Gaming laptop advice

[gobindsandhu]

Hi guys I have read up a ton on the threads here but am still unsure as to what to purchase. Bear with me for I have a few questions.

What I'm looking for is performance more than anything with a budget of up to $1600. I'm okay with a size of 14". But still not sure whether do I go for i5 or i7 or whether a ssd or HDD drive is better for longetivity purposes.

Oh and it should be sufficient to play diablo 3/gw 2/DoTA 2?

 

[chiaRH]

Hi guys I have read up a ton on the threads here but am still unsure as to what to purchase. Bear with me for I have a few questions.

What I'm looking for is performance more than anything with a budget of up to $1600. I'm okay with a size of 14". But still not sure whether do I go for i5 or i7 or whether a ssd or HDD drive is better for longetivity purposes.

Oh and it should be sufficient to play diablo 3/gw 2/DoTA 2?

i5/i7 not really any huge gaming difference.

SSD vs HDD is more about speed than longevity, SSDs are faster, making them suited for anything with long loading screens or your OS boot drive, but could add a lot to your price tag potentially.

check out aftershock's XG-series laptops, they should be within your budget

 

[gobindsandhu]

Thanks for the prompt reply. So what would be a good laptop for my case? And also should I wait for another it show or buy now?

 

[annoymous]

for price/performance can go for aftershock

 

[zXioNGz]

Hi,

Let me add in my advise,

First of all, you need to ask yourself afew questions.

- On what native resolution do you want to game in
- Are you getting gaming laptop so that you could bring it out or act as a desktop
- Do you game outside your home often
- Do you have any experience with the speed/performance difference between SSD and HDD


Generally speaking, Diablo 3 and Dota 2 does not require very high end card to attain playable 1080p, but will differ with settings.

As for Guild Wars 2, this is the game that will be CPU intensive, as well as GPU if you are using AA and Vertical Sync.

If you are gaming outside often or need to bring your Notebook out very often DO not get Aftershock or ASUS, they can easily get over 3kg even for their small screen size laptop, but if you are using it more for desktop wise, and with tight budget, Aftershock might be the only solution for you now.

If not, MSI new gaming series offer wide range of light-weight gaming laptop with GTX850M-GTX870M. But for your gaming requirements, I believe a GTX850M (Maxwell) will be more than enough power to play those at good FPS.

A quick comparision, AFTERSHOCK X15s V2 and MSI GS60 Ghost Pro, in terms of GPU performance, AFTERSHOCK X15s V2 will have the upper hand with GTX880M vs MSI GS60 Ghost Pro GTX870M, but that compensate with a hefty weight of 3.1kg, whereas MSI GS60 Ghost weighs only 1.9kg, not to mention that the price showing at AFTERSHOCK thread is just the VERY BASE model, check out this website for the rough price. Do note for the AFTERSHOCK, the i5 and i7 price only differs around $120.

https://www.aftershockpc.com/AFTERSHOCK X15S-V2/recm/

If you are really on tight budget, the AFTERSHOCK XG 15 V3 will be a good one and very cheap, weighing at 2.7kg tho, very heavy imo, so all in all it still depends if you are okay with the weight, this is my first prority when choosing a gaming laptop

Regards,
Ivan

 

[liew90]

Check out MSI GE40, I wonder if MSI will come out any new 14" inch gaming notebook this year

 

[Macrossvin]

Honestly, I am also looking into a new laptop and intend to get it at the next IT show. But is MSI really good? My currently lappy is Asus and I hate it very much..... Any tosiba labby to recommend for gaming / entertaining and light?

 

[chiaRH]

Honestly, I am also looking into a new laptop and intend to get it at the next IT show. But is MSI really good? My currently lappy is Asus and I hate it very much..... Any tosiba labby to recommend for gaming / entertaining and light?

MSI just has the most variety now, hard to say how 'good' it is, cos it's really a case by case basis depending what model of laptop you look at. Toshiba doesn't really do gaming aside from their Qosmio laptops which im quite sure aren't light.

 

[michaelgim]

In terms of Toshiba Qosmio, I feel they are behind the performance curve compared with other gaming notebooks.

I agree on the comments over Aftershock weight... their notebooks are more on the heavy side. On the flip side, they offer more customizable configurations compared with other brands. Even if you max out all the configurations, it is still compare cheaper than other major brands. But of course, you will have to sacrifice on the weight...

 

[chiaRH]

In terms of Toshiba Qosmio, I feel they are behind the performance curve compared with other gaming notebooks.

I agree on the comments over Aftershock weight... their notebooks are more on the heavy side. On the flip side, they offer more customizable configurations compared with other brands. Even if you max out all the configurations, it is still compare cheaper than other major brands. But of course, you will have to sacrifice on the weight...

Asus/Alienware still beats Aftershock in terms of heavy laptops, and MSI is roughly the same except for their GS70/GS60. The heavy ones tend to be heaby and thick due to the cooling systems needed to support flagship GPUs. But if maxwell sets a trend for lower TDPs maybe future flagship laptops can finally slim down.

