Looking for a gaming laptop!

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Hello all, I'm a sophomore college student currently studying Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. My current laptop is a mid-low range Dell Inspiron which is what I take with me everyday to and from school (I commute from home). It's served me quite well over the last couple years, however it does have its drawbacks. Chiefly, it uses a dual core U processor from Intel and only has on-board graphics. This has been fine for things like checking emails and typing up documents, but it struggles to stream videos at 1080p (constantly freezing up on youtube) and obviously is bad for gaming - it can barely run minecraft - or intensive homework programs. I have a desktop at home which can run all of my games and programs just fine, but for day to day situations it's not ideal to have to commute home every time I want to do something more taxing than a word document. As such, I'm looking for a laptop that has quite a bit more "oomph" before the new semester starts. I've been saving up some money so I could get a nicer one and have done a bit of research. So far, I think I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices:

 

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GS43VR-Phantom-Pro-006-i7-6700HQ/dp/B01IO9Y30G

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-13-laptop/dkcwkble3s?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjE2NDkuOTksIk9DIjoiZGtjd2tibGUzcyIsIlF0eSI6MSwiTW9kcyI6W3siSWQiOjc2MCwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiJRSERLQkwiLCJQcmljZSI6MzUwLjB9XX1dfQ%3D%3D

 

I think that at this point I'm slightly leaning towards the MSI, but the OLED screen on the Alienware also looks super nice. Any help in deciding between the two would be greatly appreciated! I'm also open to any other suggestions for gaming laptops. The following are some points that are the most important to me in order:

 

Price - I'm not made of money. I have a hard budget cap at around $1600 USD, so the Alienware with the OLED screen and nothing else is already pretty much as high as I'd be willing to pay. Something like a Razer Blade with comparable specs is out of my price range. I would also like this laptop to last me for about 3-5 years before needing an upgrade.

 

Size/Weight - Portability is a huge factor for me. I want something smaller than a 15 inches with a small overall profile, desk space in the classroom or at the library can be limited and very restricting. Also the lighter the better since I'd be carrying the laptop around all day (under 5lbs would be nice).

 

Power - I would be using this laptop a lot for gaming on the go, so ideally it should be able to handle games like Overwatch, Fallout 4, and Rise of the Tomb Raider, etc. at High/Ultra Settings on 1080p. A 1060 might be slightly overkill (dat future proofing tho) but I would like it to at least have an older gen 970m/980m. Also a quad core CPU is a must. I currently do some light work in Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro, and in the coming semesters I'll be doing a lot of work in CAD and Solidworks among other programs. 

 

Battery Life - I understand that gaming laptop generally don't have good battery life, but I'll put this in here anyways. My current laptop can handle about 2 hours of video playback or 3-4 hours of general usage before needing to be plugged in. If through power saving modes I can match or beat that, I'll be happy. Either way I'll probably carry the power cord with the laptop as I currently do.

 

"Bells and whistles" - I'm a sucker for features. So things like IPS/OLED screens, touchscreens, RGB lighting, etc. etc. are all minor pluses.

 

Thank you everyone for you time!

[The Sloth]

i would go for the msi gs43 one they have a solid record. dell Alienware is unnecessary thick and very heavy with a childish design. both of the laptops will get you through engineering, could i ask which engineering you are going into.  

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Thanks for the advice! I do like the MSI alot and have been following it for the last couple months. It seems to have dropped in price as well so saving that extra $300 is a really big plus. My major is in Mechanical Engineering with an Aerospace Concentration.   

[D2ultima]

There aren't any good sub-15" machines for the kind of things you want. I would suggest a P650RP6, though. Has a 1060, is above 5 pounds but under 6, is 15", can last 4 hours+ if you're using Optimus display type (you can switch between optimus and dGPU-only with a reboot), should generally be able to do what you ask, and be within your budget.

