Razer Blade 14 (2013 Model) or MSI GS60 Ghost-003

BlackFireBR

Estimable
May 28, 2015
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4,510
Hello guys, I'm looking for a very light weight laptop that is also capable of running games if it's needed.
I have a very good desktop where I game a lot, and this laptop would be used for programming and playing Battlefield 4 for example.

I currently have a Dell XPS l502x and I love the sound quality of it and I wish my next laptop had at least a decent internal sound speaker.

So, this is basically what I want:

  • ■ A very light-weight laptop
    ■ Able to run Battlefield 4 at least on native res, on high, 40+ FPS.
    ■ Spend less than $1100 (It can be used or refurbished, I don't care)
    ■ I'm buying it only next month, and skylake should be out by then, but I don't care about getting a skylake CPU, but the price drop can be interesting.

MSI GS-Series GS60 GHOST-003
Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4GHz
RAM: 16 GB DDR3
Storage: 128GB mSATA SSD + 1TB HDD (7200RPM)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
Sceen Size: 15-Inch
Native Resolution: 1920x1080
Weight: 4.4 Pounds

Pros:

  • ■ Has Ethernet Port
    ■ Has a Card Reader
    ■ The cooling system is very efficient
    ■ Better graphics card

Cons:

  • ■ The sound sucks: Everywhere I see, they say the speakers are "ok" at best. I use the speakers of my Dell XPS all the time, and I love them, I wish I could get a laptop that at least I can blast some music with a good quality sound sometimes. Of course I could just use headphones, but I like using the speakers. And buying an external speaker is not practical, carrying that thing around all the time.
    ■ The resolution 1920x1080 on a 15.6" inch screen: I have the same thing with my Dell XPS 15,
    and text are just too small, and scalling doesn't work too well.
    ■ The resolution will be more demanding for gaming than the Razer Blade resolution (1600x900): Not too much, but still.
    ■ Keyboard with numpad: Typing on a laptop keyboard with a numpad fells too weird to me and I misspell everything. I guess is just a matter of getting used to it, but I never use it, and it will bother me for a while
    ■ The "Windows Key" position is changed: The removed the Windows Key from the left side of the keyboard and put it on the right side. WHY? JUST WHY?! I guess, since is a gamer laptop, they want to prevent the player from accidentally pressing the Windows Key during a game, but how many times you made that mistake, seriously? At least the keys are fully programmable, I'll just swap the function of the Fn-key with the Windows-key;

Razer Blade 14 2013 Model
Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4702MQ 2.2 GHz
RAM: 8 GB DDR3
Storage: 256 GB SSD
Screen Size:14-Inch
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M
Native Resolution: 1600x900
Weight: 4.1 Pounds

Pros:

  • ■ Then sound is better than the MSI Ghost
    ■ 1600x900 will get me better Frames per Second, making the graphics card last longer and mainly: The text will not be too small in the screen, something the bothers the hell out of me, since I'll be mostly coding with this laptop, having a pleasant text size is very important.
    ■ There is no numpad on the keyboard.
    ■ The "Windows Key" is still in the same place

Cons:

  • No HD: I'll be forced to carry an external HD all the time I want to do something.
    ■ No Ethernet port :Not necessary, but I use the ethernet port to tranfer large files from my desktop to my laptop)
    ■ No Card Reader: I have a DSLR camera, and I use it frequently, the quickest way to transfer the photos would be with a Card reader, but I guess I can buy an USB Card Reader anyway.
    ■ The Graphics card is worse than the 860M from the MSI Ghost: But it will be running at 1600x900, so the performance would be the same I think, if not better.[strike][/strike]


That's basically it. For my case, what would be the best option?
 
Solution
Gotta say specs wise the MSI laptop is much better. 1TB HDD, 16GB RAM, a GTX 860M and at full HD whilst it also has a bigger screen.

Now I think performance wise the 765M at 900p would be just slightly better and I prefer the design of the Razer laptop but that's about it aswell.

I'm sure there are plenty of options to make text bigger in 1080p. Have you researched that well enough?

RCFProd

Honorable
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Dec 8, 2013
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10,760
Gotta say specs wise the MSI laptop is much better. 1TB HDD, 16GB RAM, a GTX 860M and at full HD whilst it also has a bigger screen.

Now I think performance wise the 765M at 900p would be just slightly better and I prefer the design of the Razer laptop but that's about it aswell.

I'm sure there are plenty of options to make text bigger in 1080p. Have you researched that well enough?
 
Solution

BlackFireBR

Estimable
May 28, 2015
2
0
4,510


Thank you for the reply.
I guess you are right, despite all the cons I said about the MSI, I believe it is the best choice.

About the text, the only solution as far as I know is using the Windows Scaling System, but this doesn't work for some applications, and for web browsing, I always have to keep "zooming-in" in all pages, which sometimes messes up the page's layout.

But I'm living with this "issue" for 3 years now with my Dell XPS and I can live more years with the MSI, if this is what I choose.