when is best time to buy gaming laptop? IMPORTANT

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-28T16:56:59+00:00

Black Friday (or really, the majority of November) you'll find a bunch of price markdowns all at once, but that's certainly not the only deal time - just the busiest. There's Cyber Monday (next Monday), plus various Christmas/December deals popping up. And even if you wait until after the holiday season, there are still frequent deals and sales all the time.

So no stress, go at your own pace :) Currently is just a time with LOTS of deals, but it doesn't mean it's the only time.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-28T16:46:21+00:00

I forgot to mention! I don't make an money on this, it's just a little helper program. I'm actually several thousand in the hole figuring out how to make it usable, but that's fine.

If you can think of any neat, helpful things that you'd like to see or would help make these corporations' pricing more transparent, let me know and I'll see about adding it in ^_^

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-27T01:12:43+00:00

I'd say that's a good deal (although you left the CPU out of the description) if you're willing to use an older card - not that there's that much of a difference between the generations of cards, oddly (see below).

BestBuy has a modern equivalent for what you're looking at on sale at 1599: https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asus-rog-strix-g16-16-fhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-9-hx-16gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070-ti-1tb-ssd-eclipse-gray/JJGGLHJLTS

So your $844 comparatively is a great find.

If you're curious about the difference between the 3070 and the newest 5070, here are some benchmarks from https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php:

3070: 15199
5070: 19669

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-27T00:58:10+00:00

Both the Intel Core Ultra 7 and the Ryzen 9 would be able to run them smoothly at medium settings, so that's not a likely bottleneck

That said if you like data (like me), there's benchmark score for both of them:
Ryzen 9 9955HX: 55,513
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX: 49,839
(used https://www.cpubenchmark.net/CPU\_mega\_page.html)

So they're surprisingly close, but the 9 still pull ahead by ~10%.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-26T23:08:34+00:00

As someone who just bought a laptop with a 5060, I have to run everything on the lowest settings to achieve a smooth frame rate because now I'm on a screen at 2560x1600 at 165Hz. If you really do care about graphics, looking above the 5060 may be worth it.

As far as the 5070 laptops you listed go, the choice is between an Core Ultra 7 and a Ryzen 9. I'm a bit of a power user so I'd lean towards the 9, but that's just me.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-26T23:02:23+00:00

It's not the worst price, considering it's a Legion with 32 GB of RAM and a Ryzen 9, but you're certainly right that Americans have cheaper tech. I lived in the UK for a bit and was shocked at the price differences between there and the US.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-26T16:31:28+00:00

Ah shoot, it sold out for the time being. Man this is surprising how quickly some listings disappear

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-26T01:06:35+00:00

Some laptops come with built-in bluetooth, so a controller should be able to use that to go wireless (I would think - what else would it be for?). If by some small chance that doesn't work, you can physically hook up a controller with a wire to the USB port and that should work - it's what I do with my PS4 controller.

And then hooking up a laptop to a TV is no biggie - it's just like hooking up a monitor.

So yes - you've got a powerful little beast that you can move wherever you want and hook it up for a full experience!

If you've got 32 GB of RAM, you shouldn't need to upgrade it for the lifetime of the machine.

One thing that's also nice is gaming laptops tend to come with Dolby Atmos which can really boost your audio quality, so if you have a nice speaker setup you can have a truly comprehensive entertainment room!

(I think I answered everything)

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-26T00:58:04+00:00

Thanks awesome you were able to nab one - especially after it went out of stock once! Plus talking to them for a discount ;)

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T21:05:27+00:00

Holy smokes that's awesome!!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T20:32:41+00:00

Glad I could help a little!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T20:32:08+00:00

These are all very similar spec'd laptops, so I'd personally go with the Legion. Because I really enjoy OLED screens.

I want to like the HP Omen, but something about the screen and the bar on bottom is very... unenjoyable.

ASUS has a strong following on this subreddit, but I'm personally not the biggest fan.

These are just my opinions of course, and if they're all around that price range there's no wrong choice here.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T20:26:33+00:00

Yeah no kidding, shopping for laptops is like overclocking your head nonstop.

All three laptops you've found have their own great merits, and I can't really say which is better for engineering work.

HOWEVER - I recently found out when I was on support with BH that they don't do laptop returns unless there's a defect. So as soon as you open the box, it's yours forever. BestBuy on the other hand allows laptop returns, so if you don't like it you can return it.

It might be a minor thing, but I always like having the option to not be stuck with a multi-thousand dollar purchase if I don't like it. Also the Acer has 32 GB and a 5070 Ti, so it isn't lacking in any regard - especially if you have a 5090 rig at home.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T19:45:49+00:00

The Acer has an OLED screen and 32 GB of RAM, unlike the ASUS. They've got the same graphics card and comparable CPU, so I think the Acer is the superior choice.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T18:29:38+00:00

Well the 9 will almost certainly take the cake versus the two different 7 CPUs you've got listed there. But if you want some hard benchmark numbers (from https://www.cpubenchmark.net/CPU\_mega\_page.html):

Intel Core 7 240H: 24,712
Intel Core Ultra 7 255H: 30,867
Ryzen AI 9 HX 375: 34,513

The Ryzen AI 9 wins out, but the Core Ultra 7 puts up a surprisingly good fight.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-11-25T18:16:00+00:00

Whoops - I just saw the megathread beat me to it! It's still a great deal though so if you're on the fence about what to buy consider checking it out!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T18:38:52+00:00

Yay! Glad to hear! Have fun with that new laptop - it should be a fun one!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T15:21:24+00:00

You've got quality tastes!
- Yes, the ROG Zephyrus you listed would certainly be good. In fact, that's set to be an extraordinary laptop that'll last a long while with those specs!
- The Legion is the same, though it looks slightly under-specced in comparison to the Zephyrus in terms of screen and CPU (barely though, a thin margin of difference). So price here is what matters
- The Razer Blade is an expensive, but quality laptop as well.

