Choosing the right gaming laptop

[poohge123]

Good day,

I was thinking of getting a laptop instead of a desktop due to my work. I have to be moving around a lot and a desktop would be no good. I live in the Philippines and finding a great laptop with my budget is kinda difficult. However I was able to narrow down my search between two laptops. These are :
1. Alienware 17 R3
This has 256 GB of SSD with 1TB of HDD storage
16GB of DDR4 memory
Processor is the i7-6700HQ
Dedicated Graphics card is the GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5
Price is Php 85,800 or roughly $1825 here in the Philippines

2. MSI GE72 6QF Apache Pro
This has 128 GB of SSD with 1TB of HDD storage
16GB of DDR4 memory
Processor is the i7-6700HQ
Dedicated Graphics card is the GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5
Price is Php 87,000 or roughly $1850 here in the Philippines

I am already leaning towards the Alienware laptop however, should I consider the MSI? Also, it's bugging me that both GTX 970m has 3GB of VRAM. Would that be enough for gaming considering both displays are only at 1080p. Thank you.

 

[xDeuiii]

Both will perform similarly. The only difference is the storage size which is up to you to decide. However, both have cons. The Alienware is hot when playing intensive games, to such an extent, you can forget about placing it on your lap. The MSI has a poor battery life compared to the Alienware, so you need to be near an outlet during gaming sessions. The rest is up to you now.

 

[poohge123]

Both will perform similarly. The only difference is the storage size which is up to you to decide. However, both have cons. The Alienware is hot when playing intensive games, to such an extent, you can forget about placing it on your lap. The MSI has a poor battery life compared to the Alienware, so you need to be near an outlet during gaming sessions. The rest is up to you now.

I would not be gaming on my lap anytime soon as I am planning to buy a cooling pad along with the laptop. Thank you so much for your input. I've been everywhere looking for the answers. I really dont want to spend my hard earned cash and end up with a product that would disappoint me in the end.

I would like to ask though, would the 3GB GTX 970M be enough for 1080p gaming? I'm a bit worried that it would fall too short too soon and would struggle to play games that would come out in a year or so.

 

[xDeuiii]

Don't worry, you can last a couple of years with it depending on how graphic intensive games become. It will still easily max today's top games on high to max settings on a 1920x1080 monitor. Check the game's requirements first as a precaution but be worry free, this card is powerful.

 

[poohge123]

Don't worry, you can last a couple of years with it depending on how graphic intensive games become. It will still easily max today's top games on high to max settings on a 1920x1080 monitor. Check the game's requirements first as a precaution but be worry free, this card is powerful.

Thanks a lot mate. I was worried that the GTX 970M wont be enough. I was a bit worried about the 3GB VRAM and was really hesitant about it. I guess I would go with the Alienware laptop as it is a pretty decent laptop.

 

[Kenneth1987]

First of all, GTX 970m and 3GB is enough for 1080p display. Secondly, from the spec, R3 has better SSD space and Allienware is a good gaming laptop as well, however, if you are looking at thermal design, sound performance and gaming keyboard, the GE72 is absolutely better option.

 

[poohge123]

First of all, GTX 970m and 3GB is enough for 1080p display. Secondly, from the spec, R3 has better SSD space and Allienware is a good gaming laptop as well, however, if you are looking at thermal design, sound performance and gaming keyboard, the GE72 is absolutely better option.

Thank you for your input sir. I was already leaning towards the Alienware right from the get go, plus it looks great as well so there's that. I haven't seen the thermal profile of the Alienware R3 though, is it bad? or is it something that is not a huge issue? I plan to game with a cooling pad all the time anyways. The only reason im buying a laptop instead of a desktop is that I am constantly moving weekly due to my job.