We have put hours of research and testing into this gaming notebook buyer guide of the 10 best gaming laptops available in 2017. Below we review high spec portable machines by Dell, Asus, Alienware, Gigabyte and HP.
We have put hours of research and testing into this gaming laptop buyer guide of the 10 best gaming laptops available in 2017.
All in all, the Asus ROG Zephyrus tends to set a high bar for thin and powerful gaming laptops and is able to deliver a quiet operation with exceptional performance and a design which has been deemed to be truly innovative. If you’re after a powerful thin gaming laptop with an excellent display we highly recommend the Asus ROG Zephyrus.
The Asus Stix laptop is a full HD gaming machine, thanks to its excellent built in speakers and the vibrant screen (excellent color depth).
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Processor i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Processor i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Processor (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.8GHz w/ Intel® Turbo Boost) |
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| 13.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) OLED Anti-Glare 400-nits Display with Touch Technology w/ Alienware Head |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 |
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| Alienware TactX Keyboard
4-Zone, multi-color RGB, keyboard with AlienFX lighting controls |
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| Wi-Fi
Integrated 802.11 AC (WIDI Support)
10/100/1000 Base T
Bluetooth
Built-in Bluetooth V4.1 |
| 1 Power/DC-in Jack
1 RJ-45 Killer Networks e2400 Gigabit Ethernet Port
1 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Type-A Port
1 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Type-A Port with PowerShare technology
1 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Type-C Port
1 Thunderbolt™ 3 Port (USB Type-C™ with support for SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps, 40Gbps Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort)
1 Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port
1 HDMI 2.0 Output
1 Mini-Display Port 1.2 (certified) Output
1 Audio Out 1/8" Ports (Compatible with inline mic headset)
1 Headphone 1/8" Port (retaskable for Microphone/Line-In analog audio input) |
| Built-in Stereo W Speakers And Array Microphone
Support Windows 10 Cortana with Voice
ASUS SonicMaster Premium Technology |
| 4 Cells 64 Whrs Battery
Up to 6 Hours web browsing |
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| Height: 22mm (.87inch) Touch, 24mm (.94inch) non-Touch
Width: 330mm (13inches)
Depth: 269mm (10.6inches) |
| Average weight: 2.6kgs (5.8lbs) |
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- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
Compared to the other gaming laptops, Alienware’s design is truly a class above, with more premium materials and lights being used. The 13 R3 is no exception, at 21% thinner, the heat sinks have been moved allowing Alienware to recover 1.5 inches of more screen space. You may have also noticed the thinner shape has been accentuated with an equally sharper frame. Additionally, the laptop features more lighting zones allowing for more customization than ever before.
As for the keyboard, this has now been separated in to four distinct zones and the trackpad comes with a backlight. This is the first time a 13-inch laptop has ever come with a backlight trackpad.
Compared to the other gaming laptops, Alienware’s design is truly a class above, with more premium materials and lights being used. The 13 R3 is no exception, at 21% thinner, the heat sinks have been moved allowing Alienware to recover 1.5 inches of more screen space. You may have also noticed the thinner shape has been accentuated with an equally sharper frame. Additionally, the laptop features more lighting zones allowing for more customization than ever before.
As for the keyboard, this has now been separated in to four distinct zones and the trackpad comes with a backlight. This is the first time a 13-inch laptop has ever come with a backlight trackpad.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
According to Alienware, this is the first time that they have inserted a quad-core Intel HQ-series processor in a gaming laptop of 13 inches. As you might expect, this is a HUGE improvement compared to the dual-core U-processors found in the previous version.
According to Alienware, this is the first time that they have inserted a quad-core Intel HQ-series processor in a gaming laptop of 13 inches. As you might expect, this is a HUGE improvement compared to the dual-core U-processors found in the previous version.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
This is the feature where this Alienware notebook seems to falter which is actually quite a shame. Even though reports from official sources have suggested that battery life has been bumped up, unfortunately testing did not back up this claim. We only managed to get 4 hours and 30 minutes out the battery when we were using the laptop at a bare minimum.
This is the feature where this Alienware notebook seems to falter which is actually quite a shame. Even though reports from official sources have suggested that battery life has been bumped up, unfortunately testing did not back up this claim. We only managed to get 4 hours and 30 minutes out the battery when we were using the laptop at a bare minimum.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
- A gorgeous OLED screen
⦁ A gorgeous OLED screen
- Improved hinge-forward design
⦁ Improved hinge-forward design
- Impressive performance-per-inch
⦁ Impressive performance-per-inch
- The entry models have been priced in a competitive range
⦁ The entry models have been priced in a competitive range
⦁ Impressive performance-per-inch
Razer Blade Pro 4K
The Best 17" Laptop
Between traditional laptops and gaming ones, there has always been a stark distinction – something which even amateurs would be able to point out. But, thanks to the introduction of the Razer Blade Pro, this one has managed to prove that power like a desktop could also be provided in a light and thin package. It's overclocked Core i7 CPU coupled with the Nvidia 1080 graphics card makes the Razer Blade a superior gaming machine, with enough power to replace a high end desktop PC.
