Ayush / May 11, 2017

Best Gaming Laptop 2017

Best gaming Laptops 2017: After the long hours of research and testing as well here we have prepared the list of best gaming latops 2017 for all the gaming freaks.We have listed down the various laptops based on the various categories such as performance, price, storage, and much more. According to our survey we have found that Acer Predator 17 G9-797-78CM is the best gaming laptop for gaming as of now because of its performance for the price without any of the major flaws. The Acer Predator 17 stays cool, is very comfortable, has responsive keyboard and also sports a great 17 inch 1080 IPS screen with G-sync. The laptops is best composition of the low price with excellent performance.

Acer Predator 17 G9-797-78CM: BUY NOW

The model G9-793-78CM has the powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, Intel core i77700 HQ quad core processor and also more important 16 GB of RAM. , Also the device comes with the  256 GB of the solid state storage and also 1TB of te hard drive. Also the newer model G9-793-V9V5 has the newer core i7-7700HQ processor but it costs of about $250 and even more at the ime of writing. Both of the processors of both the version are similar in performance. , so it’s not a worth and also you don’t need to spend extra bucks for the V9V5 now. If you don’t get the above mentioned laptops then you don’t need to wait for a slightly better laptop as we recommend you for Asus ROG G752VS-RB71, also customised with the additional 256 GB solid state driven and also an Intel Dual Band 8260-AC WiFi card by the Xotic PC.

Why you should you trust us?

Till now we have tested as well as reviewes hundreds of laptops and also have spent hands on time with the countless other number of models that usually covers the CES trade show and visiting many of the stores. I have itself reviewed many gaming laptops that are released in the last 5 years and also have spent thousands of hours on gaming on the laptops since the high school.

Who can benefit from this?

Gaming laptops are one of the tough sell. To provide power so that to play the games at one decent settings, they actually sacrifice the portability, battery life as well as value compared that to non-gaming laptops. If we talk about other, then at the same time $2000 gaming laptops are less powerful and upgradeable than the laptop worth $1200 desktop gaming PC. Gaming laptips are mostly popular with the gamers, deployed soldiers and even the road warriors.

There are so many criterias through which laptops go, to be finalised as one of the best gaming laptops in 2017. So below are some of the criterias listed down have a look below:

1. Cost: Cost is one of the major factor that plays very important role while selecting the best gaming laptop 2017. Generally for gaming systems, all they have either the higher end components that that to run of the mill consumer laptops, so that the prices of these laptops will be consequently higher from the regular laptops. One that entry level  gaming laptops actually start with $800 and goes up to the $1250.  For that, actually you get the system that can play games at 1,366-by-768 resolution on the high graphics quality settings or at the full HD resolution with all the details. sAlso the midrange systems provide you with the smoother gameplay at high settings on the higher quality 1080p screen, support for the VR headsets and range in the price starting from the $1250 to $2500. Apart from the mid range systems, high end systems have also guaranteed smoother gameplay at 1080p with the graphics details maxed out, here you can play with the 4K resolutions or in the VR, also support additional monitors and their prices are above $2500. Many of them also add the dual graphics processor, from 3K to 4K screens, larger capacity SSDs and the ultra efficient coolings fans as one of the optional extras.
2. Graphics: Second important thing that one look for while buying the gaming laptops 2017 is the graphics provided by the laptop. Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is one of the important part of the gaming laptops that can make or break the gaming laptop. With the best graphics the dominant player in this field is Nvidia, that produces the discrete cards based on its 10 series Pascal microarchitecture on which it is based. It offers the performance to you that one can expect from the desktop PC equipped with that to the same named card.  Most of the laptops are using the cards from that the previous generation GTX 900 series and these are still available for purchase for the customers and their supplies will get run out within the next few months. The chief rival of Nvidia, i.e. AMD have still not still released mobile version of one of its Polaris GPU’s so the laptops that are based on the AMD graphics are basically currently using the older technology which is destined to get replaced in the near coming future.