 

Expecting ultra settings from a 1060 isn't happening in games like ROTTR, but high should work fine. You can also get it from a Prema mod shop where you'll get the Prema sBIOS and vBIOS so you'll actually have a working mobile GPU as well. You can take your pick from HIDevolution.com or get a Sager through LPC-Digital (and ask for the Prema mod). I suggest HID because they handle systems firsthand whereas LPC-Digital does not, but both are great options for US customers.

 

Aside from that, if you can find a cheap MSI GS63VR I'd get that. It's not as good an option, however it lacks the longevity issues I believe the GS43VR will have and it isn't from Dell and superbly overpriced like the AW13 is.

 

 

[Galm]

13 hours ago, D2ultima said:

There aren't any good sub-15" machines for the kind of things you want. I would suggest a P650RP6, though. Has a 1060, is above 5 pounds but under 6, is 15", can last 4 hours+ if you're using Optimus display type (you can switch between optimus and dGPU-only with a reboot), should generally be able to do what you ask, and be within your budget.

 

Expecting ultra settings from a 1060 isn't happening in games like ROTTR, but high should work fine. You can also get it from a Prema mod shop where you'll get the Prema sBIOS and vBIOS so you'll actually have a working mobile GPU as well. You can take your pick from HIDevolution.com or get a Sager through LPC-Digital (and ask for the Prema mod). I suggest HID because they handle systems firsthand whereas LPC-Digital does not, but both are great options for US customers.

 

Aside from that, if you can find a cheap MSI GS63VR I'd get that. It's not as good an option, however it lacks the longevity issues I believe the GS43VR will have and it isn't from Dell and superbly overpriced like the AW13 is.

 

 

I second this post.

 

Clevo used to have a P640 with a 970m/1060 gpu, but now it contains a 1050/1050 Ti.  

 

The P650HP6 is the new replacement to the RP6 and is a great option.  If your interested in overclocking buying from a Prema partner is a good decision but if your not I would avoid it as HID while very good charges a premium over most Sager resellers.

 

If 14" is a hard limit, the MSI GS43VR is the best priced slim 14" with a quad core.  An AW 13 or Aorus X3 is gonna be too much.

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Thank you voth for the responses! I think I'm firmly moving away from the AW13 hype, the main appeal for me was the OLED screen, and It's simply not worth what the asking price is.

 

I did look into the P650RP6/HP6 briefly, and they do seem to be really nice machines. However That's not really what I'm looking for in a laptop. My main gaming machine will still be my desktop (Which is more than capable of handling anything I want it to). With my laptop I was hoping to strike a balance in between portability and performance, to have a laptop that is lightweight and easy to travel with, but is also capable of handling games and school programs when necessary. (In the library, gaming with friends, traveling, etc.) Unfortunetly the clevo's would add both more weight and bulk in my bag than my current Dell, which isn't something I'm too fond of (and from what I can tell most manufacturers seem to be using similar hardware for their Pascal machines anyways, so It's not like I'm getting a. Massively more powerful system for that added bulk). In that regard, I'm actually growing to like D2Ultima's suggestion to look at the gs63vr. It's a 15.6 inch laptop, but it's also slim, lightweight and can pack a punch. Plus it seems to deal with thermals better than the gs43vr which should help with longevity. I did find it for about 1500 on best buy, but I heard that they use a different display on that variant, is this true? If so then I might see if I can squeeze an extra few bucks in my budget to get the Amazon version. That being said I Don't want to rule out the Clevo completely because it is a very nice machine...

 

Thank you both again!

[Pendragon]

4 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

In that regard, I'm actually growing to like D2Ultima's suggestion to look at the gs63vr. It's a 15.6 inch laptop, but it's also slim, lightweight and can pack a punch. Plus it seems to deal with thermals better than the gs43vr which should help with longevity. I did find it for about 1500 on best buy, but I heard that they use a different display on that variant, is this true? If so then I might see if I can squeeze an extra few bucks in my budget to get the Amazon version...

 

Thank you both again!

Yes the best buy model has a shit screen. Consider the XPS15 with the 1050 when it comes to Dell Outlet or from a good ebay refurb seller. Also consider the P640xx coming from Clevo which will have a 1050ti. Also consider the Y520 which will also come with a 1050ti and under 1000 dollars to save money.

