New Laptop

[NoLoMo]

Hello and good night, I'm about to start school once again and am considering upgrading my laptop. The current laptop is not really cutting it for me anymore and want to upgrade to something more powerful. I will be using it for mostly school and the occasional gaming such as: Black Desert, Terra Online, Smite, etc. I want to occasionally record and maybe stream but streaming would be a plus. I have a couple I am considering but not sure exactly what I would be losing with each one so information and recommendation would be much obliged. In no particular order, I am think of:

• Dell Inspiron w/ i7 7th Gen 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD, GTX1050 [$859.99]
  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XFGF7SN/ref=psdc_13896615011_t3_B06Y4GZS9C
• MSI GP62MVR Leopard Pro-218 i7 6th Gen 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD, GTX 1060 [999.00]
  • https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154373
• MSI GP62MVR Leopard Pro-218 i7 7th Gen 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD, GTX 1060
  • https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=34-154-491
• Acer Predator Helios 300 i7 7th Gen 16GB RAM, 256SSD, GTX 1060 [$1249.99]
  • https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-Helios-GeForce-G3-571-77QK/dp/B06Y4GZS9C/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499835928&sr=1-1&keywords=acer+helios+30

Again any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[AerobicOrganism]

I don't know about the others but if you want a Predator i strongly advise you to NOT get a Helios 300, invest ~200$ more and get a Predator G5 instead, much better build quality.

[NoLoMo]

43 minutes ago, AerobicOrganism said:

I don't know about the others but if you want a Predator i strongly advise you to NOT get a Helios 300, invest ~200$ more and get a Predator G5 instead, much better build quality.

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-Gaming-GeForce-G5-793-72AU/dp/B01LZMFF0Z Also its not like I want a predator I just want something that can preform well while still being relativley cheap. Any reason why not the helios 300?

 

[AerobicOrganism]

47 minutes ago, NoLoMo said:

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-Gaming-GeForce-G5-793-72AU/dp/B01LZMFF0Z Also its not like I want a predator I just want something that can preform well while still being relativley cheap. Any reason why not the helios 300?

 

Yes and....yes.

 

The G5 is build the exact same as the more expensive G9, the Helios (G3) however is not. Acer basically saved on the build to achieve the lower price, the cooling for example is far worse, unless you don't mind having your keyboard at ~50C under load...

 

Acer's model numbers are pretty straight forward otherwise, let me give you a rough breakdown:

 

G3 (Helios) = The cheapest of them all, i wouldn't recommend it to anyone since as i said they saved all the money on build quality. Many have issues with it ranging from driver and BIO issues all the way to small and large hardware issues. Having a 1060 inside a soap box won't be beneficial in the long run.

 

G5 = Exact same build as the G9 it only misses a few things such as, Frostcore module (not very helpful and it's noisy), Optical drive (....), Subwoofer (might matter to some), only one M.2 slot (that's probably the biggest difference).

 

G9 = Same as G5 but with Subwoofer, Frostcore, Optical drive and 2 M.2 slots. The cheapest G9 (~1900$) has the same hardware as the ~1400-1500$ G5 the only difference being these 4 things.

 

GX = That's their "Kings" class, the build is still pretty much the same as the other two with the exception that there is a third fan in the front (it's an intake fan) and it packs their "special" Aerofans with extra fins.....and ofc it packs stronger hardware.

 

I'm not trying to get you to buy a Predator it's just the only lineup of laptops in your list i personally know rather well (i own a 17 X currently and had a G5 before that) but i only heard good things about Dell's Inspiron lineup especially the 7000 ones.

MSI i have no clue about tho.

 

 

[NoLoMo]

6 hours ago, AerobicOrganism said:

Yes and....yes.

 

The G5 is build the exact same as the more expensive G9, the Helios (G3) however is not. Acer basically saved on the build to achieve the lower price, the cooling for example is far worse, unless you don't mind having your keyboard at ~50C under load...

 

Acer's model numbers are pretty straight forward otherwise, let me give you a rough breakdown:

 

G3 (Helios) = The cheapest of them all, i wouldn't recommend it to anyone since as i said they saved all the money on build quality. Many have issues with it ranging from driver and BIO issues all the way to small and large hardware issues. Having a 1060 inside a soap box won't be beneficial in the long run.