Between traditional laptops and gaming ones, there has always been a stark distinction – something which even amateurs would be able to point out. But, thanks to the introduction of the Razer Blade Pro, this one has managed to prove that power like a desktop could also be provided in a light and thin package. Considered to be a superior gaming machine, this could practically replace any high-tech desktop out there.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| Overclocked Quad-Core 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK Processor with Hyper-Threading 2.9GHz / 3.9GHz / 4.3GHz (Base / Turbo / Overclock) |
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| Mobile Intel® HM175 Chipset |
| 32GB dual-channel memory (DDR4, 2667MHz), fixed |
| 17.3” 4K, 3840 x 2160
IGZO, 16:9 aspect ratio, NVIDIA® G-SYNC™, 100% Adobe RGB, capacitive multi-touch |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X VRAM) |
| 512GB SSD RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2)
1TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 512GB PCIe M.2)
2TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 1TB PCIe M.2)
512GB SSD RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2)
1TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 512GB PCIe M.2)
2TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 1TB PCIe M.2)
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| Ultra-low-profile mechanical, anti-ghosting with individually backlit keys |
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| Killer DoubleShot™ Pro:
Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer™ E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000)
Killer DoubleShot™ Pro:
Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer™ E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000)
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| Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Multimedia keys with scroll wheel
Multi-touch touchpad
SDXC card reader
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Multimedia keys with scroll wheel
Multi-touch touchpad
SDXC card reader
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output |
| Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support |
| Built-in 99Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery |
| Compact 250W power adapter |
| 0.88” / 22.5mm (Height) x 16.7” / 424mm (Width) x 11” / 281mm (Depth) |
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- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
While the all-black finish might not be enough to make you fall in love, the anodized finish which has been fused in to a chassis made of aluminum would definitely make you feel like you are holding something truly precious. When you open up the laptop, you would be able to find a keyboard deck unlike anything you have ever seen before. This is because the pointing device has been positioned on the right side. Thanks to the squarer and taller shape, scrolling seems to have become a breeze. This is because this would be an arrangement that you would already find yourself to be familiar with if you are in the habit of having your mouse right next to your keyboard. In addition, it would also be highly convenient to use a trackpad that has been positioned between the wrist rests.
This would also be the first time that Razer seems to have implemented the Ultra-Low-Profile Mechanical switches on its laptop. This means that the keyboard keys would sink in with a satisfyingly and tactile audible click.
In terms of the display, you would find this to be quite satisfying as well. In other words, this is considered to be one of the most alluring features of this gaming laptop.
While the all-black finish might not be enough to make you fall in love, the anodized finish which has been fused in to a chassis made of aluminum would definitely make you feel like you are holding something truly precious. When you open up the laptop, you would be able to find a keyboard deck unlike anything you have ever seen before. This is because the pointing device has been positioned on the right side. Thanks to the squarer and taller shape, scrolling seems to have become a breeze. This is because this would be an arrangement that you would already find yourself to be familiar with if you are in the habit of having your mouse right next to your keyboard. In addition, it would also be highly convenient to use a trackpad that has been positioned between the wrist rests.
This would also be the first time that Razer seems to have implemented the Ultra-Low-Profile Mechanical switches on its laptop. This means that the keyboard keys would sink in with a satisfyingly and tactile audible click.
In terms of the display, you would find this to be quite satisfying as well. In other words, this is considered to be one of the most alluring features of this gaming laptop.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
At its base configuration, you would find the Razer Blade to be very well-equipped. This is because amongst all the gaming laptops that we have tested, we have found this 17-inch laptop to be one of the speediest and thinnest one. In other words, this could be termed to be a performance machine that has the ability to easily cut through any task that would be assigned to it.
The downside is that on the benchmark front, this has not been found to be one of the best machines to perform out there. This is because the processor has been found to be lagging behind by more than 500 points which is indeed quite worrying. This is something which could be attributed to the higher clocked processor which has been set in.
At its base configuration, you would find the Razer Blade to be very well-equipped. This is because amongst all the gaming laptops that we have tested, we have found this 17-inch laptop to be one of the speediest and thinnest one. In other words, this could be termed to be a performance machine that has the ability to easily cut through any task that would be assigned to it.
The downside is that on the benchmark front, this has not been found to be one of the best machines to perform out there. This is because the processor has been found to be lagging behind by more than 500 points which is indeed quite worrying. This is something which could be attributed to the higher clocked processor which has been set in.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
The Razer Blade Pro has a 99WHr rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery. While this might sound quite impressive, this has also not been found to be sufficient to boost the battery life. Despite reducing the brightness of screen and keeping your tasks to a bare minimum, you would barely be able to get four hours of usage. After that, there is no way that you could possibly make it run any longer.
The Razer Blade Pro has a 99WHr rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery. While this might sound quite impressive, this has also not been found to be sufficient to boost the battery life. Despite reducing the brightness of screen and keeping your tasks to a bare minimum, you would barely be able to get four hours of usage. After that, there is no way that you could possibly make it run any longer.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
Therefore, the Razer could arguably be considered to be one of the best desktop replacement that you would be able to carry around. From the perspective of comfort and power, we have found ourselves to feel right at home from the very beginning. This is because this laptop would be vibrant and roomy for any kind of production work that you would require.
So, if a gorgeous quality, portability, incredible keyboard, and build quality would be some of the main determining factors for your next buy, then the Razer Blade Pro would be absolute value for your money.
Therefore, this gaming laptop from Razer could arguably be considered to be one of the best desktop replacement that you would be able to carry around. From the perspective of comfort and power, we have found ourselves to feel right at home from the very beginning. This is because this laptop would be vibrant and roomy for any kind of production work that you would require.
So, if a gorgeous quality, portability, incredible keyboard, and build quality would be some of the main determining factors for your next buy, then the Razer Blade Pro would be absolute value for your money.
- Hardware that is fully loaded
⦁ Hardware that is fully loaded
- Termed to be one of the first truly mechanical “laptop keyboard"
⦁ Termed to be one of the first truly mechanical “laptop keyboard”
- Placement of the starboard trackpad
⦁ Placement of the starboard trackpad
Razer Blade
The Best 14" Laptop
Best 14" Gaming Laptop
In the gaming laptop scene, you would find Razer to be in an enviably good position. The previous 14-inch gaming notebooks produced by this company seem to have fared pretty well. That is why it would not come as a surprise that this latest version seems to have incorporated all the previous features and improved the glitches in order to introduce something absolutely bang for your buck.
In the gaming laptop scene, you would find Razer to be in an enviably good position. The previous 14-inch gaming laptops produced by this company seem to have fared pretty well. That is why it would not come as a surprise that this latest version seems to have incorporated all the previous features and improved the glitches in order to introduce something absolutely bang for your buck.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Processor (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.8GHz w/ Intel® Turbo Boost) |
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| Mobile Intel® HM175 Chipset |
| 16GB Onboard - DDR4, 2400Mhz |
| 14" 4K UHD 16:9 Ratio (3840 x 2160) capacitive multi-touch
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| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5 VRAM) |
| 512GB SSD RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2)
1TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 512GB PCIe M.2)
2TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 1TB PCIe M.2)
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| Razer Synapse enabled programmable keyboard, backlighting + fan control |
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| Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer DoubleShot™ Pro:
Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer™ E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000)
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| Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Multimedia keys with scroll wheel
Multi-touch touchpad
SDXC card reader
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output |
| Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support |
| Built-in 70Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery |
| Built in 165W power adapter |
| 0.70” / 17.9mm (Height) x 13.6” / 345mm (Width) x 9.3” / 235mm (Depth) |
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- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
Even though it now packs a newer processer and an optional ultra HD display, nothing about its design seems to have changed. However, the brushed and all-black aluminum frame would feel cool as a breeze underneath your fingertips – something which could definitely be considered to be a sensational feeling. You would find the typing to still remain excellent, even though it would have been nice to see the trackpad buttons gone.
Even though it now packs a newer processer and an optional ultra HD display, nothing about its design seems to have changed. However, the brushed and all-black aluminum frame would feel cool as a breeze underneath your fingertips – something which could definitely be considered to be a sensational feeling. You would find the typing to still remain excellent, even though it would have been nice to see the trackpad buttons gone.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
In terms of performance, you could expect things to remain the same as the previous models. However, the incredibly loud fan noise when you would be playing games does not seem to have gone away which is actually quite annoying. In that case, you should prepare yourself to play with your headphones ones. This is despite the fact that the speakers seem to have undergone a major upgrade. Sadly, it would not be enough to drown out the loud and whirring noise.
In terms of performance, you could expect things to remain the same as the previous models. However, the incredibly loud fan noise when you would be playing games does not seem to have gone away which is actually quite annoying. In that case, you should prepare yourself to play with your headphones ones. This is despite the fact that the speakers seem to have undergone a major upgrade. Sadly, it would not be enough to drown out the loud and whirring noise.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
The Razer Blade seems to have come to be regarded as one of the most respected gaming notebooks in terms of battery life. Hence, we were able to see an increase of 30 minutes, which means that the total battery life would last you around 4 hours and 8 minutes when you would be operating the laptop at a brightness of 50%.
The Razer Blade seems to have come to be regarded as one of the most respected gaming laptops in terms of battery life. Hence, we were able to see an increase of 30 minutes, which means that the total battery life would last you around 4 hours and 8 minutes when you would be operating the laptop at a brightness of 50%.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
Even though the 2017 version of this notebook seems to be longer lasting and stronger than the previous year’s, it would be nice to see more original features being incorporated in it. In addition, even though the high price tag might be justifiable to some extent, better gaming notebooks are available in the market currently.
- Track pad buttons can be a pain
Gigabyte Aero 14
The Best Mid-range
Best Midrange Gaming Laptop
Gigabyte Aero 14
When the topic comes to thin gaming notebooks, you would not find Gigabyte to be a stranger to this concept. That is why with its latest offering, it has promised to deliver ultra-thin and affordable gaming notebook of your dreams. Equipped with Intel’s latest quad-core processor, a 3K screen, massive battery, and GTX 1060 graphics chip from Nvidia – there is not anything more that you could ask for.
When the topic comes to thin gaming notebooks, you would not find Gigabyte to be a stranger to this concept. That is why with its latest offering, it has promised to deliver ultra-thin and affordable gaming notebook of your dreams. Equipped with Intel’s latest quad-core processor, a 3K screen, massive battery, and GTX 1060 graphics chip from Nvidia – there is not anything more that you could ask for.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | | 11625 |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7 6700HQ Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| 6th Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz-3.5GHz) |
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| Mobile Intel® HM170 Express Chipset |
| 16GB Onboard - DDR4, 2400Mhz |
| 14" QHD 2560x1440 IPS Wide Viewing Angle Anti-Glare Display LCD |
| Intel® HD Graphics 530
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 GDDR5 6GB
Supports NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology |
| 1 x M.2 SSD slots (Type 2280, supports NVMe PCIe X4 & SATA) 512GB SSD RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2)
1TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 512GB PCIe M.2)
2TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 1TB PCIe M.2)
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| Full-sized Island-style Auto-adjusting Backlit Keyboard
Individual Macro Keys |
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| Wireless LAN: 802.11 ac (a/b/g/n compatible)
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V4.1+ LE
Killer DoubleShot™ Pro:
Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer™ E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000)
|
| USB 3.0 (Type-A)*3, USB 3.1 Gen 2(Type-C)*1, HDMI 2.0, mini-DP, Headphone-out jack (Audio-in Combo), SD Card Reader, DC-in Jack *Optional: USB-to-LAN Converter Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Multimedia keys with scroll wheel
Multi-touch touchpad
SDXC card reader
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output |
| 2 Watt Speaker*2, Microphone, Dolby® Digital Plus™ Home Theater Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support |
| Built-in 70Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery |
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| 335(W) x 250(D) x 19.9(H) mm |
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- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
The thing with Gigabyte laptops is that they have always managed to attain that classic and traditional simple look. It would be because of this reason that the Aero 14 has managed to look straight up stylish. This is thanks to the lid option which is fully orange, along with a lime green version as well. On the other hand, people who would like to maintain a low profile would easily be able to opt for the simple black paint with an orange stripe.
You would also find the interior of the laptop to be quite different than what would usually be offered by Gigabyte. The keys have been found to be noticeably bigger with more spaces being added between them. The key switches would offer firm resistance when you would be typing and would also feel slightly bouncy.
The biggest claim to fame for this laptop would be all the hardware which has been inserted inside. Despite all this, it has been found to be very light. As a result, this would be a luxury that we would not be able to find in majority of the notebooks. It would also be because of this reason that we really enjoy having the freedom to tilt the screen back as much as we would like.