 

tl;dr

xps15 1050

p640 1050ti

y520 1050ti

[Dackzy]

16 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

p640 1050ti

wait did they come out with a updated P640?

[Pendragon]

Just now, Dackzy said:

wait did they come out with a updated P640?

very soon  

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

very soon  

I am going to keep an eye on that laptop  

[Pendragon]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I am going to keep an eye on that laptop  

It's going to come out around the time when the rest of the 1050ti's come out. 

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Pendragon said:

It's going to come out around the time when the rest of the 1050ti's come out. 

Oh that is no problem for me, I will first upgrade in july or something like that

[Galm]

55 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

Thank you voth for the responses! I think I'm firmly moving away from the AW13 hype, the main appeal for me was the OLED screen, and It's simply not worth what the asking price is.

 

I did look into the P650RP6/HP6 briefly, and they do seem to be really nice machines. However That's not really what I'm looking for in a laptop. My main gaming machine will still be my desktop (Which is more than capable of handling anything I want it to). With my laptop I was hoping to strike a balance in between portability and performance, to have a laptop that is lightweight and easy to travel with, but is also capable of handling games and school programs when necessary. (In the library, gaming with friends, traveling, etc.) Unfortunetly the clevo's would add both more weight and bulk in my bag than my current Dell, which isn't something I'm too fond of (and from what I can tell most manufacturers seem to be using similar hardware for their Pascal machines anyways, so It's not like I'm getting a. Massively more powerful system for that added bulk). In that regard, I'm actually growing to like D2Ultima's suggestion to look at the gs63vr. It's a 15.6 inch laptop, but it's also slim, lightweight and can pack a punch. Plus it seems to deal with thermals better than the gs43vr which should help with longevity. I did find it for about 1500 on best buy, but I heard that they use a different display on that variant, is this true? If so then I might see if I can squeeze an extra few bucks in my budget to get the Amazon version. That being said I Don't want to rule out the Clevo completely because it is a very nice machine...

 

Thank you both again!

The GS63 is a great option if you really value portability.  

 

The P650 is still a reasonable laptop to carry around, but I understand if your use to ultraportables.

[The Pikachu Mafia]

I'll probably order the laptop by the end of this week, so hopefully it will come before the semester gets too crazy. I've also been looking at all the suggested options and the P650 is starting to grow on me the more I look into it. At this point I think it might be a choice between the GS63VR and the P650. I was making some mock builds of the P650 to see how much various mods would cost (since I'd be saving a few bucks, throwing in some extra storage or a dead pixel warranty might be nice). I was mostly visiting HID and XoticPC. Is there really a quality difference between the two? I don't plan on overclocking this machine - given that the cooling situation is relatively inflexible compared to a desktop - and as stated earlier HID does seem to cost more. Also I noticed that Xotic is offering their machine with a Kaby Lake CPU while HID does not, Xotic claims that it's still a P650RP6, but isn't Kaby Lake an indicator of the newer HP6? It's not like Kaby Lake is miles better than Skylake anyways, so it's not a deal breaker or anything (although the faster base clock is nice). Also if I'm not overclocking, will not having a Perma BIOS negatively affect me? Thanks so much for the help! 

[Pendragon]

7 hours ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

and as stated earlier HID does seem to cost more. Also I noticed that Xotic is offering their machine with a Kaby Lake CPU while HID does not, Xotic claims that it's still a P650RP6, but isn't Kaby Lake an indicator of the newer HP6? It's not like Kaby Lake is miles better than Skylake anyways, so it's not a deal breaker or anything (although the faster base clock is nice). Also if I'm not overclocking, will not having a Perma BIOS negatively affect me? Thanks so much for the help! 

