Gaming Laptop Comparison

[ChefPodgy]

I am in Japan for the next 2 years and was unable to bring my desktop from the US. Looking for a low-mid range gaming laptop (will order from US and have shipped here to Japan since prices are expensive here in Japan.)

The following 2 caught my eye:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233092

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314853

Both are a similar pricepoint, and my main use will some gaming (mostly world of tanks, skyrim, dragon age 3) as well as normal microsoft office/ normal student use & web browsing. I'd like to run Skyrim on high, but dragon age and newer games on lower settings is fine.

I have been spoiled by SSD's, so need one in the laptop I purchase. I don't really feel comfortable taking apart a laptop to install my own SSD. Unfortunately, I need this laptop ASAP and cannot wait for black friday/november sales.

Can you recommend one of the above choices or maybe a separate one altogether?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much for your time and support!

 

[DookieDraws]

Out of those 2, the Acer would be my choice. It has more RAM, a bigger screen and larger SSD. They both have SSDs included.

 

[ak47jar3d]

GIGABYTE P34K-CF1 is a bit better with 965m gpu instead of 960m. The desktops are completely different form factors. GIGABYTE P34K-CF1 is portable laptop while nitro is a desktop replacement. Nitro should have the supperior screen with ips panel. Nitro has 256gb ssd compared to GIGABYTE P34K-CF1 has 128gb ssd. Nitro is clearly better on the spec department but compromises size and weight as GIGABYTE P34K-CF1 is nearly 3.0 lbs less than nitro while having a better gpu.

 

[DookieDraws]

I would also recommend a laptop cooler, especially if you'll be having long gaming sessions.

 

[jaguarskx]

The Gigabyte should provide a little better performance since it has the GTX 965m instead of the GTX 960m. It only has 8GB of RAM vs 16GB for the Acer, but 8GB is still fine for playing games. The downside is the rather small 128GB SSD drive.

The Acer has a 256GB SSD and it is definitely the smallest capacity SSD I would consider getting because 128GB is pretty restrictive for storage capacity. The Acer is a 17.3" laptop which is both good and bad... It is bad if you intend to carry the laptop around with you because it is bulky and heavy. It is good if you have no intention of carrying it around with you the 17.3" provides better game immersion than the Acer simply because it is a bigger screen.


RAM and the hard drive (SSD) are traditionally the easiest components to upgrade in a laptop. But at least for additional storage you can simply connect an external hard drive.

 

[RoMee187]

Me personally, I go with the Gigabyte. Why? Because it's easier to replace and/or upgrade the ram and hard drives.
On the Acer you basically have to take the whole laptop apart to access the ram. For the Gigabyte all you have to do is remove the bottom panel.

 

[ChefPodgy]

Thank you for all the great replies.

Dookie, in any case, I will grab a laptop cooler as per your suggestion.

I was able to get a 23" monitor today so I think that would make the screen size comparison a non-issue.

As a result, I am going to go w/ the gigabyte since it has the better GPU and and will be easier to transport.

This was a huge help, thank you once again. Every comment here helped me make my decision