Help finding a laptop for computer science and gaming

[Wamo38]

I need help finding a laptop that would be good for both computer science and gaming. I plan on ordering something in a few days as I will be going to uni soon. As of right now I live in Maryland USA but in a few weeks I will be going to Germany for school. My budget is about $2000 to $2400. I've already tried a Razer Blade 15 advanced (i7 8750h and 2070 max q) but returned that due to loud coil whine and have also tried a Asus gx502 (i7 9750h and 2070) but returned that as well due to a few physical defects. Due to this I am somewhat afraid of having issues with another laptop.

 

I would prefer something that isn't too heavy (I'm willing to carry up to 6 pounds around) and I'm not to concerned whether it is 17" or 15" as long as I can carry it around if needed. I don't intend to use it in class but might use it for class work on campus.

Battery life isn't too much of a concern as I am not expecting to use this sort of laptop in situations where I'm far from a outlet. 4 to 6 hours would be considered a bonus in my opinion.

I would prefer something that is max p but I'm open to max q as well.

I'm looking to buy from a place such as hidevolution as I've heard many gaming laptops aren't exactly cool and I'd like to do all I can to keep temps reasonable and fan noise not too loud (I'd say 58db is getting too loud for me but I can live with it if it means better thermals).

I'd consider both thunderbolt 3 and Gsync as bonuses and not essential.

 

I did find this on amazon, the Acer Triton 500 with 2080 max q, but I'm a bit weary of the inverted motherboard. I'd like to be able to easily access ram and M.2 slots so this wouldn't be ideal, but I can't find anything as small for the price. Thoughts?

 

Is there any major downside to getting an i7 8750h over an i7 9750h?

 

Thanks in advance!

[star_pilot475]

@Wamo38 maybe try looking at Gigabyte Aero laptops, they’re slim and portable, and can be configured to your liking. 

[Wamo38]

Thanks for the reply!

I've heard some good things about that model and I've seen they have a refresh out. I've yet to see many reviews on the refresh though, but it looks like an improvement over the older design including the classic

[Vented_Swing_6295]

2 hours ago, Wamo38 said:

I need help finding a laptop that would be good for both computer science and gaming. I plan on ordering something in a few days as I will be going to uni soon. As of right now I live in Maryland USA but in a few weeks I will be going to Germany for school. My budget is about $2000 to $2400. I've already tried a Razer Blade 15 advanced (i7 8750h and 2070 max q) but returned that due to loud coil whine and have also tried a Asus gx502 (i7 9750h and 2070) but returned that as well due to a few physical defects. Due to this I am somewhat afraid of having issues with another laptop.

 

I would prefer something that isn't too heavy (I'm willing to carry up to 6 pounds around) and I'm not to concerned whether it is 17" or 15" as long as I can carry it around if needed. I don't intend to use it in class but might use it for class work on campus.

Battery life isn't too much of a concern as I am not expecting to use this sort of laptop in situations where I'm far from a outlet. 4 to 6 hours would be considered a bonus in my opinion.

I would prefer something that is max p but I'm open to max q as well.

I'm looking to buy from a place such as hidevolution as I've heard many gaming laptops aren't exactly cool and I'd like to do all I can to keep temps reasonable and fan noise not too loud (I'd say 58db is getting too loud for me but I can live with it if it means better thermals).

I'd consider both thunderbolt 3 and Gsync as bonuses and not essential.

 

I did find this on amazon, the Acer Triton 500 with 2080 max q, but I'm a bit weary of the inverted motherboard. I'd like to be able to easily access ram and M.2 slots so this wouldn't be ideal, but I can't find anything as small for the price. Thoughts?

 

Is there any major downside to getting an i7 8750h over an i7 9750h?

