Aaargh, which laptop should I choose X-)

[suicidal_monkey]

I've been deliberating over laptops for a few weeks and am just about ready to hit buy :ph34r: ... I know Toby and John will laugh at me and say they don't believe I will ever buy one, because I have been talking about this for years ... but just ignore them :narnar:

I reckon I can push my budget up to around 2k if need be, and I could really use some helpful opinions to help push me over the line before the October lan :flirty: I guess the most stressful game I'm likely to be playing would be Star Citizen at 1080p. A lot of the time the laptop will do "normal" work like browsing, documents, development, photo-editing, etc. I'd like a laptop that I can carry about more easily than my 17" Sony brick and with a battery that lasts a reasonable time.

At the moment I am liking the Razer Blade 15 (Base) and the Gigabyte aero 15, and within the budget the options I am looking at seem to be:

• Aero 15 with 1660ti
• Aero 15 with 2060 (£12.5% increase over the 1660ti aero)
• Aero 15 with 2070 max-q and a 240Hz screen versus 144 for the others (£11% increase over the 2060 aero)
• Blade 15 "Base" with 1660ti and a 256Gb ssd plus a 1Tb hdd instead of a 512 ssd like all the others (£9% more than the aero with 1660ti)
• Blade 15 "Base" with 2060 (£8% more than the 1660ti Blade and £5% more than the 2060 aero)
• There is a cheaper Blade with 1660ti but it "only" has a 60Hz panel ... I think Chaos would yell too much about that

In terms of gpus the 1660ti seems to come within maybe 5%(?) of the 2060 and the 2070 max-q seems to be a small jump up (maybe 8% on average?) over the 2060 with a slightly greater jump up in price each time. It doesn't seem to me that there would realistically be a big difference between these three cards under most circumstances though, and actually turning Ray Tracing on sounds like it might be beyond a laptop gpu a lot of the time anyway. However there is part of me that likes the idea of the 2060 and RT ... maybe there are other (non-gaming) applications I would use it for...?

For the Aero going from 1660ti to 2060 costs an extra 12.5% and going further up to the 2070 max-q is another 11%
For the Blade it's about 8.5% to get the 1660ti over the 2060 (also get the 512ssd from the start)
The Blade is more expensive with a 9% hike versus the 1660ti aero and a 5% hike for the 2060 one.

The Blade has a centrally placed trackpad and a keyboard with no numpad which I like the sound of but "only" a 65Wh battery, while the Aero comes with Windows 10 pro instead of home and has a 94Wh battery, but it does have an offset trackpad and that (pointless) numpad.

What do you lot think? Is a significant difference between the models that should swing a decision? ...or would you just flip a coin to decide? :help:

p.s. Noise and ability to upgrade or add storage are considerations. I ruled out the MSI GS65 due to upgrades being a pita, and the Zephyrus seems to have much worse noise performance due to the clever open back lever cooling thing they do.

[Chaosphere]

There is a cheaper Blade with 1660ti but it "only" has a 60Hz panel ... I think Chaos would yell too much about that

This. 100% this.

Aero 15 with 2070 max-q and a 240Hz screen versus 144 for the others

240Hz panels are TN, not worth it over IPS @ 120-144Hz. Avoid.

Aero 15 with 2060

This is the one I'd go for. The Razr with the 2060 is also a perfectly good choice, it comes down to other features (build, style, keyboard, etc).

[suicidal_monkey]

Interesting - anything particular in the features that lead you to pick the aero over the blade? I am struggling to decide! Agreed that the 2060 models do seem to be the sweet spot.


NB The 240Hz panel is marked as IPS in reviews and specs on scan, but it could be mixed up info from the many options that gigabyte offer...

[Chaosphere]

I stand corrected, it is indeed an IPS panel made by Sharp.

I'm still not sure I'd recommend it.

Actually getting anything near 240 FPS is hard enough with desktop CPUs & GPUs, let alone laptop... I'm not sure it's worth paying more for something you're not really going to use. Furthermore, the jump from 60 to 120+ is huge, but from 120 to 240, not so much.

It may also be 'worse' in other areas, such as colour, peak brightness, and contrast - usually something has to give to achieve such high refresh rates, but you'd have to delve into specific reviews to be sure on these bits.

So, my recommendation remains the same, and is based on skimming a few reviews that talk about a better user experience (keyboard, build, etc) than with the Blade*. This is quite subjective though... it would be worth tracking examples of both down in store to have a quick 'feel for yourself', if possible.

*There are quite a few comparisons out there, have a looksie.

[albert]

Have you decided and ordered yet SMonkey? That 2060 Aero look rather good for the money.

[suicidal_monkey]

After
:g:yet more dithering
:ph34r: (re)watching reviews  
:rtfm: getting annoyed at inconsistencies  
:blink:being confused
:taz:a bit angry
:unsure:unsure  
:wacko:and somewhat frazzled  
:boxing:I had a few words with myself :crazy:
:tumbleweed:lightened my wallet

 
:laugh:... and sometime tomorrow I should be in possession of an aero 15 2060 ... :laugh:

[BrotherTobious]

Yeah right :roflmao: pics or didn't happen

[suicidal_monkey]

Yeah right :roflmao: pics or didn't happen

:narnar:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]5075[/ATTACH]
:flirty:

[albert]

Congrats! Where did you buy it and for how much eventually?

[suicidal_monkey]

Congrats! Where did you buy it and for how much eventually?

I got it from scan.co.uk for 1.8k in the end ... my wallet is going to hurt for a while :rumpy:

[BrotherTobious]

Woohoo nice work mate

[albert]

I got it from scan.co.uk for 1.8k in the end ... my wallet is going to hurt for a while :rumpy:

Yes I spotted that, the 2070 with the 240Hz Screen was 2K also in the sale.

[Penfold]

Yeah right :roflmao: pics or didn't happen

:roflmao:


Nice one Monks :thumbsup2: