New gaming laptop for DCS/SC/VR

Varkhan

New member
Hi mates,

I'm trying to configure a high end gaming laptop that I can use for many years.

Targetted games are DCS, StarCitizen and the like, so quite demanding. I aim for good VR support also, I've been wondering about buying a Rift so display port is mandatory (which I believe is how I landed on PCS after some digging).

One of the requirements also is to ensure enough USB ports, 2.0 being ok, to ensure I can have my HOTAS + Track IR + mouse plugged in. I've tried using a USB hub but it sometimes has glitches in some games (HW not showing etc.) so I prefer to play it safe. This would pretty much be the reason to go for the Recoil as it has 4 vs 3 for the Vyper (the C can be easily adapted to).

Some would surely say that for SC, it's not really that urgent :D... yes, I'm one of these foolish guys, crazy enough to put (too much) money in an unfinished although promising game yeaaaaaaars ago and end up being unpaid QA testers :D...

we are so insane...

I recently discovered that my old Medion Erazer, with its 16G, is at the bottom of the "minimum requirement" for the game. After the last update, I couldn't even load the PU anymore when the AC worked as fine as I would expect on this 'old' HW...

It almost felt like the 90s and the 640K base memory all over again finding a workaround for that ^^

Here are two configs I'd go for, and that's where I need advice (I've posted the configs from the UK site but I'll order from the Switzerland one so the prices will vary in the end).

Version 1 - Vyper with 2080 MAX Q

Chassis & Display
Vyper 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)
64GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Swiss Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Vyper Series Integrated 91WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 PORT + 3 x USB 3.1 PORTS
Keyboard Language
VYPER 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT SWISS KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
France/République Française - French Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
TongFang GM7MQ8P (8GB RTX-2080 MAX Q, i7-10875H, 144Hz, Blank KB)
Delivery
3 DAY DELIVERY TO SWITZERLAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days

Price: CHF 2'559.17 including VAT and Delivery

Reconfigure

Version 2 - Recoil with 2080 SUPER

Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700K (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 SUPER - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 280W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre Swiss Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Recoil Series Detachable 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (97WH)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Atlas & Super X-Fi
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 3 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 3 x USB 3.2
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT SWISS KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
France/République Française - French Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo X170SM-G (144Hz, G-Sync, Blank KB)
Delivery
3 DAY DELIVERY TO SWITZERLAND
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days

Price: CHF 3'040.83 including VAT and Delivery

Reconfigure

The Vyper seems good enough for my needs (and is cheaper) although with the 3 USB ports only (vs 5 for my current laptop...) this feels very poor. With that, I can plug my HOTAS and the Track IR, but not the mouse, so I'll end up plugging my hub anyway, which is not great. No display port so it's probably a no-go for the Rift S anyway.

The Recoil is a bit more costly but it's also 2x thicker which IMO is a good point for heat dissipation - I play @Home, so I won't carry it more around than between the couch and my basement's office table so the overall dimension/weight is no big deal.

Considering all that, here are my questions:

1) 2080 SUPER, or 2080 SUPER Max-Q? I've understood that the Max-Q is the power-saving one, what puzzles me is that on www.notebookcheck.net both are on the top of the Class 1 but the Super Max-Q is actually higher (not by much, admittedly) - any POV/Feedback on that?
2) i9 vs i7? from what I read, i9 currently is only really useful for virtualization...
3) why does the Recoil come with 2 AC Adaptor? Don't tell me you have to plug 2 at the same time for it to run ^^ ?
4) why doesn't the Recoil have a thermal pate option, because with its size the dissipation is good enough?
5) between the 2 configs, budget aside, which is the overall best/are there suggestions?

I do not need to order the new gig right now, it can totally wait even a couple of months so if you think that waiting say until January it's probable some better stuff comes out, don't hesitate to tell.

Thanks in advance and best regards
 

Varkhan

New member
I've been wondering about buying a Rift

Hadn't seen the news - probably won't buy a Rift, nor any Oculus gear ever if it means coming back to FB :ROFLMAO:... I'll probably go for a Samsung HMD Odyssey+ then, so the display port is not an issue anymore either.
 

mrlip

Gold Level Poster
3) why does the Recoil come with 2 AC Adaptor? Don't tell me you have to plug 2 at the same time for it to run ^^ ?
4) why doesn't the Recoil have a thermal pate option, because with its size the dissipation is good enough?

3 - Yes you do
4 - Recoil is a DTR so comes with Artic MX-4
As standard
 
D

Deleted member 41971

Guest
Hadn't seen the news - probably won't buy a Rift, nor any Oculus gear ever if it means coming back to FB

probably better not to buy the rift :mad:

 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
probably better not to buy the rift :mad:

Facebook evil..... bad bad facebook!
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
If you want a headset it's well worth saving the extra for the Valve Index, it's leaps ahead of any of the others.
 

Varkhan

New member
Thanks guys ;)

OK so the Recoil has 2 ACs... the only other one I saw with 2 was an MSI but it was because it had 2 GPUs with SLI and they couldn't find a 600W block, bit surprised it's the case here. Means the SUPER needs 'just that bit more' than the Max Q to justify the 2 ACs. That kinda sets the current deal, I'll probably go for the Vyper then.

For the headset, it's quite a complicated choice. There are quite a list of requirements...

1. I do not want to have to install additional sensors, all the tracking has to happen in the headset. It'll primarily be used for flight/space sims, so it's not like I will be needing more than swiveling my head/torso anyway, so headset sensors are perfectly fine as far as my hours of research online can tell, though I'd be happy for direct confirmation of someone with the same usage.

2. I wear glasses, quite sure I'll need them with VR, so the Samsung one seems to be a bit spacier than the Valve in that respect.
3. For the usage I want to make of it, I need as close to 0 SDE as possible (because tiny, tiny visual details matter in DCS and the SDE can apparently be visible enough to be confusing), and the biggest FOV possible (ideally 180+ but only the Pixmas are that wide). The Samsung seems to cover that better than the Index if you take the price into account

Anyway, I've been hesitating for years with VR and I can probably still live years without it ^^
 
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