The thing with Gigabyte laptops is that they have always managed to attain that classic and traditional simple look. It would be because of this reason that the Aero 14 has managed to look straight up stylish. This is thanks to the lid option which is fully orange, along with a lime green version as well. On the other hand, people who would like to maintain a low profile would easily be able to opt for the simple black paint with an orange stripe.
You would also find the interior of the laptop to be quite different than what would usually be offered by Gigabyte. The keys have been found to be noticeably bigger with more spaces being added between them. The key switches would offer firm resistance when you would be typing and would also feel slightly bouncy.
The biggest claim to fame for this laptop would be all the hardware which has been inserted inside. Despite all this, it has been found to be very light. As a result, this would be a luxury that we would not be able to find in majority of the notebooks. It would also be because of this reason that we really enjoy having the freedom to tilt the screen back as much as we would like.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
In addition to being more affordable than its slightly overpriced counterparts, the Aero 14 has also managed to fare better than them in almost all aspects. These high scores could be attributed to the new quad-core Kaby Lake processor.
In addition to being more affordable than its slightly overpriced counterparts, the Aero 14 has also managed to fare better than them in almost all aspects. These high scores could be attributed to the new quad-core Kaby Lake processor.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
Another impressive feature of the Aero 14 would be its long battery life – something which seems to be lacking in most of the gaming laptops. That is why it would come as extremely good news to all the users who would like to use their gaming notebooks for an extended period of time. Even though they have claimed that the laptop would last you the whole day, we have found it to last for only half a day. Even then, we would not find any room to complain as it would still be significantly higher than the other makes and models.
Another impressive feature of the Aero 14 would be its long battery life – something which seems to be lacking in most of the gaming laptops. That is why it would come as extremely good news to all the users who would like to use their gaming notebooks for an extended period of time. Even though they have claimed that the laptop would last you the whole day, we have found it to last for only half a day. Even then, we would not find any room to complain as it would still be significantly higher than the other makes and models.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
There is no doubt Gigabyte have always managed to offered superb performance which could be packed in a portable and thin package. That is why it was good to see that Aero 14 was also no different. As a result, it has managed to stand above its counterparts with better numbers in benchmarks; that too at an affordable price.
There is no doubt that gaming laptops from Gigabyte have always managed to offered superb performance which could be packed in a portable and thin package. That is why it was good to see that Aero 14 was also no different. As a result, it has managed to stand above its counterparts with better numbers in benchmarks; that too at an affordable price.
- Bad battery life again
- Full of bloatware
Alienware 17 R4
The Best Value
With so many options being available in the market, it can sometimes become difficult about which notebook you should go for. In that case, you can give a thought to Alienware 17 R4. Termed to be a “magnificent monster”, you would find it to be decked out in LEDs and in terms of performance, it has been found to be top-notch as well. All this could be found at a price which has been termed to be highly affordable and satisfactory.
With so many options being available in the market, it can sometimes become difficult about which gaming laptop you should go for. In that case, you can give a thought to Alienware 17 R4. Termed to be a “magnificent monster”, you would find it to be decked out in LEDs and in terms of performance, it has been found to be top-notch as well. All this could be found at a price which has been termed to be highly affordable and satisfactory.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocking up to 4.4GHz ) |
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| 8GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (1x8GB) |
| 17.3 inch QHD (2560 x 1440) 120Hz TN AG 400-nits w/ NVIDIA G-SYNC, Enabled with Tobii Eye-tracking |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5 Overclocked |
| 512GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage) 512GB SSD RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2)
1TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 512GB PCIe M.2)
2TB SSD RAID 0 (2x 1TB PCIe M.2)
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| Alienware TactX Keyboard
4-Zone, multi-color RGB, keyboard with AlienFX lighting controls and numeric keypad
9 user-programmable keys providing up to 19 distinct functions per application or game |
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| Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Killer DoubleShot™ Pro:
Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
Killer™ E2500 (Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000)
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| 1 Power/DC-in Jack
1 RJ-45 Killer Networks e2400 Gigabit Ethernet Port
1 Type-A SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Port
1 Type-A SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Port with PowerShare technology
1 Type-C SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Port
1 Thunderbolt™ 3 Port (USB Type-C™ with support for SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps, 40Gbps Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort)
1 Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port
1 HDMI 2.0 Output
1 Mini-Display Port 1.2 (certified) Output
1 Audio Out 1/8" Ports (Compatible with inline mic headset)
1 Headphone 1/8" Port (retaskable for Microphone/Line-In analog audio input)
1 Noble Lock port (cable and lock sold separately) Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
Multimedia keys with scroll wheel
Multi-touch touchpad
SDXC card reader
Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
USB 3.0 port x 3 (SuperSpeed)
HDMI 2.0 audio and video output |
| 2 Watt Speaker*2, Microphone, Dolby® Digital Plus™ Home Theater Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in array microphone
3.5mm combo audio port
Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
7.1 Codec support |
| Lithium Ion (99 Wh) Battery |
| |
| Height: 1.18inches (29.9mm)
Width: 16.7inches (424mm)
Depth: 13.1inches (332mm) |
| Average Weight: 9.74lbsi (4.42 kg) |
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This time Logitech has made it onto our list of the best gaming mice with its G900 Chaos Spectrum. This is one of the very few gaming mice that has the ability to go head-on against the Razer Ouroborus and the Asus ROG Spatha gaming mouse, the competition is based on price as well as the features that the mouse has to offer.
- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
Alienware is one of those gaming laptop manufacturers that can easily boast of top-class design. In this case as well they would not fail to disappoint. With a thinner chassis, the heat sinks have been pushed underneath the keyboard and then located at the back of the device. It would be because of this decision that you would also find the laptop to be loud and noisy like anything. Other than all this, all the other things which you would expect from a laptop from Alienware has been found to remain the same.
As for the trackpad, you would be happy to find that it could be customized to 20 different colors and shades. This would be extremely attractive when you would be engaged in a high-octane and interactive game. Where inputs are concerned, there would be plenty to love in that case as well. Even though you would not be able to find any mechanical switches on the table, it would still be commendable.
