MSI vs Gigabyte gaming laptop

[Christian]

I am having a hard time deciding between two gaming laptops, these specifically
MSI:
https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16834154802
Gigabyte:
https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16834233236

I really like the idea of battery capacity. I'm on the road alot and need the power of the GPU and CPU more for CAD modelling than gaming, although I like gaming too, hence coming to the steam forums XD. I want a slim notebook that won't be too bulky to carry around and I love the bevel around the screen of the gigabyte. I'm not too nervous about the small SSD storage of the gigabyte (512GB) although 256GB SSD and 2TB HDD does sound pretty tempting. I have a fast enough internet speed at home that downloading a 100GB game really only takes an hour or two so I wouldn't really mind having to uninstall and redownload games especially on a SSD. My 500GB HDD on my old rig got corrupted after filling and erasing it about 7 times :/.
My main concern is reliability. I just had a Dell 15 7577 with i7-7700hq and GTX 1060 6GB CPU and GPU but it has been super glitchy for the past month with incredibly laggy performance with nothing open but word or chrome or even just the desktop. I will say it was a powerhouse when it worked well... But that only when it worked well... I only had it for two months and it was brand new when I got it.
I want something that will last me at least 2 or 3 years, if not 5-7, without having to deal with aggravating glitchyness or unreasonable laggyness. I also have a Dell 2-in-1 that has worked better than any other computer I've ever had, including HP Envy, ASUS (can't remember the model) and the ACER Aspire, or my MacBook Pro (but that was 10 years ago haha). That Dell 2-in-1 Inspiron was the reason I stuck with the Dell Inspiron I now have when I needed a dedicated graphics card.
Anyways, back to the original topic, anybody have any idea which of these two laptops will be the best option, with reliability being the number one reason for purchase?
Thanks for your help!

[Lil Toucher]

I'd recommend the MSI because of the 2tb hdd, all I can recommend when playing on a gaming laptop is never push it, because it will get hot and ruin the hardware. The minimum for a gaming hdd is 7200rpm I would say, unless you want to play on lower settings.

[Christian]

I definitely agree with you Cloud Boy when it comes to getting something with a good CPU and GPU to begin with because the other stuff is easily upgraded, however, I need something more compact and light which is why I went for the Aero or Stealth. The performance of the i7 7700hq or gtx 1060 has never let me down though and that's why I feel comfortable sticking with that graphics card if it means I can still get the same performance out of a lighter-weight and more easily transportable rig.
This laptop is more for business than anything technically and like I said I'm constantly travelling and have to cary it on my back and use it for hours at a time without being able to charge it, hence the importance for both size and battery-life. I do love the ASUS ROG series, my friend recently upgraded to the new zephyrus and it's pretty awesome, however I've seen some pretty negative reviews about its cooling ability.
https://www.amazon.com/Zephyrus-GM501GM-WS74-IPS-Type-i7-8750H-FireCuda/dp/B07CWY6Y2X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527088784&sr=8-1&keywords=zephyrus+1060

[OLDMAN🎅]

Get a desktop the laptop has a 2.20 GHz mobile processor, they don't have the processing power as a desktop with a 420 500 GHz CPU.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Originally posted by OLD*MAN:

Get a desktop the laptop has a 2.20 GHz mobile processor, they don't have the processing power as a desktop with a 420 500 GHz CPU.

Neither of those have low power cpus.

Laptops are always underclocked for battery life, but they will boost when needed.

[Christian]

If I could afford both a laptop and a desktop then in a heartbeat, yes I would get a desktop, I would love to build my own PC. However... at the moment, I have enough to buy a good laptop that I can use both at home and without. Not very easy to set up a desktop on an airplane or in a car let alone cary it everywhere haha. The razer blade is a beautiful looking computer with nice specs and a perfect size. I'll definitely look into that a bit more in depth. It crossed my mind right as I started having problems however, I found a few nasty reviews and forgot about it as I got into more nitty gritty research.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

I would recommend the Gigabyte because it looks a lot more like it was made for a professional environment. That is a must if you constantly work with Auto CAD.

Whatever choice you make on this, just keep in mind that LED's are unecessary in an office environment.

