Have a look at Infinity branded laptops. They're an Aussie rebrand of a Chinese OEM. Decent spec gaming laptops in the 1-3k range, subtle (IMO) design with the only RGB being in the keyboard. Intel or AMD, shipping with 40xx GPUs now. I got one from mwave about four years back and don't regret it.

I would suggest going to a store and trying out the demo model laptops IRL before buying. You can physically see things like weight, build quality, whether the screen is too reflective, whether the whole thing flexes, and get hands on experience of how fast it can run a web browser.

gotta say, your commitment to the “living in australia” bit is legendary. why the fuck would you do that to yourself?

Those games are gonna be pretty demanding for the 500 price range I can't think of a device that will play them reliably that doesn't have a decent discrete gpu that will almost always be over 1000.

You'd actually have a better chance buying a second hand ps5/xbox or series s and used ThinkPad.

Infact a series s and second hand thinkpad combo might honestly be the best bang for buck you can get. The thinkpad can easily do emu for most games up to gamecube at least and the console for high end stuff. Well other than final fantasy cos thats ps exclusive atm.

There are second hand ryzen thinkpads you can get with somewhat decent GPUs but i wouldn't recommend it for recent high end titles. Also thinkpad screens look like poo you wanna go for the ones with at least a fhd IPS display.

Also engaging with the second hand market has inherent risks associated with it.

If you want a more detailed recommendation list let me know

Does the laptop need to be what’s playing the games?

If you got a Chromebook for uni and an Xbox/PlayStation for gaming you’d be able to play all those games, have a shiny laptop for uni, and only be $1000 out of pocket.

Edit: I had a bit of a look around, JbHifi’s having a sale at the moment, you can get a new Chromebook for $250 and a new PlayStation for $570, or Big W sells a new XBox for $450.

You will get a lot more for your money if you buy refurbished. Get a device that's like 2 years old and is used or refurbished. There are websites for buying and selling refurbished electronics.

Have you considered a Steam Deck? Cheaper than a laptop and can play a good amount of modern games. You can get a dock for it to connect to a larger screen.

I was playing Miles Morales on it and it looked sounded and played great. Also did you know the processors are code named Arieth and Sephiroth?

I can play BG3 on it. It's functional. Looks....ok, but the fun with it is in the dialog. On PC you can mod the shit out of it too which you can then make everyone naked and big boned. 😉

But it you are looking to play on a laptop with all the bells ans whistles expect to be spending over $2,000 at least..and at that point you might as well get a full blown desktop.

Buy a framework laptop. The earlier gen models are <1000 and you can always upgrade in the future. Their intel core ultra laptops can solidly play baldurs gate III and their AMD models as well.

I'm looking at getting a refurbished laptop (basically show models/re-issued corporate laptops). My colleague recommended reboot-it dot com dot au. I think they're nation wide?

Edit: hm seems they're out of gaming laptops, but a couple other refurb sites do (pretty pricey) even if they're not 'new'

looks like an Alienware fucked a Cybertruck

😑 my computer is in this picture and I don't like it

Desktops are always going to be better bang for buck.

They are far easier to repair or replace parts with if something craps out, and you'll get more value for money and future-proofing with a PC. If you have the desk space, I'd recommend opting for a desktop gaming PC hands down.

With that and a stable network connection you'll be able to stream to a laptop that is lower specced. Or you can stream high-end games to a handheld unit like a Steam Deck.

Unless you're moving house a lot or you don't have permanent desk space, imo the best option is to invest in a desktop PC and then get a lightweight laptop, maybe a Chromebook or similar that offers you basic functionality with good battery life (maybe running Linux if you are so inclined) either one that has specs to handle Steam Link, if you want the flexibility that gaming using a laptop offers, or whatever covers your basic portable computing needs. Then get a Steam Deck or ROG Ally or similar if you really want go all-in on portable gaming (especially if you wait a while for the Steam Deck 2 release which should cause the price of the original to drop.)

Overall that would be a lot of money to drop on IT gear but you don't have to do it all at once and for the price of a good gaming laptop you could get a decent gaming PC and a cheaper laptop that will be better all-round.

Also recommending desktop and laptop separately

Alternatively set up an alert on ozbargain while waiting for a 4060 to be discounted when the 50xx series is closer to release

Wow I'm excited dirtowl is getting a new gaming system

I'm in the same boat. This beast is now 10 years old and despite getting a 64gb ram upgrade it seems I have to get a whole new motherboard and everything now to keep up.

Still runs RDR2 on pretty damn good settings but intensively modded multiplayer servers are just a no go. Also can't play the new Armored Core which is my main motivation.

Buy a steam deck, no cheaper gaming laptop out there!