Building a Laptop for Modern Gaming

[Fuzzball]

I got myself a PCS laptop for gaming back at the start of 2013. It had good specs for the time (i7-3630QM @ 2.40GHz; 8GB RAM; GTX 675MX w/ 4GB VRAM; 120GB SSD; 750GB HDD 7200rpm) but is now struggling with the demands of modern gaming, so I feel it’s time for an upgrade.

I’ll set out my needs clearly. I’m trying to get a laptop that can handle modern gaming fairly well with consistent performance. I’m aware that desktops are better price/performance-wise for gaming, but my life circumstances mean a laptop is better.

As performance is most important to me, I hope to be able to play games with a stable 1920x1080, 60fps, with no screen tearing. For older/less demanding games I hope to play on Ultra graphics settings (by which I mean top quality textures and shadows, but not necessarily the most fancy anti-aliasing methods and demanding extras). For modern/demanding games I hope to play on Medium to (ideally) High. This is of course barring any weird problems the games themselves have.

Less demanding game examples: Batman Arkham Asylym/City/Origins, BioShock Infinite, Civilisation V, Endless Legend, Life Is Strange, Mass Effect series, Metro Redux series, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rocket League, The Talos Principle, Tomb Raider (2013), Total War Shogun 2

Modern/Demanding examples: Batman Arkham Knight, DOOM, Dying Light, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, HITMAN, MGSV, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, Rise of the Tomb Raider , SOMA, Total War Warhammer, Unravel, The Witness, XCOM 2

Ultimately I want to be able to enjoy a broad spectrum of gaming, with a computer able to handle all the current game engines (Frostbite, id Tech 6, Source 2, Unreal 4).

So I’m thinking the 17.3” Octane II is a good bet, but I’m torn between two CPU and GPU options. I’m looking for some other opinions as to whether what I’m considering will meet my needs.


Chassis & Display Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache ***OR*** Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Memory (RAM) 16GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M - 6.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12, G-SYNC ***OR*** NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 980M - 8.0GB DDR5 Video RAM, DirectX® 12, G-SYNC
Memory - Hard Disk 500GB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD BLACK 2.5" WD10JPLX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 6x Samsung Slim USB 2.0 External Blu-Ray Writer
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Browser Google Chrome™
Games Controller Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows
Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee 30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs


With the cheaper CPU and GPU (and counting accessories and insurance stuff), it comes to £1,589.
With the more expensive options, it’s £1,872. I really don't want to be spending more than this...
(I think I have a £15 off code somewhere.)


So I’m asking for some more opinions as to whether these two possible specs will fulfil my (hopefully not unreasonable) demands. Obviously for peace of mind I would go with the i7-6700K and GTx 980M, but that’s over £200 more expensive… What combination of CPU and GPU do you think I should go for?

I have some specific questions:

1) Is the monitor built into the Octane II able to properly utilise G-SYNC? I hate screen tearing, and while I know other 900M card versions can do adaptive v-sync, I hear G-SYNC gives the smoothest performance. But the screen needs to be able to use it!

2) How noticeable is the difference between 5,400rpm and 7,200rpm HDDs? My previous laptop had a 7,200rpm which I stored all my games and files on, so I wonder if I would notice the downgrade to 5,400. I only ask because the HDD I specified here is out of stock for a couple of weeks… My fault for umming and ahhing over this for so long. In any case, I plan to put some games on the SSD.

I appreciate any advice, as I’m still not an expert in how hardware works with all the varying names and numbers.

I apologise that this is a long post. I write quite verbosely to ensure that people fully understand what I’m asking.

 

[keynes]

Is it just for gaming? If that's the case why not a mobile cpu and a gtx 980m?

 

[Fuzzball]

Is it just for gaming? If that's the case why not a mobile cpu and a gtx 980m?

Well, I would have it for all my home use as well. Storing files, pictures, music, etc. No plans for exceptionally demanding use outside of gaming.

I really don't understand CPUs, and am aware that the limiting factor in gaming is nearly always the GPU, so I thought it best go with one of those two best i7 options. When I've been having a look at particular game requirements recently, quite a few indicate a quad core is needed, and i5s are only dual core, correct?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Well, I would have it for all my home use as well. Storing files, pictures, music, etc. No plans for exceptionally demanding use outside of gaming.

I really don't understand CPUs, and am aware that the limiting factor in gaming is nearly always the GPU, so I thought it best go with one of those two best i7 options. When I've been having a look at particular game requirements recently, quite a few indicate a quad core is needed, and i5s are only dual core, correct?

The new skylake 6th gen mobile i5's are quad core.

 

[keynes]

Well, I would have it for all my home use as well. Storing files, pictures, music, etc. No plans for exceptionally demanding use outside of gaming.

I really don't understand CPUs, and am aware that the limiting factor in gaming is nearly always the GPU, so I thought it best go with one of those two best i7 options. When I've been having a look at particular game requirements recently, quite a few indicate a quad core is needed, and i5s are only dual core, correct?