Alienware is one of those gaming laptop manufacturers that can easily boast of top-class design. In this case as well they would not fail to disappoint. With a thinner chassis, the heat sinks have been pushed underneath the keyboard and then located at the back of the device. It would be because of this decision that you would also find the laptop to be loud and noisy like anything. Other than all this, all the other things which you would expect from a laptop from Alienware has been found to remain the same.
As for the trackpad, you would be happy to find that it could be customized to 20 different colors and shades. This would be extremely attractive when you would be engaged in a high-octane and interactive game. Where inputs are concerned, there would be plenty to love in that case as well. Even though you would not be able to find any mechanical switches on the table, it would still be commendable.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
As would be expected, when the Alienware 17 R4 was reviewed, it was nothing short of exceptional. For movies and games, this screen has been found to be fantastic from every angle. This would be largely due to the matte-style and anti-glare glass that has been used on the display. The colorful and crisp nature would not appear washed out as the other panels.
As would be expected, when the Alienware 17 R4 was reviewed, it was nothing short of exceptional. For movies and games, this screen has been found to be fantastic from every angle. This would be largely due to the matte-style and anti-glare glass that has been used on the display. The colorful and crisp nature would not appear washed out as the other panels.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
Where the battery life is concerned, that is where the actual woes begin. No matter how much of a stellar performance this laptop would be able to provide, it would only last you a mere 2 hours and 13 minutes. Even though this is regarded as the average running time, we feel that it has paled out compared to the other average and mediocre gaming notebooks.
Where the battery life is concerned, that is where the actual woes begin. No matter how much of a stellar performance this laptop would be able to provide, it would only last you a mere 2 hours and 13 minutes. Even though this is regarded as the average running time, we feel that it has paled out compared to the other average and mediocre gaming notebooks.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
Enter your Therefore, if you are on the lookout for a good and stable 17-inch gaming notebook on the market, then this one would undoubtedly be a good buy. That being said, this would seem like a pretty good replacement for a compact desktop. However, it would not be suitable for people who would find themselves to be always on the run.
Therefore, if you are on the lookout for a good and stable 17-inch gaming notebook on the market, then this one would undoubtedly be a good buy. That being said, this would seem like a pretty good replacement for a compact desktop. However, it would not be suitable for people who would find themselves to be always on the run.
- Looks great
- Extremely powerful
- Loads of configuration options
- Battery life is not great
- Fans are loud
Dell Inspiron 15 7000
The Best Budget
Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming
Where gaming laptops are concerned, you would be able to find them to be in two opposite spectrums. On the one hand, you would find all the high-end ones. On the other, you would find the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming. This has been made specifically for those people who would want a capable and affordable portable gaming machine.
Where gaming laptops are concerned, you would be able to find them to be in two opposite spectrums. On the one hand, you would find all the high-end ones. On the other, you would find the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming. This has been made specifically for those people who would want a capable and affordable gaming laptop.
As a result, we have found this one to deliver on almost every aspect which would be included in an affordable gaming laptop.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7820HK Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Quad Core (6MB Cache, up to 3.8 GHz) 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Quad Core (6MB Cache, up to 3.8 GHz)
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| 16GB Single Channel DDR4 2400MHz (16GBx1) |
| 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB |
| Dual drives with 256GB Solid State Drive + 1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive |
| Keyboard UK/Irish (Backlit) Keyboard UK/Irish (Backlit) |
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| Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 + Bluetooth 4.0 Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 + Bluetooth 4.0 |
| 1 x Microphone-in/Headphone-out jack
1 x Type C USB3.1 (GEN2) Thunderbolt
4 x USB 3.0 port(s) Type A
1 x HDMI, Support HDMI 2.0 |
| Built-in Stereo 2 W Speakers And Array Microphone
Support Windows 10 Cortana with Voice
ASUS Sonic Studio |
| 74WHr, 6-C (Int) [74 WHr, 6-Cell Battery (Integrated)] |
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| Height: 1.00 " (25.44mm) | 2. Width: 15.15 " (384.9mm) | 3. Depth: 10.82 " (274.73mm) Height: 1.00 " (25.44mm) | 2. Width: 15.15 " (384.9mm) | 3. Depth: 10.82 " (274.73mm) |
| Starting at 5.76lbs (2.62Kg) Weight: Starting at 5.76lbs (2.62Kg) |
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| 1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC |
If you ask a professional gamer, he/she would typically never suggest the best gaming mouse would have several buttons, especially, in the thumb rest area. Having an array of buttons can make it harder for gamers to distinguish between the buttons with touch alone and can be a hindrance when it comes to gripping around the mouse. The choice and preferences will definitely vary from person to person and honestly speaking we have heard several gamers say that their gaming performance is much better when using a mouse with multiple buttons. The buttons can help them multi-task and keep their fingers on the keyboard where they are supposed to be.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, you would find this laptop to be so red that it might even blind you momentarily. However, when you get back to normal, you would also agree that this would be one of its most eye-catching features. The palm rest and keyboard deck has been made black with red color accents on the keyboard. All this would be complete with a red backlight. As for those people who would like to go with a more subtle look, an all-black variant has also been made.
Weighing only six pounds and just being an inch thick, anyone and everyone would be able to tell that you are carrying a Dell laptop in your backpack.
Other than all this, we would also like to point out that the hinge on this laptop would undoubtedly be the best hinge that has been used by us in a while.
- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
As far as aesthetics are concerned, you would find this laptop to be so red that it might even blind you momentarily. However, when you get back to normal, you would also agree that this would be one of its most eye-catching features. The palm rest and keyboard deck has been made black with red color accents on the keyboard. All this would be complete with a red backlight. As for those people who would like to go with a more subtle look, an all-black variant has also been made.
Weighing only six pounds and just being an inch thick, anyone and everyone would be able to tell that you are carrying a Dell laptop in your backpack.
Other than all this, we would also like to point out that the hinge on this laptop would undoubtedly be the best hinge that has been used by us in a while.