[Christian]

Originally posted by ⎛⎝ Cloud Boy ⎠⎞:

Don't always trust public reviews, many people are just stupids, they don't know how to use a laptop properly, for example, operating their laptops in the bed and blocking the air vents and then blame the Laptop brand for overheating, or may be got a virus that is using his CPU / GPU high 24/7 then blames laptop for making loud noise or hang.

Read reviews from Professional reviewing sites / Youtubes,

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

Awesome video! Thank you for showing that to me.

Originally posted by The Spoopy Kitteh:

I would recommend the Gigabyte because it looks a lot more like it was made for a professional environment. That is a must if you constantly work with Auto CAD.

Whatever choice you make on this, just keep in mind that LED's are unecessary in an office environment.

Actually, one of my good friends and he has some sort of special edition Alienware that glows like crazy! Because I work at a dental office, I'm typically the only person around in the area I work. But that is a very good point, it is more professional looking in general, one of the reasons why I went for this Dell when I got it, because it is one of the least intense looking gaming laptops I had ever seen.

[Harry Gumdropzap]

the gigabyte laptop has 144 Hz, a 512 GB m.2 SATA SSD with support for another one (if your brave enough to open your laptop)
the MSI laptop has 120 Hz, a 2 TB hard drive, a 256GB m.2 NVMe SSD (faster than SATA)
you can still upgrade that SSD, but i dont thinks there is another slot

honestly this just looks like a choice of personal preference, but personally i would go with the gigabyte laptop since it has a higher refresh rate, a 512 GB m.2 SATA SSD with room for another one, and has an actual good mix of elegance and RGB
if you want to look professional, you can always turn the RGB off


but in this situation i would focus more on fixing that laptop, as its only two months old
first, try updating your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dRIVERS
check the usage to see which part is causing the laptop to be slow, if the CPU is always at 100% then a reinstall of windows should help, if the hard drive is always at 100% again, try a reinstall of windows, if you already did it could be a faulty
it could also be thermal throttling, try using your laptop in a cool place and see if the problems are still there
if nothing works see if its covered by your warranty
but if you just want a new laptop, then yeah i would reccomend the gigabyte one
also its better to have a 1070 than a 1060, if you still want that light weight but powerful performance, i found the same laptop but with a NVMe SSD instead of a SATA
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Aero-15X-BK4-Notebook-i7-7700HQ/dp/B076FLGX9D/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1527209023&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=gtx%2B1070%2Baero&th=1
exact same weight, same design but without the random orange streak
if you cant afford the 200 extra dollars, then the 1060 will still be fine

[Christian]

I have reinstalled windows twice already. Checked CPU performance, it would spontaneously Spike to %100 though I never caught it doing that when the computer froze. I monitored the temperature of the GPU and CPU and they were hovering at about 75 and 65 consistently, perhaps that also skyrocketed for no reason whatsoever and caused a crash though the laptop never dealt particularly hot.
I did however find a forum on Intel's website that dealt with this and similar issues where it was a problem with Intel's drivers not mixing properly with the NVidia's drivers for some particular reason I don't really understand and only in some cases. But probably the most common laptop brought up was the Dell 15 7577 having the issues. Intel fixed their side, but I never saw any response from NVidia on similar forums (maybe I didn't dig deep enough). i think it was commonly chocked up to the computer fighting about which to use, the 1060 or the integrated Intel graphics prossesor... Anywho, I went through the the process of updating my driver's and reinstalling new ones, trying combinatjons of a few, but couldn't really find a work around that I appreciated. I still love my Dell, when it works it's a powerhouse.
ANYWAYS,
I took into account all of your guys' tips and information. I ended up going with the new MSI stealth thin GS65, it has the GTX 1070, as well as the new 8th Gen i7, 16GB Ram, and 512GB SSD with one extra m.2 for an extra SSD and I think within the next few months I may get the WD Black, 512GB NVMe SSD and install that on my own. I know I didn't get either of the ones I posted, but I do appreciate your guys' feedback and it really helped me to find what I hope to be the perfect, if not simply awesome, rig.
Here is a link:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-512gb-solid-state-drive-matte-black-with-gold-diamond-cut/6211741.p?skuId=6211741
4.1 lb! Holy crap!