Clueless amateur gamer would appreciate some help.

[Murkface]

Hi guys,

I am looking to get a laptop that can play a favourite title I have followed for awhile now but never played Total War Warhammer and the latest in the franchise is coming out and requires:

• OS: Win 7 64
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2310 2.9GHz / AMD Phenom II X6 1065T
• Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 270 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
• System Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Storage: 45 GB Hard drive space

For its recommended stats - I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction of a laptop or inform me on what to look for as I am really at a loss to processors and graphics cards.

My budget is around the £1,000 mark give or take.

Appreciate any help.

Josh

 

[Oussebon]

Does it have to be a laptop? A desktop will offer more performance for the money, and you can upgrade it, saving money in the long run. Plus total war titles are pretty demanding. If a desktop is viable, do you need a monitor within the budget?

of course you may travel a lot and need a laptop, but as some people ask for a laptop out of habit without necessarily needing one, I do ask

 

[Murkface]

Hi Oussebon,

Thanks for replying!

Yes it does need to be a laptop as I will be travelling with it a-lot so a decent laptop is necessary.

 

[phitol]

This would just top over £1000 and be more than up for the job:

Spoiler: Recoil III GTX - 8750h / 1060 / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD - £1021

Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Battery
Recoil II Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL 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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GK5CN6Z (6GB GTX-1060, i7-8750H, FHD IPS)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,021.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/recoil-III-gtx-15/aNDHMSbeEN/

The 1060 is more than man enough for the job and will be OK in a few years.

However, for a tiny bit more (I know, spec creep!)

Spoiler: Optimus X - 9750h / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD / 1660ti - £1110

Chassis & Display

Spoiler: Optimus X - 9750h / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD / 1660ti - £1110

Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 150W AC Adaptor
Battery
Optimus X Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo NH55RCQ (6GB GTX-1660 Ti, i7-9750H, 60Hz N7)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,110.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/optimusX-15/HSY9zvMRtg/

That is another little bump up in performance (CPU + GPU) and would be a good purchase to last a while.

In both cases, you can add more storage/RAM at a later date, but has just enough to be considered a good starting point.

 

[barlew]

At the very minimum you would want something along the following spec:

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 120Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 - 4.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB 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 120W AC Adaptor

That runs to £1027.

I would of ordered a GTX 1660 TI but they don't seem to have it in stock.

You need to keep in mind that this laptop will have limited usability in the future so if you can move your budget to the right and get a better GPU i would recommend it.

 

[Oussebon]

The first spec Phitol posted sports a 1060 for £1021. I'd probably argue for that one over an Optimus with a 1650, as the 1060 is just a better GPU.

Here's hoping for a successor to the Vyper chassis.

 

[Murkface]

This would just top over £1000 and be more than up for the job:

Spoiler: Recoil III GTX - 8750h / 1060 / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD - £1021

Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Battery
Recoil II Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL 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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GK5CN6Z (6GB GTX-1060, i7-8750H, FHD IPS)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,021.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/recoil-III-gtx-15/aNDHMSbeEN/

The 1060 is more than man enough for the job and will be OK in a few years.

However, for a tiny bit more (I know, spec creep!)

Spoiler: Optimus X - 9750h / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD / 1660ti - £1110

Chassis & Display

Spoiler: Optimus X - 9750h / 8GB RAM / 480GB SSD / 1660ti - £1110

Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 150W AC Adaptor
Battery
Optimus X Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
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
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo NH55RCQ (6GB GTX-1660 Ti, i7-9750H, 60Hz N7)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,110.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/optimusX-15/HSY9zvMRtg/

That is another little bump up in performance (CPU + GPU) and would be a good purchase to last a while.

In both cases, you can add more storage/RAM at a later date, but has just enough to be considered a good starting point.

Hey mate,

I would just like to thank yourself and OUSSEBON for both of your input and help - I ended up going with the original £1022 option you gave me which fortunately had lowered in price when I purchased it as well.

Great help and I will let you both know how she performs when it arrives.

Many thanks.

Josh

 

[phitol]

Please do post back!

I've been recommending PCS quite a bit, but the real seller is just showing people the laptop and they all comment on the quality being much higher than they thought as well as how amazing the VFM is!

 

[Murkface]

Please do post back!

I've been recommending PCS quite a bit, but the real seller is just showing people the laptop and they all comment on the quality being much higher than they thought as well as how amazing the VFM is!

It's arrived today - to be fair I've downloaded Total War- Warhammer on it and it won't even play it very well on low graphics and resolution with nothing playing in the background so I'm unsure on what has happened lol.

 

[Oussebon]

Set the windows power plan to high performance, set the GPU's power plan in Nvidia control panel to prefer maximum performance, and set the Nvidia GPU as the preferred graphics processor in the Nvidia control panel.

See if it's any better.

If not, use something like HWinfo to monitor CPU and GPU temps, and frequencies

If thta's not the issue (i.e. temps are low enough and frequencies are high), try removing the GPU drivers with DDU https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html and performing a clean install of the latest GPU drivers downloaded directly from Nvidia.

 

[Murkface]

Set the windows power plan to high performance, set the GPU's power plan in Nvidia control panel to prefer maximum performance, and set the Nvidia GPU as the preferred graphics processor in the Nvidia control panel.

See if it's any better.

If not, use something like HWinfo to monitor CPU and GPU temps, and frequencies

If thta's not the issue (i.e. temps are low enough and frequencies are high), try removing the GPU drivers with DDU https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html and performing a clean install of the latest GPU drivers downloaded directly from Nvidia.

The Nvidia Geforce Experience App won't let me register at the moment - could it be that the graphics card is loose or not connected properly?
Sorry I'm pretty useless at these sorts of things.

 

[Oussebon]

If the graphics card is loose you'd probably have bigger problems because it's meant to be soldered onto the motherboard!

You don't need the geforce experience app for any of the above.