gaming laptop for computer idiot

[sulaji]

hi all, its my first time posting in this forum

as seen from the title, im a complete computer dummy. i love gaming but know really nuts about computer setups...etc.

i have an alienware x51 for 2 yrs and to be honest its really not that great. problems here and there esp with the BSOD thingy really kicking into my nerves recently.

i was thinking changing to a gaming laptop so i've been looking around for reviews and comparisons. now it has come down to 3 brands. just brands, not the model.

razer blade
msi
alienware....

if can, i really wish not the get alienware again because of bad experience. can some1 pls enlighten me? i just want to game in peace with a more stable machine. budget can be around 2-3k.
thanks in advance!!

edit: i've been scouting around this forum and i found MSI to be of good reviews. but see nothing about razer blade?

edit: please also let me know why u suggest the brand. is it the performance? the price? stability? something else?

thanks all!

 

[nomad_mcv]

aftershock pc is another platform u can consider

 

[galaxynote]

Y not asus 750jh/jx?

 

[sulaji]

i checked both and i have to say the aftershock looks quite promising! the price aint that ex as i thought too.

anyone used it before?

 

[tin.man789]

I recently bought the Aftershock XG 13 earlier this year.

So far games have been running smoothly. Some folks may not know but the Aftershock notebooks are mainly based on the Clevo chasis whereby Aftershock buys the barebone chasis from Clevo then customizes to customers' liking. If you were to check out the international notebook forums, Clevo is regarded as one of the best gaming notebooks.

However, one thing important when buying the Clevo notebook is who you will be buying it from cause Clevo themselves won;t really give a damn about end buyers cause they don;t exactly buy it from them but instead you are buying from their partner, in Singapore's case, Aftershock PC.

There are many international stores such as Xoticpc.com etc which supplies Clevo notebooks. I myself was going to get one from them when i was still studying in Canada but decided to support Aftershock instead after visiting their shop cause local warranty is super important.

Good thing about Aftershock is their awesome service. Reading in the forums, i do find that their buyers often become their spokesperson, myself included. This is mainly because of the level of customer service they give.

So if i were you, I would drop down their shop just to go check out their notebooks.

I personally highly recommend these guys.

 

[chiaRH]

i checked both and i have to say the aftershock looks quite promising! the price aint that ex as i thought too.

anyone used it before?

Aftershock has great service and value for money, so it's definitely recommended. Been using their product since November 2012 and very satisfied with their level of service indeed. It's probably the sort of thing you may not be able to fully appreciate until you one day find you need to service your laptop and it's so hard to get in touch with the service centre, or the opening hours are over for the day. For major brands, thats the reality of it, but with Aftershock their service is one of their selling points and they really do go the extra mile to help customers.


On to business, for your laptop of choice, it will be good if you can tell us your budget + the type of games you are playing or intend to play? The market for gaming laptops is pretty small so narrowing down choices is quite easy.

 

[sulaji]

really appreciate the suugestions you guys give. i too have to agree that aftersales service is the of utmost importance.

i will definitely check it out when i'm free.

i checked their webby and there's one at funan and serangoon. the serangoon one, however, is the 'service centre'? so i should go down to funan or serangoon one?

and very impt thing...hows the cooling system?

 

[allenrunner]

If i recalled correctly, Serangoon one is the service center. Most of the display unit are at funan showroom. haha

really appreciate the suugestions you guys give. i too have to agree that aftersales service is the of utmost importance.

i will definitely check it out when i'm free.

i checked their webby and there's one at funan and serangoon. the serangoon one, however, is the 'service centre'? so i should go down to funan or serangoon one?

and very impt thing...hows the cooling system?

 

[chiaRH]

Serangoon is their main store, that's where they assemble and service the notebooks.

Funan 'store' is mainly a showroom to look at display units.

Either way you're not going to be able to buy off-the-shelf anyway, cos you have to place an order, then need some working days for them to assemble and test, before ready to collect.

 

[michaelgim]

Being a proud owner of a XG15 and Titan, I can surely vouch for their after-sales customer support. I have owned many different brands and models of notebook, from Netbooks to gaming notebooks. Usually I have to make some compromise as I am unable to configure the components to my liking. So after reading much about Clevo and especially Aftershock PC, I have decided to buy 2 units.

Honestly speaking, I have not regretted making that purchase as I have gotten the notebooks configured to exactly what I wanted and on top of that, their staff really took their time out to help out customers in their configuration.

If you are still unsure about their products, I am sure Aftershock happy to demo their products in their shop in Serangoon.

As for the cooling system, if you are getting a top of the line notebook, like Titan or X175, cooling is not much of a problem. My Titan comes with 3 built in fans to cool down the GPUs and CPU.

 

[pearl_ml]

As for the cooling system, if you are getting a top of the line notebook, like Titan or X175, cooling is not much of a problem. My Titan comes with 3 built in fans to cool down the GPUs and CPU.

any idea how is the cooling system for xg17?

 

[galaxynote]

hi all, its my first time posting in this forum

as seen from the title, im a complete computer dummy. i love gaming but know really nuts about computer setups...etc.

i have an alienware x51 for 2 yrs and to be honest its really not that great. problems here and there esp with the BSOD thingy really kicking into my nerves recently.

i was thinking changing to a gaming laptop so i've been looking around for reviews and comparisons. now it has come down to 3 brands. just brands, not the model.

razer blade
msi
alienware....

if can, i really wish not the get alienware again because of bad experience. can some1 pls enlighten me? i just want to game in peace with a more stable machine. budget can be around 2-3k.
thanks in advance!!

edit: i've been scouting around this forum and i found MSI to be of good reviews. but see nothing about razer blade?

edit: please also let me know why u suggest the brand. is it the performance? the price? stability? something else?

thanks all!

