RTX 30 Laptops

My low wattage 3070 is awesome in QHD 165Hz. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to 1080p laptops.

Yea, I went with the Aorus 15G XC with FHD for the same reason but I'm older so 1440 on a 15" would be hard on my eyes so I stayed with 1080 and a 4.4lbs package.
 
Depends on your use case. I want thin & light and a sub $2k price with AMD CPU/NVIDIA GPU. Not everyone wants the big laptops.
Very true - entirely depends on use case. Max-Q are typically more portable, while Max-P are usually better suited for desktop replacements. Really though, I mostly wanted to use that singular-boobed hooker line :D
 
Look at the up coming legion 7 pro the 2021 models

I've got my eye on it. It appears Lenovo's 2021 series gaming laptops all use 16"? Not an insignificant difference, but I'm quickly realizing I'm going to have to compromise somewhere.

  • The Strix 17 doesn't have a mux switch, so I take a performance hit since I don't use an external monitor. Also, no option for QHD.
  • Lenovo models are 16", but offer great performance, and tick every other box.
  • MSI are tricky, so many models, not a lot of real world feedback, and Intel only for now.
  • Razer/Alienware seem overpriced, but have good offerings

My revised list of desired specs:

  • 17.3" QHD screen (I want a bigger screen, and I hear 17" generally have better cooling?)
  • AMD 5900HX OR Intel 11th gen (I hear the Intel can be undervolted to reduce thermals?)
  • RTX 3070 130w or better (or maybe 3080 if the price is right, and all other specs line up)
  • Mux switch
  • 2 RAM slots. Soldered RAM is another point of failure, and was just an awful idea.
  • RGB would be nice, but not required. Prefer a full keyboard with numpad.

It's amazing how easy this would be if 17" wasn't such a sticking point for me. The Legion 5 Pro would be the obvious choice (Legion 7 isn't available yet).
 
I've got my eye on it. It appears Lenovo's 2021 series gaming laptops all use 16"? Not an insignificant difference, but I'm quickly realizing I'm going to have to compromise somewhere.

  • The Strix 17 doesn't have a mux switch, so I take a performance hit since I don't use an external monitor. Also, no option for QHD.
  • Lenovo models are 16", but offer great performance, and tick every other box.
  • MSI are tricky, so many models, not a lot of real world feedback, and Intel only for now.
  • Razer/Alienware seem overpriced, but have good offerings

My revised list of desired specs:

  • 17.3" QHD screen (I want a bigger screen, and I hear 17" generally have better cooling?)
  • AMD 5900HX OR Intel 11th gen (I hear the Intel can be undervolted to reduce thermals?)
  • RTX 3070 130w or better (or maybe 3080 if the price is right, and all other specs line up)
  • Mux switch
  • 2 RAM slots. Soldered RAM is another point of failure, and was just an awful idea.
  • RGB would be nice, but not required. Prefer a full keyboard with numpad.

It's amazing how easy this would be if 17" wasn't such a sticking point for me. The Legion 5 Pro would be the obvious choice (Legion 7 isn't available yet).
If you need a bigger screen... External for you when your docked? I am assuming your buying this due to the need to be portable?
 
If you need a bigger screen... External for you when your docked? I am assuming your buying this due to the need to be portable?
Doesn't need to be portable - it will essentially be stationary - but I cannot use external either. I simply don't have the space for even a small external, unfortunately.
 
My search finally came to an unexpected close last night, for anyone that cares to hear the story.

Anyone searching out the "perfect laptop" knows that you will be forced to compromise on something, and I did. I found a Legion 5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800h, RTX 3070 140w, 16" QHD screen) at Walmart for a steal of a price ($1,399) last night. I went there fully expecting it to be out of stock, but to my surprise they had 2 in stock. The 16" screen is significantly bigger than my 15.6", yet the footprint of the laptop is smaller than my current Dell 7567 gaming. So I didn't get the 17.3" screen I wanted, or the 5900HX cpu, but I got pretty darn close.

