as "good" or "bad." Some have better overall reputations than others but they have all had crappy models or years where their products weren't as good as the competition. Personally, I'm a big fan of Asus and Lenovo's ThinkPad P series. My ThinkPad's screen crapped out after a month. Got it replaced and it's been fine for the last five years. Do I think ThinkPads are garbage? No. Sometimes you unfortunately get a lemon. I've had a low end HP laptop that has been working fine for 15 years. Do I think HPs are the most reliable? Heck no.

Yes, HP, Dell, Acer, etc. have made good laptops as well. When a great deal pops up, do your homework on that particular model. Read/watch multiple reviews and check out the user experiences.
Thanks much JDP. The Costco link I shared is $1500.
I will continue to look out at Costco next few weeks.
I’ll delve into the one you mention above. Cheers!!
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
Posts: 4880
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

Looks like our parameters for this laptop are now:
64GB ram, 17 inch screen, good cooling, windows 11.

This kid is gonna make me bankrupt! ;)
Let me know if any options come top of mind. Just looked at Costco and nothing fit the bill that I could see. I’m not too keen on buying from Amazon.

I’ll look at best buy and new egg for options later tonight.
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
lazydavid
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Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:37 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by lazydavid »

64GB is WAY overkill for a gaming machine. 16GB is more than enough for current games, and 32GB would provide runway for more years than the other components will remain relevant. Both of the machines I've built in the past 2 years (Mine and my son's) have 32GB.
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
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Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

lazydavid wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:22 am 64GB is WAY overkill for a gaming machine. 16GB is more than enough for current games, and 32GB would provide runway for more years than the other components will remain relevant. Both of the machines I've built in the past 2 years (Mine and my son's) have 32GB.
Thanks David. Appreciate this
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
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Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

Ok folks. We’re down to two options:

Costco:
https://www.costco.com/msi-raider-ge76- ... 95159.html

Costco total: $2k after $300 off. 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen

Dell:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-la ... -r1-laptop

+ 32GB upgrade for $150
+ 1TB upgrade for $170

Dell total: $2370

So similar specs, 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen.

Comes down to Alienware vs. MSI (build quality??)
and Dell vs. Costco (return policy and warranty)

I know where my head is at, but I want to keep this post neutral.
Appreciate any opinions. Thank you all.
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
JDP
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:39 am

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

I don't consider those deals. You're spending a premium for 32gb of ram, which is generally an easy upgrade to do on your own. But, considering those two options only, I'd go with the Costco over the Dell. That extra year warranty is a nice Costco perk. Costco may offer additional extended warranties beyond two years for a decent price. The Alienware, no. Not a good price at all.

For around that Alienware price, consider the Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 6 $1798 w/15% coupon:
Processor : AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H Processor (3.20 GHz, up to 4.40 GHz Max Boost, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 16 MB Cache)
Operating System : Windows 11 Home 64
Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 3070 8GB
Memory : 32 GB DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16 GB)
Storage : 2 TB PCIe SSD (2 x 1 TB)
Display : 16.0" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS, anti-glare with Dolby Vision™, HDR 400, 500 nits, 165Hz

It is 16", not 17", but it comes with 2TB total SSDs, 32gb RAM, and the screen is immensely better than those 1080p screens. Build quality and cooling are top notch. Look out for better coupon codes and maybe a $100 off first purchase codes. Lenovo has codes for laptops like Kohls does for clothes.

1/21 12:54am - Just found a 15% off coupon (LEGIONDEALS15), which drops the price from $2115 to $1798. Adding a 4 year additional warranty brings it to around $1967 total. This is a pretty good price!


I'll be honest, there are not many good 17" 32gb RAM options out there. I did my usual searches and couldn't find much. Though, best bang for your buck would be a 15.6" with 8-16gb RAM that would require you or your son to upgrade the memory and/or SSDs.
Last edited by JDP on Fri Jan 21, 2022 1:27 am, edited 8 times in total.
lazydavid
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by lazydavid »

I think the equivalent Dell is actually $2750. You listed the RAM and SSD upgrade, but skipped the RTX 3070 video, which is an extra $330. No way I'd pay $2400 for a gaming laptop with a 3060. The Dell is a nicer machine, but it's not $750 nicer by any means.
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

JDP wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:12 pm I don't consider those deals. You're spending a premium for 32gb of ram, which is generally an easy upgrade to do on your own. But, considering those two options only, I'd go with the Costco over the Dell. That extra year warranty is a nice Costco perk. Costco may offer additional extended warranties beyond two years for a decent price. The Alienware, no. Not a good price at all.

