Slightly Quarky
Solid State Member
- Messages
- 16
- Location
- UAE
Hello folks!
Just like to ask for some opinions about gaming laptops I've found, but I'm also open to any suggestions people may have.
To start off with, lemme just describe what I want out of the laptop, as sort of a baseline. I'll put in bold and underline the key bits for those that don't want to have to read everything.
This laptop is going to get me through the first few years of university, so it can't be insanely heavy but at the same time I don't want something ultra-thin and ultra-portable because I don't mind lugging something around sometimes, it's mostly going to be plugged in on a desk or my lap. A top bracket of about 3.5kg would be the limit I'd say.
Also, I'd prefer a 15.6" screen. It's almost a perfect size for me, 14 is too small for both general use and gaming for me, and whilst 17+ is okay, I feel that at that point it'd get too heavy to be a bit portable. I'm open to 17" screens, but unless there's something insanely amazing about a 17" laptop, I'd prefer to stick to 15.6".
First and foremost, the laptop is going to be used for gaming. I'll also be watching a lot of high-def shows, and of course researching/writing essays etc. But mostly I want the laptop to be able to play new games at high settings well, not a normal media laptop which can play the odd game at lowest settings.
I also realize that a lot of gaming laptops can have issues with cooling, and though I probably won't be gaming with the laptop on my lap, I would prefer something that wasn't as hot as the surface of the sun, or at least that heat was only localized to the fan exhausts.
I don't really care much for the speakers or microphone of the laptop itself, I'm most likely going to use a decent headset with it, but if it does have decent audio I wouldn't mind.
I would like at least 8gb of ram, something upwards of 12gb would be nice, but not necessary.
In terms of display, like I said, a 15.6" screen is ideal, in 1080p. I don't care much for 3K or 4K displays right now, mainly because I probably won't be able to run games in that resolution with a decent framerate (unless someone can prove me wrong). I will be watching full HD shows and such with it, so a decent monitor would be nice, but I don't really have the need for wide viewing angles or anything.
I'm pretty flexible on storage. I'd like a lot of space, like a 1TB + HDD, but again, it doesn't matter as much. An SSD isn't required, because I know they bump up prices, but I'm open to having one. Probably a hybrid system with HDD and SSD would probably be best, but again, I'm flexible to storage options.
A few other misc things: A backlit keyboard would be really nice, and the keyboard itself should be nice to type on, since I'll be doing a lot of writing, so some good tactile feedback and a nice feel would be nice but not essential. Basically, I want a decent keyboard. I also don't really care about the size of the laptop in terms of thickness or much in aesthetics, as long as the internals are sound I couldn't care less about the look of the thing. I don't care much for the touchpad either. Some basic functionality would be nice on the go for non-gaming things, but I'd mostly be using a mouse when gaming. Also I don't need an optical drive of any sort really.
My price range is around $1500. I could go up to around 1800, it's kind of flexible, but I don't want to be paying for a brand (like alienware), and I definitely don't want to break the 2000 barrier.
So now we come to the laptops I've 'shortlisted'. I'll give a link to the model as a title and then just sort of summarize my views on it below.
MSI GT60 Dominator Model-423
Probably tied first with the Lenovo Y50 that I'll be linking next, the specs of it look pretty dang decent, and the steelseries keyboard has me especially hooked. I've had trouble finding the Pro variant of the GT60 that doesn't have a 3K display that ships within the US. Also, this is the 423 model, the 424 model is identical, just with 4gb less RAM and a 100 dollar difference. Obviously it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing, but I don't mind much if the internals can live up to gaming. Some people have said that there are heating/fan noise issues with this, as well as the other MSI models I'll be listing.
Lenovo Y50 Model-59421855
I had probably the highest hopes for this when I first started off, it seemed too good to be true, with the specs that that model had for the relatively low price advertised. The only falling point I can find for it is the apparent 'bad' screen, which a fair few people have commented on. So some opinion on it would be nice.
MSI GE60 Apache Pro Model-003
Sort of the most budget laptop on my list, but the specs still look pretty decent. Same as the GT-60 really, just a few steps down apparently. Fan/heating issues crop up with a few user reviews.
MSI GS60 Ghost Pro
This or the normal Ghost, as they both are relatively similar but the Pro has a step up in terms of GPU, the 870M whilst the regular has a 860M, but oddly enough the normal has 16gb of RAM, the Pro version only has 12. Not a deal breaker or anything, just weird in my eyes.
This one is probably the lightest of all I've seen, and predictably it has the most people saying there are big heating/fan noise issues. Potentially a deal breaker, idk. Seems to be competing for the 'thinnest, lightest, most powerful' title. Like I said, I don't care as much for those first two.
Gigabyte P35W V2
An interesting find. It's got pretty dang good specs, but I haven't actually found much good information about it (and any potential flaws). PCAdvisor heralded it (or the similar but slightly less powerful P35G V2 as their best gaming laptop, but I'd like a few opinions on this one.
So that's pretty much it for now. I'll update the list with potential suggestions and my own opinion in addition to replying to that person's post. Note, that I'm not looking to buy it ASAP, probably in about a month's time in mid-late august, or early sept, so if there are any new releases by that time that people are anticipating or something, please tell me so I can keep my eye out.
Thanks for reading this far! I know it's a wall of text, I apologize for that, but I want to make the most informed decision I can.
