Help with buying laptop

[RyanOC]

Hey I'm just about to buy a gaming laptop and I've narrowed it down to 2 very similar laptops. 

 

The acer aspire v nitro VN7-791G 17.3 laptop:

i7-4720HQ 

GTX 960m 4gb of gddr5

8gb ram

LED display 

Integrated hd audio stereo speakers x4

1Tb hd and 128gb ssd 

Price= 1329.99 discounted 220

 

 

and the same laptop but black edition 

which is the same but has

gtx 860m 4gb gddr5 

ips monitor 

intergeated stereo speakers

Price=1399.99 

 

Ill be using for everything as well as gaming like college work. I generally play stradegy games but hope to play more graphically intense games ffps and RPGs with this laptop as its my first gaming laptop. 

 

Just unsure of of a few things like why the hell the limited edition was cheaper than the normal. Is the ips monitor worth the little sacrifice in fps and why the normal laptop has the hd audio speakers and not the limited editon. 

 

Im buying it from currys and the description seems to be just copied and pasted so I don't know if the person was lazy or not. And I can't check the acer website as there's numbers after the VN7-791G that aren't given on the currys website.

 

and in case your wondering why I don't just buy it online I have a voucher for currys that limits me to there stock 

 

sorry for the really long message trying to figure this out its wrecking my head all together 

 

[sebz2]

I believe first one had a better gpu

[don_svetlio]

Acer Nitro series have a lot of heat issues with the quad-core CPU versions. I'd strongly recommend you avoid those two.

My recommendation is either the Lenovo Y700 or Dell Inspiron 7559 - if you are going to game on it, you want good cooling to make the GPU and CPU last longer. The Y700 has temps of around 75*C under load for the CPU whereas the Acer has 90*C temps for a maxed out CPU. This is mainly due to the MUCH bigger full copper heatsink on the Y700 vs the smaller aluminium ones on the Acer. The Nitro is just too thin to be a proper gaming laptop and sacrfices noise and heat and is thus a hot and loud machine. The extra thinness means the fans will have to work MUCH harder to move the same amount of air as the Y700 or 7559's fans.

[don_svetlio]

@RyanOC

 

 

[RyanOC]

43 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Acer Nitro series have a lot of heat issues with the quad-core CPU versions. I'd strongly recommend you avoid those two.

My recommendation is either the Lenovo Y700 or Dell Inspiron 7559 - if you are going to game on it, you want good cooling to make the GPU and CPU last longer. The Y700 has temps of around 75*C under load for the CPU whereas the Acer has 90*C temps for a maxed out CPU. This is mainly due to the MUCH bigger full copper heatsink on the Y700 vs the smaller aluminium ones on the Acer. The Nitro is just too thin to be a proper gaming laptop and sacrfices noise and heat and is thus a hot and loud machine. The extra thinness means the fans will have to work MUCH harder to move the same amount of air as the Y700 or 7559's fans.

I can't get the y700 or the dell laptop from the store I have to buy from. Those 2 laptops are by far the best bang for buck anything to the same spec is 1700+ which is just out of my price range. I just trying to figure out is a small sacrifice from the GTX 960m to the GTX 860m worth the ips screen if I'm gaming

[don_svetlio]

3 minutes ago, RyanOC said:

I can't get the y700 or the dell laptop from the store I have to buy from. Those 2 laptops are by far the best bang for buck anything to the same spec is 1700+ which is just out of my price range. I just trying to figure out is a small sacrifice from the GTX 960m to the GTX 860m worth the ips screen if I'm gaming

It won't matter. Both GPUs will overheat with that laptop.

[RyanOC]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

It won't matter. Both GPUs will overheat with that laptop.

Would a y70 be better but it's the same gpu with just 2gb the store doesn't have the newer y700

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

Would a y70 be better but it's the same gpu with just 2gb the store doesn't have the newer y700

Y50 - yes
Y70 - no

[RyanOC]

7 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Y50 - yes
Y70 - no

Why the y50 over the y70 wouldn't the bigger screen be better for gaming? I don't mind the decrease in portability that much. And sorry for wrecking your head just want to be sure about the laptop before I spend that much money

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

Why the y50 over the y70 wouldn't the bigger screen be better for gaming? I don't mind the decrease in portability that much. And sorry for wrecking your head just want to be sure about the laptop before I spend that much money

From what I remember reading when buying my Y50, the Y70 had a few thermal issues associated with it. Basically, the Y50 (4720HQ, IPS 1080p non-touch) is what I recommend

[RyanOC]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

From what I remember reading when buying my Y50, the Y70 had a few thermal issues associated with it. Basically, the Y50 (4720HQ, IPS 1080p non-touch) is what I recommend

Thank you so much for your help  

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, RyanOC said:

Thank you so much for your help  

No problem (meant to hit "friendly")

[don_svetlio]

4 minutes ago, RyanOC said:

Thank you so much for your help  

The only downside to the Y50's cooling is that because it's thinner than say the Y700 or Inspiron the area around the W and R keys gets kinda warm when gaming. The good part is that it doesn't affect temps. My usual temps when gaming in Rise of the Tomb Raider were 70*C CPU and 66*C GPU. And that was before cleaning it.

