Laptop decisions

[Scneebly]

Like a lot of people I find myself in a situation where I'm going to need a new laptop, and was hoping to get some help. My current laptop is a Lenovo ultrabook, and while the portability is great I loathe the limitations. When i bought my current laptop all of my gaming was done on a console, so performance wasn't really a factor now however I've started to do some light pc gaming and would like a more powerful device. 

 

First I was thinking of the Dell 7559, but ultimately decided that 2,5 kg was too much to haul around every day. Since then I've found https://www.mm-vision.dk/Vision-X-Series-X6470-14-baerbar

From what I can gather it's a rebranded Clevo P640RE with a 6th gen i7, 16gb ddr4 ram, 970m 3gb - which seems to fit the bill nicely. I know I'll be limited in terms of battery but I can live with that. 

 

Basically I would like a 14'' notebook which must be relatively easy to haul around, a dGPU, and at least 8GB of ram. Besides I wouldn't mind if the laptop isn't really 'gamery' in terms of look.

 

What other 14 inch options do i have when my budget is roughly $1500?

[don_svetlio]

14' 970M laptops tend to run hot. Check for reviews to make sure temps are under control.

You can also look at the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro and Asus RoG GL502 Strix

[Scneebly]

Thanks for the reply.

 

In the reviews I've managed to find (could only find a review of a Sager with the same cabinet and a schenker/xmg, but it seems to be the same Clevo cabinet) it seems to be okay - at least better than something like the razor blade.

 

I live in Denmark so the GS60 is first of all insanely hard to come by, and secondly out of my budget. There's some crazy taxes here, and often the manufacturers only offer little to no model variation because Denmark is such a small market. The Asus also seems to be out of my budget but might be close enough that I stretch the budget if it offers significantly more.

 

Review of a similar lap (same cabinet and specs mostly) is linked here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/sager-np8640-clevo-p640re-overview-videos-written.786609/

 

What do you think?

[don_svetlio]

2 minutes ago, Scneebly said:

Thanks for the reply.

 

In the reviews I've managed to find (could only find a review of a Sager with the same cabinet and a schenker/xmg, but it seems to be the same Clevo cabinet) it seems to be okay - at least better than something like the razor blade.

 

I live in Denmark so the GS60 is first of all insanely hard to come by, and secondly out of my budget. There's some crazy taxes here, and often the manufacturers only offer little to no model variation because Denmark is such a small market. The Asus also seems to be out of my budget but might be close enough that I stretch the budget if it offers significantly more.

 

Review of a similar lap (same cabinet and specs mostly) is linked here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/sager-np8640-clevo-p640re-overview-videos-written.786609/

 

What do you think?

Honestly - any laptop has better cooling than the Razer Blade. That thing is a disaster.

The GL502 has slightly better thermals and better battery life but I have no idea about the rest. keep in mind. GL502 is 15.6' whereas this is 14'.

[Scneebly]

Already noticed the difference in screen size - but thanks for the heads up.

 

The Asus seems to be almost $200 more expensive compared to the Vision I originally linked to, and in that case I'd rather have the extra portability unless the Asus is significantly better. Does the thermals posted in the review I linked to seem terrrible compared to the Asus? I have no idea about what's acceptable and what's not, but the reviewer claims to have seen no throttling even during extended gaming sessions.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Scneebly said:

Already noticed the difference in screen size - but thanks for the heads up.

 

The Asus seems to be almost $200 more expensive compared to the Vision I originally linked to, and in that case I'd rather have the extra portability unless the Asus is significantly better. Does the thermals posted in the review I linked to seem terrrible compared to the Asus? I have no idea about what's acceptable and what's not, but the reviewer claims to have seen no throttling even during extended gaming sessions.

The Clevo runs at about 80-85*C max. That is safe and okay for a 14' machine. For context, the Razer Blade runs at 95*C and overheats. Generally, keep it under 90*C and you shouldn't have any issue and in most games that don't push the components as hard you will get around 75-80*C. It's good.

[Scneebly]

Thank you for the advise. I will probably go with the 14'' in that case - the games I play isn't the most demanding, and the battery life seems to be on par with my current laptop. I did a lot of research before posting so my mind was pretty set already. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed any obvious options. The laptop will serve as both gaming machine and study-pc so making the right choice is important for me.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Scneebly said:

Thank you for the advise. I will probably go with the 14'' in that case - the games I play isn't the most demanding, and the battery life seems to be on par with my current laptop. I did a lot of research before posting so my mind was pretty set already. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed any obvious options. The laptop will serve as both gaming machine and study-pc so making the right choice is important for me.

Make sure the keyboard is good, all i can say

[Scneebly]

Coming from a Lenovo, no laptop keyboard will ever be as good I'm afraid. Getting a new laptop seems to be a game of compromises...

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Scneebly said:

Coming from a Lenovo, no laptop keyboard will ever be as good I'm afraid. Getting a new laptop seems to be a game of compromises...

ThinkPad keyboards are love

[Dackzy]

6 hours ago, don_svetlio said:

ThinkPad keyboards are love

ThinkPad keyboard are life

 

Hello fellow Dane

[Pendragon]

11 hours ago, Scneebly said:

snip.

Wait for the pascal refresh. The P640RE will be probably be getting a 1060 (or 1050ti). Which will be around desktop class 980 performances.

[Scneebly]

13 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Wait for the pascal refresh. The P640RE will be probably be getting a 1060 (or 1050ti). Which will be around desktop class 980 performances.

But there's no news in terms of mobile gpus yet - neither in terms of price, performance, or availability - only rumors. From what I can gather they are likely to be announced later this month, but that leaves me with a really short window to get a hold of one. And then there's no telling what the price and thermals will be like. 

 

And as stated further up the p640re isn't the exact pc I'm looking at, it just uses the same chassis/components. I could properly try and reach out to the manufacturer, but I doubt that it will get me anywhere.