Just like to ask for some opinions about gaming laptops I've found, but I'm also open to any suggestions people may have.
To start off with, lemme just describe what I want out of the laptop, as sort of a baseline. I'll put in bold and underline the key bits for those that don't want to have to read everything.
This laptop is going to get me through the first few years of university, so it can't be insanely heavy but at the same time I don't want something ultra-thin and ultra-portable because I don't mind lugging something around sometimes, it's mostly going to be plugged in on a desk or my lap. A top bracket of about 3.5kg would be the limit I'd say.
Also, I'd prefer a 15.6" screen. It's almost a perfect size for me, 14 is too small for both general use and gaming for me, and whilst 17+ is okay, I feel that at that point it'd get too heavy to be a bit portable. I'm open to 17" screens, but unless there's something insanely amazing about a 17" laptop, I'd prefer to stick to 15.6".
First and foremost, the laptop is going to be used for gaming. I'll also be watching a lot of high-def shows, and of course researching/writing essays etc. But mostly I want the laptop to be able to play new games at high settings well, not a normal media laptop which can play the odd game at lowest settings.
I also realize that a lot of gaming laptops can have issues with cooling, and though I probably won't be gaming with the laptop on my lap, I would prefer something that wasn't as hot as the surface of the sun, or at least that heat was only localized to the fan exhausts.
I don't really care much for the speakers or microphone of the laptop itself, I'm most likely going to use a decent headset with it, but if it does have decent audio I wouldn't mind.
I would like at least 8gb of ram, something upwards of 12gb would be nice, but not necessary.
In terms of display, like I said, a 15.6" screen is ideal, in 1080p. I don't care much for 3K or 4K displays right now, mainly because I probably won't be able to run games in that resolution with a decent framerate (unless someone can prove me wrong). I will be watching full HD shows and such with it, so a decent monitor would be nice, but I don't really have the need for wide viewing angles or anything.
I'm pretty flexible on storage. I'd like a lot of space, like a 1TB + HDD, but again, it doesn't matter as much. An SSD isn't required, because I know they bump up prices, but I'm open to having one. Probably a hybrid system with HDD and SSD would probably be best, but again, I'm flexible to storage options.
A few other misc things: A backlit keyboard would be really nice, and the keyboard itself should be nice to type on, since I'll be doing a lot of writing, so some good tactile feedback and a nice feel would be nice but not essential. Basically, I want a decent keyboard. I also don't really care about the size of the laptop in terms of thickness or much in aesthetics, as long as the internals are sound I couldn't care less about the look of the thing. I don't care much for the touchpad either. Some basic functionality would be nice on the go for non-gaming things, but I'd mostly be using a mouse when gaming. Also I don't need an optical drive of any sort really.
My price range is around $1500. I could go up to around 1800, it's kind of flexible, but I don't want to be paying for a brand (like alienware), and I definitely don't want to break the 2000 barrier.
So now we come to the laptops I've 'shortlisted'. I'll give a link to the model as a title and then just sort of summarize my views on it below.
MSI GT60 Dominator Model-423
Probably tied first with the Lenovo Y50 that I'll be linking next, the specs of it look pretty dang decent, and the steelseries keyboard has me especially hooked. I've had trouble finding the Pro variant of the GT60 that doesn't have a 3K display that ships within the US. Also, this is the 423 model, the 424 model is identical, just with 4gb less RAM and a 100 dollar difference. Obviously it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing, but I don't mind much if the internals can live up to gaming. Some people have said that there are heating/fan noise issues with this, as well as the other MSI models I'll be listing.
Lenovo Y50 Model-59421855
I had probably the highest hopes for this when I first started off, it seemed too good to be true, with the specs that that model had for the relatively low price advertised. The only falling point I can find for it is the apparent 'bad' screen, which a fair few people have commented on. So some opinion on it would be nice.
MSI GE60 Apache Pro Model-003
Sort of the most budget laptop on my list, but the specs still look pretty decent. Same as the GT-60 really, just a few steps down apparently. Fan/heating issues crop up with a few user reviews.
MSI GS60 Ghost Pro
This or the normal Ghost, as they both are relatively similar but the Pro has a step up in terms of GPU, the 870M whilst the regular has a 860M, but oddly enough the normal has 16gb of RAM, the Pro version only has 12. Not a deal breaker or anything, just weird in my eyes.
This one is probably the lightest of all I've seen, and predictably it has the most people saying there are big heating/fan noise issues. Potentially a deal breaker, idk. Seems to be competing for the 'thinnest, lightest, most powerful' title. Like I said, I don't care as much for those first two.
Gigabyte P35W V2
An interesting find. It's got pretty dang good specs, but I haven't actually found much good information about it (and any potential flaws). PCAdvisor heralded it (or the similar but slightly less powerful P35G V2 as their best gaming laptop, but I'd like a few opinions on this one.
So that's pretty much it for now. I'll update the list with potential suggestions and my own opinion in addition to replying to that person's post. Note, that I'm not looking to buy it ASAP, probably in about a month's time in mid-late august, or early sept, so if there are any new releases by that time that people are anticipating or something, please tell me so I can keep my eye out.
Thanks for reading this far! I know it's a wall of text, I apologize for that, but I want to make the most informed decision I can.
. Only a few people (including me) have one 
.
