Good day,

The ASUS A52JK that I've been using for 10 years (from 2010 until 2019) broke down a few weeks ago. The information about the laptop is available in the link below:
https://www.asus.com/my/Laptops/A52JK/

Besides repairing the broken down laptop, I am also considering to purchase a new laptop. Currently, Illegear is making a Mid Year Mega Sale until the 3rd of August. I am interested to buy the Prodigy model (comes with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti) as shown in the link below:
https://store.illegear.com/portable-perform...ar-prodigy.html

Before making the decision to purchase, I would like to ask a few questions regarding Illegear:
1) Whether their products usually last long or not.
2) Whether it is easy to get spare parts at an affordable price after the warranty expires or not.

I would like to use my laptop as long as possible (just like how long I used my ASUS laptop). I will consider purchasing other common brands like Dell, MSI, HP, ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, etc. with similar CPU and GPU (i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti) if these brands usually last longer and easier to get spare parts at an affordable price after the warranty is over.

Thank you and have a nice day.

P/S:
1) I have asked the same question in the thread below, but someone replied telling me to start a new thread instead. That is the reason why I start this thread.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...&#entry93381717
2) Beside Illegear, I've also been looking at Level 51 and Tech Armory. However, I still haven't found any model from Level 51 and Tech Armory that comes with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti.

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 24 2019, 07:18 PM

RTX20 series might be too expensive for a non-working person like me (I am studying PhD in Mechatronics Engineering). I think 60% (or more) of the laptop will be used for studying (PhD) and the remaining 40% (or less) will be used for entertainment (gaming, movies, internet, etc.). The game that I play so far is only CS GO and Battlefield 4, so I think GTX16 series might already be enough. If my GPU is too powerful, I'm afraid that I might game to much until I forget to study

In addition, most of my PhD work deals with programming (beginner to intermediate level of MATLAB, Python, and C++), so I think CPU is more important to me than the GPU. Just in case if I have to downgrade the spec due to the budget constrain, I will still maintain the CPU as i7-9750H but downgrade the GPU to GTX10 series.

It doesn't have to be a custom laptop. I am actually searching for laptops with i7-9750H and GTX 1660 Ti and so far only the following brands and models come with the same CPU and GPU:
1) Dell New G5 15 Gaming Laptop (5590)
https://www.dell.com/en-my/shop/laptops-and...60157044bpmyw10
2) ASUS ROG Strix G531GU
https://www.asus.com/my/Laptops/ROG-Strix-G...81Uk0-g7iG-3TOs
3) Acer Nitro 7
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/MY/content/serie...FHq11ycqyCckR54
4) Lenovo Legion Y540 (15) Laptop
https://www.lenovo.com/my/en/laptops/legion...pMaVBuZMDFoodzA
5) Illegear Prodigy
https://store.illegear.com/portable-perform...ar-prodigy.html

So far MSI (GE or GL series) and HP Omen still hasn't release any model that comes with i7-9750H and GTX 1660 Ti.

At this moment I have no intention to buy Acer or Lenovo, so I remove those 2 brands from the list above. ASUS ROG Strix G531GU in the list above is already ok to me, but it has to also be removed from my list because the keyboard for the version that is imported/distributed in Malaysia doesn't have keypad/numpad. In the end, the only remaining model that is left for me to shortlist is the Dell G5 and Illegear Prodigy.

At this moment it is still not urgent for me to buy a new laptop, so I can even ignore the Illegear's Mid Year Mega Sale (until the 3rd of August) and only make the decision of which laptop to buy once MSI and HP also release their laptops that also comes with i7-9750H and GTX 1660 Ti. If suddenly it becomes urgent for me to own a new laptop however, I think I might have to grab the opportunity to buy the Illegear Prodigy while their Mid Year Mega Sale is still on (or just but the Dell New G5 15 Gaming Laptop (5590)).


