Octopus Overlords

I’ve been having problems with my desktop pc on and off for the last 6 months or so. The big problem was the mouse cursor freezing and then the system. But once the system would start to boot up, get to the bios screen and then turn off, then restart and then continually do this in an endless loop. However, after a day, this went away. The cursor freeze and crash has continued, some weeks never happening, sometimes once or twice a day. But I have once again encountered the endless start and stop problem, all that to say, at this point, I just don.t want to deal with it anymore.

So now rather than my traditional desktop, I am interested in a gaming laptop. I know there are limitations, but the flexibly appeals to me, and I know they are a lot better than they used to be. I really would not be using the screen all that much - I want to be able to hook it up to my monitor, headset, wireless mouse, and regular keyboard. So are their people here using the gaming laptops? Any recommendation? What should I look for? Thanks.

PS I play all sorts of games - strategy, RPG, FPS.

I used to dream of a gaming laptop many years ago. At that time the Asus ones were king. Not sure now days but might be a place to start.

i know you didn't ask for troubleshooting info. however:

#1 issue here could be the power supply. replacing that might very well solve all the problems
#2 is to run MemChk for the RAM
#3 is to check leaking caps on the motherboard

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:47 pm i know you didn't ask for troubleshooting info. however:

#1 issue here could be the power supply. replacing that might very well solve all the problems
#2 is to run MemChk for the RAM
#3 is to check leaking caps on the motherboard

No problem, I appreciate it. After I have calmed down a bit, I decided to unplug it and open things up tonight and look at the power supply. Ran Memcheck when this first started and no problem there. Of course, can’t run it now since I can’t get into Windows. Thanks.

Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:29 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:47 pm i know you didn't ask for troubleshooting info. however:

#1 issue here could be the power supply. replacing that might very well solve all the problems
#2 is to run MemChk for the RAM
#3 is to check leaking caps on the motherboard

No problem, I appreciate it. After I have calmed down a bit, I decided to unplug it and open things up tonight and look at the power supply. Ran Memcheck when this first started and no problem there. Of course, can’t run it now since I can’t get into Windows. Thanks.

you can install MemTest86 to a flash drive, boot to it and run from there - no need to boot into Windows: https://www.memtest86.com/

So after letting it “rest”, my pc was able to restart. My pc has lifetime tech support so I called them. The tech believes it is a memory problem so he has me running Memtest86 which is a more powerful test than what I had run previously. Hopefully this is the problem because this would be a simple fix - just replacing the memory. Wish me luck.

To the question about gaming laptops, I’ve had two. I had an old MSI Dominator that I liked, but a few years after I got that, I had an opportunity to buy a top of the line Alienware and I regret nothing.

So Memtest revealed no errors with the memory and I ran it twice. The pc did crash this morning but was able to restart but I got a new message upon crashing "Machine Check Error" which definitely means a hardware problem. The next simplest option would be to replace the power supply and hope the problem goes away. If it doesn't then finding out what else could be wrong hardware wise is not easy based upon some reading I've done. I'd have to go into the PC and start monkeying around with a lot of stuff. I think the best "solution" if I can call it that, is run the PC until it won't restart or finally dies, and then just get a new one. That might be tomorrow or it might be 6 months from now. The machine is 4 years old, I don't want to put a lot of money/time/effort into it so I'll just take my stimulus money and get a gaming laptop when that time comes.

Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 7:39 pm lifetime tech support

make them fix it!

Guys what is wrong with you. Being male and gamers you should instantly notice the "Its futzed I need a new one" line. Doesn't matter if its the power cord or a ram dimm or if it just happened or you might have helped it happen its the excuse reason needed for a new system. My God folks. ) You know Trump wants us to buy new systems right? Its broke. Help the man find himself a new system!!

In all fun there ..But Id Google it if it was me. I can do it but Im not sure what you want other than 'best'. But I can give it a shot if you're sure it has to be a laptop. Also what is your hard capped budget?

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 1:17 pm

Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 7:39 pm lifetime tech support

make them fix it!

It's life time tech support, not a lifetime warranty, and it's out of warranty. Yes, they could try and walk me through every single possibility but again, I've researched the possible solutions and it's really more than I want to deal with. It could be the power supply, it could be the motherboard, it could be the power switch, it could be the CPU, it could be the video card and on and on and on. So, as Daehawk has noted, it's just time to get another PC

Just FWIW, I've gone with gaming laptops for the last 6 years or so and don't miss my workstation. For the last couple of years I've used an oversized ACER Predator. The gpu heats it up so that you do want a cooling pad. This particular model is just a bit too large to get comfortably in a backpack, but screen size has not been an issue.

