Gaming Laptop or Thin and Light as a student?

[Cactu]

Given that I am about to start college I'm looking into a new laptop. my budget is around $1,000 but cheaper is better,  and I am torn between getting a thin and light or a gaming laptop. I feel like if I'm going to drop that much money into a laptop I might as well get some processing power behind it, but I am definitely ignorant to the benefits of the thin and light because I have never had one any suggestions to help me make the right decisions?

Laptops I'm eyeing:
LG Gram https://www.amazon.com/LG-Gram-Thin-Light-Laptop/dp/B07NGCJW4R/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=LG%2BGram&qid=1564082683&s=gateway&sr=8-3&th=1

Microsoft Surface Laptop https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-0025-000N3?Description=Surface%20Laptop%202&cm_re=Surface_Laptop_2-_-1TS-0025-000N3-_-Product
Acer Nitro 5 https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Nitro-AN515-Laptop-i5-8300H/dp/B07C715KNT/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=acer+nitro+5&qid=1564118491&s=gateway&sr=8-3

[LiamApex]

i was in this boat a few yeasrs back. i was looking at getting a HP gaming laptop or a Macbook pro retina for college. i got the macbook for a few reasons....

 

its super light and portable, screen is great. and battery life is excellent i could go 2 - 3 days with no charge.

 

if you actually need the performance of a gaming laptop then go for it otherwise get the GRAM.

[5x5]

Why not both in the form of the Asus Zephyrus GA502?

 

Ryzen 7 3750H and 1660 Ti

120Hz IPS display

7-8 hours of battery life

thin and light with small bezels.

 

Price - 1100$ or so

https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-Gaming-GeForce-Windows-GA502GU-PB73/dp/B07QQ9LZZK/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=GA502&qid=1566672004&s=gateway&sr=8-6

[Cactu]

2 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Why not both in the form of the Asus Zephyrus GA502?

 

Ryzen 7 3750H and 1660 Ti

120Hz IPS display

7-8 hours of battery life

thin and light with small bezels.

 

Price - 1100$ or so

is there any downside to this? I feel like this is a clear winner. Maybe a couple hours of battery and a pound or so?

[5x5]

1 minute ago, Cactusneedle_18 said:

is there any downside to this? I feel like this is a clear winner. Maybe a couple hours of battery and a pound or so?

Not really - it's a bit loud under load due to the thinness and you can't expect super low temps but it's not going to overheat and it will perform perfectly. Highly recommended by reviewers

 

[kelvinhall05]

Don't get a gaming laptop. You either have a thick, heavy, ugly laptop with terrible battery life, or a "thin" and "light" gaming laptop that has awful thermals and also terrible battery life.

 

 

Get a Thinkpad and a gaming desktop if you really want to game.

[5x5]

Just now, kelvinhall05 said:

Don't get a gaming laptop. You either have a thick, heavy, ugly laptop with terrible battery life, or a "thin" and "light" gaming laptop that has awful thermals and also terrible battery life.

 

 

Get a Thinkpad and a gaming desktop if you really want to game.

Erm, no? It's 2019, not 2009.

[Cactu]

I am struggling internally over the luxury of having power or the luxury of longer battery life

[Sorenson]

I would go with a thin and light. The gaming laptops with "8 hour battery life" are closer to maybe 5 if you're lucky, the fans are almost always on, they get really hot if you have to use them in your lap, and there are just better solutions. I would go with a thin and light for school 100%. If you want to be able to game on it there are latptops with good battery life that have a 1650 in them so they can do most games at 1080p mediumish. I wouldn't recommend getting anything with an actual battery life under 8 hours since you can't always find a power outlet. If you want to game you can build a cheaper desktop to use back at your dorm. 

[Cactu]

1 minute ago, Sorenson said:

I would go with a thin and light. The gaming laptops with "8 hour battery life" are closer to maybe 5 if you're lucky, the fans are almost always on, they get really hot if you have to use them in your lap, and there are just better solutions. I would go with a thin and light for school 100%. If you want to be able to game on it there are latptops with good battery life that have a 1650 in them so they can do most games at 1080p mediumish. I wouldn't recommend getting anything with an actual battery life under 8 hours since you can't always find a power outlet. If you want to game you can build a cheaper desktop to use back at your dorm. 

given that I will have a gaming desktop in my dorm I am starting to think that I really dont need to have a laptop that can game

[Sorenson]

3 hours ago, Cactusneedle_18 said:

given that I will have a gaming desktop in my dorm I am starting to think that I really dont need to have a laptop that can game

I get it man. It’s the smart choice but not the fun choice

[SenKa]

Uni student here. Get the thinnest and lightest laptop you can find with the performance you need. I currently have a last-gen Macbook Air and am very happy with it (though I will be upgrading to a 15" MBP eventually.)

 

Anyways, your back will thank you for getting a very light laptop. I used to carry an XPS M1730... Though not the heaviest laptop I have ever had, 11 pounds is nothing to scoff at... 

 

EDIT: Of those 3 laptops, LG Gram for sure.

 

[genexis_x]

Only get gaming laptop if you often play games and really need the extra portability