 

Thanks in advance!

maybe see the msi gs75 I've heard good things about it , or you can try to recreate Linus's "cleanest setup"

[Super Spartan]

4 hours ago, Wamo38 said:

I need help finding a laptop that would be good for both computer science and gaming. I plan on ordering something in a few days as I will be going to uni soon. As of right now I live in Maryland USA but in a few weeks I will be going to Germany for school. My budget is about $2000 to $2400. I've already tried a Razer Blade 15 advanced (i7 8750h and 2070 max q) but returned that due to loud coil whine and have also tried a Asus gx502 (i7 9750h and 2070) but returned that as well due to a few physical defects. Due to this I am somewhat afraid of having issues with another laptop.

 

I would prefer something that isn't too heavy (I'm willing to carry up to 6 pounds around) and I'm not to concerned whether it is 17" or 15" as long as I can carry it around if needed. I don't intend to use it in class but might use it for class work on campus.

Battery life isn't too much of a concern as I am not expecting to use this sort of laptop in situations where I'm far from a outlet. 4 to 6 hours would be considered a bonus in my opinion.

I would prefer something that is max p but I'm open to max q as well.

I'm looking to buy from a place such as hidevolution as I've heard many gaming laptops aren't exactly cool and I'd like to do all I can to keep temps reasonable and fan noise not too loud (I'd say 58db is getting too loud for me but I can live with it if it means better thermals).

I'd consider both thunderbolt 3 and Gsync as bonuses and not essential.

 

I did find this on amazon, the Acer Triton 500 with 2080 max q, but I'm a bit weary of the inverted motherboard. I'd like to be able to easily access ram and M.2 slots so this wouldn't be ideal, but I can't find anything as small for the price. Thoughts?

 

Is there any major downside to getting an i7 8750h over an i7 9750h?

 

Thanks in advance!

I buy all my laptops from HIDevolution because of their great quality control and customer service and more importantly their thermal upgrades. You see I live in Dubai and the last thing I want after waiting for a long time to receive my laptop is to get a laptop with a defect here or there so getting a laptop that works 100% is of utmost importance to me.

 

When configuring the laptop, I recommend you choose "Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut + Fujipoly Extreme Thermal pads" for the best cooling, that alone drops temps by 15C. Also don't worry about liquid metal spillage because when I asked them about it they told me they have their proprietary method of application which prevents spillage and everything they do is covered under warranty.

 

As for the models I recommend, they are:

 

MSI GS65

MSI GS75

MSI GE75

Alienware m15

 

Although I own an Alienware Area-51m now, my favorite from the above list was actually the Alienware m15, with a proper thermal paste job and those fujipoly pads, the temps were in check and the laptop is so sleek in design you could easily carry it around not to mention, if you go for the 90WHr variant, it has one of the best gaming laptop battery life out there. Also bear in mind that with Dell, you can freely transfer the warranty to any country you go to simply by calling Dell in the respective country and that's free of charge so you'd get the next business day on-site tech support in any country that has a Dell authorized center.

 

My second favorite as MSI laptops as I've had great experience with them and they have decent cooling even out of the box compared to other brands.

 

If you email donald@hidevolution.com who was the salesman I dealt with, sometimes he can give a small discount as well.

[Wamo38]

6 hours ago, Vented_Swing_6295 said:

maybe see the msi gs75 I've heard good things about it , or you can try to recreate Linus's "cleanest setup"

Is the motherboard on the gs75 inverted like the gs65? I might end up imitating that setup if I can't find a good gaming laptop, hopefully I'm not that unlucky lol

[Wamo38]

5 hours ago, Ultra Male said:

I buy all my laptops from HIDevolution because of their great quality control and customer service and more importantly their thermal upgrades. You see I live in Dubai and the last thing I want after waiting for a long time to receive my laptop is to get a laptop with a defect here or there so getting a laptop that works 100% is of utmost importance to me.

 

When configuring the laptop, I recommend you choose "Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut + Fujipoly Extreme Thermal pads" for the best cooling, that alone drops temps by 15C. Also don't worry about liquid metal spillage because when I asked them about it they told me they have their proprietary method of application which prevents spillage and everything they do is covered under warranty.