HID does cost more when everything is spec to spec. About a 100-200 dollar premium I would say on EVOC chassis. Not worth it in my opinion on a P650HP6 (BGA machine). I would go HID when you start going socket hardware and want that liquid metal delid warranty. You are correct in HID still hasn't updated their variants yet, but it should be happening VERY soon. If you're not overclocking, having a Prema bios is still worlds better. Fixes all the bullshit with the stock clevo bios, having a custom vbios that doesn't allow mobile pascal to throttle to shit, opens up power and voltage options etc. Even if you're not overclocking, you'll get better stability and performance due to the GPU not throttling.

 

I'd say you get it from LPC Digitial. You get the Prema bios + almost no premium over retailers. Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member.

 

However, IF you are thinking about the GS63VR, DEFINITELY get it here. http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-gs63vr-custom-built-gaming-laptop-pc.html

They FINALLY sourced the whitebook version without all the disgusting MSI branding. The only other place that sourced the GS63VR whitebook version was Origin and they charge over 2k for it (which is complete bulllllshit). So I would definitely pay to get it from HID with no branding. They even have an option to remove their EVOC branding to get a clean all black no branding aluminium chassis. I would so be picking one up if it had more battery life (battery life is a huge deal for me). 

[The Pikachu Mafia]

12 hours ago, Pendragon said:

HID does cost more when everything is spec to spec. About a 100-200 dollar premium I would say on EVOC chassis. Not worth it in my opinion on a P650HP6 (BGA machine). I would go HID when you start going socket hardware and want that liquid metal delid warranty. You are correct in HID still hasn't updated their variants yet, but it should be happening VERY soon. If you're not overclocking, having a Prema bios is still worlds better. Fixes all the bullshit with the stock clevo bios, having a custom vbios that doesn't allow mobile pascal to throttle to shit, opens up power and voltage options etc. Even if you're not overclocking, you'll get better stability and performance due to the GPU not throttling.

 

I'd say you get it from LPC Digitial. You get the Prema bios + almost no premium over retailers. Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member.

 

However, IF you are thinking about the GS63VR, DEFINITELY get it here. http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-gs63vr-custom-built-gaming-laptop-pc.html

They FINALLY sourced the whitebook version without all the disgusting MSI branding. The only other place that sourced the GS63VR whitebook version was Origin and they charge over 2k for it (which is complete bulllllshit). So I would definitely pay to get it from HID with no branding. They even have an option to remove their EVOC branding to get a clean all black no branding aluminium chassis. I would so be picking one up if it had more battery life (battery life is a huge deal for me). 

 

Thanks for the tip! I had a feeling that even without going the OC route that having a stronger BIOS couldn't hurt. I took a look at LPC Digital and they do look pretty good. However they don't seem to have any P650RP6 or HP6s in stock. I could either go overkill with the HS-G model - although why I would ever need a 1070 to push 60hz 1080p games is beyond me - or go with the 3GB version of the 1060, which is far less future proof. I'd prefer to at least match the specs of the MSI, so losing 3GB of VRAM sucks. Are there an other good Prema partners that I can get the P650 from without paying a price premium? 

 

Also I agree, that sleek GS63VR from HID looks really sweet. Battery life is really unfortunate but should be comparable to what I have now.  

[Pendragon]

39 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

Are there an other good Prema partners that I can get the P650 from without paying a price premium? 

No. ): LPC offers the lowest price out of any of them. However, it is confirmed that they will have the HP6 version soon in stock. Very very very soon. I'm pretty sure you can contact them now to reserve a unit for yourself. 

[Galm]

14 hours ago, Pendragon said:

HID does cost more when everything is spec to spec. About a 100-200 dollar premium I would say on EVOC chassis. Not worth it in my opinion on a P650HP6 (BGA machine). I would go HID when you start going socket hardware and want that liquid metal delid warranty. You are correct in HID still hasn't updated their variants yet, but it should be happening VERY soon. If you're not overclocking, having a Prema bios is still worlds better. Fixes all the bullshit with the stock clevo bios, having a custom vbios that doesn't allow mobile pascal to throttle to shit, opens up power and voltage options etc. Even if you're not overclocking, you'll get better stability and performance due to the GPU not throttling.

 

I'd say you get it from LPC Digitial. You get the Prema bios + almost no premium over retailers. Also you get a discount if you're an active NBR member.

