£1600 laptop choice?

Insanties_birth · 10 Jan 2015 at 13:05

Hi guys, really would appreciate some assistance here when it comes to Laptop choice. I am looking towards getting a laptop and most likely just going to go through Overclockers UK as it's a site I trust and use regularly so why not.

I'm looking at a few laptops and been finding a lot of hearsay about which laptops are having issues or bad design choices etc. (such as the Asus ones which have some weird keyboard choices and sound imbalances). I'll start off by saying I intend to use this an all purpose laptop for home use so that means text documents, movies (blu-ray and DVD / stream), music, games and web browsing so it's basically going to be my main computer for all purposes. With that in mind I'll explain I want it to last a while too so that's why I'm looking at the £1600 range so I can get a gtx 980 and have the games running nice for longer than a month after purchase.

The three laptops I have been looking at are these three.
MSI GT60 2QE-1223UK
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-184-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828

ASUS ROG G751JY
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-206-AS&groupid=959&catid=1828

GIGABYTE P35X v3-CF2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-029-GI&groupid=959&catid=1828

Asus was the primary choice but I'm hearing a few issues from keyboard layout to speaker imbalances (subwoofer drowning out the speakers somewhat) but it does have an IPS display which is very interesting. The other two were more runners up due to the specs being worse but they still contain the key components I'm after (gtx 980, blu-ray, good processor) but if they are more reliable and people have had good experiences with them then that could sway my decision. I think 4k on a laptop is a bit of a waste too but there was no MSI with a gtx 980m and blu-ray player without it :? Anyone got any recommendations or helpful information? If there is any other laptops I could be looking at (would rather not increase the price unless it really adds something though) then I'd be willing to listen though. Anyone know how the Gigabyte and the MSI stand up against the Asus quality wise (sound / keyboard / cooling)? Thanks again.

Scirocco · 11 Jan 2015 at 09:02

Had just typed a massive review of the RoG but thanks to IOS being crappy it froze and lost it all....thanks Apple

So, in short:

I have had none of the issues mentioned, but some have.
The red backlit KB is an issue for some people, but mine is just fine.
Sound is fine, nothing special but then no laptops have amazing sound.
It's really quiet and from the research I did before buying it's the best cooling system of the high end laptops. This was a massive selling point for me as heat and overheat is the death of top end laptops.
I love the look of the unit, however I thought the kB frame was aluminium as the 750, it's nice, but it's not.

Bottom line im very happy with my purchase, but I got it in the sales for £1499, im not sure i would have bought it for £1600+.

Insanties_birth · 11 Jan 2015 at 13:12

Thanks for the reply, it can be slow in laptop section to get feedback lol. I think I will stick with the Asus then, the ips screen, better cooling and competitive price do matter more to me than what colour the keyboard can shine. I will have to see how I feel about the speakers and sound as that is the only potential downside but I suppose most do mention they are happy with the sound anyway.

I was just wanting to double check the others didn't have some advantage I was missing out on bug the. Asus does look like a really nice case too. Thanks for the feedback and I'll get it on the end but I do sort of agree, might be best to catch it on offer or something. I'll see whether I get tempted at any point but I am patient too.

Teknobry · 11 Jan 2015 at 18:46

When spending such a large amount of money, don't limit yourself to just one shop! I won't mention competitors but make sure you've compared other brands.

Insanties_birth · 11 Jan 2015 at 21:00

Teknobry said:
When spending such a large amount of money, don't limit yourself to just one shop! I won't mention competitors but make sure you've compared other brands.

I've checked a few other sites but not found any particularly selling anything with 980m's half the time. Even some bigger brands seem to not have caught up just yet it seems. I'll try keep my eye out though since I'm not in a rush like I said.

Scirocco · 11 Jan 2015 at 22:35

Teknobry said:
When spending such a large amount of money, don't limit yourself to just one shop! I won't mention competitors but make sure you've compared other brands.

Equally be wary, if something looks too good to be true, often it is.

There are a number of websites around that sell reconditioned laptops but won't tell you they are reconditioned. These sites are a lottery, if you get a good one your quids in, if you don't expect a nightmare trying to get help from their customer support.

As above, not allowed to link competitors but there are some that are reputable, just be careful and do your research, for this amount of money it pays to be prudent.

Scirocco · 11 Jan 2015 at 22:38

Insanties_birth said:
Thanks for the reply, it can be slow in laptop section to get feedback lol. I think I will stick with the Asus then, the ips screen, better cooling and competitive price do matter more to me than what colour the keyboard can shine. I will have to see how I feel about the speakers and sound as that is the only potential downside but I suppose most do mention they are happy with the sound anyway.

I was just wanting to double check the others didn't have some advantage I was missing out on bug the. Asus does look like a really nice case too. Thanks for the feedback and I'll get it on the end but I do sort of agree, might be best to catch it on offer or something. I'll see whether I get tempted at any point but I am patient too.

I will reiterate a fe of the common problems, there is a thread on the Asus where a lot are listed and soem work rounds.

Top of the list seems to be the keyboard, it's red backlit and you can't change the colour. Plus there are some reports of mechanical issues.

There are also a bunch of new models coming out in the near future.

Insanties_birth · 12 Jan 2015 at 21:55

Scirocco said:
I will reiterate a fe of the common problems, there is a thread on the Asus where a lot are listed and soem work rounds.

Top of the list seems to be the keyboard, it's red backlit and you can't change the colour. Plus there are some reports of mechanical issues.

There are also a bunch of new models coming out in the near future.

Oh really? How close we talking here

I am willing to wait if there's going to be some big development as I'm not totally clued in on when new cards could come out but I think the 980's haven't been too long.