So it can be concluded from here that still there are some of the most basic conclusions that need to be drawn about the graphics performance. Also, one more fact that you must know about is that higher will be the model number within the product line, 3D performance will be that higher. . So normally  Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 prduces the higher frame rates and the higher quality graphics that the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. A single high end discrete GPU will make you to play latest AAA gaming titles on the 1080p screen with all the bells and the whistles turned on, and be fine with the  entry level VR play.  And now further adding the second GPU will help you to run latest games even more comfortably on the 4K and 5K displays, or also let you hook up the multiple monitors to your laptop.  Also the Nvdia’s G-Sync and AMD’s Free Sync technologies will help you to increase the quality and smooth frame rates in all your games, so you can gor these if you are stickler for the perfectly rendered animation.

 

3. Processor: Now next coming to the processor, all of you must be aware of the importance of the Processor, as processor are said to be as the heart of the PC and generally in most of the PCs you will find the quad core 7^th generation intel core i5 or core i7 CPU that are actually based on the kaby lake chipset. Theoretically speaking you will find the Intel core i3 and one of the AMD’s CPU installed, but those are rare one: Systems with that intel core i3 and also comparable entry level AMD processors. Now if you have to make choice form from high end GPU and high end CPU then you must go for the graphics. Now you will be thinking that why one should go for the GPU over CPU then it makes much more sense to work with the GPU instead of CPU. This is also one of the most important factor in finalising best gaming laptop for 2017.

4. Display: In terms of the display size, what will you prefer? According to you what is more comfortable screen size for you? From our side if we talk in reference to the gaming laptops then normally 15 inch screen for the gaming laptop is a good choice that one can have. You can also prefer gaming laptop in 2017 with the screen size of 17 inch but the weight of the laptop will get increased upto the 5 pounds. . Till now we hacve seen 12 pounds of the portables in the gaming laptops that actually weigh down your backup. At HD, our recommendation is  full HD with specifications like 1,920-by-1,080- resolution.

And talking about the larger displays then they are very much capable of providing you with the higher then the 1080p resolutions, but here also you need to make your choice wisely as QHD+ (3200-by-1800) resolution that will actually boost the final cost of the laptop to twice, separately speaking first one for the panel and second for the high quality graphics card that is particularly needed to drive it, beacause of the fact that they usually  require the dual GPUs for smooth gameplay at the native resolution, 4K (3849 by 2160) gaming laptops are nowdays becoming more common of all, but still their cost are high and they are expensive enough to buy. Also what you need to keep in mind for gaming laptop is that because only most powerful graphics cards are able to render the complex animation at the playable frame rates for the full screen at the 4K so for a 1080p screen it may be actually better use of the money if you all do with that is gaming, as it has all gaming features and you can utilise them all.

 

5. Storage: Storage is also one of the important aspect when you are going to buy the laptop if it is gaming laptop or a regular laptop. So particularly for storage purpose what you need to consider is that a syatem with the SSD , since the prices with these type of laptop have been decreased. SSD’s have some of the best features due to which it is preferred such as it can speed up the boot time, wake from the sleep time and the time it actually it requires to launch the game and to load a new level. So with storage what you basically need to see is a system with SSD, but you also need to make sure that you configure it accurately. A small SSD storage device with the large spinning hard drives is one to have the good startif you actually even download the ocassional video from internet. Even bigger SSDs are also available but it will also increase the cost of your gaming device.

 

6. Memory: Memory is also one of the major part when we are talking about the features of a gaming laptop. You can for the gaming laptop with at least 8GB or RAM memory. If you have that much memory space it will be easier for you for switching back and forth between your gameplay window and that to your messaging app but also we have ome gaming tips when you are not playing as each of the browser window you open take up your RAM allotment individually. So for the high end systems basically we will recommend you to go with the 16GB, so that you can have more than one gaming session, messaging app, many websites and a webcam program and also your video streaming program open up simultaneously. According to testing, midrange gaming laptop should function good with the 8GB memory but you also need to make sure that many of the laptops are not upgradeable. You also may get stuck with the amount of the memory you actually order.

