I'm looking to buy a new laptop this year. I will be using it for:
Gaming; I have a gaming desktop for playing AAA games and high-demanding games, but I want something that is convenient for when I want to game and chill out in bed, or in other parts of the house. Basically I want to be able to run GW2 on it on Higher settings and then mostly just indie, and other simple and light games.
Video editing. My wife and I both edit videos and only having one computer for it (along with gaming) is inconvenient when we both want to use it.
Under 17"
preferably no optical drive for a slimmer and lighter laptop.
1920x1080
under $1000
Right now I'm leaning towards the Dell Inspiron 7000 series. The model with a i7-6700HQ, a 4GB GTX 960M and 8GB RAM is under $900 but the i5-6300HQ (all other specs the same) is around $750. Is that extra $150 worth it for an i7 CPU on a laptop?
My ideal laptop around my price range is the ASUS ROG GL502VT (link)
or the MSI GS60 Ghost-265 (link)
but the much lower price of the Inspiron is hard to pass up for the aesthetic and branding of the other two.
Anyone have any advice and insight into what I should look for for my needs? Is the Inspiron something that will last me a wile? Or should I hold out for something with a higher build quality?
That Dell one, if I recall correctly, is quite good. Definitely spring for the i7, as the i5 is only a dual-core.
This one right?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015PYZ0J6
I purchased that dell last year around Christmas. It's been very good to me. I do not have a gaming desktop but it has been perfectly fine for my gaming needs. It runs minecraft with shaders, skyrim with some graphics mods, overwatch at high-ultra. Even on a 1080 ultra wide I would suggest adding an m.2 ssd however for more "snappiness"
Yes, that's the one.
I purchased that dell last year around Christmas. It's been very good to me. I do not have a gaming desktop but it has been perfectly fine for my gaming needs. It runs minecraft with shaders, skyrim with some graphics mods, overwatch at high-ultra. Even on a 1080 ultra wide I would suggest adding an m.2 ssd however for more "snappiness"
Yes, I was planning on replacing the HDD with an SSD and adding an m.2 eventually, as well as another 8GB of RAM.
How is the build quality on it @chuck.brown1272? I've had bad experiences with the laptops I've had. The screen has always broken sooner or later--whether it is the hinge, or the panel itself.
It made of mostly plastic, but nothing has broken on it so far. Although there is some sort of yellow tinting in the corner of the panel, I think its from me carrying it around in a fully loaded backpack at school all day, picking it up setting it down etc. It isn't really a problem for me because you only see it on all white pages, and I usually am using a second monitor anyways. It definitely doesn't feel as nice as some more expensive laptops, but that is to be expected at its price. In my opinion, the performance that you get is more important than the fit and finish, if that makes sense. There's no creaking or rattling though and the hinges feel pretty solid
That sounds good. My main concern is the performance as well, and there really aren't any other laptops that compare to this one at this price. I'll probably end up getting this one once I save up.