[SOLVED] Help me make a choice

TarekElsakka

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The last time I even attempted to build a PC was many years ago when Intel Pentium 4 was still a thing. :LOL:
I have been using MacBooks for a very long time and I have decided that it is time to build a PC for gaming as well as light rendering (Premiere, AfterEffects, and Photoshop).
My budget is around $1200 USD, but I live in Egypt and the choices here are either limited or over-the-top expensive.
I am not really looking at any prebuilt PCs except 1, and I will be listing the options I found here.
One more thing.. I honestly cannot decide between a PC and a laptop, but I'm leaning towards the former mainly because it is upgradeable at any time, so I probably won't have to buy a whole new PC in a couple of years from now.

Laptop choices:

1 - Lenovo Y520 = Intel Core i7-7700HQ / 16 GB RAM / 128 GB M.2 + 1 TB HDD 5400 RPM / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
2 - Lenovo Y530 = Intel Core i7-8750H / 16 GB RAM / 512 GB PCIe NVMe / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
3 - Lenovo Y540 = Intel Core i7-9750H / 16GB RAM / 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
4 - Acer Predator Helios 300 = Intel i7-8750H / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5) / 16 GB RAM / 256 GB NVMe SSD

All four laptops have a 1080p screen with a 144Hz Refresh Rate

PC Choices:

1 - HZ Z600 Workstation (upgraded) = 2 x Intel Xeon X5650 2.57 GHz - 2.66 GHz (12 CPUs) / 32 GB RAM / 120 GB SSD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
2 - Dell Alienware Gaming Desktop Tower = Intel i7 8700 / 16 GB RAM / 16 GB M.2 [PCIe] Optane Memory + 1 TB 7200 RPM HDD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB DDR5
3 - Custom Built PC (A) = Intel i5 9600K / 16 GB RAM (Corsair) / 240 GB SSD [Corsair MP510] / RTX 2060 / Gigabyte X Z390 Motherboard
4 - Custom Build PC (B) = AMD Ryzen 3600 (12 threads / 6 cores) / 16 GB RAM (HyperX) / 500 GB SSD [Samsung 860 Evo] / ASUS Dual Fan GeForce RTX 2060 OC / MSI B450 Tomahawk Motherboard

The last two PC choices (A & B) are more expensive than the rest of the choices so I will only be looking to get one of them if the difference in specs is totally worth it. From my understanding, the RTX 2060 cards are much better than the GTX 1060 in gaming performance, so I am assuming the difference in price is completely justified? Just as an example, the Alienware PC would cost me around $1100 USD while choice #4 would cost me around $1400 USD.

Could you guys please give me some advice on how to go about this?

Thank you so much
 
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Solution
1 - Lenovo Y520 = Intel Core i7-7700HQ / 16 GB RAM / 128 GB M.2 + 1 TB HDD 5400 RPM / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
The 128GB SSD is very low in terms of size, personally, I would not pick this choice. Sure, it does have a 1 TB HDD, but that runs at 5400 RPM.
2 - Lenovo Y530 = Intel Core i7-8750H / 16 GB RAM / 512 GB PCIe NVMe / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
This one is a good all round laptop. I don't see anything wrong with the specs.
3 - Lenovo Y540 = Intel Core i7-9750H / 16GB RAM / 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
9th gen Intels are great, allthough, i've heard the 1650 sucks. Not in laptops though.
4 - Acer Predator Helios 300 = Intel i7-8750H / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6...

512-Bit

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1 - Lenovo Y520 = Intel Core i7-7700HQ / 16 GB RAM / 128 GB M.2 + 1 TB HDD 5400 RPM / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
The 128GB SSD is very low in terms of size, personally, I would not pick this choice. Sure, it does have a 1 TB HDD, but that runs at 5400 RPM.
2 - Lenovo Y530 = Intel Core i7-8750H / 16 GB RAM / 512 GB PCIe NVMe / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5)
This one is a good all round laptop. I don't see anything wrong with the specs.
3 - Lenovo Y540 = Intel Core i7-9750H / 16GB RAM / 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB
9th gen Intels are great, allthough, i've heard the 1650 sucks. Not in laptops though.
4 - Acer Predator Helios 300 = Intel i7-8750H / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (DDR5) / 16 GB RAM / 256 GB NVMe SSD
Again, this one seems like a good all round laptop.
1 - HZ Z600 Workstation (upgraded) = 2 x Intel Xeon X5650 2.57 GHz - 2.66 GHz (12 CPUs) / 32 GB RAM / 120 GB SSD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
The SSD is a bit lacking, and pairing a 1060 with a 12 core probably isn't a good idea.
2 - Dell Alienware Gaming Desktop Tower = Intel i7 8700 / 16 GB RAM / 16 GB M.2 [PCIe] Optane Memory + 1 TB 7200 RPM HDD / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB DDR5
Where is the SSD? If it has no SSD, boot times are going to be terrible, unless that optane is the SSD (I know nothing about optane)
3 - Custom Built PC (A) = Intel i5 9600K / 16 GB RAM (Corsair) / 240 GB SSD [Corsair MP510] / RTX 2060 / Gigabyte X Z390 Motherboard
Cool specs, but the 240 GB SSD will fill quickly.
4 - Custom Build PC (B) = AMD Ryzen 3600 (12 threads / 6 cores) / 16 GB RAM (HyperX) / 500 GB SSD [Samsung 860 Evo] / ASUS Dual Fan GeForce RTX 2060 OC / MSI B450 Tomahawk Motherboard
Ah yes
p e r f e c t i o n


BTW, how expensive is all this stuff? You didn't list any prices. Just specs. If you can give me a price list I can better understand the choices and pick a better one
 
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Solution

TarekElsakka

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Jun 30, 2013
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@512-Bit thank you so much for your thorough and informative reply, I really appreciate it. Here is the price list when converted from EGP to USD:

Lenovo Y530 - $1,122
Acer Predator Helios 300 - $1,134
Lenovo Y540 - $1,226
Alienware Desktop Gaming Tower - $1,226
Custom Built PC (A) - $1,226
Custom Built PC (B) - $1,415

I eliminated the ones you pointed out have some issues, and I agree with you.
 
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