How to choose a gaming laptop correctly
Right now, a huge number of new games are being released that are almost as realistic as movies. But with the release of new games, the system requirements for computers are also increasing. Nowadays, in the age of mobility, more and more people are abandoning stationary computers that tie them to one place in favor of laptops. Particularly noteworthy are the gaming segment of laptops, which, in terms of performance, rival PCs. Each of the "Big" brands releases its line of gaming laptops, so let's figure out which brand is better to choose for purchasing a gaming laptop, which parameters to pay special attention to, and which ones aren't worth overpaying for. After all, gaming laptops are quite expensive. Throughout history, a true gaming laptop with a fully functional, non-restricted processor and a powerful gaming graphics card has been considered to cost from €1000, and this is still the case today, only €1000 is now 90,000 rubles :) but looking at the range of gaming laptops, where it's easy to find models costing 300k or even 500k for one laptop.
Let's start from the very beginning:
There are several giants producing gaming laptops who have become the benchmark for all others, and they are the most popular among gamers. There are only 5 of them; in our opinion, the rest merely copy them. There is of course an exception to the rule, for example, Alienware by Dell - these laptops are made from the highest quality components with fantastic design, a bunch of features, lighting, and the best hardware that exists, but the prices for such "devices" usually exceed €3-5000. We won't focus on them, but will immediately move on to the top 5 most popular gaming brands and try to discuss the pros and cons of each brand's particular lineup; we hope that after our article, it will be much easier for you to make a choice, so let's go.
1. Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) are the most popular gaming laptops in the world today, and there are several reasons for this.
Asus has long been one of the most famous "laptop" brands because they know what marketing is and how important it is; the company spends up to 40% of its total profits on marketing. That's why everyone from Avdotya Petrovna and Felix Benedictovich from the town of Mukhosransk knows about this brand. And they are right; advertising drives trade, and it is interesting to observe when buyers choosing gaming laptops specifically ask for Asus, and when asked why Asus, they claim that it is the best laptop (spoiler: this is not true;) because Grandpa Grisha said that Asus is a BRAND. The ROG lineup has decent models, no doubt, but speaking of the price-to-quality ratio, this is not the place; here it’s rather expensive-good, cheap-bad.
Repairability - in most new generation laptops, they have removed the excellent user interface where one could add RAM or change the HDD or SSD by themselves; now everything is under a cover with screws and factory seals, breaking which immediately voids the warranty (by the way, Asus does well here. Generally, they provide a 2-year international warranty on their gaming lineup, which is very convenient; you don't need to carry a warranty card or receipts with you; just go to an official service center anywhere in the world, and by the serial number, your laptop will be accepted for service and repaired if needed; let's hope that it won't be needed :))
So if you want to add something, you will have to go to official distributors.
Design is stylish, looks reliable, but it can't be called a masterpiece; nothing memorable except for the ROG tag which hints that this laptop is made specifically for gaming.
The case is usually plastic with metal elements; the top case is made of metal while the upper and lower covers are plastic, with a keyboard that has a red or RGB backlight, copper cooling with one or two radiators, and assembly that is quite solid. A big plus of the ROG lineup from Asus is its repairability; most problems can be easily fixed in the service center without issues, and even after serious interventions by soldering, the laptops continue to work for a long time.
The price seems a bit inflated, in our opinion, due to the company's high marketing expenditures.
Thus, our rating is 7 out of 10 for Asus ROG laptops.