Y u didnt consider Asus?

 

[feitz]

Can consider Gigabyte P34G?

i7, nVidia GTX760M w/2GB DDR5. 14" FHD display. 1.78KG, Dual Storage (SSD+ HDD). Backlit keyboard.

P34G Review: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Gigabyte-P34G-Notebook.105195.0.html

Gigabyte P34G
:: Processor
Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4 GHz (Intel Core i7)
:: Mainboard
Intel HM87 (Lynx Point)
:: Memory
16384 MB, 2x 8192 MB SO-DIMM DDR3-RAM PC3-12800 (1600 MHz), 2 slots, up to 16 GB
:: Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M - 2048 MB, Core: 657 MHz, Memory: 1000 MHz, GDDR5, ForceWare 331.58, Optimus
:: Display
14.0 inch 16:9, 1920x1080 pixel, AU Optronics B140HAN01.1 (AUO113D), AHVA LCD, Full HD, glossy: no
:: Harddisk
Liteonit LMT-128M6M, 128 GB mSATA-SSD + Toshiba MQ01ABD075, 5400 rpm, 750 GB HDD
:: Soundcard
Realtek ALC282 @ Intel Lynx Point PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
:: Connections
2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: combined headphone and microphone port, Card Reader: SD,
:: Networking
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit), Intel Wireless-N 7260 (b g n ), 4.0 Bluetooth
:: Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 21 x 340 x 239
:: Weight
1.768 kg Power Supply: 0.44 kg
:: Battery
47.73 Wh Lithium-Polymer, 4300 mAh, 11.1V
:: Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit

Gigabyte comes with 2 years international warranty too!

 

[Macrossvin]

I recently bought the Aftershock XG 13 earlier this year.

So far games have been running smoothly. Some folks may not know but the Aftershock notebooks are mainly based on the Clevo chasis whereby Aftershock buys the barebone chasis from Clevo then customizes to customers' liking. If you were to check out the international notebook forums, Clevo is regarded as one of the best gaming notebooks.

However, one thing important when buying the Clevo notebook is who you will be buying it from cause Clevo themselves won;t really give a damn about end buyers cause they don;t exactly buy it from them but instead you are buying from their partner, in Singapore's case, Aftershock PC.

There are many international stores such as Xoticpc.com etc which supplies Clevo notebooks. I myself was going to get one from them when i was still studying in Canada but decided to support Aftershock instead after visiting their shop cause local warranty is super important.

Good thing about Aftershock is their awesome service. Reading in the forums, i do find that their buyers often become their spokesperson, myself included. This is mainly because of the level of customer service they give.

So if i were you, I would drop down their shop just to go check out their notebooks.

I personally highly recommend these guys.

Hi Tinman,
just a check, does this Aftershock participate in those annual IT show? As I am thinking of getting a new light weight labtop at the next June IT fair....thinking that it will be cheaper.... but after reading your comments..... I feel like going to Aftershock to take a look. Please advise. thanks.

 

[michaelgim]

Hi Tinman,
just a check, does this Aftershock participate in those annual IT show? As I am thinking of getting a new light weight labtop at the next June IT fair....thinking that it will be cheaper.... but after reading your comments..... I feel like going to Aftershock to take a look. Please advise. thanks.

I would suggest you post your question directly in Aftershock website. They have an online chat option that will link you directly with someone (mainly Marcus). You can askk all the questions you wish about their products. It would be much faster than posting on the forum.

 

[dawnknight]

As for the cooling system, if you are getting a top of the line notebook, like Titan or X175, cooling is not much of a problem. My Titan comes with 3 built in fans to cool down the GPUs and CPU.

what are the
- gpu load temps ?
- cpu load temps ?

 

[michaelgim]

what are the
- gpu load temps ?
- cpu load temps ?

Did not measured nor care much about thermal overun... just for your info, ran diablo 3 and Titanfall with all video options to the max, never encounter any graphics lag...

 

[annoymous]

would be good to measure n see once n for all.
can use those freeware programs eg hwmon, coretemp, realtemp, etc
no need to be too accurate to the dot, just a rough gauge, correct to nearest deg C, with +/- 1 or 2 deg real time fluctuations its gd enuf

if its below 80 degC on cpu/gpu/both load, for laptop, then its decent cooling

will do a temp after i collected my as laptop

 

[michaelgim]

let me share my temp on my Titan after one hour of Diablo 3

GPU on both cores: between 71/72 deg
CPU: 55 deg +/- 1 deg

This was done in an unairconed room.

Temp went down after 10 mins of idle

GPU: 45 deg
CPU: between 38 to 40 deg on various cores.

 

[michaelgim]

ah very nice info
gpu @ 70+ during load, in a laptop, is still ok cos its < 80degC
your gup and cpu idle temps are good


how about cpu during load? i sense it may hit 80+degC

CPU load temp is also listed... surprisingly quite low at 55+ deg but then should not be surprising since gaming is usually more GPU intensive rather than CPU intensive.