Gs70 or Alienware?

Hi,

So I'm coming from the alienware m15x camp. My alienware is having display issues and crapping out on me I'm going to need to get a new laptop. So I'm obviously interested in the msi gs70 stealth pro. My m15x lasted a few years and I was pretty happy with it overall. And I'm interested in the alienware 17 But I've heard the 17 has a lot of issues and a lot of people don't like them. So I'm wondering if you guys could give me your advice. I'm thinking either the AW17 or an Msi gs70 stealth pro.

I tour for a living. So I spend a lot of the year traveling in airplanes, vans, and buses. My laptop gets tossed around and tumbled quite a bit.
The main uses for it are video editing and gaming. I like playing new games with eye candy and enjoy cranking my settings up with good frame rates. Battlefield 4. Stuff like that. And I edit a WHOLE lot on Adobe Premiere pro and Adobe After effects. Manage a lot of high quality video. Not 4k currently.

So what dyou guys think. Should I go for an gs70, and if so which set up would work for my needs? Or should I rather stick to alienware?
My budget is around $2000. Give or take a little.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

For the sake of planes I would go for the gs60 and ips display (1080p or 3k depending on taste)

 

I would go for the GS70 Stealth Pro, thin and light enough you can actually use it somewhere like the airport or somewhere similar where the Alienware would be too bulky to bring out. I did a review of it if you are interested, you can watch that too [video]

 

Thanks for the replies guys.
I won't exactly be using the laptop in planes and airports etc. Maybe occasionally. I meant more along the lines of just traveling with it. I take it everywhere with me. I need something that's well built and won't have components coming loose and stuff. My laptop takes quite a beating.

I put a post in the alienware 17 forum asking their opinions. Obviously people there are suggesting alienware builds and here msi builds. I was wondering if anyone has any input on what would be better for my needs.
It needs to be pretty powerful and last a while. Are there a lot or known issues with the gs70s? People in the alienware camp are telling me to get a 3 year warranty instead of a better build. Which seems smart in a way but that does imply that it's not going to last.

 

Just remember that the msi can not use greater power supply than 180w. Does the machine have more power, pc use the rest from the battery. Forget high overclocking on the machine.

 

The 17 is a fine desktop replacement but it is very heavy, which makes it better if you just occasionally move it, but for traveling a lot then the gs70 is a better choice. It comes down to how you intend to move it ane use it.

 

Both Alienware and MSI are very ok machines. Asus gaming laptop is also a decent machine, but the problem with that machine is a stupid building construction. You have to dismantle half the machine to clean the fans. But to clean the cooling fins on the Asus, you need to disassemble the entire machine. Who bothered and do it twice a year? It's not even all that can and dare to do it.

 

Will I need an unusually large backpack for the Aw17?
It's looking like the gs70 doesn't have as much power as the 17 which I would need.

 

Full size gaming notebooks are usually going to need a larger-than-usual backpack. Even some that say they're designed for 17" notebooks, may either not fit, or be really tight (which isn't ideal). There's still plenty out there though.

And just in general, the bigger they are, the more power they'll probably use. Both in terms in wattage and CPU/GPU. There are exceptions, of course.

 

The GS70 is going to tout good hardware in one of the thinnest profiles of any gaming notebook you'll find right now. If it seems like it may not be up to speed with what you need, unfortunately there's not much of a middle ground when it comes to the dimensions and weight.

Also, extended warranties aren't a bad idea, but to cut back on your build for the sake of one is debatable. It should come down to deciding on what you absolutely will need from the system first, and then consider the extension.

 

I had both and I prefer my MSI. Build quality is better and for some reason, it seemed like my Alienware M17X R4 usb ports were not giving enough power for my external hard drive western digital my passport. No issue on my MSI end

 

just replaced my Alienware M15 with the GS70 and I am really impressed by the build, the great keyboard and the speed -- the SSD layout is great, boot times are way faster and the laptop is half the weight of the M15 with a beautiful big screen
first time with a MSI and really impressed

as you can see from my signature neither my M15 nor the GS70 are the maxed out heavy gamer variety -- I just like a good fast machine with solid graphics and all round performance -- the GS70 delivers in a light, thin package