As far as aesthetics are concerned, you would find this laptop to be so red that it might even blind you momentarily. However, when you get back to normal, you would also agree that this would be one of its most eye-catching features. The palm rest and keyboard deck has been made black with red color accents on the keyboard. All this would be complete with a red backlight. As for those people who would like to go with a more subtle look, an all-black variant has also been made.
Weighing only six pounds and just being an inch thick, anyone and everyone would be able to tell that you are carrying a Dell laptop in your backpack.
Other than all this, we would also like to point out that the hinge on this laptop would undoubtedly be the best hinge that has been used by us in a while.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
In this budget-friendly gaming notebook, it uses the latest entry-level graphics processor from Nvidia. Even beyond performance in terms of gaming, there would be no denying the fact that this would be an all-out workhouse. During our testing period, there was never a time when we felt that the processor was being pushed to its limits. In terms of cooling the machine, it was found that the fans did a fairly good job. However, we found the colors on the screen to be muted and dull. Also, the sounds could sometimes get muted or bogged down despite the speakers located at various places.
In this budget-friendly gaming notebook, it uses the latest entry-level graphics processor from Nvidia. Even beyond performance in terms of gaming, there would be no denying the fact that this would be an all-out workhouse. During our testing period, there was never a time when we felt that the processor was being pushed to its limits. In terms of cooling the machine, it was found that the fans did a fairly good job. However, we found the colors on the screen to be muted and dull. Also, the sounds could sometimes get muted or bogged down despite the speakers located at various places.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
The main drawback that seems to exist in gaming laptops is their battery life. In this case, this laptop from Dell did not fail to disappoint. While there were some instances when it lasted longer and others when it did not, there was no denying the fact that we came out impressed.
The main drawback that seems to exist in gaming laptops is their battery life. In this case, this laptop from Dell did not fail to disappoint. While there were some instances when it lasted longer and others when it did not, there was no denying the fact that we came out impressed.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
Thus, despite everything that Dell has to offer in this notebook, there is no denying the fact that it is in need of a major upgrade. However, it does do an excellent job of the everyday needs of computing while also keeping up with the demands of computer games.
Thus, despite everything that Dell has to offer in this notebook, there is no denying the fact that it is in need of a major upgrade. However, it does do an excellent job of the everyday needs of computing while also keeping up with the demands of computer games.
- Track pad is very sensitive
HP Omen 17
Even though it might sound crazy to call a two grand gaming notebook a steal, you would definitely change your mind when you come across HP Omen 17. With G-Sync and 4K display, it could not be regarded as a budget laptop. However, when you begin to see the things that it can do, the price would seem like downright bargain. In other words, this deal seems to be too good to believe.
Even though it might sound crazy to call a two grand gaming notebook a steal, you would definitely change your mind when you come across HP Omen 17. With G-Sync and 4K display, it could not be regarded as a budget laptop. However, when you begin to see the things that it can do, the price would seem like downright bargain. In other words, this deal seems to be too good to believe.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | |
Technical Specifications
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| Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8 GHz base frequency, up to 3.8 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB cache, 4 cores) Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8 GHz base frequency, up to 3.8 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB cache, 4 cores) |
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| 32 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM (2 x 16 GB) 32 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM (2 x 16 GB) |
| 17.3" diagonal 4K IPS anti-glare WLED-backlit (3840 x 2160) 17.3" diagonal 4K IPS anti-glare WLED-backlit (3840 x 2160) |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 (8 GB GDDR5 dedicated) NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 (8 GB GDDR5 dedicated) |
| 2 TB 5400 rpm SATA 256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD 256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD |
| Full-size island-style dragon red backlit keyboard with numeric keypad Full-size island-style dragon red backlit keyboard with numeric keypad |
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| Integrated 10/100/1000 GbE LAN Intel® 802.11b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 Combo
Intel® 802.11b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 Combo |
| 1 Thunderbolt™ 3 (Data up to 40 Gb/s, Power Delivery, DP1.2, HP Sleep and Charge); 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (1 HP Sleep and Charge); 1 Mini DisplayPort™; 1 HDMI; 1 RJ-45; 1 headphone/microphone combo 1 Thunderbolt™ 3 (Data up to 40 Gb/s, Power Delivery, DP1.2, HP Sleep and Charge); 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (1 HP Sleep and Charge); 1 Mini DisplayPort™; 1 HDMI; 1 RJ-45; 1 headphone/microphone combo |
| Bang & Olufsen, dual speakers, HP Audio Boost, DTS Headphone:X support Bang & Olufsen, dual speakers, HP Audio Boost, DTS Headphone:X support |
| 8-cell, 82 Wh Li-ion |
| 230 W AC power adapter |
| 16.65 x 11.97 x 1.3 in |
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| 1 year limited hardware warranty 1 year limited hardware warranty |
- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
In terms of design for gaming notebooks, you would find this to be designed in a conservative manner. Even though it looks and feels pretty durable, it does not in nay way feel like a premium laptop. This is because this laptop is plastic throughout and there would be no doubt about it. As for the keyboard, the keys were found to be responsive and yielding, but nothing worth raving about.
The other main two drawbacks of the design are its hinges and trackpad. Despite the metallic finish, it was found to be tacky. However, the most impressive thing about all of this was its quite operation. Despite the fact that it gets hot, you would never feel that it would not be something that you would be able to handle.
As for the weight, it does not come in light. It would also be more noticeable when you would pack it in your bag and sling it over your shoulder.
In terms of design for gaming notebooks, you would find this to be designed in a conservative manner. Even though it looks and feels pretty durable, it does not in nay way feel like a premium laptop. This is because this laptop is plastic throughout and there would be no doubt about it. As for the keyboard, the keys were found to be responsive and yielding, but nothing worth raving about.
The other main two drawbacks of the design are its hinges and trackpad. Despite the metallic finish, it was found to be tacky. However, the most impressive thing about all of this was its quite operation. Despite the fact that it gets hot, you would never feel that it would not be something that you would be able to handle.
