RAM, SSD and WiFi queries

[Mulligan]

Hi all,

Speccing out my new gaming laptop, most likely the 17" Octane VI but waiting on RTX benchmarks. Can't copy full specs since it's listed as out of stock.

But in the mean time a couple of questions if anyone has any thoughts:

RAM
Here are the options for 16GB RAM:
Corsair 2133MHz (1x16) +£0
Corsair 2400MHz (2x8) +£0
Corsair 2133MHz (2x8) +£2
Corsair 2400MHz (1x16) +£7
Corsair 2666MHz (2x8) +£19
Kingston 2133MHz +£53
Corsair 3000MHz (2x8) +£90

Is Kingston worth the significant price jump even though it's lower speed?
When combined with i5-8600 or i7-8700, what's the best speed for gaming? Presumably you start to see diminishing returns (i.e. 3000MHz probably overkill for the price).
Assuming I never need to upgrade the RAM, does running 2x8gb in parallel give a speed increase above a single 16Gb?

SSD
For 1TB SSDs, is there significant difference in speed/reliability between these?
1TB Intel 760p +£0
1TB WD Black +£19
1TB Samsung 970 +£50

Wifi
Worth an extra £13 for the Killer Wireless card?

Thanks!

 

[Oussebon]

For the SSD I'd go with the WD Black, as it's about as fast as the 970 Evo, but cheaper, and is quite a bit faster than the 760p. Not sure exactly how much real world difference you'd get but if you're already spending a couple hundred quid on an SSD, cheaping out on it is probably not the way to go.

I've no idea why the Kingston memory is so much more expensive. Unless it has vastly lower CL, it's not even worth considering. I'd probably look at the 2666MHz RAM as 3000MHz starts getting pricey, though again if spending this much on a laptop for gaming maybe it's silly not to.

I'd probably be looking at the 9700k for the Octane.

The prices of all of these parts vary all the time tbh, making planning now a bit pointless. Why debate £19 on the SSD when it could be £2 or £60 by the time you buy, etc.

 

[Mulligan]

Fair point about the fluctuating prices, I'll wait until closer to settle on the exact spec though still really appreciate your thoughts on all of that.

9700k you say? I thought the K variants were mainly for overclocking, which I hadn't planned on doing on a laptop, but you think the extra cores will have give it a worthwhile boost? Future proofing is certainly a consideration for me, I've made my current PCS laptop last for 7 years so aiming for another long lifetime for the new one as well.

Thanks!

 

[Oussebon]

They are, in that their most notable feature is the unlocked multiplier.

However, the -k versions of the CPU are usually also a bit faster at stock speeds too.

And the 9700k is faster than the 8700(k) too, with upto 5GHz single core boost. Which is why it gives a smidge better gaming performance overall.

That recommendation also depends on price of course. If an 8700k is £150 cheaper, the 9700k's probably not worth it... if it's £20-30, why not.

 

[Mulligan]

Looks like at the moment the 9700k is about £70 more expensive, I'll see how the price is once I'm ready to make the final purchase but thanks for the tip.
I'm treating myself with the new laptop and going all in with around £2200 budget, so can probably squeeze that in along with the RTX 2080 but will see how it looks.

 

[Mulligan]

Octane VI - ready to make the dive

Ready to purchase my new gaming laptop. I've was waiting to see the Max-Q benchmarks and it doesn't appear they have been hugely impressive, so I've ruled out the Defiance V (even though I prefer the look of them, portability isn't a major issue for me). So I've settled on the Octane VI 17".

As much as I'd like to wait for 1440p screens to become available I can't wait months more. The RTX 2080 is overkill for 1080p but I will be hooking it up to a 1440p monitor when not travelling (and likely a 4K monitor in the future).

My previous PCS laptop (Vortex II) has lasted since 2011, and I'm planning for the new machine to be able to continue running all games for at least 5 years.

I have fully maxed out my budget but would love to hear if anyone has any tweaks they'd recommend.

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3400MB/s R | 2800MB/s W)
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1550 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/octanevi-17/E2s8YrGuEe/

 

[Oussebon]

Spec looks good and the 2080 is appropriate for an external monitor at 1440p.

I'd probably go with the 9700k as it's £10 more for some extra frequency and gaming performance seems a smidge higher.

 

[Mulligan]

Good spot, didn't see it was only £10 more, thanks!