You just have to remove the bottom panel:
Full Notebook Check review HERE.
XPS 15?
Go with this Dell, adding the IPS display for an extra $50, puts you at $949 shipped.
There's an empty 2.5" bay, in which you can later add an HDD or SSD.
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2016+ Gaming Laptop Thread: Embracing Pascal's Wafer (Please Read OP)
- Thread starter K.Jack
- Start date
You just have to remove the bottom panel:
XPS 15?
Go with this Dell, adding the IPS display for an extra $50, puts you at $949 shipped.
There's an empty 2.5" bay, in which you can later add an HDD or SSD.
I've been setting aside money for awhile waiting for a laptop that would fulfill my desires; the Gigabyte Aero 15 looks like it'll fit that bill nicely. Just wish Newegg hadn't sold out right as I decided to pull the trigger on it! Curse my girlfriend for buying a new laptop today and making me want one too!
I have a question and I dunno where to ask it so will ask it here since it is about laptops.
I have an Msi Gt72 2QD
i7-4720hq
970m 3gb
16gb
128gb ssd
1tb hdd
The laptop is awesome but my issue is that the hdd is unbearably slow, it is where I have stored all my games. I play various games and the loading is atrocious. Went into a game of dawn of war 3 lately and I loaded like 3minutes after everyone else. Total warhammer, which is famous for long load times, takes like 5 minutes to load a game. I have 2 theories on why that is happening either because I have compressed all the games to save space, using the usual windows compress tool, or because the disk is extremely fragmented but I cannot defragment it because the defraggler program gets stuck all the time. Any ideas if any of those 2 theories might be the issue or something else is and what can I do? If I format only the D drive will it help?
I have an Msi Gt72 2QD
i7-4720hq
970m 3gb
16gb
128gb ssd
1tb hdd
The laptop is awesome but my issue is that the hdd is unbearably slow, it is where I have stored all my games. I play various games and the loading is atrocious. Went into a game of dawn of war 3 lately and I loaded like 3minutes after everyone else. Total warhammer, which is famous for long load times, takes like 5 minutes to load a game. I have 2 theories on why that is happening either because I have compressed all the games to save space, using the usual windows compress tool, or because the disk is extremely fragmented but I cannot defragment it because the defraggler program gets stuck all the time. Any ideas if any of those 2 theories might be the issue or something else is and what can I do? If I format only the D drive will it help?
Link to the one you were buying?
Have you noticed degradation over time? It could just be that the HDD is really slow.
My brother has my mouse (this laptop came with Corsair Vengeance M65 but he's borrowing it) so I can't play shit yet (unless I'm using a controller) but this is my new setup.
Notable Perks:
- 144hz 1080p monitor via DisplayPort (omfg this is amazing)
- PS4 and Xbox One are both hooked up via their own HDMI ports
- Laptop is easy to pick up and use on the bed or seat without disconnecting anything
- Laptop fan noise is barely more audible than the consoles at this distance
Iminent Improvements:
- Upgrade to 16GB RAM (couple more days)
- 4 USB 3.0 Powered Hub (this one here, which I can charge my phone with too 15W yay)
- Temporary PSVR setup, make it work with SteamVR
~~~
Ultimately, I think this laptop has been a great buy. After small GPU overclocking with MSI Afterburner I have desktop 1070 performance and so far everything I've thrown at it runs great.
I do have a problem with configuring between the two different screens, however. I need to manually make sure my framerate limiter is different per game depending on the monitor I want to use. Laptop = 74fps limit, Monitor = 143fps limit. Some games, like Overwatch, I probably won't use without the screen so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.
As a bonus, I figured out that family sharing the Steam account I got with this laptop to mine gives me access to all the games on my profile. Nice.
Was the problem always there or is it recent?
MSI has a tendency to put horribly slow HDD in their laptops (at least that was the case with mine). If that's the case there's probably nothing to do but to buy a better one.
I've pretty much settled on the Gigabyte Aero 15 at this point. I've been following this thread for a while, wondering if I really wanted to deal with the tradeoffs involved with a gaming laptop, then the Aero 15 was announced and pretty much checked all of my boxes in terms of performance and size and at a reasonable price to boot.
