Debating to keep my current Clevo or invest in a newer Maxwell laptop

So I've been thinking over the past few weeks whether or not to replace my current Clevo (NP8170) with perhaps a 17.3" Maxwell Clevo. The only games I really play these days are Dota 2, CS:S, Team Fortress 2, maybe some SC2. Honestly the Clevo is really thick and heavy, I don't really move it around alot. I did buy it used, and it hasn't really given me trouble besides the screen (has some bright spots, but works). I'm assuming like an 860M can play all the games I currently play at 1080p with no issues, but I'm not convinced whether to plop maybe a few hundred dollars to get a new laptop that is thinner, runs cooler, and has newer Haswell processors. I don't feel like I have to have a laptop with an MXM slot given how powerful mid range Nvidia cards are now? Worth it or not worth losing sleep over? I HAVE to have a 17.3" screen as I can't stand high resolution in 15.6", makes my eyes go blargh. I love the MSI Stealth Pro, but honestly I can't justify a 1600 dollar laptop to play games that a 700-800 dollar laptop can run..

My current Clevo specs: i7-2670QM, 16 GB RAM, Radeon 6990M, 1080p 17.3", 240 GB Crucial M500 SSD.

I'm thinking about the Sager NP7378 (Clevo W370SS).

 

I'd say keep it...this 6990M eventually will fail...when that time comes then buy a new laptop!

 

There are plenty of posts and threads about Maxwell. So, I won't go into that. But it's coming soon.

Consider the fact that there's a good chance Pascal and Skylake are going to require a new motherboard. Anything you buy now or through 2015 won't be upgradeable. I'm not sure how important this is to you, but if it is, then I wouldn't purchase anything now.

 

Well I haven't had any BSOD/crashes yet. It gets quite hot but it's an AMD card. I think the Alienware 6970M/6990M have a much higher failure rate. Honestly I'm not even thinking about it failing, but it's a valid point. And I'd prefer to sell it before it goes kaput.

I am considering Maxwell because I like the performance I am seeing, as well as the power consumption as well as having an AC adapter that doesn't need to weigh 2 pounds or output 220Ws. A new computer isn't necessary at this point, that's why I was just weighing my options. I would like for the higher end Maxwell cars to come out, then the mid range ones should drop a bit.

 

Maybe just upgrade your CPU and GPU, then hold out until 2016 when Skylake and Pascal hit the market to buy a new laptop? The 2960XM and 7970M are about $300 each. The 7970M should perform about 40% better than the 6990M.

 

40%? Try 80%.

 

Even better. I don't know older AMD cards well. A quick Google search brought up 40%.

 

Your setup is still pretty strong. Just wait for the better Maxwell chips to drop, then buy your brand new laptop.

 

Are you satisfied with the performance you have now? If yes then there's no reason to upgrade. Besides the fact that your Clevo may not be able to run the newest Maxwell cards without a BIOS mod from Prema.

 

This. It's silly to get on the upgrade treadmill if you're happy with your current performance. From what I know of those games, I don't think I'd see any reason to upgrade from what you have now. Haswell would be a modest upgrade at best, and your graphics card is probably already more than powerful enough for those games, right? Unless perhaps external monitors are in play.

The thickness and heaviness I'd only consider to be an issue if you don't move it around because it's heavy. If you wouldn't move it around much anyway, there's no benefit to a lighter machine. And if it really is mobility that's the reason to consider upgrading, and not performance, it might be better to go with something lighter, smaller, and less powerful for mobility, and keep what you have now for performance. Perhaps a 14" or 15" laptop with a midrange card.

And even if the 6990M has a relatively high failure rate, that doesn't necessarily mean yours will fail. By all statistics my laptop's GPU should've failed years ago, yet it's still going strong. You might also have an unusually good GPU for the model it is.

On the whole, though, it sounds kind of like you're looking for a reason to upgrade and rationalize the expenditure. Unfortunately you'll have to look to someone else to provide that!

 

I concur. The 6990m is a pretty strong card. Hold out for another 9-12 months and you'll be happier.

 

Yup for those games you don't need to upgrade... Keep using it as long as you can and when you need it, spend the cash...