Need new laptop advice

[cemmerts]

I'll try to be brief...I'm new to the forum, happy to have a place to ask a question. I know very little about computers and gaming. I love the old games (Doom, Command and conquer, Warcraft, starcraft....). I have a mac right now and it can't practically run these games. I want a windows based computer that can. I always envied Alienware when i was younger, so that is what I want. 95% of the usage will be these older games, Microsoft word and excel, paying bills online and web surfing. I may one day decide to download and play a newer, more demanding game. I'll probably get an external monitor and mouse and all as well. I know that a new Alienware is probably overkill, but it's a childhood desire. I'm just afraid that I will pay thousands for a computer that isn't "compatible" with these games. I don't trust the 17 yo at bestbuy. Can someone give me some general direction? If you could just simply post a link and say " this will do everything you want." that would be greatly appreciated! I do also need a webcam as I have a zoom conference that I have to do in early october, but that is the only extracurricular outside of what I already mentioned. Thank you! in advance!

 

[ZedClampet]

I'll try to be brief...I'm new to the forum, happy to have a place to ask a question. I know very little about computers and gaming. I love the old games (Doom, Command and conquer, Warcraft, starcraft....). I have a mac right now and it can't practically run these games. I want a windows based computer that can. I always envied Alienware when i was younger, so that is what I want. 95% of the usage will be these older games, Microsoft word and excel, paying bills online and web surfing. I may one day decide to download and play a newer, more demanding game. I'll probably get an external monitor and mouse and all as well. I know that a new Alienware is probably overkill, but it's a childhood desire. I'm just afraid that I will pay thousands for a computer that isn't "compatible" with these games. I don't trust the 17 yo at bestbuy. Can someone give me some general direction? If you could just simply post a link and say " this will do everything you want." that would be greatly appreciated! I do also need a webcam as I have a zoom conference that I have to do in early october, but that is the only extracurricular outside of what I already mentioned. Thank you! in advance!

I think it would be better if you posted a link to a couple you were looking at. I don't really want to pick out someone's computer for them.

Just glancing at the Alienware laptops that came up for Best Buy, they would all play any game. Of course, some are more future-proof than others. But it really just depends on your budget and if you think you really might want to play newer games at some point.

The ones that have the Nvidia 3060 GPU are beginning to show their age a little. If you have the budget, you want one with a 40XX GPU. There's no sense in buying a new gaming laptop with a last generation graphics card unless you just can't afford anything better. But given that you are coming from Macs, I assume you are used to spending a few thousand on a laptop, so look for the ones that have a 4070, 4080, or 4090 in them. The higher the better. And if they have a TI after the number, that puts them in between. For instance, a 4070 TI would be better than a regular 4070, but not quite as good (usually) as a 4080. The only time you might prefer the lower level TI version to the next tier up would be if it had more VRAM.

Anyway, pick a couple out. I'll be glad to discuss them with you.

Also, Alienware is pretty reliable, but these aren't Apple products. You probably want to consider buying the extended warranty.

 

[Brian Boru]

Welcome to the forum

I'll probably get an external monitor and mouse

Does that imply you're asking about a laptop? Or just that you want more than the box?

Alienware do desktop and laptop, I've had their laptop and currently have their desktop.

I know very little about computers and gaming

You may have issues getting 90s games to run on Windows 11, but we should be able to help you with that—it's generally a case of 'running in compatibility mode', if you want to do prior research.

I don't trust the 17 yo at bestbuy

Sounds like you're in USA?
Any preferred retailers apart from BestBuy?
What's your budget, excluding the extras like monitor etc?

 

[ZedClampet]

Does that imply you're asking about a laptop?

*nudges and points at thread title*

I've had one of their laptops, and it was built quite a bit better than the others that I have had with the possible exception of my current HP. Did you have any problems with yours? My only problem was that my wife kept tripping over the power cable until both the cable and internal connector had to be replaced.

 

[Brian Boru]

*nudges and points at thread title*

🤦‍♂️ Oops, had an Australian moment there 🙃

Did you have any problems with yours?

None. It was ~18 months old when I bought it 2nd-hand for $1,800 as a desktop replacement while moving around for a while. I attached 2 TVs plus KB & M, and it was all good. In hindsight I might as well have got a mid-tower, but oh well.