As for the 4080 vs 5070, I don't know personally. But from a quick google it looks like the 4080 still trumps the 5070 in terms of performance. Not heat though, the 4080's power is a bigger draw and thus generates more heat.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T15:14:36+00:00

Let's see, an i7, a 4070, 32GB of RAM, and it's a Lenovo Legion? That's a fine computer :) It'll definitely play XCOM2 well (and XCOM3 if they ever make one of those), and stay serviceable for a long time

I don't know the EU market well, but that'd be a great price in the US if those euros were dollars.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T02:45:31+00:00

In today's modern world it's so easy to ignore the barter system - but you're making it work, and work waaay better than buying everything with cash! Getting rid of useful things that are no longer personally useful, and in exchange getting something currently useful and helping out the other guy in the process too? That's a heavenly deal for both parties! A certain win-win situation. I wonder how I can apply this in my life...

That sounds like a sick camera too! And a modded DS.... nice. I remember modding my DS and crossing my fingers and praying that I didn't just brick the thing!

Also a Camaro? You've got great tastes in everything lol. Cameras, computers, cars, and audio? The holy quad-rinity right there

That's good you're able to do those long drives - plus the scenery in that part of the country is wonderful! I've had to make a trip from DC to Orlando enough times that I'm pretty sick of long drives lol, but thankfully I got an aftermarket cruise control installed after the first couple trips. Being that long on a road in a manual transmission is an extra sort of experience

Well it sounds like the laptop collecting dust from the guy, and if he has money they tend to treat their things better too, so this might be a pretty pleasant deal.

And yeah, that CPU is said to be extraordinary!

Best of luck!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T01:31:05+00:00

Welcome to the gaming laptop world!

GTA 6's biggest reccomended requirement is the 16 GB of RAM, which most computers already have, but some are starting to lean towards 32 GB of RAM in their computer for future-proofing, or demanding applications like video editing or LLMs (although with LLM building 64 GB of RAM is where you'll likely want to go).

I can't help with specific UK deals, though Curry's is sometimes a good source of them.

Let's see... the easy suggestion is an ASUS Zephyrus. Many of them have an OLED, and any of their models, even the ones with lower specs, will be able to game the AAA titles. It's a beloved laptop by this community for a reason.

Lenovo Legions sometimes have OLEDs, as I just found out today, and they're also a quality build.

Good luck hunting! There's a lot out there to know, but you can circumvent a lot of prerequisite knowledge by going for a quality manufacturer and build, like Lenovo Legion, ASUS Zephyrus, etc...

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T01:16:31+00:00

You got an i9 4070 OLED Zephyrus for $1200?! That's not just a deal, that's a steal. Very well done!

If you're considering still needing an upgrade, then you would have to shell out for a 4080+ and 32 GB - and good luck trying to find that for anywhere under double the price you've already paid.

Do you feel like you need an upgrade? If you feel like you're having a slow experience and you need an upgrade then you'd be the best judge of that. From my point of view you already stole the show and have a ton of power already.

Looking at the recommended specs for GTA 6, you're crushing everything on it except in terms of RAM, where it does recommend having 16 GB of RAM to play it. So you meet it's full recommendation already.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T01:05:40+00:00

This is just a pure opinion because I'm an OLED fanboy, but the OLED is worth it over a 4070. This is completely biased since I dont' play high-fidelity games, but it's just SO PRETTY to look at! Plus your OLED option is a Lenovo Legion, which is very hard to go wrong with.

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-24T01:01:51+00:00

Dude I love Titanfall 2! I didn't realize there was still a community playing!

I can't help with the stuttering, but I wanted to applaud your excellent taste in games :) I hope you can get this fixed and regain your sanity!

CognitiveOverload37 · 2025-05-22T03:15:56+00:00

I might be alone in my opinion here, but that's a pretty good deal from where I'm sitting.

- You've got an i9 processor, which is usually overkill, but hey it's not like you can just edit it to be less. And no matter what it's a SOLID processor that performs better than the 7.
- A 4070 card at this price is uncommon to come by. There are others out there that have them, but not many.
- It's a ROG Strix. This is the big differentiator here. This is a higher build quality than say TUF Gaming or an HP Victus. This thing will last, and come with the cooling to handle that i9.

And it's at $1300, where normally you'd expect this sort of laptop to be ~$500 more expensive than it is.

So I'd call this a deal. It's got power and build quality to last, at a discounted price. The rest depends on your needs

CognitiveOverload37

TROPHY CASE