Pokde Laptop Recommendation Guide 2016 v1

I would like to start 2016 with a new Pokde laptop recommendation guide as I frequently see people asking for help in choosing a laptop for themselves or family members on Facebook. I read ton of replies from the community and sometimes I just don’t agree at all with some suggestions. Actually the main consideration when getting a laptop is what you want to do with it, and also your budget.

Laptop is a pretty complex machine, far more complex if compared against a custom built desktop. The most common question we get with laptops is regarding its reliability. Specification also rank high when choosing the right laptop, as you must determine the hardware requirements of whatever you plan on doing with your laptop, and also make the best compromises based on your budget. A laptop that will be used for gaming will of course require more powerful hardware than a laptop used for office work, also meaning they will be in a different price range altogether.

Which laptop processor is the best?

I do agree with some people said you don’t need to get the latest processors if you are just going to do office work, but after some consideration and study I found that the latest processor will offer you more power efficiency thus better battery life and lower operating temperatures which theoretically should result in a longer lifespan for your laptop. I mainly picked laptops powered by the latest Intel Skylake processors. I wouldn’t recommend you to get any laptop powered by a processor lower than the Intel Core i3 as I have experienced unacceptably sluggish user experience with them. I also picked some AMD-based laptop; you might think that it not an ideal choice but I did some Google search and found that several members of the latest AMD FX APU series are generally better in terms of performance than the ever popular Intel Core i5-6200U. Given the affordable prices of laptops packing the AMD FX APUs, its hard to not do a double take at AMD’s mobile efforts.

Which graphic is the best?

While AMD’s mobile CPUs may be able to hold themselves against Intel’s lower end parts, AMD’s mobile dGPUs are quite far behind NVIDIA’s dGPUs. Currently the best mobile graphics processors we can get are the NVIDIA Maxwell parts. They offers a reasonable boost in performance and power efficiency over their predecessors and competition, all while performing at levels close to their own mainstream Maxwell desktop graphics cards, especially in the case of the NVIDIA GTX 970M and GTX 980M graphics. The performance level brought by NVIDIA Maxwell mobile GPUs are unprecedented.

Which screen size is sufficient?

Laptop comes in varying screen sizes, ranging from 11 inch to whooping 18 inch. It is difficult to say which size is ideal, as each user has different requirements. Having a big screen will give you more viewing space when working or gaming but it’s really not recommended if you have to move from one place to another frequently. Usually a bigger screen size will also mean a heavier weight; personally for me weight is not a problem, but then I don’t use laptops on the go.

How much storage is needed?

A terabyte of storage on a laptop used to be a rare sight back then. Today a terabyte of HDD storage is commonly found in most laptops. For normal usage, 500GB should be sufficient and a 1TB HDD is good enough for gamers with a reasonable game library. A SSD in a laptop will boost your laptop’s responsiveness immensely, so if you’re looking for faster boot and game load times then you might consider upgrading your conventional HDD to a SSD. In fact most recent laptops are held back by their storage instead of a weak processor. If you plan on upgrading to a SSD later after purchasing your laptop, you might want to take into consideration whether the laptop supports multiple storage solutions or you will have to outright replace the HDD with a SSD. If your laptop has an integrated optical drive, you should have the option of swapping out your installed HDD for a SSD, and using a caddy to fit the old HDD in the optical drive bay.

How much memory is needed?

The most common part that consumers will upgrade after getting their new laptops to make it run “faster”. More RAM will not making your laptop faster but it allows you to run more programs at the same time and also make the system becoming more responsive. For smooth daily usage and typing, 4GB of RAM is sufficient, but you should consider getting 8GB or more if you are going to use your laptop for gaming and demanding software like Adobe Premiere. If the laptop comes with 2GB of RAM, I strongly suggest that you add a stick of 4GB RAM for smoother usage.

How about warranty and customer service?

Having long manufacturer warranty is a blessing, most mainstream laptops come only with 1 year warranty while mid-range and high-end laptops tend to have up to 5 years warranty. But having a long warranty doesn’t mean a thing if the brand offers terrible after-sales service. Some laptops might be pricier than other laptops with similar specifications, with the promise of better customer service. So you decide whether you want to pay a premium for better after-sales service.

How I’m going to recommend?

I categorized the laptops into four categories and each category is further split into two sub-categories, “Superior” and “Alternative”. Laptops recommended in the Superior category offer good aesthetics value, a richer feature set or great customer support compared to the competition, albeit with a bigger price tag, of course. Essentially its what we think is the best-in-class. Meanwhile “Alternative” is our best suggestion after taking into consideration tighter budgets, but without skimping specifications-wise.

If you’re looking for a mobile workstation for video editing or 3D render, the High-end Gaming and Mid-range Gaming suggestions should be suitable for your usage.

