[UPDATE AT BOTTOM]
After a few days of obsessive research for a $750~ gaming laptop, I ended up going for this one. Couldn’t be more content with my decision, as this thing is a beast for the price. The screen dilemma is not an issue these days, as they have completely done away with the TN version which was the only con I ever saw about this model.
Anybody interested in gaming laptops should be sure to research all the ways to optimize performance and de clutter win10. This laptop is the fastest web surfer I have ever used thanks to the ssd. If you plan on having quite a few titles and especially if you plan on modding, factor in the price of a hdd as well unless you went for the configuration that had one included. I play Oblivion, Skyrim and Kingdom Come:Deliverance. The only title I have modded (thoroughly) is Skyrim, and I have already used over half of my ssd.
As far as performance with the games I mentioned:
Oblivion:everything maxed, chills between 50-60 fps in open world, constant 60 fps in dungeons, buildings, etc.
Skyrim:everything maxed, no mods, same results as Oblivion (strange right?). Maybe because it’s Special Edition version and better optimized? Heavy texture mods, max ENB settings, 30-50 fps open world, constant 60 fps inside places. Heavy texture mods, low ENB (perfect for me), 40-60 open world, 60 inside places.
Kingdom Come:Deliverance-a very demanding game, poorly optimized aka hell on even high end rigs-can run 30 fps average on high settings...pretty impressed...
This laptop plays games better than the current gen of consoles, ps4pro and xbox1x included. Factor in as well the portability pros of a laptop, the superiority of gaming with a mouse and keys-and let’s not forget this is a great pc for everything else non gaming-and I’m instantly a member of the pc master race lol!
The speakers are one step above standard quality, and plenty good for short gaming sessions but nothing beats headphones and this thing handles my Master&Dynamics perfectly.
Battery life is trivial to me, as being plugged in is a must for optimal gaming performance. However I remember seeing that you should expect no more than 2hrs on battery while gaming and 8+hrs while doing other tasks, fwiw.
Good to know: fans are loud while gaming, but not so much that it is a nuisance. Also, the temps may be too high for casual users that have pc in lap, but temp management is actually quite nice for a gaming rig. Playing Kingdom Come, the hottest I ever saw was 74dC.
Lastly, do not overclock the cpu. It’s common sense for most laptop gamers but still feels worth a mention. It can factory boost to 3.5 GHz anyways. However, I highly recommend overclocking the gpu. Just do your research before attempting. My preference is MSI afterburner, though I found that the kombuster (meant to tax your gpu) doesn’t serve as a good basis for all games. I was able to OC the core clock +270 from factory and the memory clock +900 from factory with kombuster holding up for 20mins, but with Skyrim my settings went to +240 and +800 to maintain a freeze free extended gaming session.
Anyways I should stop now
[UPDATE]: I felt the need to state, that in 2020 this laptop is no longer relevant for the asking price IMO. Time is no friend in the PC world (though the 1050ti did have a good run). Look for something more current. That's not to say that if you have this laptop or a 1050ti you should feel bad, or cheated. It is a nice laptop. Just not for $700 or more in 2020.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Processor | 2.5 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 2.5 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