 

However, IF you are thinking about the GS63VR, DEFINITELY get it here. http://www.hidevolution.com/evoc-gs63vr-custom-built-gaming-laptop-pc.html

They FINALLY sourced the whitebook version without all the disgusting MSI branding. The only other place that sourced the GS63VR whitebook version was Origin and they charge over 2k for it (which is complete bulllllshit). So I would definitely pay to get it from HID with no branding. They even have an option to remove their EVOC branding to get a clean all black no branding aluminium chassis. I would so be picking one up if it had more battery life (battery life is a huge deal for me). 

The P650 does benefit a lot from liquid ultra at HID.

 

GentechPC also offers it so if OP isnt an OCer it may be worth over the Prema bios, but its a hard choice.

 

liquid ultra on my P650RS with a 1070 makes my cpu temps max out at 70C and gpu 74C.  Big difference over stock in the low to mid 80s.

[Pendragon]

11 minutes ago, Galm said:

liquid ultra on my P650RS with a 1070 makes my cpu temps max out at 70C and gpu 74C.  Big difference over stock in the low to mid 80s.

Oh ofc, LM + FJ pads are the dream aftermarket solutions, but for a 1060, LM isn't needed. Yes I know everyone at NBR loves HID. I love it too for the services they offer. I just don't think they justify the 200 dollar premium of LPC on a "lower-tier" system such as the P650HP6. Personal opinion ofc. And yes you are entirely correct that it does benefit from LM, but so does everything. 

[slightlykoala]

Well the aero 14 has a gtx 1060 and great battery life with top laptop CPU with and IPS screen. Altough the 512 gb model is 1699 one can get one for cheaper, but it does fit all your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Aero-14Wv6-BK4-Notebook-i7-6700HQ-Computer/dp/B01N45HGL5/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1484274262&sr=1-1&keywords=aero+14

[Galm]

31 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

Oh ofc, LM + FJ pads are the dream aftermarket solutions, but for a 1060, LM isn't needed. Yes I know everyone at NBR loves HID. I love it too for the services they offer. I just don't think they justify the 200 dollar premium of LPC on a "lower-tier" system such as the P650HP6. Personal opinion ofc. And yes you are entirely correct that it does benefit from LM, but so does everything. 

No I agree.  I was saying if he did go for HID, get liquid ultra otherwise 100% get it from somewhere else (LPC-Digital is my rec too).

[D2ultima]

17 minutes ago, slightlykoala said:

Well the aero 14 has a gtx 1060 and great battery life with top laptop CPU with and IPS screen. Altough the 512 gb model is 1699 one can get one for cheaper, but it does fit all your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Aero-14Wv6-BK4-Notebook-i7-6700HQ-Computer/dp/B01N45HGL5/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1484274262&sr=1-1&keywords=aero+14

Except the laptop is basically crap.

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Yeah, I'll contact LPC digital and see if they'll have the HP6 back in stock anytime within the next couple weeks. Otherwise I will probably go for the GS63VR or go through HID and just accept the extra price tag.

 

I remember hearing about the Aero 14 from somewhere before, but I think I also remember hearing that it had a hard time with thermals or was unpopular for some other reason? I really can't remember. I'll look into it for the sake of being fair though, thanks of the suggestion!

[Pendragon]

20 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

Otherwise I will probably go for the GS63VR or go through HID and just accept the extra price tag.

To be fair. There's barely extra price tag. Barely. Only thing is they don't offer Windows (which is good, you should just source your own Win10 Pro either from a OEM key or somewhere). 

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Actually I get free Windows licenses from my University (both the OS and the full office suite) so that was always a moot point anyways. Decking out the P650 to the same specifications (plus thermal paste and a 30 day dead pixel warranty) puts it within $50 of the MS63VR, so that's nice. I'd still prefer to go through LPC Digital if possible and save even more though lol. I wish that there were more computer shops in my area, it's hard to look at a bunch of number and spreadsheets and then decide from that which computer I would like better as a daily driver without any firsthand experience.