GAMING laptops!

If you are a gamer, then go for a gaming laptop. I made a little research on this one since I am not a game addict so I have to get the facts right! When it comes to gaming laptops, MSI and Alienware has always been in the choices due to its specs and amazing performance.

Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidiary of Dell, Inc. Their hardware is designed for video gaming purposes and has changed in physical appearance over the years. Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila.

 On the other hand, MSI or also known as Micro-Star International Co., Ltd is a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. It designs, develops and provides computer hardware, related products and services, including laptops, motherboards, graphics cards, All-in-One PCs, servers, industrial computers, PC peripherals, car infotainment products, etc. After its GT780DXR gaming notebook was awarded the International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards, its best-known products remain to be the GAMING Series ever since.

So which one do you think worth your money?

Here I also attached a video of the latest mighty MSI GT80 TITAN VS Alienware 18 prediction battle, early confirmed specs comparison.

3 most important aspects to look for.

(Next, know your specs. These 3 are the most important to look up for when purchasing a laptop. make sure to look for these 3 when making decision. 

Processor (CPU);

 AMD E Series or Intel Pentium CPUs is claimed as the least expensive system on the market, due to it often struggle in handling serious productivity or media tasks however can handle web surfing. Intel Atom processors are also in the same class which is low-performance, but offer long battery life. To simplify, everything AMD has launched in the past five years has been too late and too slow. Most tablet / laptop hybrids use Intel’s Core M CPU, which is faster than Atom but not as quick as Core Series (Core i3, i5 and i7). If you ever had a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7, try to get the latest version which is Intel 5th Generation (aka Broadwell) as of early 2015.

Core i7: Intel's top-of-the-line consumer processor. The choice of "power users" like hardcore gamers, graphic designers, photographers and videographers. It excels at serious multitasking and high-demand multimedia creation for projects in 3D or high definition. It is the most brilliant system ever.

Core i5: Mid-grade Core processor and one of the most common Intel processors currently in use. Powerful enough for most computing tasks, and multitasks well so you can stream the big football game while looking up stats and sending e-mails.

Core i3: The entry-level Core processor, more than adequate for everyday e-mail, Internet and productivity tasks. It's also fine for common activities like listening to music.

Core M: A processor designed for ultraslim devices, providing plenty of power for day-to-day surfing and e-mailing without being a major drain on battery life.

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Performance wise, do not go for less than an Intel Core M for thin systems or a Core i3 CPU /AMD A Series for mainstream laptops. If you willing to spend more, demand for at least an Intel Core i5 CPU, which is capable of increasing its clock speed enthusiatically when you need more performance. Power users and gamers should settle for no less than Core i7 sytstem, preferably a quad-core chip.

RAM;

Memory matters also known as RAM, even the cheapest notebooks have 4GB these days so don’t settle for less. If you can get a system with 6 or 8GB, you’ll be better prepared for high-end applications and lots of multitasking. Gamers and power users should look for 16GB of RAM.

Internal storage;

• Hard Disk Drives

Traditional, mechanical hard disk drives are the most common type of storage because they're fairly inexpensive and offer huge capacities. Significantly, it is also added up to a laptop's weight and thickness, and generate both heat and noise as well as lots of moving parts to your system. HDD can be found in diminishing number of laptops. They come in two standard speeds: A 5400 rpm (revolutions per minute) drive is adequate for day-to-day Web surfing, e-mailing and document creation, but a 7200 rpm drive transfers data more quickly and may be worth considering if you regularly work with large files or when editing video or playing games. Look for at least a 320GB hard drive, even in a budget system. 

•  Solid-State Drives

Solid-state drives, also known as SSDs (or, in Apple's case, "flash storage"), are many times faster than hard disk drives, but typically offer far less capacity (usually 128 to 256GB). SSDs also offer tremendous advantages in physical size, weight and power efficiency, along with negligible heat production and noiseless operation, making them an ideal choice for ultraslim, ultralightweight laptops. And unlike HDD, SSDs have no moving parts to wear out. However, SSDs sometimes could cost quite a bit more than traditional hard drives(offer larger storage capacity), but they dramatically improve performance. You’ll enjoy faster boot times, faster resume times, and faster application open times. Plus, because SSDs don’t have moving parts such as mechanical drives, failure is much less of an issue.

