Replacing my Alienware M18x.. with something lighter

[ShadowCaptain]

So, my Alienware M18x has just it 2 years old, Its an amazing machine, and still is utterly fantastic as a desktop replacement

 

But now that I have my desktop sorted, and I have downsized my photography gear (Using a Sony A7) I am looking to downsize my laptop

 

Priorities 13"-15" sizes only, dedicated graphics, great build quality, 1080p or higher IPS screen, thin, light.

 

My budget is up to £2000 ($3300) but I would prefer to spend £1500 ($2500) and it must be available in the UK

 

Suspects so far:

 

Razer Blade (not available in the UK though so a tough one)

 

MSI GS60 Ghost (decent all rounder)

 

Aorus X3 (very thin and well built, 860m)
Aorus X3 Plus see above but better screen 

 

Clevo W230ST  also known as many other things all based on this chassis (though its thick and plastic I am familiar with its 11.6" brother that i have now) but is the cheapest option

 

Apple 13" retina pro

Apple 15" retina pro (bigger bit 750m) - these will be great for mobile photo and video editing

 

Gigabyte p25x - (880m YAY, build quality BOO)

Gigabyte P35g - (870m is decent and build is better, also thinner)

 

 

Is there anything I am missing? I am really finding it tough to find the perfect laptop so I could appreciate any help and opinions or suggestions

 

So..

 

13, 14 15" sizes, thin and light, well built, powerful, great screen for photo/video editing, preferably ok graphics for on the go gaming

[Lord Pantaloons]

No contest, I would get the Aorus X3.

[SAV1OUR]

ghost, however performance wise the alienware would do better   

[SnowGhost1212]

MSI Ghost/Stealth Pro. Razer Blade.

[ShadowCaptain]

No contest, I would get the Aorus X3.

 

Reasoning? Its definitely one of my top choices, especially the plus model

 

ghost, however performance wise the alienware would do better   

 

yeah I dont expect the same performance as my m18x, alienware are bringing out a 13" model but I need something soon

 

MSI Ghost/Stealth Pro. Razer Blade.

 

Any reasons for those choices? I like the ghost though its a little on the larger size

 

As I say I like the blade but its not for sale in the UK/No Warranty so its kind of a no go

[GhostWindGamer]

MSI GS60 Ghost is what I'd go with

[ShadowCaptain]

MSI GS60 Ghost is what I'd go with

 

Why

[brownninja97]

To be honest, the apple laptops and the razer blade will by far be the lightest laptops.

 

At any rate the laptop i want is this one

 

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-15-9530/pd?oc=cnx9518&model_id=xps-15-9530

 

or the 2 in 1 laptop thingie but the bad part is it comes with a bad gpu, i dont really find that a problem as i like the steam streaming service, it looks pretty well.

 

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-12-9q33/pd?oc=cnx2u31&model_id=xps-12-9q33

 

The blade is more expensive at £2k im not sure if its the new or old one however

http://ultraboooks.com/product/razer-blade/

[qwertywarrior]

odd that no one mentioned the Lenovo Y50

 

 

i do not recommend getting a very thin laptop for gaming

a friend of mine  had a razer 2014 one and its was LOUD on load

just dont bother

[ShadowCaptain]

odd that no one mentioned the Lenovo Y50

 

i do not recommend getting a very thin laptop for gaming

a friend of mine  had a razer 2014 one and its was LOUD on load

just dont bother

 

The Lenovo is too thick and heavy, and does not really excel in performance enough to justify carrying the weight

Why dont bother? I need an ultrabook sized laptop, I may aswell get one with a GPU so I can game on the Train/Plane/Hotel/Lan game, the cost is pretty irrelevant

 

I have my 4770k and 780ti desktop for gaming at home, but when I am on the road, editing photos and videos, I need something that I can lug around all day that lets me have some fun in the evenings or on the journey

 

 

To be honest, the apple laptops and the razer blade will by far be the lightest laptops.

 

At any rate the laptop i want is this one

 

 

The blade is more expensive at £2k im not sure if its the new or old one however

http://ultraboooks.com/product/razer-blade/

 

Yeah weight is certainly a factor, this thing is going to be carried with all my camera gear in this bag

 

Tenba DNA 15

[GhostWindGamer]

Why

Cause fanboy

[ShadowCaptain]

Cause fanboy

 

Haha my only issue with it, is that its at the top end of the size and weight I wanted, though 

 

But its still a consideration

[GhostWindGamer]

Haha my only issue with it, is that its at the top end of the size and weight I wanted, though 

 

But its still a consideration

But, but MSI

[ShadowCaptain]

But, but MSI

meh I do like MSI

 

But I am not going to fanboy for the sake of a potentially £2000 purchase 

[Lord Pantaloons]

Reasoning? Its definitely one of my top choices, especially the plus model

 

 

yeah I dont expect the same performance as my m18x, alienware are bringing out a 13" model but I need something soon

 

 

Any reasons for those choices? I like the ghost though its a little on the larger size

 

As I say I like the blade but its not for sale in the UK/No Warranty so its kind of a no go

Well designed chassis and cooling, thin with good specs. Not to mention that it looks fantastic.

