Gaming PC

[redonk]

Hi guys, currently looking for a new laptop that will run games like Skyrim / Just cause 3. I also want to to be kinda future proofed as I intend on keeping it as my main laptop for a good few years at least. What do you think of this. Currently costs £1,517. I would push up closer to £1,600 if there is something that you think is really worth the money.

Thanks

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 750 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SLIM SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Power Supply
1 x 200W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.1 Type A, 2 x USB 3.1 Type C AS STANDARD
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

 

[Oussebon]

There'd be an argument for ditching the SSD and upping the GPU to the GTX 1070. You can always add an SSD in the future any time you like, but you're stuck with the GPU you buy it with. The 1070 is getting on for 50% more powerful and would definitely tick the box of being future-proof. GPU benchmarks: http://tinyurl.com/j9rqv3o

 

[redonk]

Interesting I did not know it was as much as 50%.

How would the 1070 balance against the 6700HQ? I mean where would the bottle neck be and would it be the same with the 1060? Also is the 1070 really worth the upgrade given that you sacrifice read/write speed from the ssd?

Thanks

 

[Oussebon]

The 6700HQ isn't a bad match for the 1070. You're still going to be GPU bound most of the time with the settings cranked up (or FPS capped). The mobile 1060 is about 10% weaker than a GTX 970 in Futuremark, and the 970 is beginning to show its age a bit now. The 6700HQ is weaker than the desktop 6700k by ~25% (http://tinyurl.com/jedfsr9) but the mobile GTX 1070 is weaker than its desktop counterpart too.

Also is the 1070 really worth the upgrade given that you sacrifice read/write speed from the ssd?

You can add an SSD in in future (though obviously that further increases the total you've ended up spending on the laptop) whereas you're stuck with the GPU you buy from the outset. So a 1070 would significantly increase the lifespan of the laptop before it failed to run games on very high settings / meet recommended specs for most games. For gaming, there's 0 difference between an HDD and SSD for your FPS. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/12/10/hdd_vs_ssd_real_world_gaming_performance/5#.WCieG-Ro2Hs Obviously loading times are faster.

It's up to you if it's worth the upgrade or not as it's your cash

 

[redonk]

Thanks Oussebon that's really useful. Cheers

 

[redonk]

Hi I have another question. If I configure it with a NVMe drive what speed will it run at? Will it run at the 6GB/s sata limit or will it be able to run at full speed. Also will it affect the gpu but forcing it to run on fewer PCIe lanes? Thanks.

 

[Oussebon]

The NVMe would run at full speed (obviously always bear in mind that speeds quoted by a manufacturer are 'up to' X speed, but that's true of Sata, M.2 etc). It would be faster than a Sata SSD anyway - that is after all the point of the M.2 interface, to allow those faster speeds for SSDs that support them.

I don't believe it will have any impact on the GPU. This isn't something I'm knowledgeable on but a discussion here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3179576/ssd-impact-performance-1070.html explains that the PCI-E Lanes used by the GPU are direct to the CPU, which has 16, while the M.2 drive will use PCI-E lanes from the chipset, which also has 16.

That said, even if it did make the GPU run on x8 rather than x16 there would be virtually no difference:
http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2488-pci-e-3-x8-vs-x16-performance-impact-on-gpus