15.6" VORTEX IX for gaming? (Specs added at top of page 2)

[theVenerable]

Thanks.
Here are my chosen specs:


Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Vortex IX Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + Sound BlasterX® Pro-Gaming 360°
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Games Controller
Xbox One Controller + Cable for Windows
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo PB50RF (8GB RTX-2070, i7-9750H, 144Hz, G-Sync, Thunderbolt)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,668.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/VortexIX-15/th9eB3kyVC/


Any comments welcome.

A few questions:

Would it void the warranty if I add my own HDD at home?

How future proof is it?
A few years down the line..
Motherboard could handle a new CPU?

GPU could be upgraded? Or...
External GPU's, I heard they are a thing now. Just buy an external GPU instead of a whole new laptop. Would that be possible and work on this machine with good results?

Thanks.

 

[Oussebon]

Would it void the warranty if I add my own HDD at home?

Not at all. PCS have an open case policy. See 7.7 and 7.8. https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/terms/

It's a 2.5" HDD... and 7mm or 9.5mm?

As with the overwhelming majority of laptops, you can't upgrade the CPU or GPU. They're soldered on, and new models aren't supported. Even in the relatively few laptops where you can remove the CPU (where the laptop sports a desktop CPU or has an MXM GPU) there's no guarantee that future gens will be compatible anyway. Moreover, the GPUs are wildly expensive versus desktop GPUs. I think the last time I looked up a mobile RTX 2080 it was £1000 or so, versus ~£600 for a desktop one.

The Vortex does, uncommonly, have Thunderbolt which means an eGPU should be doable. To what extent it'll be worth it in a few years is anyone's guess. If it's a new Ubisoft game on the Anvil engine that hammers even the 9900k into the ground like it was a tent peg, then an eGPU may only do so much to help... but it is an option that is open to you

LIkewise the question of whether the laptop is futureproof. Anyone claiming to give a definitive answer to that question for any system is clairvoyant! Since nobody can know what future games will be like, and what settings you'll expect to play them at.

But as a guess in good feaith, it should be pretty futureproof. The RTX 2070 is a very powerful GPU for 1080p, and the CPU is more than a match for it. 16gb RAM should be more than enough as there's no indication games will benefit from more than that for a long while. And the gsync screen will be good for smoothing out the gaming experience, reducing the need for the GPU to hit a specific framerate consistently in games anyway.

You should find yourself very happy with the spec, it's great.

I might have gone with the SX6000 over the 660p as it's a bit faster.

 

[theVenerable]

Thanks

Not at all. PCS have an open case policy. See 7.7 and 7.8. https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/terms/

It's a 2.5" HDD... and 7mm or 9.5mm?

As with the overwhelming majority of laptops, you can't upgrade the CPU or GPU. They're soldered on, and new models aren't supported. Even in the relatively few laptops where you can remove the CPU (where the laptop sports a desktop CPU or has an MXM GPU) there's no guarantee that future gens will be compatible anyway. Moreover, the GPUs are wildly expensive versus desktop GPUs. I think the last time I looked up a mobile RTX 2080 it was £1000 or so, versus ~£600 for a desktop one.

The Vortex does, uncommonly, have Thunderbolt which means an eGPU should be doable. To what extent it'll be worth it in a few years is anyone's guess. If it's a new Ubisoft game on the Anvil engine that hammers even the 9900k into the ground like it was a tent peg, then an eGPU may only do so much to help... but it is an option that is open to you

LIkewise the question of whether the laptop is futureproof. Anyone claiming to give a definitive answer to that question for any system is clairvoyant! Since nobody can know what future games will be like, and what settings you'll expect to play them at.

But as a guess in good feaith, it should be pretty futureproof. The RTX 2070 is a very powerful GPU for 1080p, and the CPU is more than a match for it. 16gb RAM should be more than enough as there's no indication games will benefit from more than that for a long while. And the gsync screen will be good for smoothing out the gaming experience, reducing the need for the GPU to hit a specific framerate consistently in games anyway.

You should find yourself very happy with the spec, it's great.

I might have gone with the SX6000 over the 660p as it's a bit faster.

Thanks very much for the feedback and tips.

I have a 7mm 1tb 2.5' SSD here..

I may get a Valve Index later. The Valve isn't able to plug in to USB though. It needs a 'DisplayPort 1.2'.
Does this Jack of all trades Vortex supply one of those also?!

 

[Oussebon]

If it's a 7mm drive then it'll fit fine. At worst you'd need a spacer if it's a 9.5mm bay

Apparently it does:

PORTS
LAN
1 x RJ-45 jack
USB
1 x Thunderbolt 3 Port, 3 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Ports
Display
1 x HDMI, 1 x Mini Display Port

On the Detailed Specification tab at the top of the configurator. Any DP on a modern device is going to be at least 1.2

And/or you could get it via Thunderbolt perhaps, though that's not something I know anything about so someone else would need to confirm or you'd need to check yourself. But either way, it apparently has DP.

 

[theVenerable]

Thanks again for the help.
I'm trying to decide if the 2070 in this model is enough, or I should get the Octane with a 2080.
This model seems better designed I think. But just a bit less capable. I don't know.

 

[Oussebon]

The Octane is hugely expensive, huge, heavy, and the Vortex is already plenty powerful for what you need.

A specced up 15.6" Octane similar to your build above but with the i9 and a 2080 is £600 more. I'd probably keep that money back for a future upgrade (new laptop, desktop in a few years, whatever). An external monitor perhaps. Or anything else one might need to spend £600 on.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I have to say, I don't get why anyone would buy a laptop for desktop class VR, just doesn't make any sense. You'd get much more for your money on a desktop anyway, plus you'd be able to upgrade in the future rather than having to shell out on a whole new laptop.

You can't travel around with desktop class VR, you're limited to the room it's setup in.

 

[phitol]

I have to say, I don't get why anyone would buy a laptop for desktop class VR, just doesn't make any sense. You'd get much more for your money on a desktop anyway, plus you'd be able to upgrade in the future rather than having to shell out on a whole new laptop.

You can't travel around with desktop class VR, you're limited to the room it's setup in.

WindowsMR (Desktop Class VR) requires no external sensors (inbuilt camera tracking system), I've got two Samsung Odyssey/Odyssey+ VR headsets, one is for my sim racing rig (dedicated Desktop PC for that) and the other is use with the Defiance 9750h/2080mq laptop for portability, I use that for room scale VR in the kitchen/lounge or to take around friends/family.

The setup is fairly easy, it takes 30 seconds to map out a new play area, and that's it.. As a note other headsets are now going that way (inside out tracking) so it's most definitely a good use case with a laptop.

For a full VR experience, you really want as much GPU/CPU as you can, simple games like SuperHot need next to no CPU/GPU, but Project Cars 2 or Skyrim VR need as much as you can and a mobile 2070 or 2080mq are really a minimum IMO as VR headsets are going higher res and getting 90fps does need a fair bit of oomph.