Is this laptop deal good value?

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howdystranger

132 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

# 215577 3-Jul-2017 17:21

Hi all,

I'm hoping for some advice on the value of a gaming laptop, which is going on sale tonight at PB.

Here are the specs. Do you think this will be capable of playing games reasonably well? I mostly play Overwatch, but would like to get back into Heroes of the Storm/FPSs.

Processor
Intel Core i5-6300HQ 2.3GHz Quad Core (Max Turbo of 3.2GHz)
6MB Cache

Display
15.6" FHD 1920x1080 16:9

Memory
12GB DDR4 SDRAM 1600MHz

Storage
256GB SSD

Optical Drive
DVDRW

Operating System
Windows 10 Home

Networking
BT
WiFi 802.11n

Ports
1x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
VGA
HDMI
RJ-45
Combo Headphone Mic

Colour
Glossy Black

biggal

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1811161 3-Jul-2017 18:20

asus are a good make

pitty they don't have a ssd and a hard drive as the sdd will get filled up fast

jonb

1495 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1811206 3-Jul-2017 19:01

It's pretty good value. I've got the Asus K501 which is similar but lower spec. The 950M is generally fine for most gaming at 1080 especially slightly older titles, is fine for Overwatch but struggles on some other latest games: https://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-950M.138026.0.html

If you find you don't use the DVD drive you can get a caddy to insert an extra hdd in it's place.

Hatch

539 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1812260 3-Jul-2017 21:20

Are you really limited to a gaming laptop? I always thought I wanted a gaming laptop and when I finally splashed out an Alienware with dual GPUs the hardware failed to keep up for more than a year or two. This was a while back mind you before desktop CPUs and GPUs were able to be fitted into laptops.

If I did things again, I would get a low power laptop (or tablet) for study/work and a separate mini desktop gaming rig.

Or I would get a laptop with a thunderbolt port for future proofing for an external GPU (egpu).

If your budget allowed I would consider trying to get something for $1500 but the example below is used.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/laptops/laptops/other/auction-1360294807.htm

Alienware have their own proprietary eGPU cases for $300 which is probably the cheapest available.

stocksp

465 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1812274 3-Jul-2017 22:08

Hard to see how it can be a gaming laptop with discrete graphics card. I'd steer clear

Jase2985

8906 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

# 1812315 4-Jul-2017 07:18

stocksp: Hard to see how it can be a gaming laptop with discrete graphics card. I'd steer clear

has a GTX950M which is a dedicated card

Coil

6615 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

# 1812320 4-Jul-2017 07:31

Jase2985:

stocksp: Hard to see how it can be a gaming laptop with discrete graphics card. I'd steer clear

has a GTX950M which is a dedicated card

I had the K501LX or what ever it was stated above, i HAD to get a M.2 SSD to make it usable and it was ok for games, Like didnt do anything great and played most games on lowest but the CPU was the drawback, You need the 6700HQ for sure.

howdystranger

132 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

# 1812445 4-Jul-2017 11:43

Thanks everyone - I decided not to get it.

I've got a tablet and phone for casual web browsing, and an Xbox One S for RPG/some FPS gaming, but I'm still mulling over whether to get a mini computer I can attach to the TV for games you need to play with a mouse and keyboard.

ojo

107 posts

Master Geek

# 1815779 8-Jul-2017 10:18

howdystranger:

but I'm still mulling over whether to get a mini computer I can attach to the TV for games you need to play with a mouse and keyboard.

Go for it I say, you get a lot better value with a PC