Some other Features of Top Gaming Laptops in 2017

Also, there are some other features too you need to care of like high-end components are said to drain the battery life very fast, so must not plan on taking any of these gaming rigs too far from the wall of the socket and that too very often.  Cutting edge ports such as Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C are much more beneficial nowadays, if not then you must look for the two USB 3.0 ports so that you can plug in an external mouse and also a hard drive for your saved media files. Other video ports such as HDMI or the mini display port will be very much helpful if yopu really want to play the games on the external displays but you don’t require these if your laptop’s screen is large enough.

What makes a good gaming laptop?

The attributes that impact a gaming laptop for 2017 especially are all discussed above such as graphics, processor, storage, memory and some other features like noise management, speakers and trackpad. So all these laptops which clear the above-mentioned requirements are best to buy for you. So make sure that you check all the above points before buying a gaming laptop.

How best laptops are picked and tested

The steps that we follow to find the best laptops for all you of you gaming freaks are stated below.

• After picking up the hardware criteria  the next that is done is to scoured the websites of the various laptop manufacturers such as Asus, Lenovo, Samsung and many more then the list is put together that fits the requirements and all those which have positive reviews of the laptop. All the above factors that are mentioned above that one should loo for while buying it, all of them are cross checked by us too so that to provide best for all of you.
• As we have already told you aabout  our pick or best gaming laptop for 2017. Afetr the researches and testing done by us, Acer Predator 17 G9-793-78CM have been selected as one of the best laptops  without the any dealbreaking flaws. Predator 17 keeps up the WASD keys, underside and as well its components very cool, also it has very responsive keyboard and a great 17 inch 1080p IPS display with the G sync. One of its biggest flaws is its noise, distracting fans and one more thing ugly looking keyboard. Most importantly Predator 17 will be able to plau modern games on the ultra settings and for that it offers great price. This gaming laptop model  meets all of the hardware requirements. The G-9-793-78CM configuration has the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card with the 8GB of the dedicated memory, A quad core processor of Skylake Intel core i7-6700HQ, 16GB RAM with also two extra memory slots so that you can add more when required. It also provides you with 256 GB of solid state drive and the one  1TB hard drive for the storage purpose.

Our choice predator 17 basically have the 17 inch of matte display with resolution of about 1080p with the G-snc support feature, dual band 802.11ac wireless card that too with Bluetooth 4.1, rainbow backlit keyboard and all of the warranty period of 2 year. As warranty is very important in case of the electronic devices, so before any  you must check for the warranty specified for the devices by the manufacturer. Other model that acer basically sells G9-793-79V5 model, this model comes with the same specs as 78CM except for newer Core i7-7700HQ Kaby Lake processor. The newer model also costs more than the previous one of about $250. But as a customer there is no worth paying that much extra money for the newer version and that too for the same features as there are in previous model.

• We have tested 3 laptop at most for this update we are providing to you, all of them Acer Predator 17 and its internal components, WASD keys and underside were the coolest enough above all. After half an hour of The witcher 3 at the 1080p with the ulta settings, the graphics card used in the model reached to its maximum level of about 71 degree C and processor reached to the levelof 94 degree C and both were within the acceptable ranges and graphics card’s temperaturewas one of the cooles of all the laptops that was tested this year by 10 degree C.
• Now talking about the keyboard’s WASD keys then, it felt a little warm at the temperature of 33 degree C. but that was not that uncomfortable so that one cannot touch. If we talk about the warmest point of the Predator 17 then it was the strip between the screen and keyboard when measured found as 43 degree C. But also, one should note that that portion of laptop is usually not touched so frequently an it was much cooler than the Asus ROG G752’s base and right portion of G752’s keyboard.

No let’s move on that which laptop remains more cooler than the other, then here we need to thank the noisy fans of Predator that makes it much cooler. The one thing in which it lacks is that it has loudest fans of all the gaming laptops tested- it was only just 12 minutes into the playing of Wicher 3, and the fans were running at high speed and somehow we have to crank up the volume on speakers in order to hear all the dialogues. We wish that Predator’s fans were quitter, there is also a fact that loud and cool laptop is much better than the silent one that smolders away on your desk area. Also if you want a laptop with one having quieter fan, you need to check out the runner up laptop  Asus ROG G752GS that has the quietest fans when it was tested. Acer is also incorporated with the “FrostCore” fan which can slot in the place of optical drive. But as we have tested in that Frostcore  was only reason to make the laptop much noiser not cooler enough.

