Configuration Octane VI Laptop for Total War games

[Jorge85]

I have worked in 2 different setups for Octane VI laptop to play Total War games: Empire, Napoleon, Shogun 2, Rome 2, Attila, Thrones of Britannia, Three Kingdoms. Which one would you think is the best considering CPU, GPU, Hard Drive, RAM? I have a budget up to 2500€ (2200 GBP)

Setup 1: CPU i7-8700K with GPU RTX 2070

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

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
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 Wolfenstein: Young Blood with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Laptop Cooling Stands
CoolerMaster NotePal L2 Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo P775TM1-G (8GB RTX-2070, 144Hz, G-Sync)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,091.00 including VAT and Delivery



Setup 2: CPU i7-9700K with GPU RTX 2060

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

Get Wolfenstein: Young Blood with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
Laptop Cooling Stands
CoolerMaster NotePal L2 Laptop Cooler, upto 17.3 inch
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo P775TM1-G (6GB RTX-2060, 144Hz, G-Sync)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £1,844.00 including VAT and Delivery

Which one would be better to achieve a better performance considering the minimum fps and maximum fps? I also tried Octane III CPU i7-7700K with GPU GTX 1080 because GTX 1080 is really powerful graphic card but I can't proceed because there is only one display available, the 4K, and the website says is not available so I can't switch to another display, is this a bug? Also, I need help with RAM and Hard Drive. I am almost iliterate when it comes to hard drives, I just know the difference between SSD and SATA and the more GB the more storage capacity... But I am lost among all the options available. I have chosen "1TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)" because is the best one I can afford in 1st Storage Drive. Also, the RTX 2070 would be RTX 2070 or RTX 2070 Max-Q? This is trully important because I have seen that RTX 2070 Max-Q performance is not as good and I have the question that when it comes to laptops, if Max-Q is not mentioned, would it means that is RTX 2070 but not Max-Q?

Thank you very much in advance

 

[Oussebon]

Avoid the QVO SSD. It's not as good as the EVO series and is not really cheap enough to justify its existence. A 1TB SX6000 M.2 SSD would make more sense.

Also the choice above is not helpful.

You're basically asking "Should I buy a £2100 laptop with an 8700k and a 2070 or a £1850 laptop with a 9700k with a 2060". And the price difference between an 8700k and 9700k is only £26 right now.

That's like saying "Should I buy a people carrier with no wheels, or Ford Transit sawn in half?".

The better question would be "Here's my budget - what's the best spec I can buy?"

If you are genuinely sure that it's worth getting a laptop with a desktop CPU for older Total War titles (which I don't have CPU issues with on my older and weaker hardware) then go with the 9700k. And get a 2070.

It's a laptop 2070, not a 2070 max-Q.

Personally I'd suggest getting a Vortex with an 8750H and an RTX 2070 ans saving hundreds of pounds.

 

[Jorge85]

In that case my budget is under 2500€, what is the most powerful laptop I can purchase under 2500€?

 

[Scott]

Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache

Get Total War: Three Kingdoms & More w/ select Intel CPUs!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3000MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

Get Wolfenstein: Young Blood with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
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 330W AC Adaptor
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo P775TM1-G (8GB RTX-2070, 144Hz, G-Sync)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: €2,435.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/octaneVI-17/byTfvnC2hZ/

 

[Jorge85]

i7-8750H is not enough to power Attila, Rome 2 and Thrones of Britannia. I have seen benchmarks in Attila Total War where i7-4770K paired with top GTX cards barely reach 40 fps. According to UserBenchmark i7-8750H is just 8% better than i7-4770K. Total War games are very CPU intensive dependent and that's the reason I am interested in Octane VI because I can choose a desktop CPU, if I was interested in i7-8750H, I would rather look for MSI, Alienware. But this time, I want a powerful CPU. Brand gaming laptops such as MSI, Asus, Gigabyte are better fitted for shooters and action games where CPU is not so important.

 

[Jorge85]

Hi, Scootster, do you think that RAM 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz makes the difference against RAM 16GB DDR4 2666 MHz?

 

[Oussebon]

A while ago I upgraded from 1600MHz DDR3 to 2400MHz DDR3. Some games saw significant gains.

Total War Attila was not one of them. At very high settings with an i7 3770k and GTX 970, the difference was about 0.1/0.2fps from what I recall. I think I also benched it on Medium to loosen the GPU bottleneck a bit, and the gains were well under 1fps. Maybe 0.6.

That was in the in-game benchmark. I didn't test a custom 3v3 full stack battle or the campaign map. And other, older entries in the TW franchise could be different.

In general gaming, more CPU-sensitive titles like FO4 or WoW can be very sensitive to RAM frequencies, so RAM can help, but TW doesn't seem to show these kinds of gains. It can help a bit, though, and whether it's "worth" it ultimately depends on price and your opinion.