[RyanOC]

4 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

The only downside to the Y50's cooling is that because it's thinner than say the Y700 or Inspiron the area around the W and R keys gets kinda warm when gaming. The good part is that it doesn't affect temps. My usual temps when gaming in Rise of the Tomb Raider were 70*C CPU and 66*C GPU. And that was before cleaning it.

I was checking out the website there they have it. The only downside it's only GTX 860m with 2gb. Would 4gb be much better that 2?

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

I was checking out the website there they have it. The only downside it's only GTX 860m with 2gb. Would 4gb be much better that 2?

I doubt you'll notice the difference. As long as you don't go crazy with 4K texture mods you'll be good

[RyanOC]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

I doubt you'll notice the difference. As long as you don't go crazy with 4K texture mods you'll be good

Ahhh okay im

just trying to get the best bang for buck as this will probably be my last laptop till I graduate

 

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

Ahhh okay im

just trying to get the best bang for buck as this will probably be my last laptop till I graduate

 

Well. You could opt for the 4GB version (if available) but I think you should be fine overall. Can I have a link to the exact model?

[RyanOC]

6 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Well. You could opt for the 4GB version (if available) but I think you should be fine overall. Can I have a link to the exact model?

The acer http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/acer-v-nitro-black-edition-173-laptop-black/331589/401.0.0#ctl00_ctl00__nestedContent__mainpageContent_ProductFamilyDetailsView1_liProductDetails

 

tge y50 http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/lenovo-y50-156-gaming-laptop-black/331830/401.0.0

[don_svetlio]

4 minutes ago, RyanOC said:

The acer http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/acer-v-nitro-black-edition-173-laptop-black/331589/401.0.0#ctl00_ctl00__nestedContent__mainpageContent_ProductFamilyDetailsView1_liProductDetails

 

tge y50 http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/lenovo-y50-156-gaming-laptop-black/331830/401.0.0

I think I found a better option. Give me a few mins to research it

[don_svetlio]

6 minutes ago, RyanOC said:

The acer http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/acer-v-nitro-black-edition-173-laptop-black/331589/401.0.0#ctl00_ctl00__nestedContent__mainpageContent_ProductFamilyDetailsView1_liProductDetails

 

tge y50 http://www.currys.ie/Mobile/Product/lenovo-y50-156-gaming-laptop-black/331830/401.0.0

So. Here's where you stand.

The Y50 has a poor drive - the SSHD isn't that good. I changed my own to an 850 EVO after 3 months. If you can get an SSD soon then it's fine.

Then there's this - http://www.currys.ie/Product/asus-republic-of-gamers-g771jm-173-gaming-laptop-black/332025/401.0.0
 

It comes with an SSD BUT the temps are higher and it throttles under very heavy load. Be sure to read up on it here.
http://laptopmedia.com/review/asus-rog-g771-review-n751s-more-powerful-gaming-sibling/#temperatures

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-G771JM-T4103H.135346.0.html

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/5255-asus-g771-review/

[RyanOC]

5 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

So. Here's where you stand.

The Y50 has a poor drive - the SSHD isn't that good. I changed my own to an 850 EVO after 3 months. If you can get an SSD soon then it's fine.

Then there's this - http://www.currys.ie/Product/asus-republic-of-gamers-g771jm-173-gaming-laptop-black/332025/401.0.0
 

It comes with an SSD BUT the temps are higher and it throttles under very heavy load. Be sure to read up on it here.
http://laptopmedia.com/review/asus-rog-g771-review-n751s-more-powerful-gaming-sibling/#temperatures

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-G771JM-T4103H.135346.0.html

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/5255-asus-g771-review/

I'd love to be able to buy that laptop it's just out of my price range the acer and the y50 or y70 were really pushing it anyway. 

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

I'd love to be able to buy that laptop it's just out of my price range the acer and the y50 or y70 were really pushing it anyway. 

Oh, sorry. I didn't see the price was 2000. For some reason I thought it was 1400. Hmmm. In that case. You have another option in the form of this
http://www.currys.ie/Product/asus-republic-of-gamers-gl552vw-156-gaming-laptop-black/334927/401.2.0

 

The trick here is the build is full plastic so it will be less sturdy than a Y50. Personally, I'd say a Y50 with an SSD upgrade after a few months. Opening the Y50 doesn't void warranty, it just requires patience and composure.

[RyanOC]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

Oh, sorry. I didn't see the price was 2000. For some reason I thought it was 1400. Hmmm. In that case. You have another option in the form of this
http://www.currys.ie/Product/asus-republic-of-gamers-gl552vw-156-gaming-laptop-black/334927/401.2.0

 

The trick here is the build is full plastic so it will be less sturdy than a Y50. Personally, I'd say a Y50 with an SSD upgrade after a few months. Opening the Y50 doesn't void warranty, it just requires patience and composure.

I actually didn't see that one  looks good  would the i5 make much difference in terms of gamin?

[don_svetlio]

Just now, RyanOC said:

I actually didn't see that one  looks good  would the i5 make much difference in terms of gamin?

Probably not. I think the GPU is the biggest limiting factor for laptops.

However, be sure to check how customer support is in your area. Asus aren't good with customer support.

[RyanOC]

3 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Probably not. I think the GPU is the biggest limiting factor for laptops.

However, be sure to check how customer support is in your area. Asus aren't good with customer support.

Thanks again