Good replacement for Razer Blade 15

[vkopanja]

Hey everyone, got a question about what's a good replacement for my current RB 15 2018 Advanced (1070 MaxQ model with 1080p 144 Hz display and 512 GB SSD).

 

Basically, I've had this laptop for 16-17 months now, and almost since day 1 it had weird problems, random BSODs, random reboots during boot up (it would reboot like 5 times before booting to Windows), complete Windows failures (it won't boot to Windows, and no way to fix it, have to have a full format). Even had a few instances where after a complete SSD wipe and Windows reinstall the first boot I would just keep getting weird BSODs that forced me to do an immediate reinstall.

 

The last thing that failed was the battery. I usually use my laptop on a stand as a workstation, but I had to use it like a laptop (shocker) and I noticed I couldn't click the trackpad, and sure enough, the battery was bulging (15 months after I bought it!). Now after replacing the battery I'm thinking of flipping it and taking the loss, but I'm not sure what to buy next...

 

These are my "dream" specs that a laptop should have:

i7-9750H

16 GB RAM (upgradable to 32, I'm looking at you Alienware M15 R2)

1660Ti or higher (2060, 2070)

a decent battery (70+ ? Wh)

144 Hz FHD display

Glass precision trackpad (glass part is preferred, but basically, trackpad has to be good)

 

And lastly, a decent built quality, because going from RB 15 and its aluminium unibody, I don't want a plasticky flashy turd lol.

 

I'm in Serbia, but I could get a laptop from any of the EU countries (i.e. amazon.de and and preferably any of the German retail sites)

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

edit: Also, should I just flip it and get the RB 15 with a 2070 (but I think they're still using 8750H?), if their quality is up?  

[Wellingtonzed]

ooh. yeah theres razer reliability for you. I dont know what your budget it but from the sound of it, 

 

1. take a look at the Predator Triton 500. 

the RTX 2060 spec, with a 144Hz desplay, 84WHR batter and 16gb of ram paired with an i7-9750H. 

Seems to hit your dream machine. 

 

2. There is another machine. The Eluktronics Mag-15. This ones pretty unique. Its kinda specked similar to the Triton 500 except Its got one of the largest batteries ever mated to a laptop, 94WHR, Its very thin, comes with more options in GPUs. 

 

Both are relatively new so google em and check out some reviews on em and reliability. They both seem to be your dream machines though.

 

Check out the two and the pricing. Im assuming its within your budget. 

 

[vkopanja]

Predator 500 looks to be around 2400 euros for a 2070 model, might be able to get a lower one (since I do think that 2060 is enough for what I play). What I'm concerned is, how does Acers long term reliability look, last time I used an Acer was late 2000s .

 

And about the Eluktronics Mag-15, I saw that one, and looks to be a decent price, but some people give it praise, others say Eluktronics is a shit company, so I'm not sure about that one. It does look amazing for the price though, so I'd be inclined to get it if I knew how reliable they are.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

edit: I've just seen the prices for the XMG NEO and XMG Fusion (both 15"), they look amazing. I know they're European equivalent of Eluktronics. Anyone got any experience with them?

[Wellingtonzed]

okee. 

1. An RTX 2060 is plenty, obviously dont go for a 2080 as thats just overkill

 

2. The Mag-15 isnt actually an Eluktronics laptop. Its a laptop actually made by Intel !. Its just sold under different brands. For example in this case its called the Mag-15, but you may find it under a different name such as the Vapour 15. Intel saw an opportunity for thin and light long lasting gaming machines and decided to try their hand in it. The laptop released only some weeks ago, but the reviews are favorable.

 

3. Acers reliability is better than it was. What i know for certain is that they're more reliable than ASUS as i typically see some questions on ASUS products gone wrong in the forums, but not many if any of Acer. So it looks to be good. Thats all i can say about the matter.  Definitely better than a razer... see posts on Razer problems too. Why did you buy a razer reeeee......

 

4. I cant speak for the products youve mentioned as obviously theyre not available in North America, but it seems to be a direct competitor to the mag-15. In fact its also another collaboration Intel product, just like the mag-15. If you want to go for it by all means, just find a review of it and check the thermal performance. 

 

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-Fusion-15-in-Review-Intel-s-reference-design-challenges-the-competition.435952.0.html

 

However, if this article by notebookcheck(they review laptops) is anything to go by, it seems like a solid machine. 

 

All three seem viable. Id go for either the XMG Fusion, Mag-15/Vapour 15 or whoever sells it, or the Triton 500. All are perfectly good machines. Its up to you to pick based on pricing and reviews on em. 

[vkopanja]

Yup, I'm almost 100% sure I'll be getting the XMG Fusion 15 (MAG 15 for you US folks), 1660Ti with 8 GB RAM (since I already have 32 GB kit) and 1TB 970 Evo, it's only like 1800 euros, which is an amazing price.

Also, I refuse to pay 50 euros for a Kryonaut repaste, I'll just do it myself, wtf is that price even, a 1g tube costs like $10-15, and can easily do 2-3 laptops, and they charge 50 euros lol.

[Wellingtonzed]

lol. Yeah good pick. go nuts. 1660TI is a solid GPU too. 

[Super Spartan]

On 10/27/2019 at 12:27 PM, vkopanja said:

Hey everyone, got a question about what's a good replacement for my current RB 15 2018 Advanced (1070 MaxQ model with 1080p 144 Hz display and 512 GB SSD).

 

Basically, I've had this laptop for 16-17 months now, and almost since day 1 it had weird problems, random BSODs, random reboots during boot up (it would reboot like 5 times before booting to Windows), complete Windows failures (it won't boot to Windows, and no way to fix it, have to have a full format). Even had a few instances where after a complete SSD wipe and Windows reinstall the first boot I would just keep getting weird BSODs that forced me to do an immediate reinstall.

 

The last thing that failed was the battery. I usually use my laptop on a stand as a workstation, but I had to use it like a laptop (shocker) and I noticed I couldn't click the trackpad, and sure enough, the battery was bulging (15 months after I bought it!). Now after replacing the battery I'm thinking of flipping it and taking the loss, but I'm not sure what to buy next...

 

These are my "dream" specs that a laptop should have:

i7-9750H

16 GB RAM (upgradable to 32, I'm looking at you Alienware M15 R2)

1660Ti or higher (2060, 2070)

a decent battery (70+ ? Wh)

144 Hz FHD display

Glass precision trackpad (glass part is preferred, but basically, trackpad has to be good)

 

And lastly, a decent built quality, because going from RB 15 and its aluminium unibody, I don't want a plasticky flashy turd lol.

 

I'm in Serbia, but I could get a laptop from any of the EU countries (i.e. amazon.de and and preferably any of the German retail sites)

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

edit: Also, should I just flip it and get the RB 15 with a 2070 (but I think they're still using 8750H?), if their quality is up?  

I recommend one of these:

 

- Alienware m15 (I had that laptop before and got it from HIDevolution with their upgraded thermal tweaks so it never overheated and had superb power and battery life for a gaming laptop and is super portable to carry around easily)

 

- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme

 

- ASUS Zephyrus M or S

 

When configuring the laptop, choose "Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut + Fujipoly Extreme Thermal Pads", that small upgrade reduces temps by 15C!

 

Also, HIDevolution ships internationally and they also offer a prepaid shipping service for an added cost if you wish which basically covers shipping costs both ways should anything wrong happen in the future so you won't have to pay to ship it back to them to get it repaired.

 

Also their tech support is amazing and much better than the manufacturer internal tech support from my experience.