The "Walmart version" of the L5P is cheaper because a couple of things are sacrificed - only 512gb SSD, and the keyboard is 4 zone RGB rather than per-key. I don't care about the SSD, as I intend to upgrade it to a 2TB anyway, and the per-key RGB is something that would've been fun for about 5 minutes. All in all, I feel like it was a steal of a deal, though I won't get to REALLY play with it until this evening (damn adult life!).

I will update with more info (if anyone cares, ha!) as I dig into actually using it. So far I can say that the extra screen real estate afforded by QHD vs FHD is awesome, and the taller 16:10 screen is an adjustment but really nice. The screen is also VERY bright (500 nits) and the colors are vivid.

Big THANK YOU to all who gave advice - even if I didn't go the direction you suggested, your input gave me something to consider, so it helped!
 
My search finally came to an unexpected close last night, for anyone that cares to hear the story.

Anyone searching out the "perfect laptop" knows that you will be forced to compromise on something, and I did. I found a Legion 5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800h, RTX 3070 140w, 16" QHD screen) at Walmart for a steal of a price ($1,399) last night. I went there fully expecting it to be out of stock, but to my surprise they had 2 in stock. The 16" screen is significantly bigger than my 15.6", yet the footprint of the laptop is smaller than my current Dell 7567 gaming. So I didn't get the 17.3" screen I wanted, or the 5900HX cpu, but I got pretty darn close.

The "Walmart version" of the L5P is cheaper because a couple of things are sacrificed - only 512gb SSD, and the keyboard is 4 zone RGB rather than per-key. I don't care about the SSD, as I intend to upgrade it to a 2TB anyway, and the per-key RGB is something that would've been fun for about 5 minutes. All in all, I feel like it was a steal of a deal, though I won't get to REALLY play with it until this evening (damn adult life!).

I will update with more info (if anyone cares, ha!) as I dig into actually using it. So far I can say that the extra screen real estate afforded by QHD vs FHD is awesome, and the taller 16:10 screen is an adjustment but really nice. The screen is also VERY bright (500 nits) and the colors are vivid.

Big THANK YOU to all who gave advice - even if I didn't go the direction you suggested, your input gave me something to consider, so it helped!
Smoking Deal! besides the bulk and slightly thicker than most new 14-15inch laptops thats a solid buy! I really like the software to control charging, performance, etc... But I do recommend a clean install if you can.

BTW can you share the Walmart Link or was it in store only?
 
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Smoking Deal! besides the bulk and slightly thicker than most new 14-15inch laptops thats a solid buy! I really like the software to control charging, performance, etc... But I do recommend a clean install if you can.

BTW can you share the Walmart Link or was it in store only?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/231609645

It's in-store only, but if you have your local Walmart selected on Walmart.com it will show stock when it is in stock. Anything higher than $1,399 is the 3rd party scalpers.

It really is a great deal, especially with a 140w 3070 and QHD screen - and a nice screen at that.
 
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I had my eye on the Asus 17" Strix 5900hx/3080m but could never find it available, save for the scalpers and those who promise it in a couple of months.

The M17 and Prometheus VII look interesting save for the Watts going to the GPU. I might go with the M17 just for the metal chassis. My current laptop is an Asus aluminum model, and it has stood up against wear and tear far better than my previous MSI plastic case. Not certain how much I will be losing in performance vs the Prometheus or any of the other offerings coming up,
 
I had my eye on the Asus 17" Strix 5900hx/3080m but could never find it available, save for the scalpers and those who promise it in a couple of months.