2. Lenovo Legion is the name of the gaming laptops from the Chinese giant Lenovo. This is most likely the option one could refer to as the price-quality ratio. This brand has a very rich and long history. 15 engineers from IBM went to China to boost industry, founded the company Legend, and worked on commercial projects; later, when the company started growing significantly, they founded a new company, LENOVO (the prefix LE comes from the company Legend, and NOVO is derived from the Latin word for new, New Legend) thus the company was born, which purchased the rights to produce laptops from IBM for 99 years and started its journey in the mobile tech market. Thanks to low prices and relatively high quality products, it quickly gained popularity not only in the Chinese market but also in international markets, including in Russia; the brand became very popular and everyone quickly found out about it. Gaming laptops are primarily distinguished by their very low prices for laptops with similar parameters compared to other brands. Stylish design, good build quality. One of the main drawbacks of this brand is its almost complete non-repairability. Key elements of the motherboard, such as the processor, video chip, and chipset, are completely coated in black compound; once removed, it's impossible to give the laptop a second life. Here, the company sees a cold calculation: the laptop broke, throw it away and go buy a new one. Our rating for Lenovo Legion gaming laptops is 6 out of 10.
3. MSI MicroStar International is a Chinese company that has specialized for many years in the production of PC components (motherboards, video cards, etc.), and they made laptops before, but they were, to put it mildly, “nothing special”. But everything changed in 2016 when the company began producing a line of gaming laptops made entirely of metal, with the best architecture we have seen, and implemented a hundred of its proprietary “features” such as fast cooling with one button and a Steel Series system, installing premium sound from dynaudio, setting a new standard in laptop construction that many still cannot catch up to. Here you'll find four-phase copper cooling, monitors of incredible quality with refresh rates of 120-144Hz and IPS technology, a super stylish black and red design, keyboard RGB backlight control, and super-thin cases with performance like powerful personal computers. They are easy to repair and service. One downside, in our opinion, is the hinges; although they have metal inserts, they are quite fragile and can wear out quickly if the laptop is often opened and closed by the corners rather than the center. Otherwise, the assembly is simply perfect. They can handle 24/7 gaming and still look like Stealth airplanes. The price is relatively low. Warranty, like Asus, is 2 years international, which is very convenient these days. Our rating for MSI gaming laptops is 9 out of 10.
4. HP by Omen
Holders of numerous awards for the best laptop design for many years. Indeed, HP by Omen gaming laptops look very cool. Green, white, and red backlighting, cases made from quality materials, these laptops always have the best screens with wide viewing angles; the visuals truly differ from equivalent models of competitors, well-thought-out cooling, and the architecture is just fire; every time during disassembly, you want to thank the engineers. Premium sound from B&O or Beats Audio. You pick up an HP Omen gaming laptop and realize that it is a quality, reliable item. What can we say, it’s American, even though now everything is assembled in China, the quality standards are much higher than those of competitors from the PRC. But the price is significantly higher. For a laptop with similar specifications from HP, you will pay about 15-20% more than for other gaming laptops from the brands mentioned above. But it's worth it; repairability is at a level, in 95% of cases even complex problems were resolved by engineers in the service center.
Our rating is 8 out of 10. (after all, price is an important parameter)
5. Acer - the line of gaming laptops from Acer features stylish design and a low price. However, the assembly is quite mediocre. Plastic cases, not the best cooling solutions. Although Acer’s gaming lineup does have cool models like Predator, still if we take the basic models of the Nitro lineup, in our opinion, they are far from the above-mentioned laptops; rather, here the important factor is the price. If you really want to play and don’t have much money, then Acer Nitro is what you need. Repairability is average; we’ve seen many Nitro models that never revived after simple chip replacement manipulations. The architecture is decent; the bottom cover can be easily removed, providing access to all necessary components. The warranty is 1 year - international, just contact an authorized service center, and everything will be fine. Our rating is 7 out of 10 (in our times, a low price is an important parameter).
6. In conclusion, we would like to mention top-level gaming laptop manufacturers, such as Razer or Alienware, who make gaming laptops of the highest quality with the best hardware inside, the best designs and assembly in our opinion, but it's important to understand, such laptops cost as much as a good used compact car, starting from 200k and up. Which of these to choose is up to you, after all, it's not only about FPS, but also about ensuring that your laptop works for many years under full load. Visit our store at lapstorephuket.com, where we always have the freshest gaming laptops at affordable prices.