Laptop for a Navy friend

[Araphen]

My best friend just graduated boot camp and I'm trying to help him pick out a laptop.  He said his price range is no more than 1,000USD but i'm i'm gonna chip in 500 for a better one and some peripherals as a graduation present.  

i saw the sticky post recommending this one:

https://www.amazon.com/GL502VM-G-SYNC-Gaming-Laptop-i7-7700HQ/dp/B01MS14CQH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484861311&sr=8-1&keywords=asus gl502vm 7700hq&tag=linus21-20

and i think it would be great.

He's only going to be using it for games like League and FFXIV but if the latency isn't too bad i'd like to try to play pubg with him.

So I'm wondering if there's something I've missed or if someone has any better recommendations.

[Sniiiiik]

15 minutes ago, Araphen said:

My best friend just graduated boot camp and I'm trying to help him pick out a laptop.  He said his price range is no more than 1,000USD but i'm i'm gonna chip in 500 for a better one and some peripherals as a graduation present.  

i saw the sticky post recommending this one:

https://www.amazon.com/GL502VM-G-SYNC-Gaming-Laptop-i7-7700HQ/dp/B01MS14CQH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484861311&sr=8-1&keywords=asus gl502vm 7700hq&tag=linus21-20

and i think it would be great.

He's only going to be using it for games like League and FFXIV but if the latency isn't too bad i'd like to try to play pubg with him.

So I'm wondering if there's something I've missed or if someone has any better recommendations.

I have been using the gl502vm as my school/gaming pc for the past 7 months now an i am very happy with it. It is light, good performace and i just in class use i can stretch the battery life to a bit over 6 hours. But it runs quite hot and loud when you game on it. 

 

 

[Araphen]

Thanks for the insight.  I'm pretty nervous recommending something so expensive.  

[Sniiiiik]

8 minutes ago, Araphen said:

Thanks for the insight.  I'm pretty nervous recommending something so expensive.  

Yeah it's expensive but for me i had to by a new laptop for school. And did not have the space for a desktop in my apartment so it made sense to invest in a laptop that i could game on. And i probablly wont upgrade in three years or so. If it si too expensive you could look into a laptop with a 1050ti mabye? I'm not updated on the market right now but they shoud be cheaper.

[Araphen]

4 minutes ago, Sniiik said:

Yeah it's expensive but for me i had to by a new laptop for school. And did not have the space for a desktop in my apartment so it made sense to invest in a laptop that i could game on. And i probablly wont upgrade in three years or so. If it si too expensive you could look into a laptop with a 1050ti mabye? I'm not updated on the market right now but they shoud be cheaper.

I think i'm gonna recommend something with at least a 1060.  

The main reason i made this post is because normally when i say what i think is the best choice someone will post something cheaper and more powerful that i missed.  

So since my friend is spending so much i just wanted to be sure it's the best at that price range.

[sjb655]

Have a look at dell 7577

[lieder1987]

7 hours ago, sjb655 said:

Have a look at dell 7577

just remember that it is a max-q gpu

[Araphen]

Just now, lieder1987 said:

just remember that it is a max-q gpu

Yeah i saw reviews that mentioned that.  He planned on buying the ROG Strix GL502VM but when i went to send him the amazon gift card, the activity was flagged as suspicious so i'm locked out of my own account for a few hours.  Sure hope it's still in stock when i manage to send the gift card.  

[lieder1987]

52 minutes ago, Araphen said:

Yeah i saw reviews that mentioned that.  He planned on buying the ROG Strix GL502VM but when i went to send him the amazon gift card, the activity was flagged as suspicious so i'm locked out of my own account for a few hours.  Sure hope it's still in stock when i manage to send the gift card.  

Good luck. As a fellow military member that is a great thing you are doing.

[1/0]

Make sure he checks for any service member discounts.

[Araphen]

On 3/4/2018 at 9:18 AM, lieder1987 said:

Good luck. As a fellow military member that is a great thing you are doing.

Thanks.  The egiftcard was delivered so he should have been able to buy it today.  I just haven't heard from him. 

On 3/4/2018 at 12:50 PM, 1/0 said:

Make sure he checks for any service member discounts.

He already checked the naval exchange for anything competitively priced and they don't have anything.  But amazon doesn't have service member discounts do they?

 

 

[Imglidinhere]

27 minutes ago, Araphen said:

He already checked the naval exchange for anything competitively priced and they don't have anything.  But amazon doesn't have service member discounts do they?

They better! Be a damn shame if they didn't. 

[lieder1987]

39 minutes ago, Araphen said:

He already checked the naval exchange for anything competitively priced and they don't have anything.  But amazon doesn't have service member discounts do they?

 

11 minutes ago, Imglidinhere said:

They better! Be a damn shame if they didn't

They do not.

[Imglidinhere]

:C

[genexis_x]

On 03/03/2018 at 10:49 PM, Sniiik said:

runs quite hot and loud

This is the problem of GL-VM. Mediocre cooling and yet overpriced. There are better options like Dell 7577.

 

@Araphen does he have any particular requirements like display, battery life etc? Also, could you provide some links of online stores in your country?

[1/0]

4 hours ago, Araphen said:

Thanks.  The egiftcard was delivered so he should have been able to buy it today.  I just haven't heard from him. 

He already checked the naval exchange for anything competitively priced and they don't have anything.  But amazon doesn't have service member discounts do they?

 

 

I don't know about Amazon, but I know that at least Dell does if you buy directly from them.

[Araphen]

10 hours ago, ZM Fong said:

This is the problem of GL-VM. Mediocre cooling and yet overpriced

I don't think the cooling should be much of a problem since it'll be staying on a desk most of the time.  He'll probably buy a cooling pad for it too.