 

G5 = Exact same build as the G9 it only misses a few things such as, Frostcore module (not very helpful and it's noisy), Optical drive (....), Subwoofer (might matter to some), only one M.2 slot (that's probably the biggest difference).

 

G9 = Same as G5 but with Subwoofer, Frostcore, Optical drive and 2 M.2 slots. The cheapest G9 (~1900$) has the same hardware as the ~1400-1500$ G5 the only difference being these 4 things.

 

GX = That's their "Kings" class, the build is still pretty much the same as the other two with the exception that there is a third fan in the front (it's an intake fan) and it packs their "special" Aerofans with extra fins.....and ofc it packs stronger hardware.

 

I'm not trying to get you to buy a Predator it's just the only lineup of laptops in your list i personally know rather well (i own a 17 X currently and had a G5 before that) but i only heard good things about Dell's Inspiron lineup especially the 7000 ones.

MSI i have no clue about tho.

 

 

 I see, thanks you very much for the info. I just heard a couple of good thing about the laptop and assumed it would be good. Alright would you be able to explain the biggest difference I would see between the 1050 and the 1060? These are mobile cards so I'm guessing the difference isn't that big. 

[Decorus_]

2 hours ago, NoLoMo said:

 I see, thanks you very much for the info. I just heard a couple of good thing about the laptop and assumed it would be good. Alright would you be able to explain the biggest difference I would see between the 1050 and the 1060? These are mobile cards so I'm guessing the difference isn't that big. 

Don't listen to this dude. the helios 300 actually has grat build quality for a mid tier laptop. great material choices, it is pretty robust. it does get hot as any gaming laptop but it never thermal throttles and temperatures are not that hot to affect your performance or damage your hardware, id say cooling is decent and fans are actually quiet. they didnt cheap out on build quality at all, the reason of the good price is the screen; it is full hd ips so it is sharpa and viewing angles are great but it is not very bright, only 250 nits, and colors are good but not near the best. I actually think it is a steal to have an nvidia 1060 for that price, quite a bang for your buck. hope this helps  oh and the difference between the cards is quite significant. id say the 1060 is about 70% more powerful than the 1050. but it depends on what you need, if you're going to do some hard gaming or editing

[Decorus_]

3 minutes ago, Decorus_ said:

Don't listen to this dude. the helios 300 actually has grat build quality for a mid tier laptop. great material choices, it is pretty robust. it does get hot as any gaming laptop but it never thermal throttles and temperatures are not that hot to affect your performance or damage your hardware, id say cooling is decent and fans are actually quiet. they didnt cheap out on build quality at all, the reason of the good price is the screen; it is full hd ips so it is sharp and viewing angles are great but it is not very bright, only 250 nits, and colors are good but not near the best. I actually think it is a steal to have an nvidia 1060 for that price, quite a bang for your buck. hope this helps  oh and the difference between the cards is quite significant. id say the 1060 is about 70% more powerful than the 1050. but it depends on what you need, if you're going to do some hard gaming or editing

 

[NoLoMo]

 

11 minutes ago, Decorus_ said:

Don't listen to this dude. the helios 300 actually has grat build quality for a mid tier laptop. great material choices, it is pretty robust. it does get hot as any gaming laptop but it never thermal throttles and temperatures are not that hot to affect your performance or damage your hardware, id say cooling is decent and fans are actually quiet. they didnt cheap out on build quality at all, the reason of the good price is the screen; it is full hd ips so it is sharpa and viewing angles are great but it is not very bright, only 250 nits, and colors are good but not near the best. I actually think it is a steal to have an nvidia 1060 for that price, quite a bang for your buck. hope this helps  oh and the difference between the cards is quite significant. id say the 1060 is about 70% more powerful than the 1050. but it depends on what you need, if you're going to do some hard gaming or editing

I do want to edit on it, but im just working with 1080p content.