[ShadowCaptain]

Well designed chassis and cooling, thin with good specs. Not to mention that it looks fantastic.

 

Yeah it does seem to be the pick of the bunch

 

only £1500 too

http://www.debenhamsplus.com/DE_AORUS_Notebook_10095708/version.asp?refsource=DEadwords&crtag=DE&gclid=CjwKEAjwv9-gBRD5ofn2jd2N0UUSJACcdilsyVOvbu5w4wpJkpa_qvjLI2gezg8Q8S3xoevrabMZ7hoC6U3w_wcB

[Scionyde]

My thoughts.

 

Razer Blade 2014: Meh. I think part of the reason I dislike this laptop is because the petty part of me gets kinda annoyed when people fall over themselves in love with this laptop because Linus loved it. Then, they seem to suggest it in recommendation topics even when the OP's budget is nowhere near enough to afford. It's unfair of me, I know. Anyway, I know the laptop has a 'premium feel', but I dislike how limited the laptop is when it comes to upgrades. Having only 8 GB of RAM that you are unable to upgrade seems rather silly, and I think there's only the one spot for the included mSATA drive? (I'm not sure about that last part though). 

 

MSI GS60: Personally, I think it's a better option than the Razer Blade. Still looks nice, has an IPS screen, and has more storage upgrade options, such the ability to install multiple mSATA drives and a 2.5" drive. Keep in mind, there's also a 3K edition if you want a laptop with a higher resolution. It should also work out to be a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the Razer Blade.

 

Aorus X3/X3 Plus: Doesn't the regular X3 come with a 870M? I thought the only difference between the two was that the X3 Plus was closer to a 14" laptop, and had a higher resolution. Either way, it seems like a decent option, although I would think that going from a 18" laptop to a 13/14" laptop might be a little tough. Personally, I think I'd have trouble getting used to it, but that's just me. Still, whether or not I'd prefer it over the MSI GS60 probably depends on the price, and I think the Aorus is typically priced pretty close to the Razer Blade.

 

Clevo W230ST: This laptop is > 1 inch in thickness, isn't it? I believe it's thicker than the Y50, which you said you didn't quite want. Anyway, I like Clevo laptops, but considering you have a pretty high budget, I'd think you want something less thick and plastic-y.

 

Apple Retina Pro: You'll get good build quality and battery life, but you mentioned you want to game on the laptop? A 750M would still be tolerable, I imagine, but I'd personally want something a bit more powerful if it was me.

 

Gigabyte P25X: I wasn't aware of any build quality issues with this laptop, what's the issue exactly? (Not that I've ever handled one in person). Still, this seems more like a regular-sized laptop, being about 1.5" thick and close to 7 pounds in weight. I'm not sure if that's what you were looking for? You'll get better hardware for the price as a result of not being ultrabook-sized, but you did say you wanted something thin and light

 

Gigabyte P35g: Gigabyte's non-Aorus ultrathin laptops are also a good choice, IMO. Like the MSI GS series, they have an IPS screen, and are pretty good about storage upgrade options. It might be a priced a little better than the MSI laptop, but I believe the exterior is all plastic, as opposed to brushed aluminum. This could be construed as a benefit, since the MSI laptops are supposed to be real fingerprint magnets. Your call!

 

So overall, my vote is probably either for the Gigabyte P34/P35 (depending on which screen size you prefer) or the MSI GS60. If you want a high resolution screen, then I think the MSI GS60 3K is probably the one you definitely want.

[EscalatorBoy]

I LOVE the GS60 Ghost Pro I just got (didn't go 3K, since I've heard it has some heat issues)

 

I can only speak from the experience of having this unit without comparing the others in any direct sense, but so far I haven't had any complains. The SteelSeries keyboard is a dream to type on (and sexy lookin'), it's powerful enough for any games I've tested it with, it's light and stylish and isn't bulky. The size is about perfect -- any smaller and the screen size might be a bit small for my tastes, and any bigger and it wouldn't fit in my man-purse.

 

One thing I like about it compared to the Blade 14 is that you're not stuck with 8 GB of RAM, and the storage is fairly easily upgradable.

[Williamchan87]

MSI GS60 Ghost or Aorus X3

 

reason is you can't get the razer locally where you are, and i'm not a big fan of them.