The M17 and Prometheus VII look interesting save for the Watts going to the GPU. I might go with the M17 just for the metal chassis. My current laptop is an Asus aluminum model, and it has stood up against wear and tear far better than my previous MSI plastic case. Not certain how much I will be losing in performance vs the Prometheus or any of the other offerings coming up,
The only downside I think with Asus is RMA if it's ever needed
 
I had posted the M17... I meant the MAX-17 by the same company as the Prometheus
 
My search finally came to an unexpected close last night…
Congrats on a great deal! If I had had my choice of aspect ratio I’d have also gone with 16:10 all else being equal. Seems pretty rare with gaming laptops.
 
Congrats on a great deal! If I had had my choice of aspect ratio I’d have also gone with 16:10 all else being equal. Seems pretty rare with gaming laptops.
Thank you! I had never paid much attention to aspect ratio, but I have to say 16:10 is phenomenal. My previous laptop has a 15.6" screen, but this 16" looks so much larger and I think much of that is actually the aspect ratio.
 
I had my eye on the Asus 17" Strix 5900hx/3080m but could never find it available, save for the scalpers and those who promise it in a couple of months.

The M17 and Prometheus VII look interesting save for the Watts going to the GPU. I might go with the M17 just for the metal chassis. My current laptop is an Asus aluminum model, and it has stood up against wear and tear far better than my previous MSI plastic case. Not certain how much I will be losing in performance vs the Prometheus or any of the other offerings coming up,
I was in love with the Strix 17, but also couldn't find it in stock. In the months of waiting, the lack of mux switch and the subsequent adverse effect on gaming weighed too heavily on my mind and I abandoned it as an option. I didn't have any other prospects until I saw the L5P.

I hope you find something that checks all of your boxes!
 
I bought a hp omen ek-1000 2021 laptop. Paid 1650$ Has a 3070. 10750h, 16gb ram and a 512gb nvme ssd.

The games I play..it hauls ass. Very happy. Prices are coming down though.
 
Update, I picked up an Asus Strix Scar G17 with 5900hx, 3070, 32 GB ram, 1 TB SSD. 1080p screen and 300hz. This replaced an old MSI with Intel 6820hk and 970M graphics.

Impressions: thin and light, good software. Asus tools even recommended a bios update. No webcam, but has mic for online gaming. As expected, runs games superbly. The 3070 is actually a bit overkill for 1080p. Fan profiles are nice. Performance mode by default stays very quiet during light tasks like web browsing. Mechanical keyboard is nice. Speakers are nice, you can actually hear depth to the sound since there are 4 of them. People like to rag on laptop speakers. But if you can hear the difference between an iPad Pro and normal iPad you know what I mean and would appreciate the sound on this thing. The cheaper Strix (non-Scar) version has 2 speakers.

Games tested: Battlefield 4, Control, Dirt 4. Battlefield games ran at 150-200 fps. Control around 70-100 with Nvidia GeForce experience recommended settings (this included max ray tracing). Did not check fps on Dirt 4, it was super smooth though. Laptop was not cheap but I am happy with the purchase. Like any Windows device it has its quirks and it is hard to know who to blame for them. For example, Rage 2 crashes about 90% of the time on this machine, but it crashed a lot on my other Windows machines too, so who knows what is happening there. It also has trouble going to sleep when the lid closes. Manually putting it to sleep resolves that.

Last thing worth noting is that there is an AMD Advantage model available for a great price. I have seen it as low as $1500 at bestbuy. It has a 6800M which is supposed to perform in between the 3070 and 3080. Not available in 17" yet, however. If you are in the market for a gaming laptop I would definitely read up on that one. Lots of power for the money there.
 
I got my Lenovo Legion 7 last week with the following specs:

Ryzen 5900HX
32 GB RAM
16 GB RTX 3080
165 Hz, 2560 x 1600 Gsync screen
1 TB drive

I added a 2 TB SK Hynix drive and that was one thing I didn’t like - it’s a pain to get the bottom panel off. I had to order a new set of spudgers and once I did that, it took me just a couple of minutes to get the panel off, the drive installed, and the panel back on.