[Decorus_]

On 12/7/2017 at 0:27 PM, NoLoMo said:

 

I do want to edit on it, but im just working with 1080p content.

if it is professional edit and you dont plan to do heavy work on it id reccomend getting a laptop witn an nvidia 1050ti and a better screen. the asus rog strix 553 could be an option, has a great screen but the specs are not as powerful as the helios and it is actually more expensive. I got the helios and i plug an external monitor for it if im going to do photo editing or video editing. for gaming and media the screen is great.

[edit1754]

Dell Inspiron [$859.99]

- This is the Inspiron 5577 which has a poor TN panel across the board. Too poor for a laptop costing this much I would say. It's like the left side of this photo. I would choose the Dell Inspiron 7567 IPS + 1050 Ti + SSD model instead. http://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop/fncwf514s

- 7300HQ vs 7700HQ is not a huge difference for gaming on this level of GPU, and you won't notice it at all for school work. 1050 Ti over a 1050 can easily be noticeable though. This configuration choice by Dell is a direct result of less-informed buyers looking for the Core i7 processor label more than they look for more important things, affecting overall demand and thus having a negative effect on supply for those who do know what to look for (better GPU, decent display). Inspiron 5577 is a product of poor information and a slightly disingenuous company.

- 256GB SSD + empty HDD slot is IMO better than 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, because you can just add a HDD and you still get the bigger SSD.

 

MSI GP62MVR

- Also a poor TN display. Acer Helios is already a better of a choice I would say; Eluktronics Clevo N850HP6 is my top rec for $1000-$1100 http://eluktronics.com/N850HP6 -- Prostar and Sager sell this too but seem to be using a 45% NTSC IPS display rather than Eluktronics' 72% NTSC, which is why I don't link them or any of their resellers for this model.

 

Acer Helios

- Better choice than the GP62MVR I would say, though it (as well as the N850HP6) don't have as good of battery life as the Inspiron 7567.

[NoLoMo]

8 hours ago, edit1754 said:

Dell Inspiron [$859.99]

- This is the Inspiron 5577 which has a poor TN panel across the board. Too poor for a laptop costing this much I would say. It's like the left side of this photo. I would choose the Dell Inspiron 7567 IPS + 1050 Ti + SSD model instead. http://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop/fncwf514s

- 7300HQ vs 7700HQ is not a huge difference for gaming on this level of GPU, and you won't notice it at all for school work. 1050 Ti over a 1050 can easily be noticeable though. This configuration choice by Dell is a direct result of less-informed buyers looking for the Core i7 processor label more than they look for more important things, affecting overall demand and thus having a negative effect on supply for those who do know what to look for (better GPU, decent display). Inspiron 5577 is a product of poor information and a slightly disingenuous company.

- 256GB SSD + empty HDD slot is IMO better than 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, because you can just add a HDD and you still get the bigger SSD.

 

MSI GP62MVR

- Also a poor TN display. Acer Helios is already a better of a choice I would say; Eluktronics Clevo N850HP6 is my top rec for $1000-$1100 http://eluktronics.com/N850HP6 -- Prostar and Sager sell this too but seem to be using a 45% NTSC IPS display rather than Eluktronics' 72% NTSC, which is why I don't link them or any of their resellers for this model.

 

Acer Helios

- Better choice than the GP62MVR I would say, though it (as well as the N850HP6) don't have as good of battery life as the Inspiron 7567.

Ok how about http://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-1tb-hard-drive-256gb-solid-state-drive-aluminum-black/5712735.p?skuId=5712735?

 

[NoLoMo]

8 hours ago, edit1754 said:

Dell Inspiron [$859.99]

- This is the Inspiron 5577 which has a poor TN panel across the board. Too poor for a laptop costing this much I would say. It's like the left side of this photo. I would choose the Dell Inspiron 7567 IPS + 1050 Ti + SSD model instead. http://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop/fncwf514s

- 7300HQ vs 7700HQ is not a huge difference for gaming on this level of GPU, and you won't notice it at all for school work. 1050 Ti over a 1050 can easily be noticeable though. This configuration choice by Dell is a direct result of less-informed buyers looking for the Core i7 processor label more than they look for more important things, affecting overall demand and thus having a negative effect on supply for those who do know what to look for (better GPU, decent display). Inspiron 5577 is a product of poor information and a slightly disingenuous company.

