Best Midrange Gaming notebook

aidair · Jun 5, 2014

Hi! I'm looking for a laptop for college. I'm going to play some games (I want to be able to play games like guild wars 2, Civilization 5, etc), along with school uses: engineering programs, and word uses.

The requirements for me are as follows:
1080p screen (I don't want higher, or lower), 13-15"
Either a 256 gig SSD as the only drive, or a 64/128 gig SSD with a secondary hard drive.
At least 4 hours of battery life.
At least 8 gigs of ram.
I want a discrete graphics card, but I don't need a high end one. (Unless the integrated graphics are really that good?)
Less than 6 pounds.
1 inch thick or less.
Good build quality.
Doesn't overheat/sound like an airplane taking off.

It doesn't need to be a "gaming" laptop - but built well, fast, and able to last through a decent amount of use without needing to be charged.

Is there anything like this available? I cant find something that matches anything.

If there was a Razer Blade, without the higher resolution screen (and take off a bit of the price that comes with it), i'd buy that in a second.

Price - preferably less than 2000, but if there's anything that fits those stats above let me know!

Dblkk · Jun 5, 2014

msi cs ghotst comes to mind. 15-17 inch models, i7, gtx 860/870/880m graphics, dual fans (though still runs warm and loud while gaming), thin, light, decent non gaming battery, and even come with 3-4k screens. Starting around $1400 all the way through 2500, depending which specs you want. Its not as apple macbook like as the razer, but theyre still great laptops for cheap, small, light, all around good laptops.

dasulman · Jun 6, 2014

why not get the old razer blade 14?
its a 1600x900 screen, and fits the rest of your criteria
http

/www.amazon.com/Razer-Blade-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B00G349XT6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402045710&sr=8-2&keywords=razer+blade+2013

aidair · Jun 6, 2014

dasulman :

That is one of my options. The deep discount is also really nice!

Dblkk · Jun 6, 2014

aidair :

What's the battery life on the first gen? If its good I think that'd be best bet. They're really nice laptops.

If its poor, then consider it has poor screen, poor battery, and is enclosed so no removable battery, no upgrading at all.
In that case I vote msn gs ghost. Which will also come with 860m or 870m. 860m is huge increase over 765m.

But if battery is 5-6+ hours, id definitely get that, I hate having to worry about battery. That's worth lower specs.

aidair · Jun 11, 2014

Is there anything that, instead of sacrificing the battery or screen, sacrifices a bit of the internals, and a bit of the thickness? I'm willing to get a slightly worse graphics card, and a slightly thicker/heavier laptop, if I can still get that same battery, screen, and build quality. Or am I looking for a laptop that doesn't exist?

Dblkk · Jun 11, 2014

aidair :

Well the last gen razer blade sucks for screen. This years is way better screen but sucks for battey. The msi ghost is cheaper, non overkill screen, but battery is not the best. Battery is still good (about 4-4.5 hours) when not gaming. The new asus g750 laptops are huge/heavy, but give best in class battery for what you get. If your willing to get big, then asus is by far best build, best battery, and very solid machine. Id get the jm version (860m graphics card). It will give you by far best battery, $1200-1300 and grab an ssd to add in there, and even gaming the 860m is Maxwell with huge power saving features. It also has optimus so when not gaming, it doesn't use a power hungry cpu, but with Maxwell even when gaming and such it used at least half the power other cards use. The build quality is excellent. I feel I could easily drop this and just pick it back up and go. No flex unles you take one finger and push hard on a few spots. But otherwise, I sit with it on my lap, typing now, with palms resting on sides of trackpad, and it feels great.

I have had the jm, but stepped up to js )870m) graphics. The 860m plays at high and sometimes ultra, which is awesome, if I could go back, id re-get and keep the jm. Laptop is 17", about 10 lbs, battery life if phenominal. Even with the 870m, just yesterday, with everything on max power/performance, no battery saving features, I browsed internet/toms for a couple hours, edited pictures in photoshop for a few hours, did my email, searched internet again, and then played borderlands 2 for just over an hour. Once shut down borderlands, battery life was at 24%. That's f'n awesome. And the 860m would've been even better. Even gaming, with frames set for 40 fps, I can play titanfall for just under an hour before battery warning pop up. And that's not even on a freshly charged battery, pretty close but around 90% battery starting.

