STRIX GL502VS or PREDATOR G5-793 as desktop replacement?

Hi,
This is my 3rd thread since yesterday about this, but I really have no one I know with enough knowledge about gaming laptops, I hope you can help and be a bit forgiving
I want to get a laptop as a replacement for my desktop. I need some mobility but don't care about size much as I will only use it around the house.
I was considering buying GL502VS with 1070 and i7 but have read pretty alarming things about it, like having to undervolt it to work properly and the poor heat management.
I came across G5-793, which is a bit more expensive but with the bigger size and those exhaust grill in the back it looks like it would handle the heat a lot better.
I would like to know if the pros of G5-793 are enough to justify the price.
Side note: the screen also looks way better from the quick glance at the store.

Thanks in advance.

 

The Predator model runs even hotter as evident by the NBC review of the 17.3" model.

TL: DR - it reaches 98*C and throttles down. (Overheating). It runs quite a bit hotter than the GL502VS.
Predator Stress test:

Strix Stress test:

 

While the Strix runs in the low 90s under heavy load, it maintains consistent clockspeed whereas the Predator runs in the high 90s with constant clockspeed variation.

 

How is that possible? Strix is way slimmer and smaller overall.

 

Easy - worse thermal paste and worse design.

 

I'd also recommend considering the MSI GT62 and Clevo P650HS.

If you are near Microcenter they have a GT62VR with a 1070 and an otherwise balanced config for only 1500.

 

Or stepping down to a good 1060 machine.

 

there are probably good and bad samples of the acer, and the reviewer got a "bad" one.

Before I switched to the gl502, I had a g501, and went through a RMA fiasco with asus. One of the replacements they sent me overheated quickly and throttled hard simply from running cinebench 15 once. Either the factory didn't paste it well, or whoever owned this unit before tried and failed to repaste it, making it worse.

I would think the Acer would have comparable or better cooling because it has dual exhausts in the back, unblocked. It does not seem like a bad design to me.

 

Like I pointed out - Acer TiM is horrendous probably. We know Asus uses half-decent past so it's likely due to that. Also, VS models are the same thickness as the Predator (over 30mm) so the size difference is actually very very small. VS models are also taller meaning the screen doesn't really obstruct the vent as much as on the VM/VT.

 

Our GL502VS review unit's paste was dry and caking from the factory. Our Predator 17 G9 793 had good quality paste, though I did get a 4C temp drop by repasting with IC Diamond. I ended up buying a Predator 17 for myself because it ran relatively quiet and cool- CPU cores at 78C when playing Witcher 3 and ME Andromeda on Ultra 1080p. The Asus cores ran hotter. Was probably just a bad Acer they got.

 

LaptopMedia are also reporting 90*C on the Predator under load for the CPU. UltraBookReview also got above 90*C with their stress tests. I doubt it's just lemons on several major review outlets.

 

As seen in the first image, boost clock is throttling down to near base. This is similar to what a friend who had the Predator 592G said - GPU temps are excellent but CPU temps are high.

 

Stress tests are different from actual gaming tests. Concurrent Furmark and Prime 95 for example vs. real world gaming. 90C core temps aren't unusual with stress tests-- look at Alienware's laptops from the past year and even some MSIs. I haven't seen any issues with it going into and staying in Turbo Boost and it's best to use Predator Sense to set the machine to performance mode to ensure it uses the fans and Turbo Boost aggressively (the default setting is more conservative and I suspect some reviewers never change it). I can only report what I've personally seen after gaming, benchmarking, internal external temp monitoring and disassembly of these machines. We had 3 of that Predator 17 in house for review, with similar temps (two with a very good paste job, one with a just OK paste job). One was a review unit, two were retail. We had just one of the GL502VS in house. I really liked the Asus and a 1070 was quite an accomplishment at the time it launched in that size machine. It's also very easy to open up and maintain... but the core and GPU temps were certainly hotter.

 

I have only briefly tested the predator in store, but in performance mode set in sense I've launched witcher 3 and alt-tabbed to check the temperatures.
Gpu was at cool 71, while cpu went to 85-87. It was like 60 seconds after I've loaded a save. Thats kind of concerning.
Not because of only that, but I went with MSI Titan.

 

GT series? Cooling on those is good though I'm not a fan of the screen build quality.

 

Yeah, GT73VR.
I hate everything about the looks amd build of it, but solid thermals letting me oc it a bit and ability to upgrade gpu down the line won me over.