Speaking of PC, does anyone have recommendations for gaming laptops? I know they're shit on compared to desktops but I don't have the space for a tower and want something I could easily move around/hook up to my TV to play on the couch sometimes. I would be uncomfortable as hell just gaming at my desk all the time. Was looking at lenovo legion 5 or something else below $1500
With computing, consumers have typically had to face the reality that you can get two of three, but not all three, of 1) reasonable price, 2) performance, and 3) portability.
-There are high performance laptops/desktop replacements that are in a more or less portable form factor, but you're going to pay through the nose for it. This often comes with proprietary cooling solutions and heatsinks and such. These are not very user friendly to build.
-You can get high performance and decent cost, but you're looking at a mid tower or full tower setup, especially one you build yourself. This is the build-it-yourself route.
-Alternatively, you can get computing at an affordable price and a compact form factor, but might have to sacrifice performance.
Some of those old rules aren't true anymore, especially if your definition of high performance is at the lower end. If you are gaming in 1080p and even most 1440p, you can still do very well with a RTX 2080 or 2070. At 4K, 30 series or 40 series starts to make a lot more sense. If you are wanting to use a modern TV, it gets more likely that you would like to game at 4K. Your budget might not allow for that, especially in a laptop sized package.
Jags has some great advice in general, and about laptops on the market. Much depends on whether you're going to use it as a laptop, for school work on the go, taking it to and from work a lot, carry it in a backpack, etc... or if it's mostly going to stay at home and get moved from the desk to the TV. A desktop replacement laptop is big and bulky and very heavy, with a substantial power brick that is big and heavy. You would not want to be lugging it around. They can fit quite a lot of power in there, but the back of those 'laptops' might 1 1/2 inches thick, with lots of cooling vents, tapering at the front to as much as an inch tall. True laptops meant for portability often try to be 1/2 inch thick at the front and back. Fitting power in there takes engineering and you see that in the price tag.
As mentioned, it comes down to how many different things you need this computer to do. You can buy a powerful computer at a good price that you are going to move from your PC gaming desk to the TV, and that's it. If so, then buy a big desktop replacement laptop or a PC that uses a small form factor case (some can be surprisingly compact, but not necessarily light). Set up a docking station in both locations.
If you want a PC that is a powerful gaming computer but is also light enough to carry around in a backpack or briefcase and take it to class or work, that adds up in price. Small, compact, nice feeling materials and very powerful for gaming? Easy. Buy a Razer Blade. It'll set you back $2500 to $3500.
If your budget is more like $1500, then you start looking at places to compromise. The most bang for your buck option is to build. or have someone help you build. You can build a SFF computer in a case that fits a mini ITX motherboard. Those PCs are only as large as is needed to fit modern graphics cards in there. A RTX 20 series card will only be two slots. Over time, three slot and four slot cards have been coming out, and they're also getting taller and longer. So you need to read up on the dimensions of possible cards when going this route.
If you buy a laptop, important factors include the following: Are you going to spend a lot of time using the physical aspects of this computer? Are you going to stare at its screen? Are you going to use its keyboard? Are you going to use its trackpad? There are lots of middling manufacturers that cram very good components into a crappy exterior. That's no problem if you are going to plug in a monitor/TV, keyboard and mouse. It's very important if you are going to use it as a laptop. Razer Blades are made from great materials and feel amazing to the touch. That only matters if you plan to use them as laptops, and they will charge you for those materials.
If you're not so adventurous as to build and you are looking to spend in the $1500 price range, look at Alienware X and M series, ASUS ROG Strix or Zephrus, Lenovo Legion, MSI Raider. That's a good place to start. You might consider the latest Intel NUC options too. Some are very compact and powerful, but I think the prices can climb fast.
I hope you changed motherboard too
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