As for the weight, it does not come in light. It would also be more noticeable when you would pack it in your bag and sling it over your shoulder.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
For the price that is being charged, there is no doubt that HP Omen 17 is an insane computer. In terms of performance, it has been found to really shine.
For the price that is being charged, there is no doubt that HP Omen 17 is an insane computer. In terms of performance, it has been found to really shine.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
It would not come as a surprise that the battery life has been found to be quite disappointing. But that is something which you could definitely expect from a gigantic laptop.
It would not come as a surprise that the battery life has been found to be quite disappointing. But that is something which you could definitely expect from a gigantic laptop.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
This laptop has overcome its shortcomings with its affordable price point and powerful performance. All in all, this would definitely be a trade that you would be willing to make.
This laptop has overcome its shortcomings with its affordable price point and powerful performance. All in all, this would definitely be a trade that you would be willing to make.
- Affordable price point
⦁ Affordable price point
- G-Sync and 4G display
⦁ G-Sync and 4G display
- Vivid display
⦁ G-Sync and 4G display
Gigabyte SabrePro 15
The Best Value 15"
However, thanks to Gigabyte, they have managed to break this trend with this SabrePro 15. As its name would suggest, this would be a higher-end version of its budget-friendly version Sabre gaming notebook. In this 15-inch version, you would be able to get better graphics, faster processor, and an RGB keyboard. In addition, thanks to it being reasonably priced, you would also not have to worry about breaking the bank.
Ever since Nvidia 10-series Pascal GPUs seem to have entered the scene, you would not have been able to find many powerful and affordable gaming notebooks. That being said, that would actually have been quite a bummer because you must have had a very hard time making your choice with the limited range that you had at disposal.
However, thanks to Gigabyte, they have managed to break this trend with this SabrePro 15. As its name would suggest, this would be a higher-end version of its budget-friendly version Sabre gaming notebook. In this 15-inch version, you would be able to get better graphics, faster processor, and an RGB keyboard. In addition, thanks to it being reasonably priced, you would also not have to worry about breaking the bank.
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GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 | | 9,466 |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | 4,630 |
CPU - Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8GHz-3.8GHz) Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel Core i7-7700HQ | | 4,224 |
Technical Specifications
| |
|---|
| 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8GHz-3.8GHz) 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.8GHz-3.8GHz) |
| |
| Mobile Intel® HM175 Express Chipset Mobile Intel® HM175 Express Chipset |
| 8GB/16GB DDR4 2400 2 slots (Max 32GB) 8GB/16GB DDR4 2400 2 slots (Max 32GB) |
| 15.6" Full HD 1920x1080 IPS Wide Viewing Angle display 15.6" Full HD 1920x1080 IPS Wide Viewing Angle display |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 GDDR5 6GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 GDDR5 6GB |
| *Support Triple-Storage System
-1x 2.5” HDD
-1x M.2 SSD slot (Type 2280, supports SATA)
-1x M.2 SSD slot (Type 2280, supports NVMe PCIe X4 & SATA) *Support Triple-Storage System
-1x 2.5” HDD
-1x M.2 SSD slot (Type 2280, supports SATA)
-1x M.2 SSD slot (Type 2280, supports NVMe PCIe X4 & SATA) |
| Isolated RGB Backlit Keyboard Isolated RGB Backlit Keyboard |
| |
| LAN:10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Wireless LAN: 802.11 ac (a/b/g/n compatible)
Bluetooth: V4.2 LAN:10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Wireless LAN: 802.11 ac (a/b/g/n compatible)
Bluetooth: V4.2 |
| 1x USB3.1 Gen.1 (Type-C), 3x USB3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x mini DP, 1x RJ45, 1x Mic-in / Earphone-out, 1x card reader(SD/SDHC/SDXC), 1x DC-in jack 1x USB3.1 Gen.1 (Type-C), 3x USB3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x mini DP, 1x RJ45, 1x Mic-in / Earphone-out, 1x card reader(SD/SDHC/SDXC), 1x DC-in jack |
| 2x 2W Speaker, 1x 2W Sub-woofer 2x 2W Speaker, 1x 2W Sub-woofer |
| Li-Polymer, 5300WAh 60Wh |
| |
| 390(W) x 268(D) x 25(H) mm
15.4(W) x 10.5(D) x 0.9(H)inch 390(W) x 268(D) x 25(H) mm
15.4(W) x 10.5(D) x 0.9(H)inch |
| 2.5kg (w/battery)
5.5lb (w/battery) 2.5kg (w/battery)
5.5lb (w/battery) |
| |
| |
However, thanks to Gigabyte, they have managed to break this trend with this SabrePro 15. As its name would suggest, this would be a higher-end version of its budget-friendly version Sabre gaming notebook. In this 15-inch version, you would be able to get better graphics, faster processor, and an RGB keyboard. In addition, thanks to it being reasonably priced, you would also not have to worry about breaking the bank.
- DESIGN
- PERFORMANCE
- BATTERY LIFE
In terms of design, you would find this laptop’s design to move away from the toned-down looks that it usually seems to offer. In fact, this would look and feel like the quintessential gaming notebook that might have been taken out from a sci-fi movie. This is because the design has been made part hyper car and stealth bomber with nipped corners, bevels, curves, and points at each and every end. Despite the fact that people have thought of it as a very busy design, it is quite apparent that the manufacturers are trying too hard in order to keep things lively and interesting.
Aside from the styling, you would find the SabrePro to be quite well-designed in terms of functionality. The front end which has been extended would also allow for front-facing speakers.
As for the display, a lot of people have complained it to be a bit lifeless with all the colors being very dull and muted. However, it could not be considered to be absolutely terrible as well. This is because the full HD resolution would give you sharp details and thus allow you to appreciate this gaming laptop a bit more.
Another highlight of this gaming laptop would be its keyboard which tends to offer the most satisfying and best 2mm of key level. This is something that we have not been able to find in any other standard gaming notebook.