Check out the tactile solidness of keyboard and touchpad.

To have a perfect laptop, you need to check out the solidness of the tactile of the touchpad and keyboard. As for me, I prefer when it run smoothly with solid tactile feedback and enough space between keypad. The mouse buttons should provide a satisfying click. You should able to zoom in and out with ease, as well as selecting text with the touchpad without the cursor skipping around. If you’re purchasing for a Windows 8 notebook, check the touchpad out to make sure that gestures don’t activate accidentally as you get close to the edges. Generally, Apple and Lenovo offer the best deal when it comes to touchpad and keyboard. Dell and HP are pretty reliable too.

Pick the right size.

Now, the after planning the budget what you need to figure out which size your laptop would be. Mostly laptops are categorized by their display size.

11-12 inch;

The thinnest and lightest system generally weighs around 2.5 to 3.5 pounds. At this rate, it will be a bit cramped with the screen and keyboard for some users. Lenovo Flex 3 11-inch and MacBook Air 11-inch have been a great deal to those who wanted a compact laptop.

13-14 inch;

Provides the most balanced of portability and usability. Laptops in this range are usually weighed between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds and fit easily on your lap while still providing generously-sized keyboards and screens. If you’re willing to pay a certain amount of money, you can also find extremely lightweight systems with these screen sizes, including the 2.6 pound Dell XPS 13 and 2.9 pound, 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

More than 15 inch;

The most well-liked size, 15-inch laptops are usually quite bulky and heavy at 5 to 6.5 pounds, fortunately cost the least. If you’re not planning to carry your notebook around often or use it on your lap, a 15-inch system could be a good deal for you. Some 15-inch models have DVD drives, but you can save some weight if you skip it. Examples of 15-inch laptops are Lenovo Z51, Asus X555LA and Lenovo G50-45 is in nowadays!

Planning a budget!

The most important and crucial part is you should plan a budget so that you would not mistakenly bought a laptop that does not worth it. Most laptops brands provide various choices of price. Thus, you should always make comparison.

If you are planning to purchasing the one that under $1000, i would like to recommend Asus Transformer Book T100TAF which only RM 898.00.

However if you wanted something that is on the average price, there is Dell Insriron 14 (3442).

At this rate, if you really can afford to buy the expensive one, I recommend you to look for

At this rate, if you really can afford to buy the expensive one, I recommend you to look for Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Core i5 128GB.

Choose the right platforms.

Hey we’re meeting again in this 6^th entry, now here goes the tips. First, choose the right platforms. Platforms that are in trend nowadays are Chrome OS, Windows 8.1, Mac OS X Yosemite. What you should do is, consider which you are most familiar with so that you won’t have difficulties when dealing with it. However, if you are someone who likes to try/explore something new then you are encouraged to do so.

this is how Chrome OS desktop look like.

Chrome OS interface.

Chrome OS

·         Simplest and most secure platform around yet can also feel a bit limited.

·         The user interface looks like traditional Windows with;-

-          An application menu

-          A desktop and the ability to drag windows around.

-          The main type window is the Chrome browser and most “applications” are simply shortcuts to web tools.

Due to it is essentially a browser, Chrome OS is not likely to get infected with malware or viruses. Chrome OS can be found on inexpensive, lightweight laptops such as the 11.6-inch Acer C720 and HP Chromebook 14.

Windows 8.1 interface.

Windows 8.1             

Windows notebooks are usually more affordable than Macs and offer a much wider range of design choices from more than a dozen major vendors. Unlike Apple, Microsoft and its partners allow users to buy notebooks with touch screens, as well as convertible designs that let you easily transform from notebook to tablet mode.