I actually think it will outperform my desktop PC, which is no slouch in its own right, while requiring less power. And I can finally retire my aging Macbook Air.My girlfriend picked up the XPS 13 today to replace the clunker of a laptop provided to her by work; that probably would've been my pick if I decided to go with a non-gaming machine. Even now when I play with it I still want one because I love my tech toys, though I'm far more restrained with my purchases these days.
I had originally started my laptop fund because I wanted a Surface Book, but the performance just isn't there for me given the price.wait how did you compress your games? Did you turn on file system compression? That would make even an SSD slow.
If so, format the HDD asap and don't compress the filesystem this time.
Killer Queen
Banned
Am i really losing that much if i switch over to getting an Omen?
rip cool laptop lighting
AlexFlame116
Member
Thanks! I'll look into that one!
What about Alienware? Do they make good laptops? I'm looking at this one which is $1800. Screen is 17.3 in.
- Hard Drive Capacity - 1TB HD + 128 gigabytes SSD
- Hard Drive Type - SATA + Solid State Drive
- Operating System - Windows 10
- Processor Speed - 2.8 gigahertz
- Processor Model - Intel 7th Generation Core i7
- System Memory (RAM) - 16 gigabytes
- Graphics Card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- Screen Size - 17.3 inches
- Touch Screen - No
Yeah that is what I did. It really makes loading that slow? I read that it only slows down the CPU and since my CPU is good I didn't think I would have any issues. If it really is that bad why format it can't I just decompress them again?
butzopower
proud of his butz
In the U.K. and looking to get the wife a new laptop that she can have like 50 tabs open on, and we can play some games on. She's real big into The Sims and Civ 6, and I want to play Stellaris and Phantom Dust remaster, probably hooked up to our TV. Leaning towards those Dell Inspiron 7000s, though maybe that's overkill for what we are looking to do. Basically looking for a laptop that can play medium quality games, generally turn based, with a little more oomph than an integrated graphics card.
Minsc
Gold Member
You can selectively use system compression per folder in NTFS, and there's really not that much of a performance hit on older games, especially on SSDs. Granted most games aren't going to compress that much, but there are some random cases of games compressing over 50%, especially if they're older games or use lots of uncompressed assets.
The compression is basically equal to zip compression, but I'd never compress actual windows system files or an entire drive.
Since you seem knowledgeable about that type of compression, do you think it can cripple the loading times as badly as I described on my previous post or is it another issue?
Minsc
Gold Member
On your laptop it'd be not too far off depending on the type of HDD they had, if it's a slower 5400rpm drive it could be pretty bad already (2+ mins), and you're using system compression, that will just compound it, especially if the game is expanding lots of assets in to a temporary file (which system compression will slow down because it has to compress this new temporary data).
I would suggest testing it though, if you compressed your entire drive definitely first undo that. Also you can right click on the individual folders to compress them, and also see your space savings, so if the game is 30GB, and the compressed folder is 29.7GBs (or even 25GBs), it's a huge waste of time. Honestly for any AAA or huge game it probably will be. Smaller indie games or older games that load in mere seconds you might be able to save a few GBs without any hit, but it's easier just to delete stuff when you don't need it and redownload I think. The lesson here is next time just get bigger HDDs / SSDs.
Also install games to the SSD if you play them regularly, but leave a good 20% of the space on the SSD free.
AlexFlame116
Member
If I want a good gaming laptop that's a bit higher around the price range, would Alienware be a good option or the Asus Republic of Gamers brand?
ricardo_sousa11
Member
I cant seem to find an xps15 for less than 1400, ehich is way over budget...got any ither recommendations?
File system compression has killed performance for decades. Heck I forgot that it was even still a thing.
I assume you clicked the "Compress this drive to save disk space" checkbox here? If so, uncheck it and hope it works. Defragmenting should also work after decompression.
Otherwise, you'll have to uninstall enough games until it works, or better yet reformat.
How many games do you have installed on that 1TB drive anyway? I'm using a single 1TB HDD with 113 installed Steam games and several hundred GB of personal data and non-Steam games, and I still have 90GB of free space.
Minsc
Gold Member
Actually folder compression can drastically speed up performance in some cases (it reduces seek times when accessing tons of smaller files - for example games that have 10,000s of tiny files will be quicker when in a compressed folder since the drive doesn't have to seek to find them as often, in a compressed folder they're mostly stored together rather than all over the drive). And the hit is really negligible in most others, this is zip level compression, it's practically lighter on CPUs than video playback.