I ordered the laptop on 8/11 and the original ETA was 10/22 and then moved to 11/22. I ended up getting it on 9/2. First impressions: 1) build quality is very nice, with the case being metal. 2) I did some informal testing with PUBG and the performance is phenomenal. I tested on each of the 3 profiles and on the performance profile, was hitting 170-180 FPS on 2560 x 1600 with most medium settings. Even on the battery profile, I was still around 60 FPS IIRC. 3) keyboard and touchpad feel nice.

It was costly ($3100 before taxes) but seems like a nice machine.
 
I got my Lenovo Legion 7 last week with the following specs:

Ryzen 5900HX
32 GB RAM
16 GB RTX 3080
165 Hz, 2560 x 1600 Gsync screen
1 TB drive

I added a 2 TB SK Hynix drive and that was one thing I didn’t like - it’s a pain to get the bottom panel off. I had to order a new set of spudgers and once I did that, it took me just a couple of minutes to get the panel off, the drive installed, and the panel back on.

I ordered the laptop on 8/11 and the original ETA was 10/22 and then moved to 11/22. I ended up getting it on 9/2. First impressions: 1) build quality is very nice, with the case being metal. 2) I did some informal testing with PUBG and the performance is phenomenal. I tested on each of the 3 profiles and on the performance profile, was hitting 170-180 FPS on 2560 x 1600 with most medium settings. Even on the battery profile, I was still around 60 FPS IIRC. 3) keyboard and touchpad feel nice.

It was costly ($3100 before taxes) but seems like a nice machine.
Looks like a nice one. Wish I had your CPU but wasn’t an option with AW at the time I bought. Having fully moved to mobile pc gaming due to life in the last year, I’m really impressed with the mobile 3080 performance. It’s somewhere around 2080 Super/3070-ish performance in a reasonably sized laptop. A large increase over the 2000 series mobile parts. The only things that are huge are the power bricks, which is completely reasonable considering the performance.
 
I got my Lenovo Legion 7 last week with the following specs:

Ryzen 5900HX
32 GB RAM
16 GB RTX 3080
165 Hz, 2560 x 1600 Gsync screen
1 TB drive

I added a 2 TB SK Hynix drive and that was one thing I didn’t like - it’s a pain to get the bottom panel off. I had to order a new set of spudgers and once I did that, it took me just a couple of minutes to get the panel off, the drive installed, and the panel back on.

I ordered the laptop on 8/11 and the original ETA was 10/22 and then moved to 11/22. I ended up getting it on 9/2. First impressions: 1) build quality is very nice, with the case being metal. 2) I did some informal testing with PUBG and the performance is phenomenal. I tested on each of the 3 profiles and on the performance profile, was hitting 170-180 FPS on 2560 x 1600 with most medium settings. Even on the battery profile, I was still around 60 FPS IIRC. 3) keyboard and touchpad feel nice.

It was costly ($3100 before taxes) but seems like a nice machine.

That bottom panel is an absolute pain in the... well, you know. Felt like I might break something, so it took about 20 minutes to get it off safely. How's the heat on the 3080?
 
That bottom panel is an absolute pain in the... well, you know. Felt like I might break something, so it took about 20 minutes to get it off safely. How's the heat on the 3080?

I need to do some more testing. My unscientific and anecdotal feedback is that I definitely felt warm air being expelled from the side exhausts. :D
 
I need to do some more testing. My unscientific and anecdotal feedback is that I definitely felt warm air being expelled from the side exhausts. :D
haha! I can confirm - Lenovo 5 w/3070 releases some very warm air that is uncomfortable after a bit. Due to the placement of the side vents, you have to be mindful of where your mouse hand sits. I haven't noticed any throttling though!
 
haha! I can confirm - Lenovo 5 w/3070 releases some very warm air that is uncomfortable after a bit. Due to the placement of the side vents, you have to be mindful of where your mouse hand sits. I haven't noticed any throttling though!

