Hi,

Is there any different between gaming laptop vs normal laptop, if their spec is same e.g both are i7, 8gb RAM. Any advantage for a gaming laptop?

Plan to buy a new laptop, my main usage is for programming, normally I will run few vs-code, chrome ...etc dev tools.

I would avoid gaming laptop at all cost.

Ugly outlook, overweight.
but Better cooling, better speaker, better screen ( mostly refresh rate if )

if not gaming, all features above are quite meaningless.

*not always better speakers, some have terrible speakers

But yeah usually you get better cooling and more performance but battery life is terrible and will sound like jet engine

Depends lah if you truly need the gaming laptop performance

Probably better cooling, better PCB and higher refresh rate?

makes no difference if watch JewTube and lowyat forum only

most of the time you're sacrificing weight and battery life, if you're fine with these then shouldn't be a problem

Productivity only or a casual gamer? Gaming laptop is overkill if you are not hardcore gamer. If casual gamer, you can opt for laptop with a decent midrange dedicated graphic card, otherwise normal laptop with only discrete graphic card will do.

A few factors to consider:

Are you going to carry it around often or it will remain stationary at home 99% of the time?
- Might be wise to focus on build quality and weight at the expense of a worse dGPU. Most of the low and mid-budget gaming laptops are cost-cutting on the build quality.

"E-sports games" vs "AAA games"
- On competitive e-sports games, power hungry, expensive dGPU with big VRAMs are nice-to-haves, but less important than having a display with high refresh rate and low response times.

Most of the time, spent for programming (coding) + youtube. Then I think I will go for normal laptop

Oh ya, gaming laptop also come with more ports. Most of normal laptop only come with 2x type-A USB and 1x type-c USB . 1 for mouse, 1 for external-hdd/pendrive.

Gaming laptops perform better for people like students and programmers too since they don't turn off their computers over a long period. Gaming laptops tend to have better cooling capabilities and can sustain their performance longer.

The downside....they cost more and are bulkier. Basically, if you're thinking of commuting with your laptop on a daily basis, don't go for a gaming laptop. You'll feel the difference.

Don't care gaming or normal. Focus on the specs

alternatively, get a "something in between" model.. like Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (i7, RTX3050). better specced than normal laptop but not bulky like gaming laptop.

If your main usage is for programming, you can look for something with a min of 8GB RAM for a smooth performance. If you can afford it, 16GB would be even better. So we can say that 8GB is good, but 16GB is even better.

Gaming laptops may be more beneficial for those who doesn't turn off their laptops over a long period of time (better cooling capabilities), but they cost more and are usually bulkier/heavier. So if you're thinking of bringing your laptop around it's not the best choice in my opinion.

Maybe go for something like Acer Aspire 5 that's light in weight and easy to carry around, it may not be a gaming laptop but it's a great laptop for programmers.

I seldom shut down my laptop. I just let it sleep, e,g, my current laptop didn't restart/shut down for 2 weeks already Daytime for work in office, night time for freelance + youtube

After experience through so many brands.

After sales service > everything.

If this is the case maybe you can consider gaming laptops because it might be more well-suited for your needs. If you'd like something that's from Acer as well you could try looking into Acer Predator Helios 300, it's also quite well known for programmers. Regardless, I think it is still best for you to give your laptop a rest regularly to increase the overall lifespan of your laptop.

no need so high end for programming

Yeah I agree with Steven on considering the Acer Predator Helios 300, my bro also same like you. He doesn't like to turn off his laptop and work as programmer too. Basically, daytime work nighttime DOTA. So far, he uses Helios he said is surprisingly good for him. Won't change so soon

right now i'm using asus rog strix g17 for programming and data analysis...sometimes as local server for training purpose if that training centre or hotel don't have good internet connection...so its really help a lot...by the way i'm also a gamer...playing age of empire 4, RDR 2, days gone etc

This post has been edited by mnsnazri: Dec 13 2021, 04:59 PM

Yeap, gaming laptops comes with more ports in general for gamers to connect more peripherals. If you have the need to connect multiple peripheral then it's best to opt for a gaming laptop.

As for programming usage, you need a high performance laptop that runs fast and smooth to test your codes - Dell XPS 15, Acer Predator Helios 300, MSI GF63 are a few that are good.