Recommendation - Gaming Laptop for Bed

Labbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:09

Hi all,

Having some trouble deciding which gaming laptop to buy.

Most use will be on me in bed for Hearthstone/Youtube/watching sport (on a laptop table over my chest) but I'd like the ability to plug in to a monitor for proper FPS gaming plus playing some more demanding XBOX gamepass games using a controller.

Originally I thought a 14" would be better as I won't be using on a desk much. I had narrowed it down to these two:

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA402RK RX 6800S Gaming Laptop 14" FHD+ 144Hz AMD Ryzen9 6900HS 16GB DDR5 1TB SSD RX6800S 8GB Graphics $3,065
Razer Blade 14 (P8 NT/14 165Hz QHD Matte, 2560 x 1440/ AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX /RTX 3070 Ti 8GB VRAM/16GB DDR5 RAM/1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD $3,279

But then I'd read about how recommended the Legion 5 pro was (screen, performance etc) and realised I wouldn't be resting it on my chest and on a laptop table instead so weight/portability not such an issue so thought I'd go with this one:

Legion 5i Pro Gen 7 16" i7-12700H, 32GB DDR5, 512GB SSD, GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti 8GB $3,383

It only has a 512GB SSD though and Lenovo said I would void warranty if I added a second SSD.

I then saw the following Prime day specials for Legion 5 Pros:

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro I7-11800H, 32GB(16+16) DDR4, GeForce RTX 3070 8GB, 1TB SSD $2,841
Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 16 inch WQXGA 165 Hz i7-12700H RTX 3060 6GB 16GB DDR5 512GB SSD $2,159
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16" AMD Ryzen 7 5800H GeForce RTX 3070 8GB 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD $2,624

I also noticed some deals on HP OMEN laptops - including one of the only ones I'd seen with a 3080 (although I assume 17" screen is probably too big?):

HP OMEN, Core i7-11800H, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 16GB VRAM, 17.3 QHD Antiglare IPS 300 nits 165Hz Narrow Border $3,383
HP OMEN, Core i7-11800H, 32GB RAM, 2 x RAID0 SSD 1TB, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB, 16.1 FHD Antiglare IPS 300 nits 144Hz Narrow Border $2,678

If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts it would be really appreciated!

I won't be taking it out of the house much so portability isn't really a concern - will only be used sparingly in a home office connected to a dock but mostly in bed.

Computing Computer Gaming Laptop Laptop

Comments

  • KanyeEast on 13/07/2022 - 13:13
    +10

    Imo, sounds like you need a steam deck… If you can wait that is

    • RobBoss on 13/07/2022 - 13:45
      +3

      haha people in US still waiting for it, im guessing by the time SD is released here it will be 2024

    • Mr Haj on 13/07/2022 - 14:09

      but can you watch porn on a steam deck?

      • boomramada on 13/07/2022 - 14:42
        +1

        yes once you plug the VR headset to it. Perfect for bed room.

        • Mr Haj on 13/07/2022 - 14:44
          +3

          no wonder they're difficult to obtain.

        • bdl on 13/07/2022 - 21:12

          heats up and vibrates, too

    • 7ekn00 on 13/07/2022 - 15:59

      But he also wants it to double as a heater in bed, steam deck doesn't get hot enough!! The 6900HX should suffice though :P

  • donga100 on 13/07/2022 - 13:28
    +4

    Why not just mount a monitor to the ceiling above your bed and play from your desktop with wireless keyboard/mouse/controller? Much more comfortable and convenient than having a hot/heavy laptop and table on top of you in the bed.

    • AustriaBargain on 13/07/2022 - 13:43
      +3

      I can think of another use for a ceiling mounted display that is hot/heavy.

    • abbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:48

      Ceiling too high and desktop at the other end of the house sadly

      • donga100 on 13/07/2022 - 13:58

        Wireless monitor or run cables through ceiling/wall. There are other options for mounting it from the wall/bed/floor too such as this or this type of thing.

      • ShannonN on 13/07/2022 - 15:19

        cheaper to get our of bed and use desktop

      • gorgrond on 14/07/2022 - 22:13
        +2

        Stream? Steam itself supports streaming, and geforce app also supports streaming.
        I use my main PC in another room in my TV through my HTPC just streaming… almost any ok laptop would be suitable for that.

        • A-mak on 17/07/2022 - 01:26
          +1

          I have done remote play over my network from gaming pc to laptop and was impressed with it, mainly because I was on the toilet lmao.

  • Drakesy on 13/07/2022 - 13:33
    +6

    ooof, long term gaming sessions in bed
    i hope you change your sheets often/don't mind a sore back.

    • abbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:44
      +1

      No long term sessions :) Really only for an hour or two before sleep some nights

  • jv on 13/07/2022 - 13:38

    Dell's are better for bed use…

  • Magicmannn on 13/07/2022 - 13:41

    Careful with the razer laptop, there’s a fps cap when running on battery mode

    • abbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:44
      +1

      Will plug it in so won't run off battery

  • spackbace on 13/07/2022 - 13:44
    +1

    4K portable monitor and a PC tower beside the bed?

