Looking to buy a good laptop before uni

Hello all,

I haven't gotten an upgrade for my computer before and I want to get something that will last me a while. My current computer has lasted nearly a decade now and I've only been able to play modern titles using a cloud computer. I've actually ordered the Defiance VII already but since I have a little while to wait for that to come I've been continuing to research alternatives, and I've discovered that for virtually the same price I can get the Vyper which has longer battery life and a more professional looking build (which is useful since I'm hoping it can double as a work laptop for uni). I also saw some reviews of previous Defiance laptops that mentioned thermal issues which I'd like to avoid. I also got a confused looking at the I/O of the laptops, and realised that the port selection on the vyper is actually better than the defiance because of the weird naming schemes for USBs. Long story short I'd like a bit of advice and some peace of mind so I'll post the specs of the computers I'm interested in and defer to the wisdom of this forum...

Vyper VII 17.3'':
Chassis & DisplayVyper Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10875H (2.3GHz, 5.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 Max-Q - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
BatteryVyper Series 91WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.1 PORTS
Keyboard LanguageVYPER 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Carry CaseTech Air 17.3" - 18.4" Premium Toploading Case
Additional KeyboardCorsair K55 RGB Gaming Keyboard (UK)
Notebook MouseCORSAIR WIRELESS MOUSE IRONCLAW RGB
WebcamINTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
DeliverySTANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome BookPCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

Defiance VII 17.3'':
Chassis & DisplayDefiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10875H (2.3GHz, 5.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable1 x 180W AC Adaptor
BatteryDefiance Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (73WH)
Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard LanguageVYPER 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Carry CaseTech Air 17.3" - 18.4" Premium Toploading Case
Additional KeyboardCorsair K55 RGB Gaming Keyboard (UK)
Notebook MouseCORSAIR WIRELESS MOUSE IRONCLAW RGB
WebcamINTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
DeliverySTANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome BookPCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I would personally get the Vyper, not just for a better chassis with better cooling, but it has a thunderbolt 3 port so you can add an eGPU when it’s struggling to run modern games.

An eGPU is basically an external chassis that can take any desktop graphics card, then you plug it into the laptop and it uses the desktop gpu instead of the built in. So you can extend maximum gaming performance as long as the CPU remains competitive which would be around 7-10 years.

This is an example of a thunderbolt eGPU:

 

briggm

Bronze Level Poster
I'd also get the Vyper (which I actually am doing) but have you considered getting the 2070 Super instead of the 2080 Max-Q? They're practically the same performance (because the 2070 Super is the full-fat variant, not Max-Q) but the 2080 is significantly more expensive.
 
D

Deleted member 94250

Guest
Hello all,

I haven't gotten an upgrade for my computer before and I want to get something that will last me a while. My current computer has lasted nearly a decade now and I've only been able to play modern titles using a cloud computer. I've actually ordered the Defiance VII already but since I have a little while to wait for that to come I've been continuing to research alternatives, and I've discovered that for virtually the same price I can get the Vyper which has longer battery life and a more professional looking build (which is useful since I'm hoping it can double as a work laptop for uni). I also saw some reviews of previous Defiance laptops that mentioned thermal issues which I'd like to avoid. I also got a confused looking at the I/O of the laptops, and realised that the port selection on the vyper is actually better than the defiance because of the weird naming schemes for USBs. Long story short I'd like a bit of advice and some peace of mind so I'll post the specs of the computers I'm interested in and defer to the wisdom of this forum...

Vyper VII 17.3'':
Chassis & DisplayVyper Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10875H (2.3GHz, 5.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 Max-Q - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
BatteryVyper Series 91WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.1 PORTS
Keyboard LanguageVYPER 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Carry CaseTech Air 17.3" - 18.4" Premium Toploading Case
Additional KeyboardCorsair K55 RGB Gaming Keyboard (UK)
Notebook MouseCORSAIR WIRELESS MOUSE IRONCLAW RGB
WebcamINTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
DeliverySTANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome BookPCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

Defiance VII 17.3'':
Chassis & DisplayDefiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10875H (2.3GHz, 5.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable1 x 180W AC Adaptor
BatteryDefiance Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (73WH)
Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard LanguageVYPER 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusNO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Carry CaseTech Air 17.3" - 18.4" Premium Toploading Case
Additional KeyboardCorsair K55 RGB Gaming Keyboard (UK)
Notebook MouseCORSAIR WIRELESS MOUSE IRONCLAW RGB
WebcamINTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
DeliverySTANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build TimeStandard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome BookPCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
do you really need the power of a gaming laptop in class?
I got a 2.2 kg Optimus and lugging it around daily and watching it like a baby was difficult and stressful so i got a bottom tier trash daily driver. i kinda need mobility with my powerhouse (i do engineering) so i still kept it, but not everyone needs two laptops.
aa PC at home to game on and a good daily driver fits non-STEM students' needs pretty well, especially home students who dont need to fly about every year
 
do you really need the power of a gaming laptop in class?
I got a 2.2 kg Optimus and lugging it around daily and watching it like a baby was difficult and stressful so i got a bottom tier trash daily driver. i kinda need mobility with my powerhouse (i do engineering) so i still kept it, but not everyone needs two laptops.
aa PC at home to game on and a good daily driver fits non-STEM students' needs pretty well, especially home students who dont need to fly about every year

Thanks for your reply!
I'm doing theoretical physics, and there are some programming modules on offer so having a good computer for more intensive programs could be useful, aside from the fact that I'd find it annoying lugging a pc between uni accommodation and my home.
 
I'd also get the Vyper (which I actually am doing) but have you considered getting the 2070 Super instead of the 2080 Max-Q? They're practically the same performance (because the 2070 Super is the full-fat variant, not Max-Q) but the 2080 is significantly more expensive.

Thanks for the responses.
There seems to be a consensus around getting the Vyper so I'm going to cancel the other order. Also, I looked at some benchmark tests after your suggestion and they all suggested the same (or better) performance for £300 less so I'll definitely switch to the 2070 Super.

Thank you to everyone for your help. I may post an update later if things go well or if something changes
 
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