PS: I was also interested with ASUS TUF Gaming FX505DU in the link below. It comes with GTX 1660 Ti GPU, but with Ryzen 7-3750H CPU. The keyboard for this model comes with keypad/numpad, but I removed it from my list because the supported RAM speed is only 2400MHz while all of the Intel counterparts that I listed above support the RAM speed of 2666MHz. However, I will still consider this model if 2400MHz vs 2666MHz doesn't make any significant difference.
https://www.asus.com/my/Laptops/ASUS-TUF-Ga...-FX505DD-DT-DU/

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 25 2019, 01:06 AM

I am studying PhD in a government university in Kuala Lumpur. I usually stay in the university's hostel in Kuala Lumpur from Monday to Friday and return to my parent's house somewhere nearby Subang Airport on Saturday on Sunday, so I think the distance from my place to Illegear's service centre should not be a problem.

The things that concern me right now is whether the product last long and also whether it is easy and affordable for me to get spare parts if anything happens after the warranty expires

May I know which list? And are those laptops that I listed above considered thin? Most of my friends who are working in the IT dept advice not to buy thin laptops if I don't need it because it is easier for the dust to build up in the ventilation space and reduce the CPU and GPU cooler's performance.

P/S: I am reading your Illegear Prodigy review ...

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 25 2019, 02:18 AM

Thank you for your reply. I'm surprised because even the Illegear's staff joins this conversation. Since you are here, I would like to ask 1 technical question. Just in case if the screen of my Illegear Prodigy broke down after the warranty has expired, is it possible for me to replace the screen with aftermarket / third party brand screen in the future? Will the size and the connection pins for the aftermarket /third party brand screen be compatible with Illegear's product?

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 25 2019, 01:55 AM

Understood. I will read the link tomorrow. Based on my list above, is there any non-thick laptop? If no, should I just wait for the MSI (GE or GL series) with the same i7-9750H and GTX 1660 Ti to be available in the market?

At this moment, MSI GL 63 does come with GTX1660Ti GPU, but with the 8th gen i7-8750H as shown in the 2 links below:
1) https://mystore.msi.com/product/gl63-8se-ge...0-ti-gddr6-6gb/
2) https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GL63-8SX-GTX

Meanwhile, the MSI GE63 series already starts to come with the 9th gen i7-9750H, but with the expensive RTX20 series GPU as shown in the 2 links below:
1) https://mystore.msi.com/product-category/ga...ptop/ge-series/
2) https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Products#?tag=GE-Series

I notice that the price of MSI GE62 with i7-6700HQ and GTX960M back in 2016 does not differ much from other competitors (Dell, ASUS, Acer, and Lenovo) with the same CPU and GPU. The price difference between MSI GE62 and other competitors with the same CPU and GPU during that time was around RM500 to RM1000 (depending on the competitor's brand). During that time, MSI GE62 was considered as an entry-level version.

However, everything changed in 2017 when the entry-level gaming laptops at that time came with i7-7700HQ and GTX1050 / GTX1050. Other competitors (Dell, ASUS, Acer, and Lenovo) still sold their entry-level laptop below RM6k, but the price for MSI GE62 with i7-7700HQ and GTX1050 / GTX1050 was overpriced for the reason that I don't know. If I'm not mistaken, the price difference between MSI GE62 and other competitors (Dell, ASUS, Acer, and Lenovo) with i7-7700HQ and GTX1050 / GTX1050 was between RM1.5k to RM2k. Whenever I asked the salesmen why MSI GE62 at that time was overpriced compared to other competitors with similar CPU and GPU, most of them didn't give a good answer. One of them simply answered MSI has a better cooling system. I know the heat pipes for the MSI GE and GL series are awesome, but I don't think that the heat pipes should cost around RM1.5k more expensive than the other competitors. Some other salesman said that the GE series has been redefined as an enthusiast-level and no longer an entry-level laptop.

Whenever I want to survey an entry-level gaming laptop from MSI nowadays, salesmen usually recommend me the GL series instead of GE series. I think it is true that the GL series is now the entry-level version for MSI while the GE series has been redefined as the enthusiast level.