How much will that cost?
Wait, we're up to $1800 now?
The Dell is not overkill, for those games.
Okay, what is the actual budget?
Inspiron 7000
Im umming and ahhing over getting the ASUS ROG GL702VM. Ive got three concerns with it: its only got 8 GB of RAM, its reported to get very warm, and I dislike the orange WASD keys. Anyone here have any experience with it? Ill probably get used to the keys, but is it possible to switch them out later on?
Ill have to get a new laptop in the next few days (the battery and power supply on my MSI GE70 seem to be dying), and itll have to last me at least three years, so I want to get one with GSYNC and a GTX1060. I like the look of the Acer Aspire V17 Nitro a lot more than the ASUS, but that doesnt come with GSYNC. Anything out there that doesnt look like a gamer laptop, but comes with GSYNC and a 1060? Should I even care about GSYNC?
Ill have to get a new laptop in the next few days (the battery and power supply on my MSI GE70 seem to be dying), and itll have to last me at least three years, so I want to get one with GSYNC and a GTX1060. I like the look of the Acer Aspire V17 Nitro a lot more than the ASUS, but that doesnt come with GSYNC. Anything out there that doesnt look like a gamer laptop, but comes with GSYNC and a 1060? Should I even care about GSYNC?
Killer Queen
Banned
$2400CAD
Same specs as a GE72mvr, but it lacks a HDD and has a 4k screen, also 17in.
Vs the $2300 id pay for the GE72MVR without a 4k screen.
Edit: also 500gb SSD on the Omen vs the 256+1tb storage on the MSI
AlexFlame116
Member
Hmm...looks like I never finished the original post.
Up to about 1800 budget if all goes well.
Other than that it would probably be 1200.
So yeah if all goes well I can spend 1800 or around there
Okey guys dunno if anyone cares but I fixed my hard drive. My D drive had 70% fucking fragmentation defraggler detected more than 1.5 million fragmentations actually and combined with the compression it was killing the hdd drive. I formated it, installed some games and the improvement on loading was massive. Thanks for all your suggestions!
1.5 million fragments, how is that even possible? Formatting was definitely the right call, glad you got it resolved.
I think the Omen is the best move. You get your 4K, and a large SSD, for the same cost.
The RGB keyboard is nice, but not to the point where you should sacrifice your major needs, to obtain it.
This is a good contender, at $1,799.
Lets just say I like to install and unistall programs all the time.
This is how it looked at the start. Notice that there are 500gb free, this is after I deleted many programs to free space to maybe make the hdd faster, so it was probably like 3m at the start.
This is how the fragmentation looked, awful lol, formating was the right choice.
AlexFlame116
Member
Holy crap that looks crazy! Thanks! I'll check it out!
2 x 8, or 1 x 16?
2x8
I strangely just had a dream about finishing Nier (with a made up story) and laptop Ram...
I wonder, do you know what would be a good alternative for the DELL XPS 15 9560, but with an ethernet port and a keyboard that has a numpad?
Otherwise this would be the perfect laptop for me. Alternatives can have larger screen size and I don't care too much about portability or battery life.
Otherwise this would be the perfect laptop for me. Alternatives can have larger screen size and I don't care too much about portability or battery life.
Zerozerozero
Member
Hey guys, I don't know much about laptops so I need your help. I'm a 3d artist and I looking for the best laptop (that I can play too, this is important) with a $3000 budget.
After some browsing I found the Acer 17 X, but I'm still not sure if there is something better battery wise. What do you guys recommend? Gtx 1080 and at least 32gb ram is a must for me.
Thanks!
Edit: Thunderbolt ports would be great too.
After some browsing I found the Acer 17 X, but I'm still not sure if there is something better battery wise. What do you guys recommend? Gtx 1080 and at least 32gb ram is a must for me.
Thanks!
Edit: Thunderbolt ports would be great too.
HitCtrlAltDel
Member
Looking to get an Alienware 13 R3. Does anyone have any coupon codes that work? Nothing I've found on any site works; every code was expired.
PM me if you have a one time code you aren't going to use.