 

As for the models I recommend, they are:

 

MSI GS65

MSI GS75

MSI GE75

Alienware m15

 

Although I own an Alienware Area-51m now, my favorite from the above list was actually the Alienware m15, with a proper thermal paste job and those fujipoly pads, the temps were in check and the laptop is so sleek in design you could easily carry it around not to mention, if you go for the 90WHr variant, it has one of the best gaming laptop battery life out there. Also bear in mind that with Dell, you can freely transfer the warranty to any country you go to simply by calling Dell in the respective country and that's free of charge so you'd get the next business day on-site tech support in any country that has a Dell authorized center.

 

My second favorite as MSI laptops as I've had great experience with them and they have decent cooling even out of the box compared to other brands.

 

If you email donald@hidevolution.com who was the salesman I dealt with, sometimes he can give a small discount as well.

I'm not the biggest fan of the looks of the Alienware m15 when opened, too much gloss for me. Though the battery life definitely makes a compelling reason to buy. Would you say the 2070 max q is sufficient on the Alienware m15?

 

I like the looks of the gs65 and gs75 but am weary of inverted motherboards on the gs65 and much flex on the gs75 (perhaps this ins't an a issue with careful handling). The GE75 is definitely something that grabbed my attention based on a review I saw where it had liquid metal applied. Do you know if MSI also offers anything where warranty can be transfered from one region to another?

 

Do you know if any of the EVOC systems are good/worth the money? Or if their warranties go outside the US as well. I'm not as worried about warranty this time arround as I expect good things from HID based on reviews.

[Super Spartan]

13 hours ago, Wamo38 said:

I'm not the biggest fan of the looks of the Alienware m15 when opened, too much gloss for me. Though the battery life definitely makes a compelling reason to buy. Would you say the 2070 max q is sufficient on the Alienware m15?

 

I like the looks of the gs65 and gs75 but am weary of inverted motherboards on the gs65 and much flex on the gs75 (perhaps this ins't an a issue with careful handling). The GE75 is definitely something that grabbed my attention based on a review I saw where it had liquid metal applied. Do you know if MSI also offers anything where warranty can be transfered from one region to another?

 

Do you know if any of the EVOC systems are good/worth the money? Or if their warranties go outside the US as well. I'm not as worried about warranty this time arround as I expect good things from HID based on reviews.

The 2070 Max-Q is close to the performance of the full 2060 RTX. If it were my money I'd get the 2080 Max-Q just for future proofing the laptop and ensuring I squeeze every bit of performance but the 2070 Max-Q is no slouch. It's just when it comes to me, I like to get the best that I can and not have buyer's remorse later. IMHO the m15 is the best of the bunch, this coming from someone who actually owned it and loved every bit of it. Quality and performance in a small package.

 

The GS series from MSI is great but you're right, it's a pain in the butt to open it should you need to. The GE75 Raider takes the cake there. It's strikes a good balance between the GT Series and the lighter GS series.

 

EVOC systems are mostly Clevos rebranded by HIDevolution, the high end models like the P870XX and the P7XXX series come with the Prema BIOS for FREE since HIDevolution is an Prema partner. I would NEVER buy a Clevo laptop if it wasn't with the Prema BIOS. The Prema BIOS unlocks all the options in the BIOS and fixes the CPU throttling which the stock Clevo BIOS is known for due to their crappy EC Firmware.

 

Here is a list of the Prema BIOS features (I was a Prema BIOS tester as he's my friend back in the days when I used to own Clevo laptops, I had a P870DM and P870DM3)

 

Benefits of Prema BIOS:

