Gaming Laptop Guide - UPDATED RTX Edition!

[CreNaZ]

Just want to ask about Alienware 13 r3

 

I am thinking to buy it as a refurbished one from Dell outlet with OLED screen. What should I concern or need to fix it based on your suggestion "(WARNING: AW has been having heat issues.  This is a risk)"I  ?

 

Because now I'm debating between Alienware 13r3 | Clevo P650HS | GS63VR. 

[Galm]

2 hours ago, CreNaZ said:

Just want to ask about Alienware 13 r3

 

I am thinking to buy it as a refurbished one from Dell outlet with OLED screen. What should I concern or need to fix it based on your suggestion "(WARNING: AW has been having heat issues.  This is a risk)"I  ?

 

Because now I'm debating between Alienware 13r3 | Clevo P650HS | GS63VR. 

I think the risk is pretty low.  It was worse but looks like they fixed the problems for the most part.  I'll most likely take that down fairly soon.

[Galm]

MicroCenter has (in store only) the Acer Predator G9-793-78CM 17-inch gaming notebook for $1399 + tax. This is a markdown of $600 from the previous retail price. It comes with an i7 6700HQ CPU, 16 GB of RAM, 8 GB GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, 2x128 GB SSD in RAID-0, 1 TB spinning hard drive, 1080p 75 Hz G-Sync compatible built-in display, and Windows 10 Home.
(S/O to saturnotaku at NBR )

 

Pretty great deal if your in the hunt for a good machine.  The predator has very good build and aesthetic quality.  Cooling should be alright.

[Galm]

Pretty decent P650HP6 deal for 1250 deal hunters:

https://m.newegg.com/product/index?itemnumber=2WC-000M-000K6

 

[Galm]

@D2ultima Do you think I should take down the warnings on the Alienwares?

[D2ultima]

3 hours ago, Galm said:

@D2ultima Do you think I should take down the warnings on the Alienwares?

Until they're perfect, no. And even then warn them that heat-related or bad-heatsink-related warranty claims won't happen if you do.

[KabuTheFox]

thoughts on the acer predator 17 g9-793-79pe at the <$1500 price range?

[Galm]

1 minute ago, KabuTheFox said:

thoughts on the acer predator 17 g9-793-79pe at the <$1500 price range?

Which gpu is that?

[KabuTheFox]

4 minutes ago, Galm said:

Which gpu is that?

1060 4gb

https://us-store.acer.com/predator-17-gaming-laptop-g9-793-79pe

[Galm]

31 minutes ago, KabuTheFox said:

1060 4gb

https://us-store.acer.com/predator-17-gaming-laptop-g9-793-79pe

Well that's suspicious.  The 1060 is only available in 3GB and 6GB.  So that's not good...  Most likely an error.

[KabuTheFox]

1 minute ago, Galm said:

Well that's suspicious.  The 1060 is only available in 3GB and 6GB.  So that's not good...  Most likely an error.

does indeed seem to be an error says 6gb on newegg and amazon listings for the same model name

[Galm]

4 minutes ago, KabuTheFox said:

does indeed seem to be an error says 6gb on newegg and amazon listings for the same model name

Anyways otherwise it's alright.  Nothing special.  The Clevo P650HP6 is cheaper for a similar config and is a very good machine.  The Acer is great but I don't like it's sporadic temperatures.

[KabuTheFox]

35 minutes ago, Galm said:

Anyways otherwise it's alright.  Nothing special.  The Clevo P650HP6 is cheaper for a similar config and is a very good machine.  The Acer is great but I don't like it's sporadic temperatures.

mostly looking at 17" options 
like the clevo p670hp6-g ( http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8176-clevo-p670hp6-g.html )

i was looking at the alienware 17 r4 as well but its lack of gsync kind of is a let down, i am sure its tolerable without but my previously laptop (dell xps l702x) was plagued with screen tearing especially when streaming via hdmi, very annoying. and the heat up issues mentioned in your post about the AW 15 i imagine also effects the AW 17

having a hard time finding anyone who even has the acer predator i mentioned besides youtube reviewers who dont reply to there comments, hard finding answers to specific questions 

i will say though bestbuy surprisingly has the acer listed for $1380, might order it from them and if i dont like it just return it.

 

[larKvan]

On 2/12/2017 at 4:32 PM, Galm said:

Pretty decent P650HP6 deal for 1250 deal hunters:

https://m.newegg.com/product/index?itemnumber=2WC-000M-000K6

 

Do you think it is worth it to order from LPC, pay more, get prema bios, ic diamond, longer waranty? Also no branding but thats a more personal thing. Thanks

[Galm]

9 minutes ago, larKvan said:

Do you think it is worth it to order from LPC, pay more, get prema bios, ic diamond, longer waranty? Also no branding but thats a more personal thing. Thanks

Yeah if your getting a nicer config with more ram and storage.

[larKvan]

4 minutes ago, Galm said:

Yeah if your getting a nicer config with more ram and storage.

I was going to get a 850 evo 500gb but lpc has it marked up like 60$

[Galm]

59 minutes ago, larKvan said:

I was going to get a 850 evo 500gb but lpc has it marked up like 60$

I'd recommend the X400.  It's like literally identical speeds for less money.  Samsung charges a lot.

[Pendragon]

4 hours ago, Galm said:

I'd recommend the X400.  It's like literally identical speeds for less money.  Samsung charges a lot.

its cause it's not 3d vnand. not about the speeds. you honestly can barely tell the difference between like a x400 or the 960 pro.