Maybe consider something like this? :LOL:

61h3pBANROL._AC_SL1000_.jpg
 
The Legion 5 I bought for my daughter showed up yesterday.

AMD 5800H
RTX 3060
32GB DDR4 3200
2TB SSD
165Hz 1080P GSYNC display

I'm very impressed with the build quality, and I'm also surprised at how cool and quiet it runs while gaming. I don't have any experience with gaming laptops, and it's not at all what I was expecting. This thing is too cool for words.
 
The Legion 5 I bought for my daughter showed up yesterday.

AMD 5800H
RTX 3060
32GB DDR4 3200
2TB SSD
165Hz 1080P GSYNC display

I'm very impressed with the build quality, and I'm also surprised at how cool and quiet it runs while gaming. I don't have any experience with gaming laptops, and it's not at all what I was expecting. This thing is too cool for words.

What game are you running? If it’s not a very taxing game the card won’t get hot and it’ll run cool and quiet. But yeah the cooling design has come a long way.
 
What game are you running? If it’s not a very taxing game the card won’t get hot and it’ll run cool and quiet. But yeah the cooling design has come a long way.

So far just Valorant, settings fully maxed out, frame rate uncapped. My Sandy Bridge dual-core i7 throws out more heat running Quake Live off the iGPU. It's crazy how efficient these components are.
 
I got the Lenovo LEGION 5i Pro 16" Gaming Laptop - 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H - 165Hz 2560 x 1600
from Costco for $1,099 today. They are currently running a sale until 10/03.

I'm very impressed with it. 16:10 is very nice at 16" 2560x1600 165hz. AG is perfect.
The screen is nice and bright and vibrant and it runs Halo MCC wonderfully.....also tested BFV and medium settings are playable and low settings very fluid.

I'd like a 3060 or 3070 version but currently they are running a good $700+ more and im not so sure ill ever game that much on the lappy for that increased cost as I got it for productivity work.

I easily slid in my spare 980pro 1tb in the second slot....All in all pretty amazing laptop for the money.

1633055011213.png
 
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I got the Lenovo LEGION 5i Pro 16" Gaming Laptop - 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H - 165Hz 2560 x 1600
from Costco for $1,099 today. They are currently running a sale until 10/03.

I'm very impressed with it. 16:10 is very nice at 16" 2560x1600 165hz. AG is perfect.
The screen is nice and bright and vibrant and it runs Halo MCC wonderfully.....also tested BFV and medium settings are playable and low settings very fluid.

I'd like a 3060 or 3070 version but currently they are running a good $700+ more and im not so sure ill ever game that much on the lappy for that increased cost as I got it for productivity work.

I easily slid in my spare 980pro 1tb in the second slot....All in all pretty amazing laptop for the money.

If you don't need 165Hz you can get the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p with 3060 for $100 more at the moment. It is about the same $ if you factor in cashback and even less if you call in to ask for a discount due to shipping delays. It worked out to less than $1k for me.
 
If you don't need 165Hz you can get the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p with 3060 for $100 more at the moment. It is about the same $ if you factor in cashback and even less if you call in to ask for a discount due to shipping delays. It worked out to less than $1k for me.

Thanks, but 60hz is a no go. I already have a 4k oled 60hz dell lappy that I gave to wife unit #1.

I primarily got this Legion 5 for work productivity and my work entails lots of precise mouse movements and 60hz is like HIV.

I'd love a 3060 or 3070 version, but not for another grand. I've got a good desktop for gaming so it's all good.
 
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Got an HP Omen RTX 30 laptop - it was pretty meh due to the noise level. For whatever reason, HP tied the GPU power to fan speed. < 3000 RPM = 30W power limit, 3100-4100 RPM = 80 W power level, >4100 RPM = full power.

