Travel Constantly, want a compact, tough, powerful gaming laptop.

elcid79 · Mar 24, 2017

So I travel a lot, and I like to travel lightly. I would like to buy a powerful gaming laptop that is light, and somewhat subdued looking.

I can't seem to find any of these brands locally, so I wanted to ask your opinions of the following.

Dell XPS 15 - Weakest performance wise of the bunch, beautiful 4k touch screen. 1050, i5-7300hq, 8gb - $1700
Gigabyte P35XV7 - Highest Performance, 4k, room for 4 storage devices 2x m2, 2x - hdd. 1070, i7-7700hq, 16gb, 256gb ssd (m2) / 1tb hdd. - $2000
MSI GS Series GS63VR STEALTH PRO 4K/UHD Intel Core i7 7700HQ (2.80 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 16 GB Memory 512 GB SSD 2 TB HDD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop - $2000
MSI GS Series GS63VR STEALTH PRO 4K-228 15.6" 4K/UHD Intel Core i7 7th Gen 7700HQ (2.80 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 16 GB Memory 512 GB SSD 2 TB HDD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop - $1700

I likely will game lightly, but use it mostly for web browsing etc, but will do occasional productivity work, photoshop, premier pro in 4k, etc.

Or something totally different?

Thanks in advance.

Alaric · Mar 24, 2017

Falcon Northwest. Not cheap, but configurable. https://www.falcon-nw.com/laptops/overview

Jeff G · Mar 24, 2017

Where are you located? I'm guessing outside US as those prices seem kinda high.

elcid79 · Mar 24, 2017

Thanks for the messages, I think the falcon NW one may be a little too bulky. I am in the USA.

Alaric · Mar 24, 2017

elcid79 said:
Thanks for the messages, I think the falcon NW one may be a little too bulky. I am in the USA.

Yeah, when they say "replaces a desktop" they go a little too far in replicating the size/weight experience. LOL

Pinky · Mar 25, 2017

"Light" and "gaming" are on opposite ends of the laptop computing spectrum. Maybe someday.

The issue is the processing and video power required creates bulk in the form of the cooling needed. Unless you like having the bottom of the laptop melt each time you game for more than 5 minutes.

elcid79 · Mar 25, 2017

I won't game with it sitting on my lap, so the thermal concerns don't really bother me. (Obviously heat kills electronics, but I would likely replace it before that happens anyways.)

Pinky · Mar 25, 2017

elcid79 said:
I won't game with it sitting on my lap, so the thermal concerns don't really bother me. (Obviously heat kills electronics, but I would likely replace it before that happens anyways.)

I don't think you're following - you won't find a light 'gaming' laptop. Period. They have to build in a certain amount of bulk (cooling solution) just to keep the components within operating norms. The GPU is the biggest issue, they're notoriously inefficient and generate a tremendous amount of heat all by themselves.

elcid79 · Mar 26, 2017

I listed several laptops that are capable of playing modern AAA titles at full resolution and a reasonable weight. Perhaps we define lightweight differently.

20lbs is not light. 5-10 falls into my definition of light.

Pinky · Mar 27, 2017

elcid79 said:
... Perhaps we define lightweight differently.

20lbs is not light. 5-10 falls into my definition of light.

We do. 10 pounds for a laptop is not light. 5 pounds is still not light, although I wouldn't call it heavy either. Since you can get decently powerful, non-gaming laptops easily under 5 pounds I'd say 5 pounds is the new 'heavy'.

Perhaps instead of vague terms like "light" and "heavy" you could have posted exactly what was acceptable weight for you. Take the guess work out of it.

mackerel · Mar 27, 2017

The original list seems to be 15" class laptops so I'd call that medium myself. I have an older mid range MSI in that size class (6700HQ, 970M) and the cooling is better than I expected, in that I can game without worrying about thermal throttling. I understand the cooling can vary in the range, mine has two sets of exhausts whereas I understand the lower models in the range only had one, so do check that detail for specific models. Personally I'd prefer 1080p displays for gaming, but if you need 4k for other reasons, go for it.

Sentential · Mar 27, 2017

elcid79 said:
So I travel a lot, and I like to travel lightly. I would like to buy a powerful gaming laptop that is light, and somewhat subdued looking.

I can't seem to find any of these brands locally, so I wanted to ask your opinions of the following.

Dell XPS 15 - Weakest performance wise of the bunch, beautiful 4k touch screen. 1050, i5-7300hq, 8gb - $1700
Gigabyte P35XV7 - Highest Performance, 4k, room for 4 storage devices 2x m2, 2x - hdd. 1070, i7-7700hq, 16gb, 256gb ssd (m2) / 1tb hdd. - $2000
MSI GS Series GS63VR STEALTH PRO 4K/UHD Intel Core i7 7700HQ (2.80 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 16 GB Memory 512 GB SSD 2 TB HDD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop - $2000
MSI GS Series GS63VR STEALTH PRO 4K-228 15.6" 4K/UHD Intel Core i7 7th Gen 7700HQ (2.80 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 16 GB Memory 512 GB SSD 2 TB HDD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop - $1700

I likely will game lightly, but use it mostly for web browsing etc, but will do occasional productivity work, photoshop, premier pro in 4k, etc.

Or something totally different?

Thanks in advance.

How often are you using photoshop or premiere? If you want a color-corrected screen I'd say a 15" MBP otherwise you're looking at either Dell/Alienware 13

ATMINSIDE · Mar 27, 2017

This wouldn't be super flashy if you cut off the lights on it:
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-15-laptop/dkcwkblf055s

custom90gt · Feb 6, 2018

If I were traveling constantly I would get the XPS or a Aero 15. The size difference between my XPS 9560 and my MSI GS63VR was pretty substantial. Plus battery life on the stealth is terrible. The 1050 in the XPS is under powered, but for occasional gaming it's fine. The cooling on the Aero 15 is awesome, the battery life is amazing, and it's tiny (but can be $$).

With the XPS the cooling is sub par but is fixable with a repaste and some undervolting.

Travel Constantly, want a compact, tough, powerful gaming laptop.

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