For better or worse, gaming laptops can put a hurt on your wallet. Often, that means those of us constrained to a budget have to make some trade-offs to get a system that satisfies both our budgets and our games. Forum member, Oliver_66 is in just such a predicament.
They're currently on the hunt for a 15- or 17-inch gaming laptop with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU for under $1,700. However, Oliver_66 has also expressed an interest in the HP Omen.
Finding a 1070 system at Oliver's asking price is going to be a little tricky. But never let it be said that I don't enjoy a challenge. I managed to track down a few systems that meet the criteria.
First up, we've got the HP Omen 17. Priced at $1,799, this system earned Laptop Mag's coveted Editors' Choice award due to the machine's great performance and vibrant 4K display. The model we reviewed has a 6th-Generation 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor with 16GB of RAM, but HP has recently refreshed the system with a 7th-Gen Core i7-7700HQ CPU.
Everything else, including the 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD and all-important Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM remains the same. That means this notebook can play most games on high settings without any unsightly stuttering. It's also a strong productivity machine and has lightning-fast transfer speeds, and it can support virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The Omen 17 is a little more expensive than what Oliver_66's looking to pay, but not so much that it shouldn't be considered.
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The Alienware 15 is also a great option. I reviewed several iterations of the laptop, including one with an overclocked Core i7 CPU. But to stay close to Oliver_66's budget, I'm going to recommend that Oliver_66 swap out the GTX 1060 GPU on the $1,449 iteration for a 1070 card, which will bring the final cost to $1,799. Again, it's a little over budget, but you get the desired GPU, with a powerful Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB 7,200-rpm hard drive and a lovely 1080p display.
Last, but not least, there's the Acer Predator 15. Currently, priced at $1,649, it's not the prettiest gaming laptop I've ever seen, but it's got plenty of soft-touch finish. The Predator 15 has a last-gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a pair of 256GB SSDs in RAID 0 configuration, a 1TB hard drive and a 1070 GPU. The system also has a 1920 x 1080 display with Nvidia G-Sync technology, which should ensure smooth graphics no matter how high the settings are.
If Oliver_66 can stand to wait a few weeks, they might want to check out the new thin-and-light gaming laptops set to debut from Asus, MSI, Acer, Aorus and Clevo. Thanks to Nvidia's Max-Q design, thin-and-light gaming laptops will soon be packing GTX 1070 GPUs and in some cases, 1080s. MSI's Stealth Pro, one of the thinnest gaming laptops out there, will soon be available with an Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU. There's no word on pricing just yet, but this machine is worth keeping in mind.