[ShadowCaptain]

@Scionyde downsizing is no issue for me, my other laptop is an 11.6" Clevo W110er (650m) and I routinely use a 10" iPad, going down to a 13/14" is no real issue, even this 11" weighs 2kg so all of the options above will be the same weight really and all of them are lighter than my M18x (which weighs nearly 6kg!!!)

 

Gaming is a use of the laptop but its not my main rig, I would like enough performance to play most games at medium settings at least, will just be some single player campaings and stuff when stuck in hotels etc

 

Lack of upgradability is not an issue for me honestly, I generally only keep laptops 2 years before upgrading

 

I guess my main issue is not being able to see or feel any of these in person, its realy hard to judge build quality which is a big factor for me, as well as weight and size

 

I really wanted a laptop less than 15" like the 13" size, similar to the razer blade/13" retina macbook pro, but very few models exist that are that size so I am trying to find the best alternative for a road warrior laptop

 

Thankyou for your input though, your thoughts are exactly in line with my own, 

 

I LOVE the GS60 Ghost Pro I just got (didn't go 3K, since I've heard it has some heat issues)

 

Is there a reason the 3k model would have heat issues? its just a screen resolution

 

What is the battery life like on your GS60 Ghost? under normal use and under gaming?

[EscalatorBoy]

Not sure, but some of the reviews I've seen for the 3K have mentioned that temperatures get pretty high, but take that bit with a grain of salt, as I have no experience with that SKU. I honestly haven't noticed it getting unreasonably hot on my model, but small gaming laptops are going to get pretty hot anyway -- some compromises have to be made.

 

Battery life is where the Blade 14 beats the Ghost, as normal use with the screen dimmed will get me 4-5 hours on a full charge, with just less than an hour while gaming. I'm not sure if external battery packs are a thing, but if I wanted to game on a plane, I'd probably look into that. I don't think it's realistic to game on battery anyway, but the battery life on the ghost is a little underwhelming for everyday use.

 

It all depends on what you're willing to compromise for the size and power of the machine -- with the Blade, you'll be sacrificing screen real estate, RAM upgradability and a significant chunk of your money. The Ghost, you lose some battery life, add an inch, and there's a bit more flex to the screen.

[ShadowCaptain]

Not sure, but some of the reviews I've seen for the 3K have mentioned that temperatures get pretty high, but take that bit with a grain of salt, as I have no experience with that SKU. I honestly haven't noticed it getting unreasonably hot on my model, but small gaming laptops are going to get pretty hot anyway -- some compromises have to be made.

 

Battery life is where the Blade 14 beats the Ghost, as normal use with the screen dimmed will get me 4-5 hours on a full charge, with just less than an hour while gaming. I'm not sure if external battery packs are a thing, but if I wanted to game on a plane, I'd probably look into that. I don't think it's realistic to game on battery anyway, but the battery life on the ghost is a little underwhelming for everyday use.

 

It all depends on what you're willing to compromise for the size and power of the machine -- with the Blade, you'll be sacrificing screen real estate, RAM upgradability and a significant chunk of your money. The Ghost, you lose some battery life, add an inch, and there's a bit more flex to the screen.

 

Screen real estate (the smaller the laptop the batter) none upgradable ram and money are of no issue to me

 

 Battery life is very important though, not sure 4 hours is good enough, and 1 hour gaming is certainly not enough

Even if I am rendering 1080p video from my DSLR I want some decent battery life

 

hmm this is requiring a lot of thinking

[EscalatorBoy]

Battery life is going to be tough to get on a thin & light gaming notebook, but the Blade 14 is probably the frontrunner there. If you're okay with the memory restriction and the price, that's probably what I'd pick. 

 

I basically use the Ghost plugged in all the time unless I'm just doing some light browsing - any gaming or serious work, I've got that thing plugged in. Thankfully, the power brick is pretty thin & light as well, so it's no trouble to bring with me. The only other qualm I have with it is that the trackpad sucks, but I hate trackpads in general so that didn't bother me.

[ShadowCaptain]

Battery life is going to be tough to get on a thin & light gaming notebook, but the Blade 14 is probably the frontrunner there. If you're okay with the memory restriction and the price, that's probably what I'd pick. 

 

I basically use the Ghost plugged in all the time unless I'm just doing some light browsing - any gaming or serious work, I've got that thing plugged in. Thankfully, the power brick is pretty thin & light as well, so it's no trouble to bring with me. The only other qualm I have with it is that the trackpad sucks, but I hate trackpads in general so that didn't bother me.

 

This is not going to be my main rig and is to be used when travelling so I cannot rely on their being power

 

Hmm this is one reason I have the 15 retina pro on my top list

Great trackpad, great battery life too