[Galm]

4 hours ago, Pendragon said:

its cause it's not 3d vnand. not about the speeds. you honestly can barely tell the difference between like a x400 or the 960 pro.

Yeah I know.  They do charge a lot for pretty much their whole line.  Except the 750 Evos I suppose.

 

And yeah, I am still not a fan of pcie until it does something for some more mainstream use cases.

[Galm]

I thought I'd post @edit1754 's advice on display quality since I haven't mentioned it in the guide:

 

PSA: Low-Quality TN Displays

Most of today's TN-type laptop displays exhibit a dull appearance due to poor contrast. This is not a characteristic of TN itself, but rather of this low quality type of TN. The $600+ market seemed to be moving exclusively towards better displays, however the low quality displays seem to be making a comeback. Many find display quality to be a noticeable difference, and in most cases alternatives with better displays are available.

Higher-priced laptops with poor displays.

• Dell Inspiron 7567 (FHD models)
• Sager NP5855, Prostar N855HJ
• ASUS K501UW, FX502VM
• ASUS FZ50VW, F556UA, X556UQ
• ASUS GL502VT (Best Buy model)
• MSI GL62M ("Vivid Color" models)
• MSI GP62MVR (non-IPS models)
• All 1366x768 (except rare IPS)
• All 17.3" 1600x900

PSA: False High-Res Displays

Many laptops that advertise resolutions of 3840x2160 (4K UHD), 3200x1800 (QHD+), and 2560x1440 (QHD) claim their respective numbers by using the RG/BW PenTile matrix, which does not provide the full detail of the resolutions. They carry the same performance requirements, but the picture is less sharp. This is often regarded to be a deceptive marketing practice. It is recommended to research the specific laptops before buying, to determine whether or not this is the case.

Laptops with false high-resolution displays:

• Old Dell Inspiron 7559 4K
• MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro 4K
• HP Pavilion, Envy, Omen 15 UHD
• Old 2016 HP Spectre x360 15 4K
• HP Envy 13 QHD+
• ASUS Zenbook 13.3" QHD+
• ASUS Zenbook (Pro) 15.6" 4K
• ASUS Vivobook, ROG 15.6" 4K
• Samsung QHD, QHD+, 4K
• Clevo w/ LG/Samsung/G-Sync 15.6" 4K
• Old Ideapads: Yoga QHD+, Y50 4K

Laptops with true high-resolution displays:

• New Dell Inspiron 7567 4K
• New 2017 HP Spectre x360 13/15 4K
• Dell XPS 12, XPS 13, XPS 15
• New Ideapads: Yoga 4K, Y700 4K
• Lenovo Legion Y720 4K
• HP Spectre x360 13 QHD
• HP Pavilion, Omen 17 UHD
• Clevo w/ Sharp 15.6" 4K (rare)
• All Gigabyte/Aorus/Alienware/Razer
• All business-class Lenovo, Dell, HP
• All 12.5"/17.3" QHD & 4K UHD
• All 13.3"/14" QHD except Samsung
• All Microsoft SurfaceBook models
• All Retina Macbooks

[Galm]

Microcenter has a sale on the GT62VR 1070 for 1500:

 

http://www.microcenter.com/product/...8_156_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Aluminum_Black

[D2ultima]

On 2/16/2017 at 11:08 AM, Galm said:

Yeah I know.  They do charge a lot for pretty much their whole line.  Except the 750 Evos I suppose.

 

And yeah, I am still not a fan of pcie until it does something for some more mainstream use cases.

Because the 750 EVOs are not 3D V-NAND

 

Same here.

 

On 2/16/2017 at 0:33 AM, larKvan said:

Do you think it is worth it to order from LPC, pay more, get prema bios, ic diamond, longer waranty? Also no branding but thats a more personal thing. Thanks

If you wish to buy from XoticPC and get the Prema mod, you buy from their own line of laptops (which is admittedly small right now):

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118-96-98/laptop-models-xotic-pc-laptops.html

 

On 2/16/2017 at 0:47 AM, larKvan said:

I was going to get a 850 evo 500gb but lpc has it marked up like 60$

Feel free to purchase these things and install them aftermarket. If you're not getting windows default with the device, then you should probably grab them anyway. You still get a drivers & utilities disc (or USB if you pay $15 or so for it).

[Galm]

On 2/22/2017 at 3:31 AM, D2ultima said:

Because the 750 EVOs are not 3D V-NAND

 

Same here.

 

If you wish to buy from XoticPC and get the Prema mod, you buy from their own line of laptops (which is admittedly small right now):

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-gaming-laptops-ct-118-96-98/laptop-models-xotic-pc-laptops.html

 

Feel free to purchase these things and install them aftermarket. If you're not getting windows default with the device, then you should probably grab them anyway. You still get a drivers & utilities disc (or USB if you pay $15 or so for it).

It's amazing what marketing has done for samsung.  Nearly everyone who asks for advice on a high end build has like a 1TB 960 Pro or Evo and it always makes me cringe unless their budget is truly unlimited.  

[Pendragon]

26 minutes ago, Galm said:

Nearly everyone who asks for advice on a high end build has like a 1TB 960 Pro or Evo and it always makes me cringe unless their budget is truly unlimited.  

IKR. Makes 0 sense to me. MLC or 3-D vNand at the lowest price you can get is the best option. 

[edit1754]

@Galm I have an update to that list: The ZX53VW (-AH58, 2017 version) does indeed use an IPS display! I've taken the model out of the low-quality-display section on the sidebar on /r/SuggestALaptop.

 

Seems as though there was a 2016 version with TN, but I haven't found it still for sale anywhere.