- 256GB SSD + empty HDD slot is IMO better than 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, because you can just add a HDD and you still get the bigger SSD.

 

MSI GP62MVR

- Also a poor TN display. Acer Helios is already a better of a choice I would say; Eluktronics Clevo N850HP6 is my top rec for $1000-$1100 http://eluktronics.com/N850HP6 -- Prostar and Sager sell this too but seem to be using a 45% NTSC IPS display rather than Eluktronics' 72% NTSC, which is why I don't link them or any of their resellers for this model.

 

Acer Helios

- Better choice than the GP62MVR I would say, though it (as well as the N850HP6) don't have as good of battery life as the Inspiron 7567.

Also I got an external IPS display already so i dont really care its it is a TN panel.

[AncientNerd]

10 hours ago, NoLoMo said:

Also I got an external IPS display already so i dont really care its it is a TN panel.

Ah you think you won't care - except that you might find that using the laptop panel as a second display while editing is really useful. Then you will care about how good the panel is.

 

Also if you carry this you may end up needing to do touchups or edits when you don't have your main panel available then you will really regret the TN panel.

[NoLoMo]

1 minute ago, AncientNerd said:

Ah you think you won't care - except that you might find that using the laptop panel as a second display while editing is really useful. Then you will care about how good the panel is.

 

Also if you carry this you may end up needing to do touchups or edits when you don't have your main panel available then you will really regret the TN panel.

Just how bad is the TN panel?

 

[AncientNerd]

Just now, NoLoMo said:

Just how bad is the TN panel?

 

I haven't used those particular TN panels but I had a TN at home that I gave to my wife and traded up to an IPS as soon as I could. The color was just bad, trying to edit any video or do animation on it was painful. I had a pair of 24" panels one TN and one IPS, and ended up getting a 29" IPS and giving my wife the 24" TN.

[NoLoMo]

3 minutes ago, AncientNerd said:

Ah you think you won't care - except that you might find that using the laptop panel as a second display while editing is really useful. Then you will care about how good the panel is.

 

Also if you carry this you may end up needing to do touchups or edits when you don't have your main panel available then you will really regret the TN panel.

Also my current laptop is a TN panel so, that's why I say I don't care all that much. It can run up to three displays, has enough USB 3.0 ports and is thin enough to carry around. Unless there are other laptops that do that better I am all ears.

[AncientNerd]

Just now, NoLoMo said:

Also my current laptop is a TN panel so, that's why I say I don't care all that much. It can run up to three displays, has enough USB 3.0 ports and is thin enough to carry around. Unless there are other laptops that do that better I am all ears.

That's cool just pointing out a possible downside to a less good panel. Dell has some nice laptops with IPS panels (I have had good luck with Dell laptops), so does MSI (but I have never used their laptops). 

[NoLoMo]

6 minutes ago, AncientNerd said:

That's cool just pointing out a possible downside to a less good panel. Dell has some nice laptops with IPS panels (I have had good luck with Dell laptops), so does MSI (but I have never used their laptops). 

Alright, I will give them a look

 

[edit1754]

Also desktop TN panels as well as older TN 1080p laptop panels are/were a lot better than most of today's (non-120Hz) TN laptop panels. 

[NoLoMo]

3 hours ago, edit1754 said:

Also desktop TN panels as well as older TN 1080p laptop panels are/were a lot better than most of today's (non-120Hz) TN laptop panels. 

http://www.frys.com/product/9156908?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG this is the one that I was looking at, what do you think of it.

 

[edit1754]

Says "eDP IPS-level" for the display, which should mean it's not the Best Buy version with the poor TN panel.

 

But for a slim GTX 1060 laptop you might like the Clevo P950HP6 better. Similar thin-ness, better build quality.  https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8950-clevo-p950hp6/

[NoLoMo]

12 minutes ago, edit1754 said:

Says "eDP IPS-level" for the display, which should mean it's not the Best Buy version with the poor TN panel.

 

But for a slim GTX 1060 laptop you might like the Clevo P950HP6 better. Similar thin-ness, better build quality.  https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8950-clevo-p950hp6/

I'll give it a look but I can't seem to find many reviews on it online.