The current only way to have slim + flagship performance is to split the thermal load between 2 GPUs which Aorus did, but SLI still has its set of issues like microstuttering and no optimus. Supposedly even with that, plus 5 heatpipes and 4 vents, the laptop still runs warm (though admittedly, if Aorus were SLI-ing dual 860Ms we could be seeing a different story)

 

[zXioNGz]

Asus/Alienware still beats Aftershock in terms of heavy laptops, and MSI is roughly the same except for their GS70/GS60. The heavy ones tend to be heaby and thick due to the cooling systems needed to support flagship GPUs. But if maxwell sets a trend for lower TDPs maybe future flagship laptops can finally slim down.

The current only way to have slim + flagship performance is to split the thermal load between 2 GPUs which Aorus did, but SLI still has its set of issues like microstuttering and no optimus. Supposedly even with that, plus 5 heatpipes and 4 vents, the laptop still runs warm (though admittedly, if Aorus were SLI-ing dual 860Ms we could be seeing a different story)

I was actually hoping for GTX870M or GTX880M to be Maxwell ready and have decent heat cooling, but too bad it's still Kepler. And most of the Laptops are still very thick and heavy even with Maxwell chip.

 

[annoymous]

In terms of Toshiba Qosmio, I feel they are behind the performance curve compared with other gaming notebooks.

I agree on the comments over Aftershock weight... their notebooks are more on the heavy side. On the flip side, they offer more customizable configurations compared with other brands. Even if you max out all the configurations, it is still compare cheaper than other major brands. But of course, you will have to sacrifice on the weight...

kinda agree, i will just have a laptop backpack, 1 or 2 kg difference on the back doesn't makes a difference, its not like i am going to play while holding my laptop in mid air. what is important is their after sales service and the customizable configurations is at a more reasonable price

 

[gobindsandhu]

I am 90% sure i'm going for the Aftershock XG13v2. But one final main question, should I buy now or Wait for an IT show before making my purchase?

Edit: Went down to their showroom and Marcus was delightful. Helped me out with some heart burning questions.

 

[michaelgim]

kinda agree, i will just have a laptop backpack, 1 or 2 kg difference on the back doesn't makes a difference, its not like i am going to play while holding my laptop in mid air. what is important is their after sales service and the customizable configurations is at a more reasonable price

to be honest with you... that 1 to 2 kg makes a lot of difference to me... especially when I am lugging other stuff in my daily commute between work and home.

But then I have never intended my Aftershock notebooks to be portable as I have other options for commute computing.

 

[michaelgim]

I am 90% sure i'm going for the Aftershock XG13v2. But one final main question, should I buy now or Wait for an IT show before making my purchase?

Edit: Went down to their showroom and Marcus was delightful. Helped me out with some heart burning questions.

Do share with everyone your honest opinion about your purchase and the before and after sales support...

 

[gobindsandhu]

Do share with everyone your honest opinion about your purchase and the before and after sales support...

Haven't bought it yet. Taking the night to think it through. Haha. But yeah I will.

 

[heroboyXD]

hi all,

would like to know if a ultrabook is able to be a gaming laptop?

lenovo u430p:
Intel Core i5 4200U up to 2.6GHz,3MB cache,
windows8.1,
RAM 4GB, (can upgrade to 8)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M DDR3 2GB,
hdd 500GB + 8GB SSHD
14 inch display

i also do not mind playing on super low settings and i also probably play for like 2-4 hrs?
also any1 else here uses ultrabooks? do they overheat easily? with aircon enviroment + cooling pad able to help?

 

[silf3r]

hi all,

would like to know if a ultrabook is able to be a gaming laptop?

lenovo u430p:
Intel Core i5 4200U up to 2.6GHz,3MB cache,
windows8.1,
RAM 4GB, (can upgrade to 8)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M DDR3 2GB,
hdd 500GB + 8GB SSHD
14 inch display

i also do not mind playing on super low settings and i also probably play for like 2-4 hrs?
also any1 else here uses ultrabooks? do they overheat easily? with aircon enviroment + cooling pad able to help?

Hi Heroboy I think the better phrase would be 'if an ultrabook is able to game/play games', unless you are referring to the pricey MSI ghost or razor blade. With the specs you showed, the games playable is shown here 'http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-730M.84681.0.html' in the 'game benchmark' section, where anything above '30 fps' or is highlighted green is playable.

Games like Dota 2 can be played in Medium settings, Battlefield 4 in low-medium and even the latest Titanfall in medium-high. But do note that all these games are benchmarked in non-native screen resolution (means not Full HD). I personally do not have an ultrabook, but from what I know they tend to get quite hot, so yes a cooling pad helps!

If you intend on gaming with less heat problems and better performance ect, the replies in this thread mentions some gaming spec-ed laptops. Hope this helps!