Judge My Purchasing Decision: Gaming Laptop

yay it finally got here

I love gaming laptops too, especially the ones with more subtle (less pronounced) designs. Simple is better.

But it's always the battery that dies before anything else. They always happen within 2 years. The free replacements last no longer than 8 months because I suspect that you only get refurbished ones, unless maybe if you extended warranty period from 2 to 3 years. By then, you give up or the the same battery isn't even on the market anymore. So it basically becomes a non-mobile laptop for the next 2 years until it dies from other causes, because you have to plug it to a wall to keep it powered.

In many cases, gaming laptops have to be undervolted for CPU-intensive games. Beware, if you used the wrong tool or broke the system with the wrong step, your warranty can be voided, if servicemen finds out.

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jeerinho wrote:

I love gaming laptops too, especially the ones with more subtle (less pronounced) designs. Simple is better.

it looks like this on the outside





That's the thing about RGB

This one is alright. Most of the designs today from Razer to MSI to Gigabyte to Tongfang (chinese ODM), even HP's upcoming Omen series are dandy. Alienware has improved but still a notch too loud for my tastes. If they emulate Dell XPS design language in more ways they would be a winner.

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BearCares wrote:

...
it looks like this on the outside...

Nice!

Hows the "heat" on it and are you using a secondary cooling pad?


I've got an Alienware bag something like this:

Alienware Vindicator Bag

(Found a better example: Alienware Orion )

I bought mine years ago and I think it's better and has more features than what's pictured... (Why do companies keep dialing down on the quality of their products? /sigh) It has held up under heavy strain, filled with crap, tossed all over the place and abused terribly. Still holds up, not a split seam or busted zipper anywhere. I can fit both a "multimedia laptop" (Big heavy f'er) and a slimline laptop in it as well as a cooling pad and all the extras. Though, there's really only one intended carry slot for a laptop in the bag.

Anyway, if you have a need for a laptop bag for your new "baby," I can recommend Alienware bags. :)

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Morkonan wrote:

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BearCares wrote:

...
it looks like this on the outside...

Nice!

Hows the "heat" on it and are you using a secondary cooling pad?


I've got an Alienware bag something like this:

Alienware Vindicator Bag

(Found a better example: Alienware Orion )

I bought mine years ago and I think it's better and has more features than what's pictured... (Why do companies keep dialing down on the quality of their products? /sigh) It has held up under heavy strain, filled with crap, tossed all over the place and abused terribly. Still holds up, not a split seam or busted zipper anywhere. I can fit both a "multimedia laptop" (Big heavy f'er) and a slimline laptop in it as well as a cooling pad and all the extras. Though, there's really only one intended carry slot for a laptop in the bag.

Anyway, if you have a need for a laptop bag for your new "baby," I can recommend Alienware bags. :)

I think the hottest the GPU has gotten is 72 degrees in cyberpunk. I haven't really benched the CPU

Lenovo has an armored backpack which I thought about getting until I realized that carrying it around would simply advertise to the world of thieves out there that I was carrying a gaming laptop around with me. So I just put it in a cheapo book bag when I carry it. I try to pad it out with things to keep it cushioned. But yeah that is a high quality bag I'd be tempted if not for the alienware logo which as I said is just inviting theft.

anyone got suggestions for anti virus?

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BearCares wrote:

... But yeah that is a high quality bag I'd be tempted if not for the alienware logo which as I said is just inviting theft.

Well, sadly, I guess you're not wrong. When traveling, that bag is not far from me at any time. And, I don't use public transit like a subway or something, so opportunities for theft would be slim. My laptop also has advanced security and tracking features. BUT, the loss of everything else in the bag would be catastrophic, hence it lack of separation from my person. :)

Most laptops have good shock-resistance and the like. The most care has to be taken with the screen, of course. It sounds as if you've got it taken care of. (A coffee-table sized book, or something similarly rigid, next to it might help in case of a drop/fall to transmit the shock more uniformly before the laptop encountered it. A "Dungeons and Dragons" hardback manual packed in there might be perfect! :))

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anyone got suggestions for anti virus?

1) Heavy modification of user-behavior towards safe computing habits coupled with Windows 10 and standard Windows Security.

2) Use of a javascript blocker, like "NoScript" or similar that is incorporated correctly in online browsing activity.

3) Creation of a User Account without full Admin privileges that is used most often during normal use not requiring elevated privileges.

4) If one wishes some Third-Party protections, I can recommend MalwareBytes. The Free Version doesn't offer resident protection, but it is very adept at helping one detect and recover from issues. (Most common ones, at least.) I have not used, at least not often, MalwareBytes' Pay version. From trials, which it now forces on users, I've seen it is fairly competent. BUT, all third-party antivirus apps these days are very desperate to demonstrate how "protective" they are to the user... Sometimes, nonsensically so. They all require heavy user-modification to function well and that means user-knowledge is even more important. If you decide to use one, you must become very familiar with it in order for it to be at peak effectiveness while yielding a good user experience.

IMO, as long as you don't do risky things and keep Win10 and Windows Security updated, you're pretty safe. If you incorporate a javascript blocker in your browser, you can substantially increase your own security if you keep it properly configured. Having MalwareBytes on hand, just in case, is advisable. (Some infections are just going to be "too bad, so sad" moments, likely due to user-error. You can't solve for that.)

I wouldn't ever recommend any other browser than Firefox. So, if anyone is looking for a Chrome recommendation, they may as well mail all their daily activity along with their tax-returns to Google. For that other thing Micro$oft pumped out, just "No." For other browsers, just... no.

Note: If you're on the road a lot and you don't have an employer that provides a VPN, I'd suggest Nord VPN. Your speeds using any VPN may not be ideal for online gaming.

Thanks for the advice! But now I need to maximize performance. I don't expect anything big but any advice on undervolting/overclocking thingies? ;3

My firestrike score is below average - I expected that because it is a Max Q laptop. But at the same time I can haz 10% more perforance with undervolt/overclock? HOW?