Is now the time to buy a new gaming laptop?

[azninvsn13]

So I'm a college student who has had my own rig since 2014 outfitted with a i5 4690k and a GTX 970, and I was at a point where I saved up a good amount of money and I knew that I would be transferring to somewhere away from home. I've always been interested in portable gaming and having a laptop that can crush those AAA titles and still allow me to carry it around as a student, but even with the GTX 9-series mobile variants, I knew the price to performance was definitely not worth it. After seeing the new pascal cards go mobile and seeing that the difference in performance was only 10-15%, I could justify buying a laptop of that caliber and price. 

 

Then in December, I bought the ASUS GL502VS (i7 6700HQ, GTX 1070) and I'm a fan, but am starting to question this purchase. I wanted to get some more opinions or knowledge about this because the return window is closing (well, I'm returning anyways, since the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the 'F' key being stuck, as well as the left side USB port constantly connecting and disconnecting, is really pissing me off) and wanted to see if I should buy a different laptop instead?

 

Some shortcomings I've noticed in my month+ using the ASUS GL502VS:

1. Battery life was dreadful, lasting maybe a little over an hour, which really sucks because as a debater/debate coach, I need my laptop at the ready with files, research, etc.

2. It's fucking heavy and thick as shit. This is apparently one of the lighter and thinner gtx 1070 laptops which sucks because I think the 1060 has some performance deltas it needs to climb before real viability in terms of what I want to game on it

3. This charging brick is unbelievable. I could kill a man with how big and heavy this piece of crap was.

4. Good god I hate gaming/gaming-centered aesthetics. And the black and orange, while stylistically looks fine, with the ROG symbol and harsh accents, was too much for me.

5. This thing picks up fingerprints like a fucking CSI. I touch it and I feel like I have enough oil in my fingers for America to plant a flag and declare my hands a transitioning democracy. 

 

Some potential replacements I've found, but are unsure of and would love some input on:

1. Razer Blade (with the matte black dbrand skin obvi since I don't want a light up green snake orgy as my logo) - the GTX 1060 is kinda the turn off for me. I know its way better than the 970m that was in it last year, but I still don't think it can run a lot of the things I'd like at a steady 60 fps, such as the Division, or GTA V (with heavy mods like script mods, ENBs, new textures etc). The GTX 1060 in general kinda makes me sad because it can't outperform the 970 I have in my rig, Plus its pricing at a good storage space (512 GB) at $1999 kinda blows when compared to the $1760 I paid for the ASUS, which was outfitted with a 1070. I looked into getting an external hard drive, but I don't know how practical that is in terms of convenience and speeds for games. 

2. MSI GS63VR - Same concerns, except for the price gap which I find absurd for Razer. But still, nearing almost the same price I paid for the ASUS, is kind of a turn off + it can't outperform my rig currently. 

3. Gigabyte P35X v6 - Probably my favorite pick since its 0.83 inches and medium weight at 5.3 lbs and still rocks a GTX 1070. Apparently the battery life ain't too shabby, though I think real world experience varies. But compared to option 4...

4. Wait - I'm not too sure about this option since my 970 is starting to feel a little weak in the joints with these new pascal cards out and esp with the skylake refresh (AKA Kaby Lake), I'm not sure if there will be a new iteration soon enough. But if the wait time to my ideal gaming laptop is only a year, I may very well consider it. But I also have no information on new or upcoming products or announcements for this so if you do, please let me know. 

5. Save lots of money, buy a GTX 1080 for my rig, and lug that thing to college, depending on where I transfer. 

 

Anyways, thanks for reading my rant, let me know what you think is the right option here. Or educate me on some stuff because I might be a really misinformed moron. 

[VinsinityKT]

Bring your desktop to school. The only place I ever played any games was in my room. I used a XPS 13 for school work to bring around classes. 

[Mooshi]

No matter how great the specs are, keyboard will always be afterthought garbage unless you go for a niche (and highly impractical) monster with a built in cherry keyboard. 

 

Was in the same boat with wanting a laptop, but the gross keyboards always turned me away. 

[ShadySocks]

7 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

No matter how great the specs are, keyboard will always be afterthought garbage unless you go for a niche (and highly impractical) monster with a built in cherry keyboard. 

 

Was in the same boat with wanting a laptop, but the gross keyboards always turned me away. 

I disagree. The steelseries keyboard in my lappy is just as good as the Cherry MX keyboard I am using right now.

[azninvsn13]

10 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

No matter how great the specs are, keyboard will always be afterthought garbage unless you go for a niche (and highly impractical) monster with a built in cherry keyboard. 

