what laptop should i buy Considering New laptop

[random_soldier1337]

Hi I am in the market for a new laptop. Following is the template.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Indefinite. That said, I am not shelling out $10,000+ nor am I paying an extra $1,000 for an extra 10 GB of storage or 1 GB of RAM.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

a. Ultraportable; 10" - 12" screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

 

Doesn't matter. Primarily for gaming and essentially a portable machine. Whichever offers the best performance is fine for a good price.

3) In which country will you buying this notebook?

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like:
b. Dislike:

 

None in particular. As long as it is good quality.

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

No.

6) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?

Gaming.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Desk. It's mostly a compromise for a gaming desktop as I am not settled enough to keep a huge gaming rig I can only move once very so often.

😎 Will you be playing games on your notebook? (If so, please state which games or types of games?)

Yes. All kinds.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

Doesn't matter. Not familiar with current quality but battery was not good for gaming last I checked and again it's a compromise for a gaming desktop.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebook you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Whichever guarantees I am getting what is advertised. Also to consider, I may have to move countries in a month or two if my contract isn't renewed, so I am not sure if I will have time to make any requests of the manufacturer if things go bad. Also problematic if warrantees and other post purchase services are completely limited to the USA (i.e. nothing outside).

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Chrome OS, etc.

Whichever is offered with the best performance.

12) What ports do you require on your laptop? (ex. MiniDisplayPort or HDMI? Displayport or USB-C w/ DP?)

Not sure. Any help with this one?

Screen Specifics

13) What screen resolution(s) would you prefer? See further below for explanations.

Doesn't matter. I just care about the performance. I doubt anyone is selling gaming laptops below 1080p and I don't care for 4K/8K.

14) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? See further below for explanations.

Matte preferred but not required.

Build Quality and Design

15) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

No.

Notebook Components

16) How much storage space do you need?

Doesn't matter. I doubt anyone is selling below 500 GB and I don't keep too much on my computer at once.

Timing, Warranty and Longevity

17) When do you consider purchasing this laptop?

Immediately.

18) How long do you expect to use this laptop?

If all goes well, about half a decade. I have managed to use my current gaming laptop for about 6 years (with some troubles...).

19) How long could you afford to do without your laptop if it were to fail?

Not long at all.

20) Would you be willing to pay significantly extra for on-site warranty, or would it be acceptable to you to have to ship the laptop to the vendor for repair with perhaps a week or more outage?

If possible, neither. But if I have to choose, the former.

Other: For experience, I'd say to err on the side of caution and consider me a novice. I have had gaming/multimedia laptops twice before. The first had poor quality thermal paste that degraded within two years. The second (current) had it's battery swell up which I had to personally remove by opening it (which I remember being easily removable by design in my first machine) and also it's CMOS battery dried up.

To be clear, I'm not debating whether or not these should be there. I'd simply prefer these and other lifetime limiting issues not be present. Again, not debating that there should not be any. As far as paste is concerned, I know from experience that the manufacturer can definitely provide high quality thermal paste. I'd simply appreciate not having to open up my machine in a market where modularity and right to repair is being limited and it is becoming easier to brick your machine if trying to attempt a repair that can be done but the manufacturer does not provide themselves.

Please let me know if there are any other details I can provide.

Thanks and regards.

[saturnotaku]

If you can live with the size, your best bet might be one of the new Alienware M18 models since Dell offers international warranty coverage, something neither Lenovo nor HP offer on their gaming laptops. The alternative would be to purchase from a system integrator like HIDevolution that has its own extra-cost global service package for any model you buy from them. You pay a premium for both the laptop and extra warranty, but you have a much wider variety of laptops to choose from.

[random_soldier1337]

Hi. Thanks for the response. I was asking elsewhere as well and they mentioned that the HP Omen does have international warranty. Looking at one of the models, it says one year but I couldn't get more info without a serial number.

 

Could you also comment regarding the battery issues, CMOS battery and thermal paste?