Thanks, for the input. I've been reading about cooling pads (didn't realize that was a thing until recently) and will definitely get one when I grab the laptop. I really want the portability, the ability to take it on trips with me, or move around the house and do some stuff other than not playing games. Gaming laptops seem to have come a long way since they first started coming out so I am looking forward to when this PC dies

I used a cooling pad with the MSI, but don’t bother with the Alienware. Good gaming laptops focus a lot of attention on cooling.

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:03 amI used a cooling pad with the MSI, but don’t bother with the Alienware. Good gaming laptops focus a lot of attention on cooling.

Well sure they do, but IC's generate heat and swap (size, weight and power) means the heat has to go someplace. The first two Alienware systems that I bought (Pre-Dell) ran so hot they started me using the cooling pad (and convinced me that being on the bleeding edge wasn't where I was comfortable). You want a real gaming laptop then your gonna need the circuitry for a video card. That's where ....99% of the heat is from. Move out of the gaming laptop world and voila heat is no longer as much of an issue.

The flip side of this is battery life. WIth some vendors you can configure the number of batteries in the case. Longer battery life translates into an increase in weight and size. You might consider investing in a couple of charging transformers. One to keep where you regularly work and another moble one. I will certainly do that when I replace this beast.

I do still keep a desktop in the house as a server and cheap (sound) recording platform. I think I built that desktop two years ago and it's not even connected to my steam account. The laptop moves with me and if I'm on a non-work computer, then that's the one I'm on most of the time.

I got the MSI GE75 Raider with RTX 2060 card, 17" screen. Was $1580 and I love it. Got a cooling pad (Carantee brand) to go with...both from Amazon site, but sold by separate vendors.

Extremely happy with my purchase.

I've had an Alienware 17 for a few years and it's been pretty bulletproof. I haven't gotten a cooling pad because it hasn't even gotten warm enough that it's uncomfortable on my lap.

I used to hear Dell/Alienware had hinges that went bad. They'd replace them of course. Did any owners see that on OO?

Daehawk wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 12:26 am I used to hear Dell/Alienware had hinges that went bad. They'd replace them of course. Did any owners see that on OO?

I've not seen that issue on my 17 or my wife's 13.

Haven’t seen that on my 17 inch AW.

Good maybe they corrected it. I recall discussion on it like 5 years ago....there bouts.

Found a deal that's got me interested. And I definitely don't need another PC.

ASUS - ROG GU502GV 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 - 1TB SSD + Optane - Brushed Metallic Black

The open-box is only $1091 (for a laptop that will do ray tracing)

Pardon me while I co-opt the thread -

My daughter is starting high school in the fall and will need a laptop. She likes gaming as well. Does it make sense to spend more now to get a good gaming laptop with the idea that it might last her through part of college, or go with a cheaper one now and expect to buy another when she hits college?

Cheaper now.

Daughter #1 bought a boutique gaming type laptop with a hugely expensive warranty on it. Within 6 months she spilled a milkshake into it. Even with warranty the machine never really ran right. Part of that was the milkshake and part of it was that particular model just never ran right for anybody.

Daughter #2 went to wally world and bought a $600 laptop. She beat the tar out of it and when it died replaced it with another one. She ended up spending less than her sister.

Point being....students are hard on laptops. It's just the way of things. I would not put real money into something that's gonna regularly be carried in a backpack, but your circumstances may be different than mine.

Could always check that Dell Outlet.

I bought an asus ROG (holy crap 4 years ago!!?) and its still working like a champ. And amazingly still for sale although, you would probably want something newer than 4 years old. but I have only good things to say about it. I Still use it nearly every day, running modern games like borderlands 3, fallout 76, and Civ 6


there is a newer line, the ASUS TUF. And its getting pretty good reviews. the prices on the 2019 models are just under just about 1000 dollars, but the 2020 models with all the fixins can get up to near 2000 dollars.

My gaming desktop is of the similar age and has been pretty stable. I had a recent struggle where it would not post. I thought it was memory, but it turns out it was the network card. I was happy it was the $20 fix. The onboard network port died years ago due to an electrical event.

I bought an MSI GP65 Leopard for my daughter about a month ago and so far she's happy. I went with the MSI after my brother and both of his kids bought similar MSI models last year with good success.

I'm happy with my desktop with a 27" screen but I understand the appeal of portability if you're going to travel. I have a crummy $600 Dell "gaming" laptop that's sufficient to run WoW and MTG:A - good enough for the once or twice a year I leave the house for more than a day.

Thanks for all the suggestions! The idea that the kids are going to beat on it more than I expect was not really something I had considered for some reason. I'm still trying to figure out if it will be home or school learning, but I'll probably come back once I have some candidates.

I strongly suspect that for next year, if remote learning is widely used for children, they are going to need chromebooks.
My local district has already announced it, and some of my workmates say its happening for them as well in different places.
But if its provided by the school or not, really depends on the wealthiness of your local area.