    Easier to upgrade

    • abbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:46

      Had thought about that but was looking for something I can take in and out of the home office where it will be docked

      • spackbace on 13/07/2022 - 13:48
        +2

        Have had gaming laptops before. They're heavy, they run hot, and when parts die eventually (GPU etc), they can't be replaced easily, or can't be upgraded easily

        • abbadabba on 13/07/2022 - 13:49
          +3

          Thanks - something to consider, can probably get a decent desktop x 2 for the same price as a laptop

          • jv on 13/07/2022 - 13:54
            +1

            @abbadabba: yep, just get a wireless monitor, keyboard and mouse to use in bed…

  • boomramada on 13/07/2022 - 13:54
    +1

    16" laptop on the bed ? you doing it wrong, at least try this https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/this-giant-scorpion-is-real…

    • jv on 13/07/2022 - 13:58

      🦂

  • tallkid123 on 13/07/2022 - 14:14
    +1

    I have a Legion 5i next to my bedside. They are quite heavy and the fans inevitably get hot but I'd also still recommend from my personal experience.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 13/07/2022 - 14:27
    +1

    Who's Bed?

  • JownehFixIT on 13/07/2022 - 14:30

    I was going to recommend the Legion 5 (third of your prime links), but the listing is weird with its 2 x 16GB down the bottom, but 16GB listed everywhere else it's mentioned. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/712323

  • rinco on 13/07/2022 - 21:05
    +2

    Gaming laptops are a scam. Put them under any load and the fans will be noisy. Run them without the power cable and the performance sucks. So toggle the power plan to run high performance and they'll go flat in less than an hour. Tower PC is the way to go. You can always stream using GeForce Now, or AMD Link, or Parsec(.app) to any old laptop.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 14/07/2022 - 08:27
      +1

      They're not really. They suit the lifestyle of a lot of people. For instance, I take mine travelling a fair bit and it is trivial to find powerpoints everywhere, hotel room etc. and can plug into hotel TVs.

      • boomramada on 14/07/2022 - 08:44

        Lol , All what you said can do with a less than 1kg 13" laptop 😆

      • rinco on 15/07/2022 - 07:02

        Yeah I also do a bit of laptop gaming on the go. But I just install some indie games with minimal hardware requirements. Good opportunity to chip away at the my Steam pile of shame. Although these days the Amazon Games freebie pile usually takes priority.

    • Rilez on 18/07/2022 - 21:37

      I disagree, let me explain

      In theory, geforce now/parsec seems like a good idea to save some cash, it's not. You need a hell of a good connection to make it worth it which is not gonna happen in Australia, and even if we lived in a fairy tale land and had good internet here you will still struggle to enjoy most games with the latency at hand. I've done testing on both of these applications over the past 2 weeks span, including Steam Link (though I have not tried AMD's solution) I have a SFF PC at home I built myself, and an ol reliable Dell Latitude I've been using at work to trial this.

      Laptops have gotten better and better over the last few years (look into this years zephyrus g14, g15, m16 models) keeping in mind some have not yet arrived to Australia. These come in Intel & AMD variants, the latter of which perform remarkably well on battery, giving you the option to disable the GPU entirely whilst still being able to game (due to RDNA 2, AMD's new iGPU architecture) and have much better battery life compared to Intel.

      Tldr, if you are someone who is out of home more often then not and you like to game, spending the premium for a gaming laptop is always a better choice. What use is having a gaming PC if you're not at home to use it? This does not necesarily apply to the OP of this post as there are many better options he could utilise for what he's wanting to do…

      But personally, I will be investing in a gaming laptop so I have the ability to game wherever I go, my situation has changed over the past year and I find myself away from home much more often so it's a worthwhile investment for my situation.

      • rinco on 19/07/2022 - 08:39
        +1

        Seems your use case is gaming-on-the-go. Whereas OP explicitly states gaming-at-home. Game streaming at home works great over WiFi 6 and/or wired ethernet. But I do agree with you that DIY game streaming sucks via Australian Internet - no matter the software.

        Even if you accept paying the premium for a gaming laptop. It is worth pointing out to those in the market that laptop components run slower than desktop components with similar product names. For instance the Zephyrus m16 you highlight not only has a slower mobile GPU (better to call it Max-something than Slower). But the performance is further crippled by the form factor…

        "Unfortunately, the RTX 3070 MaxQ in the M16 is the weak link. Due to the slimline chassis, they’ve restricted the TDP of the GPU to just 80W (100W with dynamic boost). It’s still a great GPU but the lack of power means it shows up closer to the bottom in many of our performance benchmark comparisons."
        — https://totalgamingaddicts.com/asus-rog-zephyrus-m16-gu603hr…

        Sure that's a Nvidia GPU and not AMD. But all the reviews I could find on the M16 were for Nvidia. Maybe only the G14 and G15 have GPU options?

        The real issue here is gaming in bed before sleep. I doubt any sleep expert would support this approach. Sure there are technical solutions. But just because you can does not mean you should.

  • juzza87 on 15/07/2022 - 07:31

    How about a gaming desktop (set up WoL so it's not on 100% of the time) and use Parsec to stream to a tablet mounted to your bed like this: https://www.amazon.com.au/Samhouse-Rotating-Aluminum-iPhoneX…

    Only I would recommend a Windows tablet, Android's have bad latency with bluetooth controllers and mice

  • Kobeee on 16/07/2022 - 21:22

    I have the legion 5i pro 3070ti and sounds perfect for your use case. Also good for office use if you get it without RGB as it looks a beefier version of a professional laptop

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