In terms of design, you would find this laptop’s design to move away from the toned-down looks that it usually seems to offer. In fact, this would look and feel like the quintessential gaming notebook that might have been taken out from a sci-fi movie. This is because the design has been made part hyper car and stealth bomber with nipped corners, bevels, curves, and points at each and every end. Despite the fact that people have thought of it as a very busy design, it is quite apparent that the manufacturers are trying too hard in order to keep things lively and interesting.
Aside from the styling, you would find the SabrePro to be quite well-designed in terms of functionality. The front end which has been extended would also allow for front-facing speakers.
As for the display, a lot of people have complained it to be a bit lifeless with all the colors being very dull and muted. However, it could not be considered to be absolutely terrible as well. This is because the full HD resolution would give you sharp details and thus allow you to appreciate this gaming laptop a bit more.
Another highlight of this gaming laptop would be its keyboard which tends to offer the most satisfying and best 2mm of key level. This is something that we have not been able to find in any other standard gaming notebook.
Asus are breaking new ground with a gaming laptop that is just 1.79cm thick. Not only is that extremely thin for a gaming laptop, but even if you compare the laptop to none gaming notebooks it’s still slimmer than traditional notebooks that are available on the market today. Asus has achieved the thin designed by incorporating a high-air chamber cooling system that gives this ultra-thin gaming laptop the cooling properties of a much thicker machine. In terms of design, Asus has gone for a distinctly squared-off design with a metal chassis. All that being said, it looks like something from the future and we loved the laptops design and performance.
Even though you would find this laptop to fall under the affordable price range, you would be surprised to know that it has outperformed all the other notebooks in this category. Other than that, we were also impressed by the feature of playing on Ultra settings which would allow us to enjoy a silky smooth gameplay experience of 60 fps.
In terms of performance, the downside is that Gigabyte did not manage to bring down the noise of the fan. This would mean that when it would be running at full tilt, you might feel that a hairdryer has been placed right next to your ear.
Even though you would find this laptop to fall under the affordable price range, you would be surprised to know that it has outperformed all the other notebooks in this category. Other than that, we were also impressed by the feature of playing on Ultra settings which would allow us to enjoy a silky smooth gameplay experience of 60 fps.
In terms of performance, the downside is that Gigabyte did not manage to bring down the noise of the fan. This would mean that when it would be running at full tilt, you might feel that a hairdryer has been placed right next to your ear.
When you glance over the specifications of this laptop on paper, you would typically assume that it’s going to be loud and noisy. But, you could not be further from the truth and much to our amazement, despite its thin form factor, it tends to run more quietly than most of the other gaming laptops we reviewed. When you’re not gaming and browsing the web and performing normal desktop tasks the laptop is virtually silent.
In the case of battery life, you would again find this to lag really behind compared to the other models and manufacturers. This is because 3 hours and 32 minutes was the longest running time that we were able to clock in.
In the case of battery life, you would again find this to lag really behind compared to the other models and manufacturers. This is because 3 hours and 32 minutes was the longest running time that we were able to clock in.
The only unimpressive part of the Asus laptop is its battery life which is a maximum of 2 hours. No matter how well we tried to optimize the operation system or how few applications we had running, it was impossible to squeeze more than 2 hours battery life out of the laptop, which is pretty poor for a modern laptop, even if it is a gaming laptop. This is definitely something you need to factor in if your often traveling or away from a power point.
Button Response
The buttons are soft and you can get used to the click almost immediately. The tactile response of the buttons are designed in a way to give a feeling of a soft touch while hard enough to prevent them from being pressed accidentally.
Button Position
There are two small buttons situated under the mouse wheel that lets you adjust the CPIs with a single touch and two buttons situated at the left side of the mouse just over the rubber grip for the thumb. The buttons are easily accessible and can be custom programmed for any functionality that one may like.
The thought of having to pay almost $2,000 for a laptop would make any sane person pause. That is why the Gigabyte SabrePro would come as a refreshing change thanks to its affordable price. Even though it does not have the build quality that you would be able to find in other laptops, this definitely will be able to give you a good performance. All that being said, this would be one of the most affordable and powerful gaming notebooks that you would be able to buy today.
The thought of having to pay almost $2,000 for a gaming laptop would make any sane person pause. That is why the Gigabyte SabrePro would come as a refreshing change thanks to its affordable price. Even though it does not have the build quality that you would be able to find in other laptops, this definitely will be able to give you a good performance. All that being said, this would be one of the most affordable and powerful gaming notebooks that you would be able to buy today.
- Priced affordably
⦁ Priced at an affordable range
- Leading-class performance
⦁ Leading-class performance
- Excellent touchpad and keyboard
⦁ Excellent touchpad and keyboard
Congratulations, you made it the end of the review of the top 10 gaming laptops of 2017. Hopefully this has helped you make your mind up, and given you enough information to make a smart and informed purchase decision. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask us on twitter @BlizzGZ_
Hey You Guys! (Sorry I can't resist a good Goonies reference), as you may have guessed I'm a child of the 80's. I've grown up playing video games such as Doom, Quake, Quake 2 and Half-life which obviously lead me to a serious Counter Strike addiction.
P.S - everyone says I look like the new 2017 laura croft *not the 1996 lara!*
Thus, that brings us to the end of the review of the top 10 gaming laptops in 2107. Hopefully this would have armed you with enough information to make a smart and rational purchase decision at the end of the day. In addition, it should also have made you aware of the particular features and specifications that you should be keeping an eye out for.
Ever since Nvidia 10-series Pascal GPUs seem to have entered the scene, you would not have been able to find many powerful and affordable gaming notebooks. That being said, that would actually have been quite a bummer because you must have had a very hard time making your choice with the limited range that you had at disposal.
However, thanks to Gigabyte, they have managed to break this trend with this SabrePro 15. As its name would suggest, this would be a higher-end version of its budget-friendly version Sabre gaming notebook. In this 15-inch version, you would be able to get better graphics, faster processor, and an RGB keyboard. In addition, thanks to it being reasonably priced, you would also not have to worry about breaking the bank.