Honestly, my first choice is actually the MSI GE (or GL series) because of the awesome cooling heat pipes and also the SteelSeries RGB keyboard (GE series only), but I think I might have to totally forget and move on from MSI if the pricing is too high compared to the other brands with similar CPU and GPU.

PS:
The latest model of the MSI GL series shown in their website comes with 2 keyboard versions - Red Backlight Version and Per-Key RGB Backlight Version, as shown in the link below:
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GL63-8SX-GTX
However, I think the Malaysian distributor only imports the Red Backlight Version for GE series. I'm not sure whether it is possible or not for the owner to upgrade their Red Backlight Version to Per-Key RGB Backlight Version.

Thank you for your reply. I found a review article about the Illegear Prodigy written by ZM Fong in the link below:
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...&#entry92809213

According to the review, Illegear Prodigy uses a common 144Hz IPS LGD05C0 from LG. Since this is a common panel, I think I don't have to be worried. However, I will use genuine parts from Illegear (if I bought the Prodigy) like what you have advised (as long as you still have the stocks for the genuine parts ).

All right, understood. I think I worry too much because I have no experience purchasing a custom laptop before

I'm so sad because I have to totally forget about MSI and move on if the GE series is still overpriced

Good morning everyone. I found the following advertisement on facebook:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid...972234&sfnsn=mo

I think I should spend some time surveying the laptops available at this event and then finalise which brand and model that I should buy.

HP Malaysia just updates their website with the new HP Omen laptops. The laptops come with i7-9750J, but RTX series graphics cards as listed below:
https://store.hp.com/my-en/default/omen-by-...tx-7lj90pa.html
1) RTX2070
https://store.hp.com/my-en/default/omen-by-...tx-7lj90pa.html
2) RTX2060
https://store.hp.com/my-en/default/omen-by-...tx-7lj89pa.html

Just in case I want to maintain the i7-9750H CPU but downgrade the GPU from GTX1660Ti to GTX1650, I can downgrade to the following laptops:
1) HP Gaming Pavilion
https://store.hp.com/my-en/default/hp-gamin...tx-7hr37pa.html
2) Illegear Raven
https://store.illegear.com/game-ready-perfo...gear-raven.html
3) Illegear Raven SE
https://store.illegear.com/game-ready-perfo...r-raven-se.html
4) Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop (3590)
https://www.dell.com/en-my/shop/laptops-and...p/w5160106myw10
5) MSI GF-63 Thin
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GF63-Thin-9SX-GTX

PS: I think I might have to ask admin to revise the title of this thread from 'Illegear Prodigy' to 'Entry Level Laptop with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti / GTX1650' because I also talk about other brand and model.

Thank you very much for your useful info. Btw, I have gone through your article regarding Illegear Prodigy and Illegear Raven. I notice that the temperature level for Raven is lower than Prodigy during Cinebench synthetic test. In addition, Raven comes with mechanical keyboard and subwoofer while Prodigy doesn't. Since GPU is really not important to me at the moment (at least until I graduate because I'm afraid that I might game too much until I forget to study), I can consider downgrading from Prodigy to Raven.

Thank you.

All right, understood.


I don't really need thin laptops like MacBook pro, Asus Zenbook etc. because I think the thermal performance for that kind of laptops is not as good as their thicker counterparts. At the same time, I would like to avoid the very thick gaming laptop like the Dell Alienware series, MSI GT series and Asus Predator series etc. because they are too heavy for me even though their cooling system is good. My sweet spot is something like the previous normal size Dell Inspiron Gaming.


I think I already get used to the Razer Ornata Chroma for my desktop, but I will also try the Raven at Illegears showroom to double confirm.


I see. Thanks for highlighting about this.