 

SCREEN

Our choice Predator 17 basically has the 17 inch with 1920×1080 IPS screen with the deep blacks, bright colors and with the best viewing angle. Some of the gamers usually prefer for the TN screens for their faster response time, but taking IPS screen into consideration it tends to be much brighter and color accurate and also they don’t wash out the color when are watched from the different angel. In gaming we count every milliseconds and for that you will want a dedicated monitor that will be known for its snappy response time. If you actually play games only for entertainmenet and not for living then you need a screen that makes your games which looks awesome nd Acer’s IPS panel does the same for you.  The screen also comes with the G-Sync within it. Gamespot has the best explanation of what G-Sync is all about and how it works but short version this is also in this. . If you have the Nvidia graphics card then the G-sync synchronises with the GPU’s output with monitor’s refresh rate to actually avoid the shuttering as well as the tearing. Few years ago, G sync have added hundreds of dollars to the cost of the laptop but nowadays this year it’s standard in almost all of the gaming laptops 201 that we have tested and can think of.

KEYS

Now if we talk about the keys of the Predator 17 then it feels a little bit mushy but at the same time they are responsible and very comfortable with the deep key travel and rainbow backlighting. You also have the autjority that you can customize the rainbow backlighting to some limited degree within the Predator Sense software. , that makes you change the color of the  4 separate zones. The brightness option that you have with this is only on and off. Both the laptops MSI GT72VR Dominator pro and Asus ROG G752VS have three brightness levels in them. The Asus has only red backlighting while the other MSI makes you to customize the backlight colors. The keyboard of Acer is ugly when taking appearance into the consideration.

In the left of keyboard Predator 17 has six macro keys- five of them are programmable one and one which toggles between the three customizable profiles for that of the five keys. By ubsing of the Predator Sense software. Macro keys can be easily configured to disable the sticky keys, run fans all at full speed, then swap between the preset multimedia modes, or activate any of the macro that you have recorded in the different tab of software. The macro keys in the laptop are more like resemble that to hard plastic buttons on the kitchen appliance than the keyboard keys. They are handy for the frequent use of the system shortcuts.

TRACKPAD

Tackpad of the Predator’s 17 is not oftenly used for the gaming purpose as it works good for the windows gestures. It has the physical left as well right button that has the snappy, satisfying feedback, but they are a bit short. The button at the right of trackpad toggles trackpad off and on, and this is one of the useful features for all the gamers who might trigger touchpad with their palms while playing the games. The color that shows in the button green as well as red is gratuitous if we talk being generous and it distracts if talk being the blunt one.

SPEAKERS

The speakers of the laptop are good  with the decent bass and the crisp highs. When compared that to Asus ROG G752’s tiny and the flat speakers and MSI GT72VR Dominator Pro’s horrendous, then the Predator 17 has the best speakers of all in our research and test. The speakers of predator can placed better as they are located at the botton of chasis that is along to the fornt edge, so they beam the music straight into table and also sounds the best near to your belly button. Our recommendation with the speakers will be that you should disable pre loaded Dolby Audio software enhancements, that only makes your music as well the sound even worse.

Now talking about the ports of the Predator 17 as being the best laptop for gaming 2017 then it has the following ports:

1. Ethernet
2. HDMI 2.0
3. Display Port 1.2
4. Thunderbolt 3
5. 4 USB 3.0
6. SD card slot
7. Jacks for the microphone and headphone
8. Kensington Lock slot

Like most of the other gaming laptops, Acer Predator 17 is the easiest to upgrade: What you require for upgradation is two small screws, a panel stand between you and installing the two more sticks of the RAM. Our pick Predator 17 do not have the open drive slots, but one can access hard drive and the solid state drives if you actually want to replace them. The laptop doesn’t come with that too much of pre loaded software. As we have recommended you to disable the Dollby Audio enhancement software, but the Acer care center checks for the driver and the BIOS updates, also the PredatorSense allows one to customize macro keys and also keyboards backlighting, so that those two are worth keeping within.