 

9 hours ago, ZM Fong said:

There are better options like Dell 7577.

but that has a max-Q gpu which isn't as good, right?

 

 

[Araphen]

6 hours ago, 1/0 said:

I don't know about Amazon, but I know that at least Dell does if you buy directly from them.

i don't think he'll be buying from dell, but i'm curious how much the military discount is.  

[genexis_x]

16 minutes ago, Araphen said:

I don't think the cooling should be much of a problem since it'll be staying on a desk most of the time

Cooling isn't related to 'staying on desk'. If the internal hardware runs hot, there might be throttling which affects performance. Not to mention that the high noise of this model while under load is also very distracting. Surface temps also very hot. Why go for GL-VM when there are better options?

 

Max-Q is just a marketing thing IMO. Only lower clocks and perhaps slightly lower fan noise. 1060 Max-Q is slightly slower than 1060 mobile but due to the good heat dissipation of the Dell 7577, it can be tuned (OC) to reach the performance of a regular 1060 mobile.

[Araphen]

2 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Cooling isn't related to 'staying on desk'. If the internal hardware runs hot, there might be throttling which affects performance. Not to mention that the high noise of this model while under load is also very distracting. Surface temps also very hot. Why go for GL-VM when there are better options?

Well I meant that it would be staying in one place without needing to be moved so he would probably get a good cooling pad.  

But do you know about something you think would be better?  I don't think he's bought it yet. 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, Araphen said:

he would probably get a good cooling pad.  

A laptop with good cooling system doesn't need that. If you want even lower temps, some CPU undervolting will do.

 

Better options with 1060 GPU:

-Dell 7577 (Max-Q, low sRGB IPS panel)

-Lenovo Y720 (entry level IPS panel)

-Clevo models - N950KP6 (desktop CPU), P650HP6, N850HK1 (needs repaste)

-Alienware 15/17 (if you can get a good deal)

-Lenovo Y520 (Max-Q, entry level IPS panel, build quality slightly worse than options above, outdated cooling design but still able to keep temps in check)

 

Or tell me what you've found

[Araphen]

2 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

A laptop with good cooling system doesn't need that. If you want even lower temps, some CPU undervolting will do.

 

Better options with 1060 GPU:

-Dell 7577 (Max-Q, low sRGB IPS panel)

-Lenovo Y720 (entry level IPS panel)

-Clevo models - N950KP6 (desktop CPU), P650HP6, N850HK1 (needs repaste)

-Alienware 15/17 (if you can get a good deal)

-Lenovo Y520 (Max-Q, entry level IPS panel, build quality slightly worse than options above but still good)

 

Or tell me what you've found

- I heard you should stay away from Max-Q gpus since they have noticeably lower performance.  

 

- The lenovo Y720 looks pretty cool but it's about 150USD more expensive for the same specs.  Do you think its cooling is worth it?  If lenovo has military discounts he might be able to get it for cheaper there but won't be able to use the gift card i already got him.

 

- The Clevo ones look like a good price but he's unable to repaste them himself.  Would that be a definite requirement to get acceptable thermals?  

 

- alienware is just way too expensive.  I tried to price out the 15 inch one and it was around 1700USD.

 

I haven't really found much other than the ROG Strix GL502VM.  From the threads i'm reading it looks like it ships with an out of date bios but after you update it the thermals get much better.  

 

All of the other laptops I've looked at are more expensive for similar specs. 

 

I considered the "SAGER NP8156 (CLEVO P650HP6-G)" one because it looks like it would have a lot of room for more storage which is easily accessible.  But its also about 150USD more expensive and i can't really see him upgrading his laptop himself.  Rather than risk it, he would just get external HDDs.

[genexis_x]

57 minutes ago, Araphen said:

stay away from Max-Q gpus

I never said that. Choosing a laptop is still depending on model.

 

Only the N850 needs repaste, maybe N950KP6 needs too. Repaste in P650 isn't necessary but it's nice to have.

 

Just don't get GL-VM. Build quality and cooling can't meet its price. I already provided suggestions above so let your friend to choose. Remember to check reviews first as no laptop is perfect. Notebookcheck, Ultrabookreview and Laptopmedia are good laptop review websites. Sorry if I sound rude.

[Araphen]

1 minute ago, ZM Fong said:

I never said that. Choosing a laptop is still depending on model.

 

Only the N850 needs repaste, maybe N950KP6 needs too. Repaste in P650 isn't necessary but it's nice to have.

 

Just don't get GL-VM. Build quality and cooling can't meet its price. I already provided suggestions above so let your friend to choose. Remember to check reviews first as no laptop is perfect. Notebookcheck, Ultrabookreview and Laptopmedia are good laptop review websites. Sorry if I sound rude.

I just heard elsewhere that Max-Q should be avoided.

 

You're not rude at all and you're being very helpful with your suggestions so thank you. 

 

My friend isn't very tech savvy and wants me to pick the laptop for him and I want to be sure i'm suggesting the best one.  

 

I guess what would help me most is knowing what you would pick if you were buying for yourself in that price range.  Like out of all of the ones we've talked about which one would you choose?

[genexis_x]

7 hours ago, Araphen said:

Like out of all of the ones we've talked about which one would you choose?

Y720 would be my pick due to relatively low fan noise. Lenovo has done a great job in fan noise in their new Legion lineup. However it's quite heavy. Not to mention the entry level IPS display is quite mediocre too unless you get the 4k version.

 

Dell 7577, N950KP6 and P650HP6 are also my top picks. 7577 has TB3, good build quality and cooling. N950KP6 has a socketed Coffee Lake desktop CPU which is a plus. P650HP6 has good build quality and cooling.