My dearest internet,
I'm about to buy a budget gaming laptop!
It will probably be one of these:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-dell-g5-15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-5587-laptop
Please explain to me the differences in terms of what games I could play and other such non-technical terminology.
So, for example: Don't say "one has an I5 and one has an i7". I can read that, and do not know why I should care.
But, you can say: solid state drives are FAST, and that'll make your experience tremendously better.
Thanks, internet!
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-dell-g5-15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-5587-laptop
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As far as the i5 to i7, it's really just where the processors run in Intel's current products. It's way more important to compare processing speeds and that will give you a better idea where it stacks up. The one thing that I don't like about this choice is the ram. 8gb is kinda on the low side. I'd either look at how much the same model with 16 gb would run or check what you the machine could take for upgradeability. Sometimes it's worth it to just buy the extra ram and install it yourself. I find that having more ram just really helps.to make a smoother experience.
ReplyDeleteDavid Rothfeder I can't quite follow that. Can you please condense and summarize?
ReplyDeleteI think you'd be happier with 16gb of ram memory. It helps to prevent things stopping while your processor is working hard. Most computer's have room for additional memory, so you can either pay for a model that comes with more ram, or check if you can install it yourself. In the computer specs (which I couldn't find on your link) it will tell you the type of ram and what the most the computer can hold would be.
ReplyDeleteFirst: I'm a huge fan of logicalincrements.com - Logical Increments, the PC Builder's Friend they lay out how you should spend your money to get the best gaming bang per buck. It's desktop only, but still, useful comparison.
ReplyDeleteSSDs are a big deal. 256GB is small, and you might have trouble living in that much space, depending on your usage. Check how much space your using on your current. If you can live that small, go for it.
i5 vs i7 doesn't matter. At all. I have a pretty solid gaming rig, it runs an i5, because CPUs don't limit games.
Addendum: the 850$ sneaks in an upgrade from the GTX 1050 to the GTX 1050-Ti. That's a significant bump. Probably worth the $50 just by itself.
ReplyDeletegpu.userbenchmark.com - UserBenchmark: Nvidia GTX 1050 vs 1050-Ti
Jonathan Beverley It has a better video card AND a solid state? Nice.
ReplyDeleteThe Dell G5 is a very, very similar chassis to the (more of a mouthfull) Inspiron 15 7000 gaming that I own. They changed the grille stylings, added a USB-C port, moved the ethernet port from the right to the left, and they're shipping them with intel's 8th generation processors instead of the 7th. Same screen, bezel, and hinge, same 1050-Ti, same dimensions.
ReplyDeleteI'd say get the $850 version and upgrade storage* and memory at your leisure. It's a very easy chassis to work in.
Or, since I use mine as a cheap photo/video workstation instead of as a gaming machine and the USB-C port with thunderbolt support could really help with external storage for high bit rate video, you buy mine and I'll make an incremental upgrade? I cannot actually afford to do this, I would get the $950 version for the 4 more logical cores, do not take this option it is bad for me
*You'll have both a 2.5" bay for SATA drives and a slot for an tiny m.2 stick that will accept either SATA (fast) or NVME (ridiculously fast) drives - I'm not sure where the 256GB SSD will be pre-installed. I'm currently rocking a 256GB NVME drive and a 1TB SSD both of which I added after the fact - it shipped with at 128gb ssd in the m.2 slot and 1TB hard drive.
Yup - it's just a mild cosmetic change, an incremental upgrade, and a rebrand. Links to the old 7000 Gaming (like here: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-budget-gaming-laptop-so-far/) go to the G5's web page now.
ReplyDeletethewirecutter.com - The Best Budget Gaming Laptop
George Austin I found it from wirecutter, so that makes sense!
ReplyDeleteIt appears this computer is far better than the Stellaris minimum system requirements, so awesome.
ReplyDeleteHow do I make sure there's no virus's on it, like that Mcafe program?
ReplyDelete[ You guys: Before answering, stop and pause. I is smart and know what I am asking. ]
Like the cardigans, you cry, you pray, and you beg.
ReplyDeleteStill a virus with the backing of the manufacterer's, George Austin?
ReplyDeleteWipe drive and reinstall.
ReplyDeleteDo the former from a bootable Linux usb stick, and the latter using a windows installer not from Dell.
Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
(caveat: given the state of modern computers, this is not even close to thorough enough to refer to as "nuking the site from orbit", but it's probably enough to clean out manufacturer malware)
Or I could ... not buy a dell?
ReplyDeleteSounds good. Any brand name that don't put on shitty malware?
Serious talk: I decided to try out the included 1 year subscription to McAfee's thang to see if it would drive me up a wall. I have yet to feel compelled to remove it. This was not the case every prior time I tried a McAfee (or Norton) security product.
ReplyDeleteI sure as hell am not going to renew the subscription, though.
I have some confidence that Revo Uninstaller or something could dig out all the hooks, and if that doesn't work making Windows install media is not hard.
I know of no other device where after I buy it I have to undo work done by the manufacterer that makes it unuseable. This is nauseating.
ReplyDeleteNote: This is one of the things that consistently stops me from this purchase.
ReplyDelete