- Nov 27, 2015
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Hello guys. I am looking to buy a gaming laptop & my budget is between £1200-£1800. I have (or had) an old samsung laptop with NVidia 650 GPU & I was using it till I could afford a top end laptop, but it is causing a lot of problems & I think its time for me to consider getting a new one right now. Unfortunately, due to the covid pandemic, I can't visit showrooms & test them out before buying. I have to order online, & I need expert advice before I choose the right one, & this hard-earned money is my 2year savings, so I am really concerned that I don't get the wrong one.
Now, my requirements were quite high, but after reading the article on how to buy a new laptop on anandtech, I have cut down on the needs a bit. The article said that RAM & storage can be upgraded later, & to go in for a good GPU & CPU as these cannot be changed. So, based on this, my requirements are:
17 inch screen size (it's for gaming, & thus larger the screen, the better)
Good GPU (1650Ti vs. 1660Ti vs. 2060 vs. 2070?)
Good CPU (10th gen vs 9th gen? i7 vs. i9?)
Questions about the CPU:
From what I understand, the newest CPU is the 10th gen intels (not a fan of AMD). I did browse for a few laptops online in my budget, & they (Medion Erazer) have the 9th gen CPUs & only Asus Strix has the 10th gen CPU.
Medion Erazer X17805
Asus Strix G712LV
Medion Erazer X17801
Medion Erazer X17803
The Medion Erazer has the 9th gen processor, whereas the Asus Strix has 10th gen. I don't know what the H at the end of the CPU name means. Also, I remember reading that only i9s have hyperthreading & that i7s don't have them. Is this true? How strongly would you recommend the newer 10th gens over the older 9th gens? Is there a big difference or is just like iphones, with not much changes with newer models? (sorry apple fans)
How is the brand Medion? I haven't heard about them, but they are selling powerful laptops for a lower price (when you compare them to Alienware)
Questions about the GPU:
Which GPU would you recommend, the 1650Ti, 1660Ti, 2060 or 2070? I know that the 20XX series is newer & higher spec, but the 16XX models in the above models I have shared are Titans, so I am assuming they are better/stronger? I remember hearing that when I was buying my desktop GPU (I was told that the 1080Ti is any day better than a 2060?)
Is RTX only possible on 2070 & 2080? In my budget, I can't afford a 2080, but the Medion Erazer X17805 comes with a 2070, but an older 9th gen i7, which is in my budget.
So basically I'm torn between 2 laptops: Medion Erazer X17805 (9th gen i7 with 2070) & Asus Strix G712LV (10th gen i7 with 2060). For gaming, which is better? The 2060 with 10th gen CPU or 2070 with 9th gen CPU?
I also want to know whether I can install any HDD onto the laptop or is it specific to type of HDD & other specifications. Suppose the HDD comes only with a SATA HDD, can I remove that & install an SSD, or does it need to have a separate slot for SSD & SATA? I found that 2TB WesternDigital SSDs are available on Amazon for £230-250. I can replace or add onto the existing the HDD if laptops generally have more slots for HDD.
If I replace the HDD, how do I transfer the free Windows 10 that comes preloaded onto the HDD? We generally don't get the CD key with the laptop, & the windows setup files are preloaded onto the HDD. How do I setup my new windows on the new HDD?
I have the same concern with RAMs... I read that 3200 DDR4 are the best, but laptops come with 23xx MHz RAMs. Do all laptops support the 3200 RAM or are some restricted to lower RAM? How many slots do laptops usually have for RAM? If there are extra, I can add additional 3200 RAM to the existing 23XX RAMs (can I do that or wouldn't you recommend it?)
Also, if you have any other suggestion which I haven't considered & fits my budget, I'd be grateful for that as well.
Thanks, & sorry for the long post.
Now, my requirements were quite high, but after reading the article on how to buy a new laptop on anandtech, I have cut down on the needs a bit. The article said that RAM & storage can be upgraded later, & to go in for a good GPU & CPU as these cannot be changed. So, based on this, my requirements are:
17 inch screen size (it's for gaming, & thus larger the screen, the better)
Good GPU (1650Ti vs. 1660Ti vs. 2060 vs. 2070?)
Good CPU (10th gen vs 9th gen? i7 vs. i9?)
Questions about the CPU:
From what I understand, the newest CPU is the 10th gen intels (not a fan of AMD). I did browse for a few laptops online in my budget, & they (Medion Erazer) have the 9th gen CPUs & only Asus Strix has the 10th gen CPU.
Medion Erazer X17805
Asus Strix G712LV
Medion Erazer X17801
Medion Erazer X17803
The Medion Erazer has the 9th gen processor, whereas the Asus Strix has 10th gen. I don't know what the H at the end of the CPU name means. Also, I remember reading that only i9s have hyperthreading & that i7s don't have them. Is this true? How strongly would you recommend the newer 10th gens over the older 9th gens? Is there a big difference or is just like iphones, with not much changes with newer models? (sorry apple fans)
How is the brand Medion? I haven't heard about them, but they are selling powerful laptops for a lower price (when you compare them to Alienware)
Questions about the GPU:
Which GPU would you recommend, the 1650Ti, 1660Ti, 2060 or 2070? I know that the 20XX series is newer & higher spec, but the 16XX models in the above models I have shared are Titans, so I am assuming they are better/stronger? I remember hearing that when I was buying my desktop GPU (I was told that the 1080Ti is any day better than a 2060?)
Is RTX only possible on 2070 & 2080? In my budget, I can't afford a 2080, but the Medion Erazer X17805 comes with a 2070, but an older 9th gen i7, which is in my budget.
So basically I'm torn between 2 laptops: Medion Erazer X17805 (9th gen i7 with 2070) & Asus Strix G712LV (10th gen i7 with 2060). For gaming, which is better? The 2060 with 10th gen CPU or 2070 with 9th gen CPU?
I also want to know whether I can install any HDD onto the laptop or is it specific to type of HDD & other specifications. Suppose the HDD comes only with a SATA HDD, can I remove that & install an SSD, or does it need to have a separate slot for SSD & SATA? I found that 2TB WesternDigital SSDs are available on Amazon for £230-250. I can replace or add onto the existing the HDD if laptops generally have more slots for HDD.
If I replace the HDD, how do I transfer the free Windows 10 that comes preloaded onto the HDD? We generally don't get the CD key with the laptop, & the windows setup files are preloaded onto the HDD. How do I setup my new windows on the new HDD?
I have the same concern with RAMs... I read that 3200 DDR4 are the best, but laptops come with 23xx MHz RAMs. Do all laptops support the 3200 RAM or are some restricted to lower RAM? How many slots do laptops usually have for RAM? If there are extra, I can add additional 3200 RAM to the existing 23XX RAMs (can I do that or wouldn't you recommend it?)
Also, if you have any other suggestion which I haven't considered & fits my budget, I'd be grateful for that as well.
Thanks, & sorry for the long post.
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