Need some help in deciding and other recommendations for a laptop

[DND]

Hey guys recently I've posted and asked for some recommendations for a laptop so. After watching and reading reviews of laptops I've come down to these choices

 

Gaming Laptops:

Asus GL502VM 

Gigabyte Aero 14

 

these two are both I7-7700HQ and with a 1060 6GB, 16GB RAM, asus has 1TB+128GB ssd gigabyte has only 512GB ssd both are sata the aero 14 has QHD IPS the asus has g-sync 120hz ips 1080p.Sager Laptop

 

Ultrabook:

Razer Blade Stealth 12.5" Kaby lake

Dell XPS 13 Kaby lake

 

So I need some help on what to get either a gaming laptop or an ultrabook the thing is I need a portable laptop to bring to school and also to our store when I go there to manage it. I also need it to be able to play games at a decent framerate so I know that going for a gaming laptop would be the obvious choice but I would still like to get your opinions if going for an ultrabook is also a good way. Another thing I want to ask is if you could recommend other laptops that are in the same specs as the ones I stated that would not go over around 1000$-1500$ range cause I'm gonna look for it here in the Philippines and the prices here markup like crazy the the GL502VM is price here at around $1600 while if you get it in the US it would only fall around 1379$. I also have found I think a clevo based laptop maker here in the Philippines which is called Sager their laptops are made by clevo I need your opinion regarding this specific model it's base price is at 1379$ which has a 7700HQ 1060 6GB 8GB RAM 1080P IPS 1TBHD no SSD yet if I add an ssd which is a 250gb samsung 960 evo nvme it would then be priced at 1523$. Here is the link of the item Sager Laptop. 

 

[Spoonablehippo]

I can recommend the Dell Inspiron 7577!

Cost me £1250, has an i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB Max-Q, 16GB RAM, 256GB NVME M.2 + 1TB HDD! 

Also has an IPS display and a USB-C 40Gbps port

 

Its not super thin, but far thinner than a lot of gaming laptops and its extremely well built & solid, I adore mine :-)

Dimensions are: Height: 24.95mm (0.98") x Width: 389mm (15.32") x Depth: 274.7mm (10.82")
Weight Starting @ 2.65 Kg (5.82 lb)ⁱ

 

This is for the UK site so not sure if the US is the same, but currently comes with a FREE Dell Visor + controller VR bundle :-)

http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptop-and-2-in-1-pcs/inspiron-15-7000-gaming-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-7577-laptop

[DND]

1 minute ago, Spoonablehippo said:

I can recommend the Dell Inspiron 7577!

Cost me £1250, has an i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB Max-Q, 16GB RAM, 256GB NVME M.2 + 1TB HDD! 

Also has an IPS display and a USB-C 40Gbps port

 

Its not super thin, but far thinner than a lot of gaming laptops and its extremely well built & solid, I adore mine :-)

Dimensions are: Height: 24.95mm (0.98") x Width: 389mm (15.32") x Depth: 274.7mm (10.82")
Weight Starting @ 2.65 Kg (5.82 lb)ⁱ

 

This is for the UK site so not sure if the US is the same, but currently comes with a FREE Dell Visor + controller VR bundle :-)

http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptop-and-2-in-1-pcs/inspiron-15-7000-gaming-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-7577-laptop

I had my eyes on that too but unfortunately the price here in the Philippines for that model is way overpriced and is priced higher than the models I've stated the 7577 is priced around 1500$ for the 1050ti variant and 1739$ for the 1060 variant.

[Spoonablehippo]

1 minute ago, DND said:

I had my eyes on that too but unfortunately the price here in the Philippines for that model is way overpriced and is priced higher than the models I've stated the 7577 is priced around 1500$ for the 1050ti variant and 1739$ for the 1060 variant.

Ouch!  :-(

[DND]

3 minutes ago, Spoonablehippo said:

Ouch!  :-(

Yeah if only the markup wasn't that high this would be my top choice to go for but a 700$ markup for it ain't worth it IMO.

[NumLock21]

Can't remember exactly, but I do believe Acer or Lenovo have some thin style laptops with a GTX1050 in it.

[Himommies]

What games are we talking about here

And does your school have easy access to outlets

Also just don't buy the Razer one

[DND]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

Can't remember exactly, but I do believe Acer or Lenovo have some thin style laptops with a GTX1050 in it.

I don't know about the Acer. If for lenovo is it the Lenovo Y520 or Y720?

 

1 minute ago, Himommies said:

What games are we talking about here

And does your school have easy access to outlets

Also just don't buy the Razer one

Mostly E-Sports and sports game titles like NBA2K, Dota 2, CS:GO, PUBG with some AAA like witcher 3 and the likes. It would be just used for gaming just to kill time when I'm at our shop or not doing anything at school. I won't be doing anything hardcore gaming like grinding and stuffs cause I have a dedicated gaming rig at home for that.

[Himommies]

1 minute ago, DND said:

Mostly E-Sports and sports game titles like NBA2K, Dota 2, CS:GO, PUBG with some AAA like witcher 3 and the likes. It would be just used for gaming just to kill time when I'm at our shop or not doing anything at school. I won't be doing anything hardcore gaming like grinding and stuffs cause I have a dedicated gaming rig at home for that.