 

High End Gaming

The crème de la crème of laptops, these laptops pack some of the most powerful hardware out there for the best gaming performance, while still maintaining a certain level of portability. Expect smooth framerates in almost every game out there.

Superior

MSI GT72

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lebbXJ5UCU

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	MSI GT72 6QE
Processor	Intel Core i7 6820HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX980M
RAM	16GB DDR4
SSD	256GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	17.3 inch IPS, 1920x1080p/3840x2160p
Price	MYR 12499

[/table]

 

ASUS G752VY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9i9SKgWWGY

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ASUS G752VY GC192T
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX980M
RAM	16GB DDR4
SSD	128GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	17.3 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 8999

[/table]

 

Alternative

ACER Predator 17 G9

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ACER Predator 17 G9-591-70LU
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX980M
RAM	16GB DDR4
SSD	256GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	17.3 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 7999

[/table]

 

ACER Predator 15 G9

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ACER Predator 15 G9-791-771C
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX970M
RAM	16GB DDR4
SSD	128GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 6999

[/table]

 

Midrange Gaming

These laptops are a step down from the high end gaming laptops, but will still offer a satisfactory gaming experience, albeit with certain settings toned down a notch or two.

Superior

ALIENWARE A15FHD

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ALIENWARE A15FHD-70813G-W1
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX970M
RAM	8GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 6999

[/table]

 

MSI GE62 Apache Pro 6QF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YMgiquT30c

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	MSI GE62 Apache Pro 6QF
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX970M
RAM	8GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 5999

[/table]

 

Alternative

Acer Nitro VN7

https://youtu.be/KtV0vKP3hzM

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	Acer Nitro VN7-592G-7226
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX960M
RAM	8GB DDR4
SSD	128GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 4699

[/table]

 

ASUS GL552VW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu05o_oiltM

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ASUS GL552VW-DM136T
Processor	Intel Core i7 6700HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX960M
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD	128GB
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 4399

[/table]

 

Entry Gaming

These laptops are for the gamers on a budget. Gamers who play games like DotA 2, CS:GO will be served well by these recommended laptops. More intensive titles will be playable at reduced graphics settings.

Superior

DELL Pandora 7559

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-78pjSXqQQ

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	DELL Pandora 7559-30414G-W10-FHD
Processor	Intel Core i5 6300HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX960M
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 3699

[/table]

 

HP Pavilion Gaming Notebook 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STlZ_bWjZk

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ak031tx
Processor	Intel Core i5 6300HQ
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX950M 4GB
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 3499

[/table]

 

Alternative

Acer Nitro VN7-572G

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	Acer Nitro VN7-572G-57N0
Processor	Intel Core i5 6200U
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX950M 4GB
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch IPS, 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 3499

[/table]

 

HP Pavilion – 14

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	HP Pavilion – 14-AB111TX
Processor	Intel Core i5 6200U
Graphics	NVIDIA GT940M 4GB
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	14 inch 1366x768p
Price	MYR 3499

[/table]

 

 

Office & Multimedia

Not recommended for gamers, these laptops are meant for work on the go and students who need a laptop to actually do work. These are really mainstream laptops that are best suited for office work.

Superior

Acer E5-552G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URYVZchOe2c

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	Acer E5-552G-F4DA
Processor	AMD FX-8800P
Graphics	AMD R7 365DX 2GB
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD	128GB
HDD
Screen size	15.6 inch 1366x768p
Price	MYR 2499

[/table]

 

ASUS X550ZE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q2_gXq7GG0

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	ASUS X550ZE-XX066H
Processor	AMD FX-7600P
Graphics	AMD R5 230 2GB
RAM	4GB DDR4
SSD
HDD	500GB
Screen size	15.6 inch 1920x1080p
Price	MYR 2199

[/table]

 

Alternative

Acer E5 574G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URYVZchOe2c

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	Acer E5 574G-52UX/54DV
Processor	Intel Core i5-6200U
Graphics	NVIDIA GT920M
RAM	4GB DDR3
SSD
HDD	1TB
Screen size	15.6 inch 1366x768p
Price	MYR 2199

[/table]

HP Pavilion 15

[table style=”table-striped”]

Model	HP Pavilion 15-AF005AX
Processor	AMD A8-7410
Graphics	AMD R5 M330
RAM	2GB DDR3
SSD
HDD	500GB
Screen size	15.6 inch 1366×768
Price	MYR 1499

[/table]

 

We do not dare to consider this guide to be the definitive laptop buying guide. You may find an Alternative category laptop more appealing even when you have the budget for a laptop recommended in the Superior category. Do tell us in the comments section below if you think there are any laptops that offer similar performance but at an even lower price tag than the ones we listed here. We are always happy to receive feedback!