maybe I should start a new thread, but I’ve got a similar question:
I’m planing to replace my gaming laptop in about 6 months, the old laptop is an MSI GP62MVR 6RF Leopard Pro.
there’s some things I really like about the machine, but there’s also some unforgivable faults.
no real complaints about the hardware performance, given what I paid for it, and when I got it, but…
the thing might actually be tougher if it was made of paper. the plastic grill over the vents on the back are gone. the covers on the hinges are gone, and on one side it’s missing a chunk of the plastic covering the part of the hinge that attaches to the back of the screen besides.
the kicker is that all this is after getting it repaired, and I’ve absolutely babied it since I got it back, it hasn’t been dropped, there’s no real reason for it to be damaged, it’s just stupidly cheap plastic.
the reason I had to get it repaired in the first place? screen shattered less then three months after I got it. granted, that was at least partly my fault, but the forces involved shouldn’t have been a problem.
the battery is all but nonexistant, and built in. I’ve never been able to get more then 40 minutes out of it, regardless of power settings.
it runs painfully hot. the other reason I had to get it repaired, (at the same time) I left it running overnight, the keyboard actually melted …I’m still not quite sure how that happened, but I suspect the bios that it shipped with wasn’t running the fan enough, updating that seemed to help, and I’ve had no further problems after repairs. it still runs painfully hot, but not bad enough to damage itself.
I don’t do much traveling, my laptops rarely leave my room, and I have a couple cheap old laptops that do most of the things I actually need to do away from home, but I’m hard on my things, I need a machine that won’t fall apart if I look at it cross eyed.
budget is probably roughly $1000-2000
mid-range gaming specs should be fine, I want it to be able to run most anything I throw at it, but I don’t need top of the line performance, and frankly, my eyes aren’t sharp enough to care about top end graphics. that said, there are enough programs that run off the GPU that a decent video card is very much desired. my MSI has a GTX 1060, a more recent equivalent should be more then enough.
not particularly interested in SSD, cost/benefit doesn’t add up to enough for it to be a priority.
main concerns are durability and battery life, and neither of those are easy to evaluate from a manufacturers website.
I’m sorry but razer is not high up on the reliable list.
My main concerns with razer are the following:
No Bios or FW updates unless there is a blatant and serious issue.
Warranty void when you open it, at least as far as i remember.
So even though you can still replace ssds and ram on the newer ones, warranty gone.
No replacement parts at all. Razer does not sell or shipp individual parts.
So if anything is wrong, you have to send it in for them to have a look at it. If you are unlucky and they think it’s out of warranty, 100$ for them looking at it and sending it back, or the exorbatant apple like replacement fees.
And then there is questionable design that fails very weirdly.
You can get lucky and not have anything happen.
But, if you get a razer blade, buy it somewhere where you have third party support and more then the 1 year warranty Razer gives you.
Razers Support wasn’t the best to put it mildely, and i haven’t jet heared that they have become better.
If you’re looking for serviceable and with a warranty, perhaps a boutique laptop based on Clevo chassis’ would work better for you: https://www.eluktronics.com/MECH-15-G2
Also, Razer can’t void your warranty in the US for opening up your chassis’ they can do that in certain other countries, which is why those ‘void if remove’ stickers are there.
If you absolutely need durability, then getting a Getac or Panasonic Toughbook may be want you need, but those are EXPENSIVE new
If you say so. They have one of the best build qualities of anything I’ve seen.
this is not the case anywhere in the US.
No one does this really. The closest I’ve seen is dells extended warranty where a tech comes and replaces the part for you.
This is par for the course, I’m not sure what you mean.
As long as you avoid prostar/sager. The support is literally non existent for those. You’re better off with literally any other company. I’m lucky I got mine through AVAdirect so the warranty is all handled by them but still I’ve been without my laptop for months.