Laptop Buyer’s Guide: July R10,000 to R19,000

It’s the second-last episode of the Laptop Buyer’s guide for this month and we’re settling into the mid-range market here, hoping to hit some of the sweeter spots that would make picking up a laptop instead of a desktop a realistic choice. Although it’s true that a desktop rig for the same price usually nets you about twice the performance, mid-range laptops usually have fantastic build quality to them and aren’t very likely to give up the ghost a year into the warranty. Hit the jump to see what your month buys you this week.

For this segment of the guide, there’s no recommendations for any tablets. The main reason for this is that you’re buying into something of a niche market – who buys a tablet worth over ten grand? You’re most likely doing it for the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2″ and at that point you’re already into Surface Pro 2 territory and the use-case will be specific to the requirements you have and the apps that you want to use. I’d have no problems making tablet recommendations on a case-by-case basis, but blanket recommendations are a lot more tricky.

Mid-range Gaming Laptops and Ultrabooks – 11″ to 14″
Laptop Model	Display	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage	Price
Dell Latiture E3440	14″ TN	Core i5-4200U	Geforce GT740M	4GB	500GB	R10,602
Proline W110ER	11.6″ TN	Core i7-3630QM	Geforce GT650M	8GB	750GB	R10,697
Lenovo Thinkpad S440	14″ TN	Core i7-4500U	Radeon HD8670M	4GB	500GB	R12,173
Apple Macbook Air 11	11.6″ TN	Core i5-4260U	Intel HD5000	4GB	128GB SSD	R12,699
Apple Macbook Air 13	13.3″ TN	Core i5-4260U	Intel HD5000	4GB	128GB SSD	R13,999
Gigabyte P34G	14″ TN	Core i5-4200H	Geforce GTX760M	8GB	500GB	R14,499
MSI Gaming GE40 2OL	14″ TN	Core i5-4200M	Geforce GT750M	8GB	128GB+750GB	R15,599
MSI Gaming GE40 2OC	14″ TN	Core i7-4702MQ	Geforce GTX760M	8GB	128GB+750GB	R16,799
	13.3″ IPS	Core i5-4258U	Intel Iris Pro	4GB	128GB	R17,999
ASUS Zenbook AUX302	13.3″ IPS	Core i7-4500U	Geforce GT730M	4GB	750GB	R18,156

The mid-range market for computers in the desktop space is very easy to recommend because the cookie-cutter build now fits into all three of my builds in my System Builder’s guide. Pick up a Core i5-4670K, find yourself a decent Z87/Z97 motherboard for around R1700 and you’ll find that there’s enough oomph in there for even dual-graphics configurations. Now, that’s pretty easy. For the mobile market, not so much.

It’s still up in the air here as to what exactly is the best configuration for an ultraportable in the 11-inch to 14-inch range. Most people assume that it’s the Macbook family and they wouldn’t be terribly wrong either – Intel’s HD5000 graphics are strong enough to run most games at native resolution with low to medium details. You’d still be limited to the low TDP of the processor considering the tiny size of the chassis, but it’s still serviceable.

There are two all-rounders here that deserve attention in the pack. One is Gigabyte’s P34G because it packs in near-identical hardware found in the more expensive MSI GE40 2OL, but for a much cheaper price. If you have fifteen grand, play games and need a light laptop, this should be your first choice.

The other is Apple’s Macbook Pro 13 with Retina display. There’s nothing available on the market anywhere near the same price with the same kind of hardware, even from ASUS’ Zenbook line (and I’ve included the UX302 simply because there’s nothing that’s quite as striking as it). There’s no display available on the market to rival the Macbook, there’s nothing else that has Iris Pro graphics for a reasonable price and there’s certainly a case to be made for Apple’s build quality.