 

Was in the same boat with wanting a laptop, but the gross keyboards always turned me away. 

I'm not as particular about the keyboard. Though I wouldn't say its as comfortable as a mechanical switch, this is one of the more understandable compromises I have to make for portability, which I'm fine with as long as they aren't too mushy.

[azninvsn13]

11 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

Bring your desktop to school. The only place I ever played any games was in my room. I used a XPS 13 for school work to bring around classes. 

The issue is that I have to ship it to or from school whenever I have to come home like for breaks or holidays. 

[VinsinityKT]

10 minutes ago, azninvsn13 said:

The issue is that I have to ship it to or from school whenever I have to come home like for breaks or holidays. 

Hmm yeah I guess that's an issue. I'm used to my friends driving 3 hrs when doing that so that is how they made it work. Really only during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring and Summer breaks.

[Pendragon]

12 hours ago, azninvsn13 said:

snip

Well, that's honestly cause the GL502 series as a whole has been complete shit except the 970m maxwell version. You'll want to look at something like this. 

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8157-clevo-p650hs-g/?ex=1

http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-p650hs-g-15-6-custom-built-gaming-laptop-w-nvidia-gtx-1070-w-g-sync.html

 

I have one. @Galm has the same one. Only downside is the shit 1080p panel. the AUO 120hz one is okaaay, the 4k PLS one is great. 

The recent additions to HID's selection is great. You can get OEM Windows Pro for 30 bucks there which is pretty amazing. It's price specced the same is lower than LPC with the Windows addition so now my recommendations goes back to HID. (Hint, get the CLU liquid metal paste from them to get great temps). Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member. 

 

tl;dr order from HID now.

 

Pics cause LPC and HID doesn't know how to take proper pictures: 

https://system76.com/laptops/oryx
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

[azninvsn13]

45 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

Well, that's honestly cause the GL502 series as a whole has been complete shit except the 970m maxwell version. You'll want to look at something like this. 

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8157-clevo-p650hs-g/?ex=1

http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-p650hs-g-15-6-custom-built-gaming-laptop-w-nvidia-gtx-1070-w-g-sync.html

 

I have one. @Galm has the same one. Only downside is the shit 1080p panel. the AUO 120hz one is okaaay, the 4k PLS one is great. 

The recent additions to HID's selection is great. You can get OEM Windows Pro for 30 bucks there which is pretty amazing. It's price specced the same is lower than LPC with the Windows addition so now my recommendations goes back to HID. (Hint, get the CLU liquid metal paste from them to get great temps). Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member. 

 

tl;dr order from HID now.

 

Pics cause LPC and HID doesn't know how to take proper pictures: 

https://system76.com/laptops/oryx
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

The thing is that these all seem pretty thick or bulky, which makes me less incentivized to buy them as a student. I'm more so looking for thickness under 1" 

[Pendragon]

1 hour ago, azninvsn13 said:

The thing is that these all seem pretty thick or bulky, which makes me less incentivized to buy them as a student. I'm more so looking for thickness under 1" 

They are 1". They are the same size as ur GL502. 

 

If you want thin and light and a 1070, the closet thing would be like an Aorus X5 v7. And you would have to LM that. Battery life will still be shit. GS63VR comes in a close second. Battery life will still be shit, and both will be loud as fuck. Any thin and lights will be hot and loud and have pretty shit battery life. If you don't want to deal with that, don't get a gaming laptop. For for like a second hand thinkpad and send the rest of your money on your desktop. 

[Imglidinhere]

4 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Well, that's honestly cause the GL502 series as a whole has been complete shit except the 970m maxwell version. You'll want to look at something like this. 

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8157-clevo-p650hs-g/?ex=1

http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-p650hs-g-15-6-custom-built-gaming-laptop-w-nvidia-gtx-1070-w-g-sync.html

 

I have one. @Galm has the same one. Only downside is the shit 1080p panel. the AUO 120hz one is okaaay, the 4k PLS one is great. 

The recent additions to HID's selection is great. You can get OEM Windows Pro for 30 bucks there which is pretty amazing. It's price specced the same is lower than LPC with the Windows addition so now my recommendations goes back to HID. (Hint, get the CLU liquid metal paste from them to get great temps). Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member. 

 

tl;dr order from HID now.

 

Pics cause LPC and HID doesn't know how to take proper pictures: 

https://system76.com/laptops/oryx
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

I was about to recommend a Clevo the moment I read the bit about him hating the flashy gamer look. I can't recommend this enough really.  Clevo laptops look professional.