Hey all, This machine is dying, so I need a new laptop. Something which sports a 15.6” screen with a 1060 gpu, a durable chassis, a keyboard that doesn’t suck, and good cooling. I’m also limited to the $1500ish range. I think I’ve got it narrowed down to either a Clevo P650hp6-G or an MSI GT62VR Dominator. The question I’ve got for the folks here is this: does anybody know how they compare in terms of chassis durability and overall quality? Any owners of either one wish to give their impressions? It’ll get constant use, and it’s gotta last at least three years, so it can’t be fragile or cheaply made. I’ve searched for comparative reviews, but haven’t had much luck. Any input or suggestions one way or the other? Is there some other machine I’m overlooking? Since I’ll have no chance to “hands-on” before buying, any info about either of these two machines, or other suggestions, are greatly appreciated. (The laptop will do double-duty as a personal and teaching machine. I probably won’t game on it, but I want the 1060’s power for the visual editing I do creating my teaching materials. The POS netbook they issue at school is a joke, so I do all my school stuff on my own machines. It’ll go back and forth to school every day, and probably drive an projector for 6 hours a day while there. It’ll be mission-critical, so robustness is important.)
I've got a Clevo P650 from 2 years ago (980m GPU) and it's still going strong. I never used that particular MSI notebook, but I tried the equivalent whilst making my choice. From memory, the MSI had a slightly better keyboard and built in audio, but was more expensive, less powerful and full of unnecessary (for me!) features. I don't use it every day now, but it's carried to and from work at least once a week and I don't have to treat it with kid gloves. It's nowhere near as sturdy as my Macbook Air, but it's not bad for a "proper" laptop! After 2 years, it still looks as good as new - the screen hinge is still good, no damage to the casing and no mech issues at all. Cooling noise is fairly quiet, but it does get loud-ish under stress testing. The Pascal GPU's and Sky/Kaby Lake CPUs will be cooler and quieter than mine. Hope this helps, happy shopping.
I used to have a Clevo M980NU (branded with MySN) and this Notebook was a beast. I´ve modified this device and it still works, 6 years later without any problems. Clevo is a nice manufacturer in terms of build quality and durability.
