cory21391

Looking to buy a mid-range gaming laptop that can function well at 1080p gaming and also function well for more cpu intensive schoolwork and virtualization. Battery life is important but not too much of a game killer as I'm usually around an outlet. Thoughts on this laptop vs others around the same price range (predator, nitro, etc)

I don't necessarily NEED the gpu power, but I feel like paying the same price for the swift and not getting it would be less bang for the buck so to speak. I suppose it would be nice to game a bit between studying while at school if I have nothing to do for extended periods of time. I have a gaming desktop at home already though.

That's the thing that would bug me: missing the way better GPU for essentially the same price. Paying the same amount of money for lesser hardware never feels good. Should I expect lower battery life on the nitro 5, even with the GPU "off"? They both have the same battery capacity (3320 mAh), but I haven't found any official battery life claims. A review I saw of the nitro 5 claimed around 5 hours when not gaming. Not sure if this is reasonable or not for the average laptop.

So I need a laptop for school, and was looking into AMD's Ryzen mobile offerings. It seems to me that the 2700U doesn't offer much improvement over the 2500U on the CPU side, and it's main advantage is a stronger GPU. So I was looking at laptops with the 2500U, as they are cheaper. I have narrowed things down to 2 choices at my price point ($600-$700): The Acer Nitro 5 ( AN515-42-R5GT) and the Acer Swift 3 ( SF315-41-R8PP ). They are both ~ $700. I'm leaning towards the Nitro 5, since it has a dedicated GPU (RX 560X), which you can switch off and use the integrated graphics to save power when not gaming. This seems like the best of both worlds: light gaming/more power when wanted vs. lower power and better battery life when needed. Other than the GPU, spec wise they are the same (8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Ryzen 2500U). The only thing bothering me is the weight and thickness. The swift is .7", 4.85 lbs and the nitro is a full 1" and 5.95 lbs. Will this extra ~.3" and 1 lb be noticeably cumbersome/problematic or is it not worth worrying about? Which would you guys recommend?

Definitely too late as I've already ordered the case, but basically for space. Hoping to fit the PC neatly in the entertainment stand with my TV to use as a TV connected PC. I specifically am looking at a motherboard with wifi and bluetooth for this reason, to wirelessly connect to the internet and use a bluetooth remote/mini keyboard or something, and a controller for games Speaking of TV PCs, are there any recommended TV apps/interfaces for easy tv viewing/navigation? I only know of big picture mode on steam, but I'm not too sure what other functionality that provides besides gaming (or if if it does provide any other functionality).

WOW... that IS a tight fit hahaha

Like you could technically fit a 2700x CPU and a 1080 ti in there! Not sure about the thermal situation though lol

After looking at some gaming benchmarks, using an rx 480, (2400G vs 2600) it seems the real world difference isn't so bad between the 2 CPUs. I think I'm gonna stick with the 2400G for now. I mean if I reeeeeally wanted to, I could always upgrade the CPU later on, maybe when zen 2 releases. I've even considered waiting to see if AMD launches an rx 600 series later this year or early next year before adding the GPU. The vega 56 nano would fit in the case (probably would need over 400 watts though) but it's too costly atm. Interesting to see how much power you can cram into a small space though!

Yeah, I was kind of hesitant to pick a non modular PSU for a small build, but I've seen mini itx cases come with non modular power supplies, so I'm sure its doable (but probably a huge headache that I'm not looking forward to.) It just wasn't worth the price increases I was seeing for the modular ones (like $30-$40 more). I feel the same way, as in I'd rather get the 2600, but I'd hate to be sitting on it for months until I get the GPU. I figured if there wasn't much difference in gaming performance I'd just get the 2400G so I could use it now and just upgrade the GPU later. I guess a better way to phrase it: Is the 2600's increase in performance worth waiting a month or 2, or is it a negligible difference in real world performance?

That's the one thing I dislike about the case, that its a cube shape. But the "console" mini itx cases just seemed too restrictive height wise for the cpu cooler, and significantly more expensive, so I passed on those.

According to the specs on the case I picked, it should fit a GPU up to 10" in length (254 mm). The max CPU height is 82 mm, so it should fit the stock wraith stealth cooler thats included. I believe it would even fit the wraith spire cooler, not sure about the prism though.

Of course, I could just get an rx 580 that uses 1 8 pin power supply as I had planned. I still feel like I might regret not getting the 2600, but I really don't want to wait a month or 2 to have a functioning PC. Here's the PC build so far. Case: SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB-LITE Black PSU: FSP 400W Micro ATX12V / SFX12V 80 PLUS BRONZE SSD: Mushkin Enhanced TRIACTOR L 2.5" 500GB SSD RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4 3000 Mobo: MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC CPU: Ryzen 5 2400G or Ryzen 5 2600 GPU (later): Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 580 8GB

My mistake, that's 2 x 4 GB ram

I'm getting dual channel 2 x 8GB 3000 MHz G.Skill ram. I'm thinking 8GB should be fine for a 4 (or 6) core CPU at 1080p gaming, no need to spend 2x the money on 16 gb for no reason. The 2600 seems similar in performance to the 2400G (except for multicore tasks obviously, where those 2 extra cores come into play). To add more questions to the mix, is it safe to use molex adaptors for vga power connectors? The power supply i picked only has 1 8 pin pci power connector, and if I were to get a 1070, they require 2, meaning I'd have to get an adaptor or a new power supply.

650 seems a little high for only ~370 watts of components. I had an i5 build with a 1070 and water cooling on a 500 watt psu for years without issue. I usually build with about 100 watt headroom, but I'm guessing 50 might be ok.