PM me if you have a one time code you aren't going to use.
Killer Queen
Banned
Thinking im going to grab one since MSI wont give me a 4k laptop in what i want. Would you mind giving me a rundown of its pros, cons and your feelings thus far?
I have a few posts in the previous pages, but tl;dr
I like the keyboard, but not how it looks.
I/O is bad. With a powered 3.0 hub it's fine if you're docking.
Gigabit Ethernet port is nice
1070+6700hq runs very nicely, laptop isn't too loud and I agree that the pitch/tone w/e is somewhat pleasant ~~ coming from console I have no issues with the noise
17" is large. The 1080p Gsync screen is nice. You must force an fps limit for the 75hz screen to let the Gsync work.
I'm very happy. I got mine for a good price. I would recommend a backpack/convertible tho, the power brick is heavy.
Rn I leave it docked with the Amazon basics stand to my monitor. I took it with me when I travelled with my partner and honestly, I wouldn't dream using it out of a home/venue.
while it's not necessarily a gaming laptop, I upgraded my 2011 MBA to a new 2016 15" MBP, so i thought I would ask in here. I'm looking to see if anyone can recommend a good USB-C to USB hub besides the official Apple one. Reviews for these on amazon are all over the place.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016K0PJ3Q/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Sabrent is a good company. I have the USB-A version of this, and I had no complaints.
Spend $100 for one of those thunderbolt 3 hubs. 😍
This will bottleneck his 3.1 Gen 2 port by like 5Gbps, 35 if it's a thunderbolt 3 port
I don't think there's a thunderbolt 3 adapter yet, if you can find one, please share.
There are loads of thunderbolt 3 hubs, but they are super expensive (they do have pass through tho which is what I want one for).
https://www.elgato.com/en/thunderbolt-3-dock
I was wrong on thinking they were only 100 USD lol
But this hub can even support display port 😆
Edit: Derp, you meant that it isn't out yet. I thought it was
~~
I think a big question is, what do you want to use the hub for. I think if you're going to bottleneck the port you may as well save money on a cheap Gen 1 Hub
There are loads of thunderbolt 3 hubs, but they are super expensive (they do have pass through tho which is what I want one for).
https://www.elgato.com/en/thunderbolt-3-dock
I was wrong on thinking they were only 100 USD lol
But this hub can even support display port 😆
Edit: Derp, you meant that it isn't out yet. I thought it was
~~
Oh, this looks nice. I hope they release this soon as it could fix my need for an ethernet port with a new Dell XPS 15.
Killer Queen
Banned
Mine is going to be a mostly home thing, but thanks for the impressions!
The Gigabyte Aero 15 has a numpad, ethernet port, and a reduced bezel display similar to the XPS 15. I know you said you're not concerned about portability and battery life, but it checks those boxes, too. I'm ordering one as soon as it comes back in stock.
The Gigabyte Aero 15 has a numpad, ethernet port, and a reduced bezel display similar to the XPS 15. I know you said you're not concerned about portability and battery life, but it checks those boxes, too. I'm ordering one as soon as it comes back in stock.
Oh, this one looks nice as well. Too bad the availability in Germany is not that great and it's way more expensive here (+400€ compared to the XPS 15 and only the graphics card is a little bit better).
Killer Queen
Banned
One more question. Does the Omen 17t come with a 7700 in any configuration?
Edit:nvm found it on the us site
Edit:nvm found it on the us site
Hey guys! I am interested in getting a laptop, since I am becoming a student of engineering, dealing with programs like AutoCad and solidworks on the move.
My country however, is Uruguay, while I study in Argentina, it is too expensive.
mercadolibre.com.uy (can give you a good impression of the problem I am dealing with)
I do light gaming, play strategy games and the usual dark souls run, I am however, kinda disconnected from gaming as of late, kinda sad since it is something I love... but well, such is life.
Size isnt important but portability and battery life is VITAL.
My country however, is Uruguay, while I study in Argentina, it is too expensive.
mercadolibre.com.uy (can give you a good impression of the problem I am dealing with)
I do light gaming, play strategy games and the usual dark souls run, I am however, kinda disconnected from gaming as of late, kinda sad since it is something I love... but well, such is life.
Size isnt important but portability and battery life is VITAL.