Future Proofed Gaming Laptop

Hi Folks,

Just looking for feedback on the following specs. I'm looking for this laptop to take me well into the future with gaming so am happy to be spending the £2k mark on it, but of course, if there are any unnecessaries you can spot, or things there that might not be quite so compatible - your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Obviously first choice game on the list for benchmarking my expectations on this would be:
Cyberpunk 2077 on its highest settings.

Thanks in advance.

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 240Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10870H (2.2GHz, 5.0GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3080 Max-Q - 16.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 665p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 2000MB/sR | 1925MB/sW)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SX6000 LITE M.2 2280 (1800 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Defiance Series Integrated 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (73WH)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
17" DEFIANCE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
 
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Bhuna50

Author Level
OK - I dont know about running Cyberpunk on highest settings as it requires a really high specced PC, but you should get some very good settings on it with ray tracing too - especially as this is 1080p laptop too, but just a few comments on your build:

- Remove Bullguard - it has been known to cause some issues and windows Defender is free and just as good now as any protection.
- Change the Intel drive for a PCS one - Intel drives are not as durable apparently (less read/writes before failing).
- when paying £2k on a laptop, the extra £69 for TWO years warranty on parts is worth it - especially as GPU is likely to be soldered to motherboard so if either of those went then its already several hundred quid to replace.
- consider waiting for AMD Ryzen laptops with 3000 series graphics or asking how long off they might be.
- I have got 64 gig RAM and its not even using 50% (stitching lots of panoramic photos / playing MS FS2020), so you could save money by dropping to 32gig.

Found this re Cyberpunk but remember - the GPU/CPU you will have will be notebook versions not Full CPU/GPU:

1610722929939.png
 
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OK - I dont know about running Cyberpunk on highest settings as it requires a really high specced PC, but you should get some very good settings on it with ray tracing too - especially as this is 1080p laptop too, but just a few comments on your build:

- Remove Bullguard - it has been known to cause some issues and windows Defender is free and just as good now as any protection.
- Change the Intel drive for a PCS one - Intel drives are not as durable apparently (less read/writes before failing).
- when paying £2k on a laptop, the extra £69 for TWO years warranty on parts is worth it - especially as GPU is likely to be soldered to motherboard so if either of those went then its already several hundred quid to replace.
- consider waiting for AMD Ryzen laptops with 3000 series graphics or asking how long off they might be.
- I have got 64 gig RAM and its not even using 50% (stitching lots of panoramic photos / playing MS FS2020), so you could save money by dropping to 32gig.

Found this re Cyberpunk:

View attachment 21382
Thanks so much for the feedback above. I heard tell on the NVIDIA stream that the next gen laptops shipping late Jan/early Feb were going to be 1440p and the new chipset would provide a stable 90+ FPS on Ultra with RT. It sounds like it might be better to wait for one of those and as you say, take a look at the Ryzen options.
 

FerrariVie

Super Star
I would prefer a top power version (also known as max-P) of the 3070 then a 3080 max-Q. However, PCS seems to be offering the former only on TongFang chassis, which I'm not keen on recommending. So yeah, the best option of a Clevo chassis that you have at the moment is indeed the 3080 max-q.

But know that I play it on the 2070 just fine with DLSS (with a few FPS drops every once in a while, but it's more due to the buggy game than anything else). But disabling DLSS (which would mean the best graphical quality you can get), only a 3080 might allow you to play that way.
 
I would prefer a top power version (also known as max-P) of the 3070 then a 3080 max-Q. However, PCS seems to be offering the former only on TongFang chassis, which I'm not keen on recommending. So yeah, the best option of a Clevo chassis that you have at the moment is indeed the 3080 max-q.

But know that I play it on the 2070 just fine with DLSS (with a few FPS drops every once in a while, but it's more due to the buggy game than anything else). But disabling DLSS (which would mean the best graphical quality you can get), only a 3080 might allow you to play that way.
Appreciated, thank you for the heads-up. I'm not as tech savvy as I'd like to be in knowing the difference.
 

