Hi all, I have decided to upgrade from my current G14 (Ryzen 9, 16gb Memory, RTX 2060 Max-Q) which is starting to slow down. I plan to mainly use the new one plugged in at home (mostly for demanding games), and have my old one as a beater that I can take around for class/work and not worry too much about. I currently am looking into a few options, and I’ll list them out below (not including tax). They are all 1TB storage and I do not care about screen size/portability.

  1. $1750 for a NEW 2024 G14, Ryzen 9 8945HS, 32gb memory, RTX 4070.
  2. $2200 for an OPEN BOX 2023 G14, Ryzen 9 7940HS, 16gb memory, RTX 4080. I would probably upgrade the memory to 32gb down the line.
  3. $2300 for a NEW 2023 M16, Intel Core i9, 16gb memory, RTX 4080. I would probably upgrade the memory to 32gb down the line.
  4. $2700 for a NEW 2024 G16, Intel Core Ultra 9, 32gb memory, RTX 4080.

These are all within my budget but of course I’d like to save money where I can, so I guess I need help understanding what is the best bang for my buck. For example: Is the better performance of the 4080 worth these jumps in price over the 4070 for my situation? Is the premium build of the 2024 laptops worth the higher prices/settling for a 4070? Is it alright to blind buy the OPEN BOX from Best Buy (I can only ship it, and can’t check it out before) or should I play it safe and buy it new? How big is the difference in performance going to be for these options when compared to my current G14?

I would greatly appreciate any insight, thank you!!!