Laptop Suggestion

[Yunas13]

Hey everyone,

long time no see. I need some advice on laptop brands and I thought maybe my fellow FFXIV community could help me.

 

I know I need at least a GTX 970/980 graphics card as my desktop has GeForce GTX 970 graphics card and FFXIV runs at 60fps. I've not bought a laptop in 9 YEARS and what I picked back then was an Asus. The graphics card burned out several years ago but the laptop itself runs perfectly. I've looked on Best Buy and on Amazon but I'm still unsure of what to look for that can run FFXIV just as smoothly as my desktop does.

 

I need something that can handle A LOT of gaming as I will quite possibly be using it either for evenings with the family or for trips when I go out of town.

 

For those that have laptops what you would suggest I look at? I need to save my funds so just looking for the time being.

 

Thank you kindly!

[Sylentmana]

I ordered this one from NewEgg and it runs FFXIV on the highest settings with no problems. Keep in mind, though, that I haven't tested it in highly congested areas like hunts or Idleshire. I would highly recommend it.

 

http://www.asus.com/us/site/g-series/

[Branson Thorne]

Are you sold specifically on a laptop?

 

EDIT: Sorry I skimmed over the subject, ignore this.

[Jonexe]

I have a Sager and highly recommend it both for quality and their customer service. They come with no bloatware installed, the frames are very well built, they have some of the better heat dissipation methods I've seen for laptops (mine has 2, rear exhaust fans), and the sales reps seem to actually give a damn that you get exactly what you want (instead of what they want to sell you). 

 

On thing to keep in mind, since you specifically mention graphics cards, is for Nvidia the 'M', or mobile, series of cards is not the same thing as their desktop cards. They are weaker and more subject to issues with heat. That said, my Sager plays 14 at 60fps just fine with a 770m, though I don't max out the settings.

 

Edit: Link! http://www.sagernotebook.com/home.php

[Unnamed Mercenary]

As said in the post above, mobile GPUs are a bit different than desktop ones.

 

Do you have a preferred resolution you play the game in?

 

What about graphics settings? If you're trying to run FFXIV at max with all the pretty things on, a laptop isn't going to have a good time doing that. Especially if you play anything with a "retina" or HD+ screen size (anything about 1920x1080).

 

For the most part, most laptops with say, a 960m or better will probably run the game just fine at 1080p and standard-ish settings. Super populated areas would naturally slow them down.

 

 

How much do the following aspects of a laptop concern you?

• Price
  
• Screen size (inches/centimeters)
  
• Screen Resolution (1080p? HD+?, QHD?, QHD+?, 4k?)
  
• Thickness
  
• Heat output
  
• Operating System (You likely won't be finding anything with Windows 7 anymore, so it's gonna be 8.1 with a free upgrade to 10 or Windows 10 from the get-go.)
  

[Yunas13]

I've been eyeing this one. Do you think it would be the best laptop to use for FFXIV? 

 

http://www.amazon.com/G751JY-DB72-17-3-Inch-Gaming-GeForce-Graphics/dp/B00YR6BNVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447620468&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+gtx+980+gaming+laptop 

 

I love Asus and my old laptop is still going just the video card burned out because I played on i so much. I would mainly use it for nights my parents wants me to watch TV with them and that is a lot during the week.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

"Best" is a pretty subjective word. That thing should run the game on max just fine unless you're FATE grinding and everyone limitbreaks and casts flare or something.

 

At 17 inches, the screen's pretty big for a laptop, but this is a desktop-replacement category machine. Just be sure to have a desk or something to put it on, because it's gonna get hot and heavy. If you're planning for prolonged gaming, I'd almost recommend getting another keyboard to use, as the base of the computer will probably get a little hot to the touch, depending on cooling.

[Jonexe]

The laptop you posted will preform quite well indeed; though it seems to be completely overkill in terms of Ram.

 

I would suggest this one personally as an alternative:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Gaming-Notebook-NP8678-S.html

 

Less ram, similar processor, but more video ram and customizable. It's slightly cheaper than the current sale price for the one you linked.

 

As stated above, though, both of these are essentially desktop replacements. Your lap is going to be on fire if you pump those settings up too high. Additionally, both of them are going to have terrible battery performance while gaming at those high settings.

 

For what you want to do, I think something like this would do very well:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Gaming-Notebook-NP8657-S.html

 

Smaller, lighter, slightly less powerful, and much cheaper. This is essentially what I have with two-years-newer hardware and it runs FF14 wonderfully.

[Jonexe]

Edit: Double post, meant to edit the above!

[Aysun]

Not sure what your budget is, but I have this guy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233078

 

It. Is. Amazing.