XPS 13

 

[NumLock21]

3 minutes ago, DND said:

I don't know about the Acer. If for lenovo is it the Lenovo Y520 or Y720?

It's actually from Acer. the Nitro 5 Spin

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/nitro5spin

[DND]

4 minutes ago, Himommies said:

XPS 13

 

I see, would it be enough to run the games that I would want to play?

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

It's actually from Acer. the Nitro 5 Spin

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/nitro5spin

I'll check it out.

[Himommies]

2 minutes ago, DND said:

I see, would it be enough to run the games that I would want to play?

Not at max settings but otherwise yes

[DND]

10 minutes ago, Himommies said:

Not at max settings but otherwise yes

Thanks for your input will note this.

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, NumLock21 said:

It's actually from Acer. the Nitro 5 Spin

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/nitro5spin

And also Lenovo Y520, slightly lighter and slimmer

2 hours ago, DND said:

Asus GL502VM 

Gigabyte Aero 14

Razer Blade Stealth 12.5" Kaby lake

Dell XPS 13 Kaby lake

Sager

Overall, Aero 14 would be my choice. Personally I'll prefer portable gaming laptops instead of ultrabook+eGPU. GL502VM has quite mediocre build quality and cooling, OKish input devices, bad battery life but it has a great display. Clevo based laptops like Sager also not bad, built well, not much gaming look, OKish battery life and input devices, can choose display panel. Avoid Razer laptops, poor internal quality, poor QC, poor support.

[NumLock21]

1 hour ago, ZM Fong said:

And also Lenovo Y520, slightly lighter and slimmer

It does have better graphics, but it's heaver and thicker.

[Xirhanna]

I like the Asus one just because I like the brand. 

[DND]

5 hours ago, ZM Fong said:

And also Lenovo Y520, slightly lighter and slimmer

 

Overall, Aero 14 would be my choice. Personally I'll prefer portable gaming laptops instead of ultrabook+eGPU. GL502VM has quite mediocre build quality and cooling, OKish input devices, bad battery life but it has a great display. Clevo based laptops like Sager also not bad, built well, not much gaming look, OKish battery life and input devices, can choose display panel. Avoid Razer laptops, poor internal quality, poor QC, poor support.

The Lenovo Y520 is sllightly overpriced here being priced around at 1300$ for the 1050 model and the 1050ti at around 1500$ but I did see a Y720 with the 1060 but with no SSD only with a 1TB not sure if its 5400rpm or 7200rpm and only with 8gbs of ram at a more reasonable price at 1400$-1550$ depending on the seller, the only thing is if they still carry or have stocks on these cause their listing was posted last august 2017 but I could contact them and ask if they still have stocks at those prices.

 

So the aero 14 is the best choice among the stated models does it go far ahead in terms of build quality & cooling. I also forgot to mention that it can get pretty warm here in the PH sometimes reaching 30-35C or 86-95F on average. I would only have a problem in cooling when I'm outside and not in the classroom or at our store cause we don't have an AC unit at our store at my house cooling won't matter also cause we have an AC where I usually play but I'm not sure if I would even use it that much at home. Given the temperature condition if I were to get the GL502VM given what you stated about the laptop is it still a good choice if the aero 14 would not be available? Also is the model of the sager laptop that I have linked a good one? unfortunately the Sager here doesn't have an option to pick a display panel but its all IPS i think. Here's the link again for the model of the laptop from sager its the NP7850, i also found a review of this specific model while typing this based on the review I think the cooling for this specific laptop is worse than the GL502VM? Here's the link for the review.

 

4 hours ago, NumLock21 said:

It does have better graphics, but it's heaver and thicker.

Correct me if im wrong, I think @ZM Fong is think of the normal Acer Spin 5 and not the nitro.

41 minutes ago, Xirhanna said:

I like the Asus one just because I like the brand. 

Thanks for your input.

[genexis_x]

30 minutes ago, DND said:

snip

Temperature isn't a problem, in Msia normal temperatures also around 30-35C and still, my laptop runs cool. GL502VM is OK, just need to do tweakings like undervolting, IMO the build quality and cooling of GL502VM is quite mediocre considering its fairly high price point.

 

Sager is Clevo based laptops so they are good. Yes they come with IPS panel for most cases. For cooling, it depends on which Sager model and sometimes QC can go wrong (which leads to high temps due to QC issues like uneven heatsink, poorly applied thermal paste etc)

 

I'm talking the Nitro 5. It's slightly heavier, bigger and thicker than Y520 from the specs given and I tried both of them before so I can tell you my experience. And I didn't expect that Y520 are sold so expensive at where you live, here they are cheap.

 

Also, NEVER buy laptops by brand, every brand has good and bad products. Buy model not brand. Every model also has different pros and cons.

[DND]

2 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Temperature isn't a problem, in Msia normal temperatures also around 30-35C and still, my laptop runs cool. GL502VM is OK, just need to do tweakings like undervolting, IMO the build quality and cooling of GL502VM is quite mediocre considering its fairly high price point.

