Laptop for Uni

[Totz]

Hey peeps, I'm trying to purchase a laptop soon to use for studies and some personal use, and I'm sort of stuck here.

I know an i7 8750H with a GPU is a bit of an overkill for a laptop that will serve as a study companion, but this will be my new laptop in years, and I want to have something beasty enough to keep as a long term laptop.

 

My budget is around 1500 - 1800 USD

 

Purpose: 

• Study use for university
• Light gaming (Not going to be playing games that require a strong GPU, only stuff like CSGO or Fortnite etc)
• And the classic time-killer activity such as Netflix or YT etc.

Requirements: 

• i7 8750H CPU
• GTX 1050 - GTX 1060 (Doesn't matter if it's MaxQ or not)
• Thin, and slim bezels (No game-y look, RGB keyboard is fine)
• 15.6 inch screen. 1080p. Doesn't have to be touch or 4k.
• OK battery life. Preferably around 5+ Hrs?
• Not so heavy, Maybe under 2.5kg?

Currently the laptops that come across my mind are the Dell XPS 15 9570 /and the MSI GS65 (GTX 1060 version).

If I were to choose from these two, which one should I go for? 

 

Thanks!

[sillypenguin213]

I prefer MSI instead of Dell. MSI has better cooling solutions.

[naisu.exe]

The laptop I'm about to recommend doesn't pertain to all of your requirements but it does the job.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-i5-8250U-GeForce-NP515-51-56DL-Chassis/dp/B075RGSF13/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1533536854&sr=1-2&keywords=Acer+Nitro+5+Spin&refinements=p_89%3AAcer

 

It's over $500 USD below your budget and should suit your needs somewhat well. Battery life is around 6 and a half hours under casual load. The CPU is not the 6 core 12 thread i7 you're asking for but it does do the job pretty well. It's slim, rotates 360 degrees and is touch screen. The only real con this laptop has is the fact that the RAM is soldered, so you can't upgrade to 16GB. This can be a deal breaker, but as long as you're not doing anything too crazy you should be fine. Dave did a pretty good review on his channel.

 

Hope this helps, I hope you're happy with whatever you purchase in the end.

[WickedStarfish]

21 minutes ago, Totz said:

Currently the laptops that come across my mind are the Dell XPS 15 9570 /and the MSI GS65 (GTX 1060 version).

If I were to choose from these two, which one should I go for? 

out of those 2 i would go the MSI route. but if you want a non "look at me" laptop and you don't mind going to a i5 with a 3Gb 1060 the Asus Gamer FX503V offers great performance in a non showy laptop and is quite cheap compared to some gaming counterparts (the keyboard is back lit red which could be a deal breaker)

 

2 minutes ago, naisu.exe said:

It's slim, rotates 360 degrees and is touch screen.

Personally i would not go a touch screen all of the touch screens i have used have had a very high CPU usage due to the touch screen which directly affects the performance in games (used 2 touch screens, one was powered by an i5 the other an atom chip (i think, it was a windows operated 2 in 1)) but i could be wrong

[naisu.exe]

6 minutes ago, WickedStarfish said:

Personally i would not go a touch screen all of the touch screens i have used have had a very high CPU usage due to the touch screen which directly affects the performance in games (used 2 touch screens, one was powered by an i5 the other an atom chip (i think, it was a windows operated 2 in 1)) but i could be wrong

I mean if worst comes to worst, then you can just disable the touch screen in device manager. I have a HP Envy 15 x360, it's powered by Ryzen 5 and is touchscreen. I've had it for maybe 6 months now and it's great. Performs well and the touch screen/pen is pretty good too.

[genexis_x]

Could you list out all 8750H laptops that are within your budget?

[Totz]

3 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Could you list out all 8750H laptops that are within your budget?

Sure thing, I'm currently stuck with the Dell XPS 15 9570 (i7 1050Ti) // MSI GS65 Stealth Thin (i7 1060) // Asus Vivobook Pro N580GD (i7 1050).

 

I won't be gaming a lot, only a bit so I don't really care that much about the GPU. Something that's thin and light and looks good (thin bezels, I don't know why I'm so obsessed with it  ) and has alright battery life should do. Only problem is I'm very indecisive and I need some help here. 

 

Thanks!

[Streetguru]

1 hour ago, Totz said:

 

XPS 15

If you don't really care about the GPU just buy like an R5 2500U machine, can still do some gaming and is $599 in the Matebook D

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Huawei-MateBook-D-Signature-Edition-14-IPS-FHD-Touch-AMD-Ryzen-5-2500U-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Radeon-Vega-8-Graphics-Dolby-ATMOS-Win-10-Home-64-bit-Mystic/507473681


 

[genexis_x]

You can take a look at Legion Y530

[Totz]

3 hours ago, ZM Fong said:

You can take a look at Legion Y530

The Legion Y530 looks great and I certainly like the specs but I was looking for a more thinner and not so gamey looking laptop.

 

Out of the MSI GS65 and XPS 15 what do you reckon is the better choice? 

[genexis_x]

47 minutes ago, Totz said:

Out of the MSI GS65 and XPS 15 what do you reckon is the better choice? 

Aero 15/15X. But 3 of them have issues (mainly cooling)