FerrariVie

Super Star
Appreciated, thank you for the heads-up. I'm not as tech savvy as I'd like to be in knowing the difference.
In summary, the max-q version is a stripped down one, focused on thin laptops without much space for cooling. So it provides the GPU with 80 or 90W or power, while the "normal" versions can go between 90 to 120W. The name of the card just says what chip they're using, but that's not the whole picture.

Unfortunately most manufacturers don't mention the amount of power that they allow for the GPU, but in general normal cards are better then max-q, unless you skip 2 chips: so in my opinion the 3080 max-Q should be faster than a 3060, but not than a 3070.

Since those mobile laptops where not yet officially released to public, we don't know for sure. But that's what I perceived from previous generations.
 
In summary, the max-q version is a stripped down one, focused on thin laptops without much space for cooling. So it provides the GPU with 80 or 90W or power, while the "normal" versions can go between 90 to 120W. The name of the card just says what chip they're using, but that's not the whole picture.

Unfortunately most manufacturers don't mention the amount of power that they allow for the GPU, but in general normal cards are better then max-q, unless you skip 2 chips: so in my opinion the 3080 max-Q should be faster than a 3060, but not than a 3070.

Since those mobile laptops where not yet officially released to public, we don't know for sure. But that's what I perceived from previous generations.
Thanks again, that'll be great in keeping me on the curve when making an informed decision. Given what you've both written above, it seems more prevalent to wait it out. I want this machine to see me through many a year to come with good performance, 1440p and a 17" screen. Perhaps the later models will find a happier medium in that.
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
the other question to ask is with it being a £2k budget, is it definitely a laptop that you want - or can you consider a desktop?
 
the other question to ask is with it being a £2k budget, is it definitely a laptop that you want - or can you consider a desktop?
A question I've asked myself too. But given the nature of my work taking me away from a singe spot fairly regularly and for long periods of time, a laptop really suits the situation better.
 

Ash_

Master Poster
A question I've asked myself too. But given the nature of my work taking me away from a singe spot fairly regularly and for long periods of time, a laptop really suits the situation better.
I have a laptop for these exact reasons and my main issue is... i wish i had a better screen, mine is 15” and 1080p, i’d advise 1440p and 17” for sure.

Also regarding cyberpunk... i have a 2060 and i can run it medium 1080p with 60fps or so. So you a 30XX should hit that 60fps on 1440p quite easily.
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
A question I've asked myself too. But given the nature of my work taking me away from a singe spot fairly regularly and for long periods of time, a laptop really suits the situation better.

You are aware that being gaming laptops, the battery life isn't to be relied on :D

and like you yes, I found that a laptop suits me even without actually travelling a lot - its just I dont have much desk space in my lounge and prefer to spend the evenings sat in the same room as the wife, even if I dont listen to her or talk to her much as I have my headset on and am here or playing games on the laptop LOL...
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
I have a laptop for these exact reasons and my main issue is... i wish i had a better screen, mine is 15” and 1080p, i’d advise 1440p and 17” for sure.

Also regarding cyberpunk... i have a 2060 and i can run it medium 1080p with 60fps or so. So you a 30XX should hit that 60fps on 1440p quite easily.

Must admit I was hoping to order a 1440p when I got this in November, however I am not disappointed as its still a better quality screen being a 144hz, than I had before at 1080p and I am surprised I can tell the difference too.

I might consider at some point a small-ish 1440p monitor to use with it.
 
I have a laptop for these exact reasons and my main issue is... i wish i had a better screen, mine is 15” and 1080p, i’d advise 1440p and 17” for sure.

Also regarding cyberpunk... i have a 2060 and i can run it medium 1080p with 60fps or so. So you a 30XX should hit that 60fps on 1440p quite easily.
Agreed, I had this with my last 15"

It was a much better decision upgrading to a larger screen!
 

Ash_

Master Poster
Must admit I was hoping to order a 1440p when I got this in November, however I am not disappointed as its still a better quality screen being a 144hz, than I had before at 1080p and I am surprised I can tell the difference too.

I might consider at some point a small-ish 1440p monitor to use with it.
1080p at 15” actually looks really good quality... it’s just so small. I much prefer my 32” 1440p 😆
 
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