 

Sager is Clevo based laptops so they are good. Yes they come with IPS panel for most cases. For cooling, it depends on which Sager model and sometimes QC can go wrong (which leads to high temps due to QC issues like uneven heatsink, poorly applied thermal paste etc)

 

I'm talking the Nitro 5. It's slightly heavier, bigger and thicker than Y520 from the specs given and I tried both of them before so I can tell you my experience. And I didn't expect that Y520 are sold so expensive at where you live, here they are cheap.

I see so I wouldn't have some problems regarding temps even if its quite warm here. What tweakings would I need to do other than undervolting if I would get the 502VM? Btw would there be no decrease in performance if I do some undervolting? 

 

So it depends really on the model and sometimes on luck on QC. That's pretty true it's like my experience with Jaybird my friends jaybird has lasted him for years now but mine always breaks down within a span of 1-2mos and had it rma'd 3 times already and after my third rma I just gave up and sold it.

 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, DND said:

What tweakings would I need to do other than undervolting if I would get the 502VM? Btw would there be no decrease in performance if I do some undervolting? 

Repaste with quality paste like Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, Tuniq MX-4 etc, though this is not a must. No performance loss, instead it prevents overheating (which cause throttling and performance dips). Undervolt both CPU and GPU, Google it or check my laptop review if you're not sure how to do it.

[DND]

11 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Repaste with quality paste like Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, Tuniq MX-4 etc, though this is not a must. No performance loss, instead it prevents overheating (which cause throttling and performance dips). Undervolt both CPU and GPU, Google it or check my laptop review if you're not sure how to do it.

Thanks would the Notctua NT-H1 be considered as a quality aftermarket thermal paste? As of now I have that. I see will check it out if I ever get the GL502VM but as of now I'm leaning towards getting the Aero 14 because it really checks all the things I want for a laptop which are portability, good battery life, good performance, and good build quality also it's not that mainstream here in the Philippines since it's hard to source a Gigabyte laptop here the only ones that you can find without a problem is Asus,MSI,Dell,Acer which would be a plus in considering getting it.

[genexis_x]

28 minutes ago, DND said:

Thanks would the Notctua NT-H1 be considered as a quality aftermarket thermal paste?

Yes

28 minutes ago, DND said:

portability

good battery life

good build quality

Yeah the Aero 14 is better than GL502VM in terms of all these, however I strongly suggest you to get the Aero 15 if you have the budget.

 

Performance and cooling wise, both are the same since they come with 1060 GPU (new Aero 14 only 1050TI) and thin chassis (which worsen the temps)

[DND]

4 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Yes

Yeah the Aero 14 is better than GL502VM in terms of all these, however I strongly suggest you to get the Aero 15 if you have the budget.

 

Performance and cooling wise, both are the same since they come with 1060 GPU (new Aero 14 only 1050TI) and thin chassis (which worsen the temps)

Thanks! I've looked into the Aero 15 unfortunately the shop I've seen that is selling it has incredibly marked up the price to at least 200-300$ if compared to the US price but if I ever saw one that is in my budget or at around at 100$ markup only then I might consider the aero 15. 

[NumLock21]

8 hours ago, DND said:

Correct me if im wrong, I think @ZM Fong is think of the normal Acer Spin 5 and not the nitro.

He was talking about the Nitro 5 from Acer.

 

Acer

Dimensions (W x D x H): 15.02" x 10.16" x 0.70"

Weight (Approximate): 4.85 lb

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/NH.Q2YAA.002

 

Lenovo

Dimensions (W x D x H)

14.96" x 10.43" x 1.01" / 380 x 265 x 25.8 (mm) (NVIDIA)

14.96" x 10.43" x 1.09" / 380 x 265 x 27.8 (mm) (Radeon)

Weight

Starting at 5.29 lbs (2.4 kg) (NVIDIA)

Starting at 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) (Radeon)

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/lenovo-legion-y-series-laptops/Legion-Y520/p/88GMY500808#tab-techspec

 

[DND]

10 hours ago, NumLock21 said:

He was talking about the Nitro 5 from Acer.

 

Acer

Dimensions (W x D x H): 15.02" x 10.16" x 0.70"

Weight (Approximate): 4.85 lb

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/NH.Q2YAA.002

 

Lenovo

Dimensions (W x D x H)

14.96" x 10.43" x 1.01" / 380 x 265 x 25.8 (mm) (NVIDIA)

14.96" x 10.43" x 1.09" / 380 x 265 x 27.8 (mm) (Radeon)

Weight

Starting at 5.29 lbs (2.4 kg) (NVIDIA)

Starting at 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) (Radeon)

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/lenovo-legion-y-series-laptops/Legion-Y520/p/88GMY500808#tab-techspec

 

I'm quite confused right now but as far as i remember the Acer Nitro 5 Spin should be lighter than the Y520

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Note: BTW if anyone would view this thread I just wanted to ask your opinion regarding this MSI laptop model GL62VR 7RFX-851XPH thanks.