Restores user ability to overclock or underclock the CPU
Restores user control over CPU power settings (voltage, watts, amps) for optimal performance and/or thermal efficiency
Restores ability to control non-turbo CPU core ratio
Restores ability to control CPU c-states and p-states
Restores ability to control BCLK (northbridge) and FCLK (System Agent) frequency
Restores ability to enable Intel Speed Shift Technology functionality
Restores ability to disable Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) functionality which is intended for software developers who want to use that feature and causes erratic system behavior
Restores ability to control RSR, Watchdog Timer, ASPM, ACPI sleep and hibernation functionality
Restores ability to control RAM timings, clock speeds and enables the utilization of XMP profiles
Restores ability to control selection of Legacy, UEFI and CSM to install whatever operating system is desired
Restores ability to control CPU-based DEP, AES (encryption) and Virtualization
Restores ability to control GPU scaling, PCIe speed and power management features
Restores control over Thunderbolt and USB 3.1 configuration
Restores control over SATA port configuration and Intel LPM. Having the ability to disable drive ports allows exclusive control over what drive receives the BCD/boot sector, system and recovery partitions during Windows Setup and eliminates the need to physically remove non-OS drives when installing a new OS.
 

As for the warranty on the MSI, I am not sure if it is as easily transferable as the Dell Warranty is it's best to call HIDevolution or email them and ask them about this.

 

But for the EVOC/Clevo laptops or any laptops they sell for that matter, which is also one of the main selling points for me as I live in Dubai, they offer a HIDevolution International Prepaid Shipping (HIPS) Warranty upgrade which covers shipping costs both ways should anything go wrong with the laptop. If it's a small part that you can replace yourself, they'd send it for you and pay for shipping so you don't spend a dime and you have 0 downtime with your laptop. If it's something major, then they'd send you a courier to your house to pick up the laptop and ship it to them then back to you after it's repaired and they cover all the shipping expenses.

 

I know all this as I've been buying laptops from them for the past 4 years and have nothing but great experience with them both when it comes to customer service and warranty.

[Wamo38]

Thanks for the all the advice! Sorry for the late response. I got my hands on a ge75 9sf a few days ago (sadly not from hidevolution due to time constraints, still has great temps though). I started undervolting and I'm not sure if I'm doing this right anymore as I've undervolted the core by -1v and haven't carshed in the witcher 3 on ultra. Cores are also running at 3988Mhz at this undervolt. Temps hover around 71C to 81C on any undervolt ranging from -.5v up to -1v. Temps for -.250v runs a bit hotter around 86c. This is all with a cache undervolt of -.125v.

[Super Spartan]

46 minutes ago, Wamo38 said:

Thanks for the all the advice! Sorry for the late response. I got my hands on a ge75 9sf a few days ago (sadly not from hidevolution due to time constraints, still has great temps though). I started undervolting and I'm not sure if I'm doing this right anymore as I've undervolted the core by -1v and haven't carshed in the witcher 3 on ultra. Cores are also running at 3988Mhz at this undervolt. Temps hover around 71C to 81C on any undervolt ranging from -.5v up to -1v. Temps for -.250v runs a bit hotter around 86c. This is all with a cache undervolt of -.125v.

The core and cache must be the same. That's the Intel recommended method since the release of Skylake.

 

A safe undervolt would be -100mV to -125mV. If you encounter any crashes or random reboots then you can decrease it to -70mV or -80mV. On my i9-9900K I have set it at -50mV as anything more would result in random crashes. Remember, no 2 CPUs are the same so what works for me or someone else may or not work for you. It's all about trial and error.

 

Also, if you are not happy with the temps still and are comfotable changing thermal paste yourself, I highly recommend you replace the stock thermal paste with PHOBYA Nanogrease as it's the best non-metal thermal paste on the market right now in terms of cooling performance.

[Jtrizzy]

the fact that MSI assembled these laptops upside down on purpose so you couldn't add your own RAM etc, completely turned me off of MSI. They are so god dam annoying, I bought a Trident 3 9th gen a few months back and that thing was a piece of shit hands down. Sold it to some sucker for what I bought it for so at least I got my money back. MSI also puts stickers on the screws on the trident as well so they know when you have opened and they void your warranty. Screw MSI, sick of their bs when it comes adding my own drives and ram and them voiding the warranty if you do. I will never buy and MSI anything again. Gigabyte and Asus usually get my money.