Comparing 4 laptops, any advice?

[lucasbuck2]

I've been working on my Asus for days, it's just shot. I really need to order tomorrow. Due to reviews I was leaning towards the i5 Acer Aspire which is only $549 and the i7 Acer Predator which is $999. I just don't if an i7 is worth $500 difference? I have a desktop for FPS gang intensive games. This would just be for work and casual gaming. I'm just not familiar with Acer quality.
Here's is what I've been looking at but I'll take any recommendations but would like to stay until $700. Thanks for any help.:

Dell Inspiron i5577-5328BLK-PUS,15.6" Gaming Laptop,(Intel Core i5 (up to 3.5 GHz),8GB,1TB HDD),NVIDIA GTX 1050
https/www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5577-5328BLK-PUS-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B06XFG7157/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512615207&sr=1-6&keywords=gaming+laptop

Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-57D4 15.6-Inches Full HD Notebook (7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U, GeForce 940MX, 8GB DDR4 SDRAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 Home), Obsidian Black
https/www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-575G-57D4-15-6-Inches-Notebook-i5-7200U/dp/B01LD4MGY4/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512615207&sr=1-7&keywords=gaming+laptop

Dell 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (6th Gen Intel Quad-Core i5-6300HQ Processor up to 3.2GHz, 8GB DDR3, 256GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M, Windows 10)
https/www.amazon.com/Dell-15-6-Inch-Quad-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512615207&sr=1-17&keywords=gaming+laptop

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD, Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GTX 1060-6GB, VR Ready, Red Backlit KB, Metal Chassis, G3-571-77QK
https/www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-i7-7700HQ-1060-6GB-G3-571-77QK/dp/B06Y4GZS9C/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512615207&sr=1-3&keywords=gaming+laptop

 

[TJ Hooker]

FYI the Acer Aspire has a dual core i5 (also the weakest GPU). Which one is the best to get depends on what "work" is, and what sort of casual games you'll be playing.

 

[dudeman509]

If you have a desktop for gaming, it doesn't sound like you need that much power (4-core i7 and GTX 1060) in a laptop.

Perhaps look into the 4-core 8th gen i5u laptops. Good balance between efficiency and CPU power.

 

[lucasbuck2]

I should have been more specific. Work such as standard word processing, spreadsheets, and lite graphic work like Photoshop. Gaming like 2d platforms and RPG's, top down not FPS. I did see:
This Acer is $549, is i5, but does have an SSD. Only 256 GB but there is a port to add another SATA
Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-57D4 15.6-Inches Full HD Notebook (7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U, GeForce 940MX, 8GB DDR4 SDRAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 10
https/www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-575G-57D4-15-6-Inches-Notebook-i5-7200U/dp/B01LD4MGY4/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&
qid=1512615207&sr=1-7&keywords=gaming+laptop

Then there is this HP. It's an 8th Gen, and has 12 GB of ram. But it has a 2 TB SATA, no SSD. Are the 8 Gen much faster? I do like the extra ram. Hate tio to give up the SSD with an extra slot for an additional SATA or SSD. So it's a trade off and would love advice. It's $579

Newest HP Flagship 15.6 High Performance Premium Laptop , Quad Core , 8th Intel i5-8250U Processor , 2TB HDD , 12GB RAM ,Super DVD Burner , HDMI, USB 3.1, Stereo Speakers , Windows 10
https/www.amazon.com/Flagship-Performance-i5-8250U-Processor-Speakers/dp/B077JNZ9ST/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512641161&sr=8-3&keywords=gaming+laptop+8th+gen

 

[severinsen70]

https/www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0746P25QX/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512657630&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=acer+swift+3&dpPl=1&dpID=416dxj9GuYL&ref=plSrch

Check this out, 8th gen i5 4 cores/8threads, mx150 is 35%ish better than 940mx will be able to handle casual gaming no problem. And it's a slim form factor. I'm currently on a Lenovo ultrabook with i7-8550u and mx150 and I LOVE the new cpu and gpu, plus they only need a fraction of the power compared to a 1050 or i7-7700hq.

Since you have a gaming rig at home I'd go for something like this, as it'll be useful to have a slim portable notebook.

 

[dudeman509]

https/www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0746P25QX/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512657630&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=acer+swift+3&dpPl=1&dpID=416dxj9GuYL&ref=plSrch

Check this out, 8th gen i5 4 cores/8threads, mx150 is 35%ish better than 940mx will be able to handle casual gaming no problem. And it's a slim form factor. I'm currently on a Lenovo ultrabook with i7-8550u and mx150 and I LOVE the new cpu and gpu, plus they only need a fraction of the power compared to a 1050 or i7-7700hq.

Since you have a gaming rig at home I'd go for something like this, as it'll be useful to have a slim portable notebook.

Yes, something like this looks like a good balance of what OP wants.

 

[lucasbuck2]

Thank you for the replies. What worries me is there are conflicting answers about whether it can take a second drive. Some say yes, some say no. I worry about the drive space.

 

[severinsen70]

Which are you worried about? The Acer is a 256gb drive, likely won't have an extra storage slot due to the small form factor. Although you could upgrade the SSD in the future if needed, I have a Lenovo ultrabook with 250gb (was skeptical as well) but I've got like 15 steam games I play downloaded on it with 80gb left over. I just keep media files on an external to preserve even more space.

 

[lucasbuck2]

Just the space, but I guess you are right.