As till now it’s clear that our recommendation for the gaming laptop to you is Predator 17 but if there is a situation that Acer Predator 17 is not available to you then you should not wait for the couple of weeks for that one model, the other laptop that we recommend after Predator 17 is Asus ROG G752VS-RB71 which is customised with the additional 256 GB solid state driven and slo the Intel Dual Band 8260-AC WiFi card through the Xotic PC. If talking about the configuration part then the Asus is the better gaming laptop than the Acer. As we saw in Predator there ws issue with the fans but in acer there is no such issue. Acer has the quietest fans as tested by us, has the better build quality, superior keyboard as well as the trackpad. That’s why the previous version of the G752 model was our pick in the last year due to some of these reasons.

But this year the G752VS configuration is widely available and costs $4oo more than the Predator 17 and it includes unnecessary of the upgrades like the overlocked processors and so much of memory. The only place to get the recommended  specs for the decent prices to customize the G752VS through the boutique seller and at time of writing, Xotic PC configured model we recommend that it takes the 9-15 business days just to ship it a nd it’s a long wait when compared to the retailers that delievers the same only in the two days.

Didn’t buy a thin & light gaming laptop yet?

Since 2011, when Rzer introduced Blade, at that time the laptop manufacturers were working on the thin as well as light gaming laptops. But till ever single model that we have gone through have the same flaw: poor heat management. Extreme heating for the period of time can throttle the gaming performance, shorten the lifespan of laptop’s components and also even it can burn you. Several generations of Razer blade have been tested by us, and the most recent one form all of them was with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M graphics card.

Like the blades, before it, the model of the year 2016 has the  cooling system which was designed to vent the heat away from all WASD keys on the left side of the keyboard. The tests done by us WASD keys were cooler than the rest of the other laptops tested at that time but they were still far too hot. So at that time the blades surface temperature were not unacceptable. As you can see in the chart above. Such temperature surfaces are similar to that what I have saw when tested 2014 Rzer Blade and it left me burn on my leg after I have used it on my lap for about just 15 minutes. And here we are not alone, in the reviews there are so many who felt the same as tested by us.

What about External Graphics Dock?

The external graphics dock can solve the problem that usually comes from shoving a powerful graphics card and which generates lots of heat into the super thin laptop which has no medium in it to dissipate the heat. The graphics docks provides the laptop with more graphics power than it could actually contain by offloading graphics card to that an external enclosure. This also meant that rather than requiring an immobile desktop PC or any of the huge gaming laptop to play the games, also plus the super light laptop to take on the road, for this you can use the graphics amplifier to provide the ultrabook a desktop level of gaming power. All these devices have been existed in the various forms for very sure, and mostly for the professionals but now most of the gaming laptop manufacturers are also working on them.

Ultra high-resolution gaming

All the ultra high resolution gaming screens are growing in the trend for the gaming laptops mostly from over the past five years. In the starting they were only available for the thin as well light machines with that inexcusable heating problems that made it very difficult to evaluate the ultra high definition gaming performance because of potential for the throtting and many such other issues that were caused by the poor heating of the laptop. In the recent last year when the ultra high resolution screen started to show up the in the 17 inch gaming laptops with that too with the better cooling system, 900 series mobile graphics cards are also available with that, which were not that powerful enough to run the modern games at the higher resolution than the 1080p.  GTX 1080 cards and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070 can handle the 4k gaming at the hogh settings but when taking ultra high resolution screen into consideration for the gaming laptops then it is found that they are very much expensive.  The cheapest version of the pick that we have made with that 4k screen costs $2500 at the tome of this writing, also whopping $750 more than the 1080p model that actually we recommend so far. So here we have explained about one of the best Gaming laptops in 2017.  All the gaming freaks can now buy the laptop  to achieve the new level in Gaming

All the best guys!!!!