If you want small, then honestly the msi ghost is by far the best all around laptop.

aidair · Jun 11, 2014

Dblkk :

aidair :

Well the last gen razer blade sucks for screen. This years is way better screen but sucks for battey. The msi ghost is cheaper, non overkill screen, but battery is not the best. Battery is still good (about 4-4.5 hours) when not gaming. The new asus g750 laptops are huge/heavy, but give best in class battery for what you get. If your willing to get big, then asus is by far best build, best battery, and very solid machine. Id get the jm version (860m graphics card). It will give you by far best battery, $1200-1300 and grab an ssd to add in there, and even gaming the 860m is Maxwell with huge power saving features. It also has optimus so when not gaming, it doesn't use a power hungry cpu, but with Maxwell even when gaming and such it used at least half the power other cards use. The build quality is excellent. I feel I could easily drop this and just pick it back up and go. No flex unles you take one finger and push hard on a few spots. But otherwise, I sit with it on my lap, typing now, with palms resting on sides of trackpad, and it feels great.

I have had the jm, but stepped up to js )870m) graphics. The 860m plays at high and sometimes ultra, which is awesome, if I could go back, id re-get and keep the jm. Laptop is 17", about 10 lbs, battery life if phenominal. Even with the 870m, just yesterday, with everything on max power/performance, no battery saving features, I browsed internet/toms for a couple hours, edited pictures in photoshop for a few hours, did my email, searched internet again, and then played borderlands 2 for just over an hour. Once shut down borderlands, battery life was at 24%. That's f'n awesome. And the 860m would've been even better. Even gaming, with frames set for 40 fps, I can play titanfall for just under an hour before battery warning pop up. And that's not even on a freshly charged battery, pretty close but around 90% battery starting.

If you want small, then honestly the msi ghost is by far the best all around laptop.

I honestly want the g750, but I'm worried about the weight and size. Since you own it, how bad is it?

Dblkk · Jun 11, 2014

Well, at 9lbs (10lbs with power supply), its not light. But taking it to school/work with me, in a backpack, it adds some heaft to the backpack but just barely noticeable over last laptop. As for having it on my lap, I can tell its there, but its not overly heavy. It is big, it is heavy, but its still only 10lbs, which is what maybe double weight of a normal laptop. Not a huge thing/deal. I tried MacBook pro and first gen razor as I wanted more portable, but those overheated while rendering, so I just went with what I know is good.

If you get a backpack or something for it, the portability isn't really a factor. Its not like it hurts my lap because of weight, and its not like I cant carry it around the house. But normally im on couch with it, or in bed with it, and when on the go, it goes into backpack, then out of backpack and on a table.

Tibbs01 · Jun 11, 2014

Another one to consider is the newly updated Asus Zenbook. It looks to hit all of your must haves and you can find the review and details here: http

/www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-Zenbook-UX32LN-R4053H-Ultrabook-Review.118273.0.html

Dblkk · Jun 11, 2014

Zenbooks not bad, but for the price your getting single small ssd, low end graphics, and a laptop not meant for anything to demanding. Cooling system will throttle cpu/gpu pretty quickly. It's more for smaller like photo editing, but is still an option, just don't think of it as engineering laptop. If your using AutoCAD ot Maya or anything, youd really want something with more beef

aidair · Jun 15, 2014

I think that I'm going to go with the MSI gs60 ghost. Only caveat is that I'm also going to get an external battery pack. Thank you for all of your help, everyone!

dasulman · Jun 15, 2014

could you link me to said external battery pack?

aidair · Jun 15, 2014

I was looking through reviews, and the energizer one seems good, but expensive. This is the top of the line, highest capacity one.
http

/www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002K8M9HC?pc_redir=1402730356&robot_redir=1

budder · Jun 15, 2014

i've been using the lenovo y50, and it seems to hit all of your boxes. its got a 1080p optional touchscreen, up to a 512gb ssd, up to a 4gb 860m, all for less than 2000, and its thin and light

Dblkk · Jun 15, 2014

Battery pack and gs60 is great option. Power and battery go hand in hand. The Gs is small very powerful and light. With the energizer you could probably get a full battery charge out of it, giving you 6-8 hours normal/2-3 hours heavy use

budder · Jun 17, 2014

that one lacks a graphics card, just saying

Dblkk · Jun 17, 2014

Yea, no graphics card, not a gaming laptop. Well, not unless solitaire and Facebook are your games?

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