The fans are pretty quiet at lower RPMs surprisingly, however if you set a fan curve to stay under 3000 RPM it's just permanently stuck at 30W power consumption on the GPU, which is pathetic. I have a cooling pad with 3 A12x25s so the GPU on full load doesnt even break 60C, but the damn HP BIOS refuses to unlock any more power unless you turn the laptop into a dust buster. I find the RTX 3070 even slower than the RTX 2060 when you set performance at 30W. It might be pretty close to Intel integrated graphics level performance...

Back to desktop gaming for me...
 
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Yup. For equal graphics power these thin laptops are significantly louder than a desktop. The price we pay for portability.
 
On the default fan setting (performance) my 2021 Asus Strix Scar G17 gets pretty loud in modern games like Control. But you can select silent profile which caps fps at 60 and is pretty quiet. I suspect most people get around the fan noise with quality headphones. Considering laptop speakers range from average to poor this seems like a practical choice.
 
Thanks, but 60hz is a no go. I already have a 4k oled 60hz dell lappy that I gave to wife unit #1.

I primarily got this Legion 5 for work productivity and my work entails lots of precise mouse movements and 60hz is like HIV.

I'd love a 3060 or 3070 version, but not for another grand. I've got a good desktop for gaming so it's all good.

Well...I just caved and ordered the 3070 model with 32gb ram and two 1tb drives...... back to costco the 3050 goes lol
 
My search finally came to an unexpected close last night, for anyone that cares to hear the story.

Anyone searching out the "perfect laptop" knows that you will be forced to compromise on something, and I did. I found a Legion 5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800h, RTX 3070 140w, 16" QHD screen) at Walmart for a steal of a price ($1,399) last night. I went there fully expecting it to be out of stock, but to my surprise they had 2 in stock. The 16" screen is significantly bigger than my 15.6", yet the footprint of the laptop is smaller than my current Dell 7567 gaming. So I didn't get the 17.3" screen I wanted, or the 5900HX cpu, but I got pretty darn close.

The "Walmart version" of the L5P is cheaper because a couple of things are sacrificed - only 512gb SSD, and the keyboard is 4 zone RGB rather than per-key. I don't care about the SSD, as I intend to upgrade it to a 2TB anyway, and the per-key RGB is something that would've been fun for about 5 minutes. All in all, I feel like it was a steal of a deal, though I won't get to REALLY play with it until this evening (damn adult life!).

I will update with more info (if anyone cares, ha!) as I dig into actually using it. So far I can say that the extra screen real estate afforded by QHD vs FHD is awesome, and the taller 16:10 screen is an adjustment but really nice. The screen is also VERY bright (500 nits) and the colors are vivid.

Big THANK YOU to all who gave advice - even if I didn't go the direction you suggested, your input gave me something to consider, so it helped!

Picked one up yesterday and it is a great gaming laptop, it has a gsync compatible screen to boot. Planetside 2 and PubG with high settings the fps remain over 100 at the native 2560x1600 res. Stock memory is known to be meh and can gain 10-15% performance with better ram. I picked up the following kit to eek that performance out : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGLKD4M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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Picked one up yesterday and it is a great gaming laptop, it has a gsync compatible screen to boot. Planetside 2 and PubG with high settings the fps remain over 100 at the native 2560x1600 res. Stock memory is known to be meh and can gain 10-15% performance with better ram. I picked up the following kit to eek that performance out : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGLKD4M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Right on, congrats! I love the damn thing. The RAM is the only downside I could really find - I replaced it right away since I wanted 32GB anyway. The included SSD is serviceable but runs reallyyyyyyy hot compared to the 2TB I added.

I've been playing Amazon's new MMO - New World, and it runs great with maxed settings. Hard to believe a laptop holds up so well in gaming!
 
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I've got the legion 7 with 11800 and 3070 after my 4yr laptop took a crap. Surprised with the speed and 16:10 screen. With corporate discount, only cost 1.5k which was hard to pass.

Too bad i only dabble in photo editing and use laptop to pay billts etc.
 
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