A gtx 980m with a new i7 mobile gpu will be better than a gtx 970m with a desktop cpu. Neither of the uses you indicated require a more powerful cpu. Don't know about gsync available on the defiance but I would probably suggest an octane for users that are planning to run more cpu intensive tasks.

 

[Scott]

I've been going around the doors on a gaming laptop for over a month now. I totally feel your pain. I don't know if this will sound familiar but here is what has been happening with me....

£1350 - 6820HK & 970m with 6gb of ram....

but.... if I put another £150 I can upgrade to a 980m

£1500 - 6820HK & 980m with 8gb of ram....

but..... If I put another £50 I can get a desktop CPU....

£1550 - 6700k & 970m with 6gb of ram....

but... then I would lose out on the power of the GPU. I can't spend THIS much money and not have the best GPU. What's £200 when building such a special laptop...

£1780 - 6700k & 980m with 8gb of ram......

But.... what is the point in spending £1800 on a laptop that's ALMOST desktop power but can't play VR? Oh... there's a pro version....

£1900 - 6700k & 980 (Desktop) with 8gb of ram, VR ready.

Ok, sold. It's £500+ more than originally planned but it's the absolute dogs danglies in the laptop division. Anywhere else would be over 2k to purchase such a monster with MSI charging almost £3k. Sign me up.....

But...... the 1070m & 1080m are just around the corner with the specs so promising and the VR so eye watering that I can't possibly spend so much money only to find I could have had better if I had waited....

This is my life, in a nutshell, over the past 6 weeks. I have no idea if this will help you or not, it may make life even more difficult for you. However, given that you are looking for a long lasting replacement I would definitely join me in the nail biting wait to see what's around next months corner.

If not, I would genuinely look to up the budget to £1900 to buy the review spec Octane II pro. That will cover you not only for top of the range games maxed out for at least the short term, but also cover you for any VR purchases you have in the back of your head. That will definitely be my 2017 purchase.

 

[Fuzzball]

The_Scotster, I think what you're suggesting is a bit more than I need... While it would be nice to have a laptop with a desktop GTX 980, the £1,899 Octane II Pro model PCS suggests doesn't have the hard drives or accessories I'm after. I'm also not at all interested in VR. And while it is tempting to consider some sort of 1070M/1080M, no one seems to have a certain idea of when they'll be released, with rumours of announcements in early June or possibly even desktop 1080 models being put in laptops. Considering a GTX 1080 for a desktop costs over £600 alone, I shudder to think what price it would cost to get it into a laptop.

So I'm still trying to get feedback on the builds I suggested, mostly because I really don't know enough about CPUs, so am not sure what exactly is the difference between the two I'm considering (i7-6700 and i7-6700K). From looking at the system requirements of modern games I want to play, some of those recommend i7 CPUs @ 3.4GHz, but those are i7-3XXX models, so I don't know how these compare to i7-6XXX ones. I'm wondering if the CPU and GPU options I'm considering are incompatible in any way, i.e. one hardware component bottlenecking the other.

I'll probably end up going for the i7-6700K and GTX 980M for peace of mind, but I'm getting the impression this is not necessary?

 

[Scott]

The_Scotster, I think what you're suggesting is a bit more than I need... While it would be nice to have a laptop with a desktop GTX 980, the £1,899 Octane II Pro model PCS suggests doesn't have the hard drives or accessories I'm after. I'm also not at all interested in VR. And while it is tempting to consider some sort of 1070M/1080M, no one seems to have a certain idea of when they'll be released, with rumours of announcements in early June or possibly even desktop 1080 models being put in laptops. Considering a GTX 1080 for a desktop costs over £600 alone, I shudder to think what price it would cost to get it into a laptop.

So I'm still trying to get feedback on the builds I suggested, mostly because I really don't know enough about CPUs, so am not sure what exactly is the difference between the two I'm considering (i7-6700 and i7-6700K). From looking at the system requirements of modern games I want to play, some of those recommend i7 CPUs @ 3.4GHz, but those are i7-3XXX models, so I don't know how these compare to i7-6XXX ones. I'm wondering if the CPU and GPU options I'm considering are incompatible in any way, i.e. one hardware component bottlenecking the other.

I'll probably end up going for the i7-6700K and GTX 980M for peace of mind, but I'm getting the impression this is not necessary?

The M2 drive in the review spec is the best you can get. Unfortunately there's no way of getting a BD/DVD/CD player in the chassis

I have an i7 3770k in my current desktop PC. It still holds its own against the 6700k, although there's no doubting the 6700k is better. I would always go for the "k" version of the CPU as it leaves the door open for overclocking, which a few years down the line might just save you a year or 2 of upgrading believe it or not.... even if it's not something you're looking at just now. The fact that it's a faster chip to begin with is just gravy.

With regards to current requirements, most top end i5's would wipe the floor with most computing requirements of games. The kicker for me is with regards to the future. 6 core CPUs are out now at the bottom end of the latest releases. It's insane to think what the devs are going to be up to over the coming years so IMO the i5s aren't going to cut it for much longer. You're going to need at least 4 cores and hyper threading along with a decent card to smash future games. That's my opinion of course