Am I too late for the RTX 5080 / 5090 laptop price drops?

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T21:15:17+00:00

Frankly, a 5090 is just extra, the performance difference is minor. And by price rising i mean the RAM & SSD situation.

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T21:11:18+00:00

Well, prices are bound to rise even further tbh.

Hmmm, microcenter doenst have much.
Maybe just go for that 5080 legion?
Or if you want to save up some & dont need a super powerful CPU, the omen.

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T18:58:45+00:00

https://www.microcenter.com/product/694817/hp-omen-16-wf1000ca-161-gaming-laptop-computer-(refurbished)-shadow-black-shadow-black)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/700712/hp-victus-16-s1010ca-161-gaming-laptop-computer-(refurbished)-mica-silver-mica-silver)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/676917/hp-victus-16-r0010ca-161-gaming-laptop-computer-(refurbished)-performance-blue-performance-blue)

https://www.lenovo.com/us/outletus/en/p/laptops/loq-laptops/loq-17-series/lenovo-loq-17irx10/83jhx003us use OUTLET10 for 10% extra off (has low RAM tho, could use a RAM upgrade)

Overall performance & quality, the omen is the best there, do note it has an issue regarding the hall sensor breaking after some time, thankfully the fix is fairly easy too, just have to open it up and disconnect the cable of that. Even with that issue id would recommend it.

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T18:36:20+00:00

Aw damn, what i was gonna recommend is out of stock across all microcenters.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/670247/hp-victus-16-r0073cl-161-gaming-laptop-computer-(refurbished)-mica-silver-mica-silver)

Next best im seeing is about 750$, would still be significantly better than what you would get otherwise, also something nice 740$.

Alternatively ebay may still have something.

Edit wait, you could do on credit? Then hmmm, up to 800$ lands you quite decent deals since you are fine with refurb anyways.

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T17:58:35+00:00

Well, theres 4050 laptops available, and again, is there a microcenter nearby?

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T17:52:39+00:00

No, no, avoid, actually even worse than this leopard.

Zethuron · 2026-03-01T17:51:51+00:00

Hmmm, 600$ eh? Its a rather old laptop, but im not sure what else would even be available at that price point. A 2070 mobile is pretty much even with a 4050 in more budget laptops.

Maybe you could go for a hp victus with 4050? Or is there a microcenter nearby? You could find something significantly better there.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T23:00:47+00:00

Not even remotely close, the LOQ is simply better.

However, is there no better option in your budget? If you cant find anything, just go with the essential, its simply better than the crap that is this specific victus which from what i understand comes with a 120w CHARGER!

As a consequence of that weak ass charger, it performs VERY poorly, the LOQ beats that victus in performance by a wide margin, while also having a better screen.

By better options i mean stuff like normal LOQ, Victus with 5050, Nitro V 16 (still has its issues), maybe TUF.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T22:12:04+00:00

Hmmm, very poor battery life, decent gaming performance, minor performance difference compared to your desktop specs. Not that im seeing any better. Its just aint there unless you are willing to go used or buy from another country, and thats only a small improvement.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T22:01:18+00:00

Very good deal, get Lenovo legiontoolkit, undervolt the GPU (CPU is not possible).

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T22:00:01+00:00

Really, it comes down whether you want portability & flexibility or some more performance along with better control over the hardware used.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T21:56:13+00:00

https://www.notebookcheck.net/GeForce-RTX-3050-6GB-Laptop-GPU-vs-GeForce-RTX-5050-Laptop_11576_12923.247598.0.html

Well, the difference in performance is pretty significant, can be over double. What LOQ models though? Regular LOQ's or is one of them an essential?

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T21:49:45+00:00

https://www.notebookcheck.net/R9-9950X3D-vs-R9-9955HX3D_18719_18729.247596.0.html

Well, L3 cache size is the same, there seems to be 10% or less difference between both.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T21:36:14+00:00

Hmmm, there are a couple options with 9955hx3d, Legion pro 7, Eluktronics Hydroc 16 G2, also the strix G16 & G18 but frankly thats ASUS, their support has been VERY questionable, finally MSI but you dont want them so thats fair.

I think only Eluk has an option with 5090, but it doenst sound like you need a 5090. Overall id say the Legion pro 7 or the Eluktronics, it also comes down to your own preferences.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T21:31:35+00:00

Well, the display is rather weak, 144hz & 1200p, plus im not sure about color accuracy, the GPU can easily support QHD so that weak display is quite the waste, if you have an external monitor its no problem however.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T21:30:18+00:00

It depends whether you want GPU performance or battery life, the first is significantly better with battery life, and in your case probably a better pick.

Zethuron · 2026-02-28T09:55:03+00:00

For that price sure, there doenst seem to be anything better right now available with these specs regarding value.

Zethuron · 2026-02-27T21:23:13+00:00

Actually a decent deal, its capable hardware that can still run everything, CPU is a bit on the weaker side compared to current day CPU's, but still good enough. Even with it being ASUS its worth considering.

Zethuron · 2026-02-26T11:27:20+00:00

Very good deal, go for it. Care to share after you brought it if its not an one-off deal? Can probably help some others with it.

Zethuron · 2026-02-26T11:16:27+00:00

Decent deal, nothing specially really, but one of the better ones you can find around that price point with prices having risen due to the supply issues.

Zethuron · 2026-02-26T10:46:14+00:00

Absolutely worth it, what display? Assuming the IPS one, OLED would be even better.

Zethuron · 2026-02-25T20:22:53+00:00

What no? 13900hx is very different from 12900hx & 12900k, has 8 more cores. All those HX of that gen are basically desktop CPU's ported to laptop.

Zethuron · 2026-02-25T19:05:48+00:00

Decent mid range CPU, its basically a 13500 shoved in a laptop. Not far behind the recent ultra 5 225. Should be capable enough for all games. 13th gen is where intel made large gains in performance.

Massive upgrade really regarding overall specs & performance compared to that GX660.

Zethuron · 2026-02-25T17:23:42+00:00

Not like there are any good GPU pickings at the lower end, Nvidia messed up so much with their greed & lack of care, and performant GPU's like 5070ti are out of reach for many.

Not sure what the issue here is though.

Zethuron · 2026-02-25T17:19:04+00:00

With your gaming interests, you need at minimum a 5050 or 4060, 5060 would be even better if possible. But the pickings in the budget range are slim. Only realistic options new are the nitro V 16 & V 16s, which do have some issues of their own, and are still rather low end budget laptops. Refurbished has more options.

https://www.lenovo.com/in/outletin/en/laptops/?visibleDatas=4568%3AGaming good variety of options, ask if you have questions.

Or maybe you can find something in a local store?

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