Cheap Gaming Laptop Advice (Budget $1200)

samfisher5986 on 20/09/2020 - 13:42
Last edited 20/09/2020 - 13:54 by 1 other user

I'm hoping to get a laptop for gaming and video editing my phone's 4k/8k videos while travelling etc.

I love this laptop below which has been on OzBargain in the past.

My main worry is people saying the 250nits screen is bad. I don't know how to simulate 250nits to know how bad it is, I don't think I'll be using it outside.

A little worried about the battery life, but I honestly don't think I'll be gaming very often, if at all without a nearby AC outlet.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

IdeaPad Gaming 3 15" Onyx Black $1,179.00
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 4600H (6C / 12T, 3.0 / 4.0GHz, 3MB L2 / 8MB L3)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Display Type: 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) IPS 250nits Anti-glare, 120Hz
Memory: 2x 8GB SO-DIMM DDR4-3200
Hard Drive: 256GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe NVMe + 1TB HDD 5400rpm 2.5"
Warranty: 1 Year Depot
AC Adapter: 135W Slim Tip
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6
Battery: Integrated 45Wh
Camera: 720p
Fingerprint Reader: None
Keyboard: Blue LED Backlit, English
Wireless: 11ac, 2x2 + BT5.0

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  dresh on 20/09/2020 - 14:03

  Did you check out Metabox? Really good gaming laptops and really good prices

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    samfisher5986 on 20/09/2020 - 14:56

    Very interesting company, I love the customisation.

    I think the problem is that its going to cost me an extra $289 for a brighter screen and basically the same battery life.

    They also don't seem to publish any battery or screen brightness information, I had to use a youtube video which may not have the same specs as the one I was looking at.

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  RobBoss on 20/09/2020 - 14:32

  Make your phone screen a bit under half the max brightness and you’ll get an idea of what 250nits is. Yeah, wouldn’t recommend even indoors. And as for battery life, you can forget about it. The 45Wh will last you 2-4 hours if you’re lucky.

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    samfisher5986 on 20/09/2020 - 14:59

    I don't think that would be a very accurate way to measure brightness.

    My LG monitor has a brightness of 400 nits and its blinding at that brightness, I run it at 27/100.

    Do you own a 250 nits screen?

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      RobBoss on 20/09/2020 - 15:02

      I mean of course it isn’t (due to different phone having different max brightness etc etc) but it’ll give OP an general idea I guess if nothing else is available.

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  DannyC on 20/09/2020 - 15:22

  My main worry is people saying the 250nits screen is bad. I don't know how to simulate 250nits to know how bad it is, I don't think I'll be using it outside.

  For me if a laptop has a poor quality panel/display with low brightness and accurate colour gamut it is a deal breaker, but if I was to connect it to a external display as I would usually do then it is not as important. Though as you say, you would use it for Video Editing so I think a Colour accurate screen is ideal (which this particular laptop display is not particularly accurate)

  250 nits while not ideal is still usable for inside use, as the Ideapad you are looking at has an anti-glare matte finish it should be fine verses a glossy panel, however, the colour reproduction of the display is pretty low (showing just 64% sRGB, 48% AdobeRGB, and 48% DCI-P3). So if your main use is to edit footage and photos then I would aim to find something with a more colour accurate screen, just my own opinion.

  Look at it this way, you are looking constantly at the display so it is really up to your whether you can live with the low nit brightness and low colour accurate display, though the contrast ratio is ok so it won't appear washed out so that is a positive. Again everyone is different so maybe might be best to go in-store and have a look n make a decision after seeing it or something similar in person.

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  wombok2 on 20/09/2020 - 15:51

  250nit is usable imo, but I wouldn't say its bad. Alot of panels that come in office laptops are 250nit Full HD panels.

  When people call it bad I think its quite overkill. 300-400 nit panels are nice to have, but not necessary if you work indoors unless you who work outdoors or hang around in coffee shop.

  I've used many laptops including ThinkPad X250 and T14s (both 250nit), I would never go past 60% brightness (maybe around 150nit) and never seen anyone in the office who has it on full brightness. But obviously everyone's eye sight is different.

  I'd say colour accuracy or a IPS panel is far more important than brightness.