I used it for 2 years and then passed it onto GF, who used it for another 3 years before one of the video cards failed. So rock solid for 6-7 years use.

Note that many of the Alienware guys moved on after Dell bought them—they founded Origin, which was later bought by Corsair. Today's Alienware may be a different animal to the iconic brand of old.

 

[cemmerts]

Thanks for the replies! There is no specific model I’m looking at, basically because I don’t know what all the hardware options mean. But now I have some direction. I’ll look for a 4070-4090 GPU. I’ll probably also be look for a 14 inch vs 16 inch monitor. I favor the 14 as I will probably get an external monitor and not really use the laptop monitor unless I’m not home or something.

In regards to retailers. I’m not bias towards Best Buy, they are just the only computer place in town. I’m not against ordering online either.

For budget, I don’t have one. I just don’t want to be to wasteful.

 

[cemmerts]

On dells website, I put together an x14 with i7 13620H CPU, NVIDIA 4060, 32gb ram, 1Tb ssd. Basically the best options on the x14 that it would let me select. The 4070 -4090 GPUs weren't offered. It’s only $1800.

Alternatively, the 16” with an i9 13900 HK CPU, 4070 GPU, 32G ram, 1T SSD for $2500, can go up to 4080 GPU for 2950, 4090 GPU for 3300.

Only reason I was leaning toward 14” was because I will primarily use an external Monitor, but if the recommendation is strong to go with the better hardware of the 16, it’s not that big of a deal.

Let me know what you guys think about these. Thanks

 

[ZedClampet]

On dells website, I put together an x14 with i7 13620H CPU, NVIDIA 4060, 32gb ram, 1Tb ssd. Basically the best options on the x14 that it would let me select. The 4070 -4090 GPUs weren't offered. It’s only $1800.

Alternatively, the 16” with an i9 13900 HK CPU, 4070 GPU, 32G ram, 1T SSD for $2500, can go up to 4080 GPU for 2950, 4090 GPU for 3300.

Only reason I was leaning toward 14” was because I will primarily use an external Monitor, but if the recommendation is strong to go with the better hardware of the 16, it’s not that big of a deal.

Let me know what you guys think about these. Thanks

As far as the games you mentioned, all of those would be fine. They would also easily run any new games at 1080p resolution.

However, the 8 GB of VRAM on the 4060 wouldn't be optimal for some new games especially at resolutions over FHD. It would run them, but it might struggle a little, and you might have to play with the graphics options some.

So the real question is whether you are going to eventually want to run more demanding games at higher resolutions. If you are considering 2k or 4k resolutions, I'd go bigger, the bigger the better. So basically, all of them will work. It just depends on how exactly you want to use them.

 

[cemmerts]

As far as the games you mentioned, all of those would be fine. They would also easily run any new games at 1080p resolution.

However, the 8 GB of VRAM on the 4060 wouldn't be optimal for some new games especially at resolutions over FHD. It would run them, but it might struggle a little, and you might have to play with the graphics options some.

So the real question is whether you are going to eventually want to run more demanding games at higher resolutions. If you are considering 2k or 4k resolutions, I'd go bigger, the bigger the better. So basically, all of them will work. It just depends on how exactly you want to use them.

Is the 4070 8gb going to be different than the 4060 8gb?

 

[cemmerts]

As far as the games you mentioned, all of those would be fine. They would also easily run any new games at 1080p resolution.

However, the 8 GB of VRAM on the 4060 wouldn't be optimal for some new games especially at resolutions over FHD. It would run them, but it might struggle a little, and you might have to play with the graphics options some.

So the real question is whether you are going to eventually want to run more demanding games at higher resolutions. If you are considering 2k or 4k resolutions, I'd go bigger, the bigger the better. So basically, all of them will work. It just depends on how exactly you want to use them.

I don’t think I answered the question before. I think it’s unlikely that I will play any newer more demanding games anytime soon. Most of what I will do will just be the old guys. I just don’t have the time with my lifestyle to get to heavy into gaming.

 

[ZedClampet]

I don’t think I answered the question before. I think it’s unlikely that I will play any newer more demanding games anytime soon. Most of what I will do will just be the old guys. I just don’t have the time with my lifestyle to get to heavy into gaming.

Then the 14 inch should be fine.