PC Gaming, Writing, and Laptops

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CoffeeBeans

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I thought about posting up in Tech, but I think you folks will feel me on this one.

I've always had one all-purpose laptop - games, writing, work, etc. Way back when Sims 3 came out, I upgraded a struggling Toshiba (the power connector was crazy-glued in place, etc) to a nice new Dell.

Fast-forward a lot of years, and a few pretty bad dings and scratches, and I'm back in the market for a laptop. I want something that can run Sims 4 well, and something I want to write on, and something that will survive to Sims 5.

I'm starting to find that these wants might be incompatible. For example, I type dvorak, and hate numpads on laptops when I'm writing. Almost every laptop strong enough to make it on the gaming side of things has a numpad. I'm debating a chromebook or something, reserved for writing, but I don't know a lot of people who love them. I also don't know if two laptops will improve this situation.

Do you game and write on the same laptop? (if you use a laptop)
Is my numpad hatred unreasonable?
Do you have a laptop you love?
 

robjvargas

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It sounds like you're looking at large-screened laptops, 17". A lot of professionals buy those, and the numpad is important for them. Do you really need that big a screen for a laptop? No, I'll retract that. I just went looking for laptops, and found many 15"-ers with numpad. Hmm. Relatively new trend, that.

My Lenovo Yoga 13-incher has played both StarCraft II releases without a hiccup so far. Not sure how that compares to Sims.

I think any PC that runs your games will be fine for writing, with exceptions. But I also think that, depending on your expectations, you may find a gaming laptop and a Chromebook/netbook for writing for less than the price of "one laptop to rule them all."

:D

Ahem. Anyway, I've always been very happy with Lenovo laptops. I think I'd recommend a laptop with an Intel i-7 CPU and NVidia graphics processor. For Lenovo, that's expensive. $1000 expensive. Ouch.

But I dropped a business ThinkPad off a food court table once, and it didn't even lose power from the drop, nor ever show signs of reduced performance. Nor has Lenovo ever given me the least friction on replacing under warranty (I always buy manufacturer warranty, and accidental damage).
 

hoarder

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Can't go wrong with the Lenovo, and I recommend you to try the Lenovo Y50
Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4 GHz Processor
8 GB DDR3 RAM; 1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive; 8 GB Solid-State Drive
Discrete NVIDIA GTX-860M 2G Graphics
15.6-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display
Windows 8.1, 4-hour battery life
 

CoffeeBeans

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It sounds like you're looking at large-screened laptops, 17". A lot of professionals buy those, and the numpad is important for them. Do you really need that big a screen for a laptop? No, I'll retract that. I just went looking for laptops, and found many 15"-ers with numpad. Hmm. Relatively new trend, that.

Right? exactly. I don't want num-pads, but anything that's particularly gaming-oriented will have one.

I think any PC that runs your games will be fine for writing, with exceptions. But I also think that, depending on your expectations, you may find a gaming laptop and a Chromebook/netbook for writing for less than the price of "one laptop to rule them all."
This is the way I'm leaning, but it just makes me think I'm being too picky.

Can't go wrong with the Lenovo, and I recommend you to try the Lenovo Y50
Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4 GHz Processor
8 GB DDR3 RAM; 1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive; 8 GB Solid-State Drive
Discrete NVIDIA GTX-860M 2G Graphics
15.6-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display
Windows 8.1, 4-hour battery life

Yes, please? Though it's got a num pad, which makes me batty. At least it isn't huge. Maybe I'll just keep using mine until it falls well and truly apart. The longer I go without playing the game, the more writing I get done... ;)
 
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