Mid-range Gaming Laptops and Ultrabooks – 15.6″
Laptop Model	Display	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage	Price
Toshiba Sattelite L50	15.6″ TN	Core i7-4700MQ	Geforce GT740M	8GB	750GB	R9999
ASUS N56JR	15.6″ TN	Core i5-4200H	Geforce GTX760M	4GB	1TB	R11,288
Lenovo Ideapad Y510P	15.6″ TN	Core i7-4700MQ	Geforce GT755M	8GB	1TB	R12,664
MSI GX60 3AE	15.6″ TN	AMD A10-5750M	Radeon HD7970M	8GB	750GB	R12,999
Lenovo Y5070	15.6″ TN	Core i7-4700HQ	Geforce GTX860M	8GB	1TB	R13,744
ASUS G56JK	15.6″ IPS	Core i5-4200M	Geforce GTX850M	8GB	8GB+750GB	R13,799
MSI GE60 2PL Apache LE	15.6″ TN	Core i5-4210H	Geforce GTX850M	8GB	1TB	R14,299
Lenovo Y510P	15.6″ TN	Core i7-4700MQ	Geforce GT755M SLI	8GB	8GB+1TB	R16,500
MSI Gaming GX70 3BE	15.6″ TN	AMD A10-5750M	Radeon HD8970M	16GB	128GB+1TB	R17,345
MSI GE60 2PE Apache Pro	15.6″ TN	Core i7-4700HQ	Geforce GTX860M	8GB	1TB	R17,999
Gigabyte P35K	15.6″ IPS	Core i7-4700HQ	Geforce GTX765M	16GB	1TB	R18,899

Moving into the 15.6-inch market, things improve considerably. Toshiba’s L50 is not only the cheapest Core i7-packing laptop in this segment, it’s also packing in Nvidia’s GT740M, making this combo together with the extra RAM a better choice for most people who are shopping in this price range. It’s not an Ultrabook and it’s not very light, but 2.4kg is reasonable. It’s just a pity that the display is terribly limited.

One consolation is that anything in this price range is very capable of playing modern games at reasonable settings. ASUS’ N56JR is the cheapest notebook out there packing in a 1080p display, a backlit keyboard and discrete graphics from Nvidia with GDDR5 memory – it’s easily the budget choice I’d go for if you’re strapped for cash. MSI’s GX60 used to be the de facto choice here, but that’s changed for the better.

Moving down, Lenovo’s Y5070 offers the best balance of the lot, pairing Intel’s Core i7-4700HQ with a Maxwell-based Geforce GTX860M. It doesn’t have the glorious IPS panel found in the ASUS G56JK but that’s the sacrifice we need to make for better performance. The red backlit keyboard also goes down a treat.

If you can order one in, the Lenovo Y510P is unique in its offer of an SLI pair of two Geforce GT755M graphics cards. It does this through the ditching of the DVD drive bay, replacing with with an ultrabay adapter for the second GPU. With SLI under the hood, the Y510P competes against laptops from much higher price segments, but doesn’t charge you Alienware-level prices for the performance you’re getting.

Mid-range Gaming Laptops and Ultrabooks – 17″
Laptop Model	Display	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage	Price
Gigabyte Q2756F	17.3″ TN	Core i5-4200M	Geforce GT750M	4GB	750GB	R10,964
MSI GP70 2PE Leopard	17.3″ TN	Core i5-4200M	Geforce GT840M	8GB	1TB	R12,999
Macer W370SS	17.3″ TN	Core i7-4702MQ	Geforce GTX860M	12GB	1TB	R15,786
MSI GS70 2OD Stealth	17.3″ TN	Core i5-4200H	Geforce GTX765M	8GB	1TB	R15,798
MSI GE70 2PC Apache	17.3″ TN	Core i7-4700HQ	Geforce GTX850M	8GB	1TB	R16,999
Toshiba Qosmio X870	17.3″ TN	Core i7-3630QM	Geforce GTX670M	16GB	1.75TB	R17,877

The last segment in today’s guide, the 17.3-inch range, isn’t my favourite because too many manufacturers have terrible luck in making balanced builds for these large chassis. Mecer’s M370SS offers incredible bang for buck but it doesn’t have the same premium build as other brands, which is why it’s only recommended if you can stand the bland-ish looks. It’ll still set your pants on fire if you use it as a laptop, so there’s some solace there.

Out of the picks here, MSI’s GS70 Stealth hits the right notes. It’s slimmer than most other options here (almost on par with the Razer Blade), offers connectivity for up to three external monitors and doesn’t feel like a giant 17-incher at all. The build quality is far above average for MSI’s efforts and although it lacks a IPS panel, MSI didn’t opt for a completely terrible TN panel either.

For those of you who are still interested in proper 3D screens, Toshiba’s Qosmio offers a decent hardware set, albiet a bit outdated, with a 1080p 3D display. The laptop comes with passive glasses, but that shouldn’t draw away from the experience too much. It is ultimately a gimmick that you probably won’t use very often, which is why Gigabyte’s smaller P35K has a display that you’ll actually use and enjoy.

That’s all for this week, folks! Tune in next time for the third and final episode of this guide. Next month we’re going back to the System Builder’s guide and seeing how things have changed for the better.

Discuss this in the forums: Linky