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IT Show 2016: HWZ's picks for the best gaming notebooks

By Kenny Yeo - 13 Mar 2016

IT Show 2016: HWZ's picks for the best gaming notebooks

IT Show 2016: HWZ’s picks for the best gaming notebooks

The first mega tech show of the year is here and it's time to get your gaming groove on. If you are thinking of getting a new gaming notebook, now is a great time. Intel has just released its new sixth generation "Skylake" processors, which promises better performance and power efficiency; and NVIDIA also just announced the availability of their desktop-class GeForce GTX 980 GPU in selected notebook models. The performance gap between notebooks and desktops has never been smaller. Here are some of our top picks at this year's IT Show.

 

Gigabyte P35X V5

The most logical option for a gaming notebook this season is Gigabyte’s excellent P35X V5. Why? Because it is the winner of our Best Gaming Notebook category at Tech Awards 2016 , that’s why.

But seriously, it packs a high-end quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor (2.6GHz, 6MB L3 cache), 16GB of DDR4 memory and a GeForce GTX 980M mobile GPU, all in a chassis that’s just 20.9mm thick and weighs just 2.3kg. And despite its slim dimensions, it even comes with a Blu-ray drive and a storage subsystem that consists of a 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. What’s more, demanding users can even opt to spec their unit with an ultra-high resolution 4K display. Gaming notebooks really don’t come much better than this.

Further reading: Tech Awards 2016 Best Gaming Notebook

 

Aftershock S-15

For outright value, it’s hard to beat the S-15 from Aftershock. From just slightly more than S$2000, you get a 15-inch gaming notebook that is equipped with a powerful quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor (2.6GHz, 6MB L3 cache), 8GB of DDR4 memory and a beefy GeForce GTX 970M mobile GPU. This is enough to let you play just about any game today with ease. But don't just take our word for it, check out how it performed in our review of it. And that’s not all, it even comes with a 120GB M.2 Samsung SSD 850 Evo drive and a 1TB HDD. Now if this isn’t value, we don’t know what is!

Price and brohcure link: from $2,158.

Further reading: Aftershock S-15 review, Aftershock S-15 preview

 

MSI GT72S 6QE Dominator Pro G

The MSI GT72S 6QE Dominator Pro G is so feature-packed that it almost very literally comes with everything but the kitchen sink. The 17.3-inch Full-HD display supports NVIDIA G-Sync, and it is powered by Intel's latest Core i7-6820HK (2.7GHz, 8MB L3 cache) processor) along with 16GB of DDR4 memory and NVIDIA's flagship GeForce GTX 980M mobile GPU. And if you think a single PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD is too slow, MSI allows you to spec your unit with two and arrange them in a RAID 0 configuration. There's still a lot more to list but gamers will be happy to know that it has a customizable keyboard and even a built-in DAC for use with headphones.

Price and brochure link: $S$3,999.

Further reading: MSI GT72S 6QE Dominator Pro G review

 

ASUS ROG GX700

For those looking for something even more powerful and extravagant, few gaming notebooks can challenge the ASUS ROG GX700. Inside, users will find an overclockable Intel Core i7-6820HK (2.7GHz, 8MB L3 cache) processor and a GeForce GTX 980 GPU. Nope, that’s not a typo, the ROG GX700 comes with a desktop-class GPU. It also comes with a whopping 32GB of DDR4 RAM and a super wicked storage subsystem made up of two 512GB PCIe-based NVMe SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration. And that’s not all, dock it into its special liquid-cooling dock and the notebook automatically overclocks itself to boost performance by an additional 20%! If money is no object, this is the notebook you want - either for the sheer power it packs or simply because of its cool factor.

Price and brochure link: $6,198.

Further reading: ASUS GX700 review, ASUS GX700 preview

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