If you’re familiar with Windows interface, you may be in a surprise if you haven’t tried.

Windows 8.1. The new OS has replaced;-

·         Start menu with a tile-based start screen.

·         A raft of new full-screen, touch-friendly apps.

·          Still has a desktop mode for running all existing apps and can boot directly to it. It’s also not hard, with a few utilities and settings tweaks, to add a Start Menu and make the Ui look a lot like Windows 7.

Some Windows notebooks also provide business-friendly features;

·         Biometric, smartcard verification and Intel vPro systems management.

Notes; Windows 8.1 (codenamed Blue) is an upgrade for Windows 8, a version of Windows NT, a computer operating system released by Microsoft. First unveiled and was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and reached general availability on October 17, 2013, almost a year after the retail release of its predecessor.

Mac OS X Yosemite.

Mac OS X Yosemite

Completely a new one! Mac holds to the principle of POWER, SIMPLICITY AND BEAUTY. Over the years, OS X has been undergoing several changes but it still does not hit the expectation. Thus OS X Yosemite is created to make it more powerful and easier to handle while maintaining the essential elements of Mac.

Changes;

·         Translucency in windows and streamlined toolbars.

·         Subtle changes to a lot of small things, like the buttons, icons, and font throughout the system.

·         Controls that are smarter in both form and function (redesigned the buttons, checkboxes, and pop-up menus)( red, yellow, and green “stoplights” in the corner of every app window.)

Top 3 excellent laptops.

So guys, after 4 entries, did you guys gained something beneficial or something can be added into your knowledge? I hope so! Today I would like to introduce top 3 excellent laptops ranked in 2015. The first place goes to no other than Apple! Just as the previous entry, Apple ranked no 1 as the best brand with several types of products such as iPad, iPod, iMac, iPhone and more. However, top of them all is Apple MacBook Air 13 inches, if you ever came across any review about this model I pretty sure you rarely see negative comments. This model is an upgraded model since 2013 yet the performance also has been improved. This model is rather affordable compared to other prestige brands as it is claimed as THIN, LIGHT, and POWERFUL. Why it is said powerful?

•          1.6GHz Processor
•          128 GB Storage
•          1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
•          Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz
•           Intel HD Graphics 6000
•           4GB memory
•           128GB PCIe-based flash storage1

Not only Macbook is known as brilliant editing (platform), but also as a gaming laptop. Due to the enormous storage it can support any types of games. The most important it only cost $3709.

The 2^nd place goes to Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. To be honest, it not like I am being biased but I have always being doubtful when it comes to any Lenovo products as it is just making its way into this industry. For your infomation, Lenovo was initially part from IBM PC, it was establish on 2003 by the purpose of its expansion into the overseas market. Lenovo successfully develops DeepComp 6800 and ranked 14^th on global list. Now back to the main topic, Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro was announced as the thinnest and lightest notebooks in the market. Thus it is more convenient to carry.

    

Screen Size	13.3 inches
Screen Resolution	3200x1800
Max Screen Resolution	3200 x 1800
RAM	8 GB SDRAM DDR3
Hard Drive	512 GB

Brand Name	Lenovo
Series	Yoga 3 Pro
Item model number	80HE000LUS
Hardware Platform	PC
Operating System	Windows 8;
Color	Light Silver
Computer Memory Type	DDR3 SDRAM

 

With all the features, no wonder it is ranked no 14^th on global list. I am impressed!

Now the third place goes to Asus Zenbook Pro UX501. Asus is established on 2011, owned by Jonney Shih Asus products won 4,256 international awards and accolades in 2013 – that’s over 11 a day, every day. ASUS has consistently achieved significant year-on-year growth in terms of consumer notebook units shipped too, and closed 2011 on a high with revenues hitting US$11.9 billion. Zenbook Pro UX501 is the brand new model which aims at MacBook Pro. Much similar to Retina display, this sleek 15-inch notebook delivers bright and crisp images. This is for those looking for beauty with power in their laptops.