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 29 2019, 01:04 PM

Thank you. There are actually a few reasons why I would like to avoid the RTX20 series laptop at this moment. I have mentioned two of them before, which are:
1) The price of laptops with RTX20 series laptop is currently beyond my budget.
2) When my GPU is too powerful, I'm afraid that I might game so much that I forgot my responsibility to study :-p

In addition, I also watched 2 review videos by Dave Lee saying that currently is not the right time for normal people to buy the RTX20 series GPU. First, he says that the price vs performance for the RTX20 series graphic card is expensive at the moment. Second, he says that only a few games at this moment support the ray-tracing. Just in case if more games support ray-tracing in the future, Dave Lee advises us to only buy the GPUs that support ray tracing by the time we really need it because the price of the ray-tracing supported GPU might have become cheaper by that time. The link for the two review videos are available in the links below:
1) Don't Buy 2019 Gaming Laptops Yet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mykA0jrZWF0
2) Are 2019 Gaming Laptops Worth It Yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdUKug8XahU

I just notice that Dave Lee and Mathew Moniz make review videos about Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019) that comes with GTX1660Ti, which are available in the links below:
1) Dave Lee: Helios 300 (2019) - The Best $1200 Gaming Laptop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7pEmHo1CkQ&t=300s
2) Mathew Moniz: Acer Predator Helios 300 Review - The Most Requested Gaming Laptop!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwbbyaRvHFE

I heard that the Acer Predator Helios 300 (2019) have a good cooling performance (not just because of the cooling system, but also the voltage adjustment like what ZM Fong used to say previously). In addition, the blueish colour of the 2019 version looks more beautiful to me (based on my taste) than the reddish colour of the 2018 and the 2017 version. Unfortunately, so far the 2019 version that is listed on the Acer Malaysia website is only the one with RTX2060. I can also consider buying this model if the authorized distributor imports the version with GTX1660Ti. However, I'm afraid that I might lose the portability a little bit because the Helios 300 seems to be a little bit heavy (the version with RTX2060 is 2.6kg according to Acer's website).

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 31 2019, 02:07 AM

Thank you for your advice. I think I will stick to GTX1660Ti without Max-Q. It is not really urgent for me to buy the laptop at the moment, so I think I can still wait for a few weeks/months until more brands and models are available in the Malaysian market :-)

Thank you. I would like to request the admin to revise the word 'Illegear Prodigy' in my title to 'Entry Level Gaming Laptop with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti', but I have no idea how to contact them

Btw, I think I found an Acer store on Amazon - I hope it is a legit Acer store on Amazon, just like the legit Apple store that we have on Lazada. That Acer store on Amazon sells the Predator Helios 300 2019 with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti and ships the product to Malaysia - They have 2 versions as listed below:
1) With Blue Backlit Keyboard
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-i7-975..._web_2528871011
2) With 4-zone RGB Backlit Keyboard
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-i7-975...1KFG9BQRPBW8AKY

If Acer Malaysia still doesn't import the Predator Helios 300 2019 that comes with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti but we still want that model so freaking bad, I think I the only alternative that we have is to buy it from that Amazon store. However, the Malaysian credit cardholders won't be able to utilize the 0% Easy Instalment facility if they buy anything from foreign merchants. In addition, I have no idea how does the warranty work for the Acer laptops that we buy from that Acer store in Amazon (I hope that store in Amazon is a legit Acer store).

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 31 2019, 08:48 PM

I'm crying

Anyway, I hope that there are alternative models by the time Zelmel and I really need to buy the laptop (still uses i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti, but with equal or better cooling performance and not so much price difference) if Acer Malaysia still doesn't want to import the Predator Helios 300 with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti.

This post has been edited by foxfaisal: Jul 31 2019, 08:59 PM

Budget: Below RM6k
Prefered CPU and GPU: i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti
Prefered weight and thickness: My sweet spot is around 2.65Kg weight and 25.44mm thick, just like the Dell Inspiron gaming in the link below. No need to be too thin until sacrificing the cooling performance and also no need to be too heavy until sacrificing portability.
https://www.lelong.com.my/dell-inspiron-15-...8-06-Sale-P.htm

RGB keyboard is not really important, but a bonus.

PS: I can also even consider buying the last year's Dell Inspiron gaming in the link above if the seller sells legit stocks from Dell Malaysia :-)

Thank you