For around that Alienware price, consider the Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 6 $2115:
Processor : AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H Processor (3.20 GHz, up to 4.40 GHz Max Boost, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 16 MB Cache)
Operating System : Windows 11 Home 64
Graphics : NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 3070 8GB
Memory : 32 GB DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16 GB)
Storage : 2 TB PCIe SSD (2 x 1 TB)
Display : 16.0" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS, anti-glare with Dolby Vision™, HDR 400, 500 nits, 165Hz

It is 16", not 17", but it comes with 2TB total SSDs, 32gb RAM, and the screen is immensely better than those 1080p screens. Build quality and cooling are top notch. Throw in a 2-3 year extended warranty if you want and the price will be around $2300-2350. Look out for better coupon codes and maybe a $100 off first purchase codes. Lenovo has codes for laptops like Kohls does for clothes. Not necessarily a deal but this is way better than the Alienware with a one year warranty.

I'll be honest, there are not many good 17" 32gb RAM options out there. I did my usual searches and couldn't find much, so that MSI isn't a bad option. Though, best bang for your buck would be a 15.6" with 8-16gb RAM that would require you or your son to upgrade the memory and/or SSDs.
Thank you JDP. Much appreciate the analysis!
I’m hoping an option or two more surface next few weeks.
Appreciate the link to the Lenovo. Curious, How do you gauge build quality? Cheers!!
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

lazydavid wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:29 pm I think the equivalent Dell is actually $2750. You listed the RAM and SSD upgrade, but skipped the RTX 3070 video, which is an extra $330. No way I'd pay $2400 for a gaming laptop with a 3060. The Dell is a nicer machine, but it's not $750 nicer by any means.
I missed that David. Thanks for pointing that out. Big difference…
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
JDP
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by JDP »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:04 am Thank you JDP. Much appreciate the analysis!
I’m hoping an option or two more surface next few weeks.
Appreciate the link to the Lenovo. Curious, How do you gauge build quality? Cheers!!
Build quality? Case material, cooling, speaker, keyboard, screen, and hinge quality. These are some common things to look at.

See my above post. Found a 15% off coupon that drops that laptop with a 4 year extended warranty to $1967. No laptop is perfect but this one is pretty good for what you're looking for. Ryzen 5800H, 3070 RTX, 2560 x 1600 high quality screen, 2TB SSDs, 32gb RAM, 4 year warranty under $2000 is great.

Techradar's Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 6 Review There are plenty of reviews online. Search Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 6.
runninginvestor
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Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by runninginvestor »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:59 pm Ok folks. We’re down to two options:

Costco:
https://www.costco.com/msi-raider-ge76- ... 95159.html

Costco total: $2k after $300 off. 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen

Dell:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-la ... -r1-laptop

+ 32GB upgrade for $150
+ 1TB upgrade for $170

Dell total: $2370

So similar specs, 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen.

Comes down to Alienware vs. MSI (build quality??)
and Dell vs. Costco (return policy and warranty)

I know where my head is at, but I want to keep this post neutral.
Appreciate any opinions. Thank you all.
Out of curiosity , you don't happen to have any employee pricing programs through your work, spouses work, or other family members work? I think of some large megacorps have these at Lenovo, dell, HP.
Topic Author
Wannaretireearly
Posts: 4880
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by Wannaretireearly »

runninginvestor wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:16 am
Wannaretireearly wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:59 pm Ok folks. We’re down to two options:

Costco:
https://www.costco.com/msi-raider-ge76- ... 95159.html

Costco total: $2k after $300 off. 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen

Dell:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-la ... -r1-laptop

+ 32GB upgrade for $150
+ 1TB upgrade for $170

Dell total: $2370

So similar specs, 32MB ram, 1TB, 17 inch screen.

Comes down to Alienware vs. MSI (build quality??)
and Dell vs. Costco (return policy and warranty)

I know where my head is at, but I want to keep this post neutral.
Appreciate any opinions. Thank you all.
Out of curiosity , you don't happen to have any employee pricing programs through your work, spouses work, or other family members work? I think of some large megacorps have these at Lenovo, dell, HP.
HP is an option thru family. Any good options there? Cheers
“At some point you are trading time you will never get back for money you will never spend.“ | “How do you want to spend the best remaining year of your life?“
runninginvestor
Posts: 1796
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:00 pm

Re: Gaming PC Build: Newbie questions and feedback!

Post by runninginvestor »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 8:00 am
runninginvestor wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:16 am
Out of curiosity , you don't happen to have any employee pricing programs through your work, spouses work, or other family members work? I think of some large megacorps have these at Lenovo, dell, HP.
HP is an option thru family. Any good options there? Cheers
I'm not a familiar with HP gaming laptops. I believe that they have omen laptops similar to their omen gaming desktop line. I was just throwing the employee pricing around ( or if you get any student/educator discounts) because 10% off or so at $2,000 would add a couple hundred dollars to your savings or ability to upgrade . Give you a little more flexibility.

Edit: if you want another rabbit hole to go down , Reddit could probably help if you were unsure about differences between components . There's probably discussion somewhere ( this is a brother for gaming laptops)
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLaptops/
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