 

[debiruman665]

I have the 3000Mhz ram on my model if you'd like to perform any tests to compare.

The downside is if you install the 3000Mhz you wont be able to increase the amount as you are trading off the ability to go up to say 32GB for having less of faster ram.

I only have the total war Warcraft I, but I could do a test with the XMP profile turned on and off to see if it makes a difference

 

[Oussebon]

I think the OP's question is between 2666MHz and 3000MHz and whether the 3000MHz is worth over £50 over the 2666MHz. So if testing, it would make sense to test those two frequencies.

 

[Scott]

I have the 3000Mhz ram on my model if you'd like to perform any tests to compare.

The downside is if you install the 3000Mhz you wont be able to increase the amount as you are trading off the ability to go up to say 32GB for having less of faster ram.

I only have the total war Warcraft I, but I could do a test with the XMP profile turned on and off to see if it makes a difference

Why would there not be the ability to install 32gb of 3000Mhz RAM?

Worth it is obviously relative. £50 is a lot for what you are getting..... but..... my selection was based on the most powerful laptop under €2500.

 

[debiruman665]

Why would there not be the ability to install 32gb of 3000Mhz RAM?

I asked PCS why they didn't offer higher than this in the configurator and they said that only 16GB was stable when using the 3000MHz sticks

 

[Scott]

I'm surprised at that to be honest, wonder what is causing the instability. A little voltage tweak might help.

 

[debiruman665]

There's a sort of sliding scale where increasing the speed means they offer less of it on the configurator.

I guess they have to measure up the time cost to sale cost benefit of fine tuning these laptops.

It would be great if they offered an overclocking tune-up on the laptop before shipping like some American companies do (for a price)

 

[Jorge85]

Thank you for your support. With CPU i7-9700K and GPU RTX 2070 will I need 2 x 330W AC adaptor?

 

[SlimCini]

i7-8750H is not enough to power Attila, Rome 2 and Thrones of Britannia. I have seen benchmarks in Attila Total War where i7-4770K paired with top GTX cards barely reach 40 fps. According to UserBenchmark i7-8750H is just 8% better than i7-4770K. Total War games are very CPU intensive dependent and that's the reason I am interested in Octane VI because I can choose a desktop CPU, if I was interested in i7-8750H, I would rather look for MSI, Alienware. But this time, I want a powerful CPU. Brand gaming laptops such as MSI, Asus, Gigabyte are better fitted for shooters and action games where CPU is not so important.

Eh? All companies off the same desktop CPUs and laptop CPUs in laptops. Pcs do both. Alienware do both. PCS are generally cheaper than branded for both 9750h and 9700k in whichever laptop chassis you're going for.

 

[SpyderTracks]

i7-8750H is not enough to power Attila, Rome 2 and Thrones of Britannia. I have seen benchmarks in Attila Total War where i7-4770K paired with top GTX cards barely reach 40 fps. According to UserBenchmark i7-8750H is just 8% better than i7-4770K. Total War games are very CPU intensive dependent and that's the reason I am interested in Octane VI because I can choose a desktop CPU, if I was interested in i7-8750H, I would rather look for MSI, Alienware. But this time, I want a powerful CPU. Brand gaming laptops such as MSI, Asus, Gigabyte are better fitted for shooters and action games where CPU is not so important.

The moral of this story is never use userbenchmark, they’re junk results and should never be considered.

 

[debiruman665]

Thank you for your support. With CPU i7-9700K and GPU RTX 2070 will I need 2 x 330W AC adaptor?

there is only one input for the power,

buying two only gives you a spare

 

[Jorge85]

Eh? All companies off the same desktop CPUs and laptop CPUs in laptops. Pcs do both. Alienware do both. PCS are generally cheaper than branded for both 9750h and 9700k in whichever laptop chassis you're going for.

Interesting fact. Branded laptops with desktop CPUs are insanely expensive (for example, Asus and MSI). I noticed that some Alienware are not so expensive, but I am not willing to spend 4000€ or 5000€ for a desktop CPU in a laptop, is too much.

Other customizable laptops brands are more expensive than Pc Specialist, for example, Eurocom, whose prices are somewhat nonsense. I realized that Octane chasis is Clevo, and most customizable laptops have the Clevo chasis. I don't know why Pc Specialist is cheaper than others, but that's amazing.

 

[Jorge85]

The moral of this story is never use userbenchmark, they’re junk results and should never be considered.

But is the only tool I have to set up comparisons bewteen CPU performance...

 

[Jorge85]

there is only one input for the power,

buying two only gives you a spare

Thank you for your explanation. Just out of curiosity, a 330W adaptor would be enough to power a i9-9900K and RTX 2080? If I would be willing to spend the money, which problems would I find with such CPU and GPU?