Laptop advice for occasional gaming

[SixKiller]

Hello,

I'm looking for a decent, all-arounder laptop for occasional gaming (BG3, Diablo IV, Witcher 3 and Civilisation type games) at 1440p resolution and general use thus portability and usable battery life in non-gaming mode is needed. The screen size should be max. 16", but I'd prefer a smaller one. I don't want to replace this laptop for 4-5 years. My current screen is an old 27", FHD, IPS monitor (Dell 2740L), but I'm planning to buy a new one (IPS, min. 1440p, high refresh rate, 27-34") maybe next year.

10 years ago I bought a 13" Alienware. It cost me a fortune at that time (around £1400) and it was absolutely rubbish: slow comparing to my 3-4 yo £500 PC, bulky, heavy and battery life was non-existing. I barely used it, waste of money. If the current gaming laptops are similar, then I rather buy a PS5 and keep using my old, 2018 13" MacBook.

My budget is around £1500-2000, so I was eyeballing with the Ionico 16" series (see the spec below).
Keeping in mind that I want to use it for 4-5 years, would I be better off to go for the Recoil 16" (though a bit thicker chassis!) with a quicker GPU?
I suppose 2 SSDs are not needed (for system reinstall) as all of my data is synced to a NAS.
Does the Gold warranty and the pixel guarantee worth the extra £100?
Is the PCS DS110 USB-C Docking Hub usable (considering that the AC adaptor is 230W)?

Cheers


Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 14 Core Processor 13900H (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4060 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
Get the GeForce Overwatch 2 Invasion Bundle with select GeForce RTX 40 Series!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
1 x Ionico Battery 73WH
Thermal Paste
VAPOR CHAMBER ADVANCED COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Docking Hub
PCS DS110 USB-C Docking Hub: 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45, 1 x TYPE-C PD
Keyboard Language
IONICO MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Notebook 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
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days

 

[SixKiller]

Am I chasing a unicorn requiring portability from a gaming laptop?

 

[Tron1982]

Hi, I'll take a closer look at your questions this evening, as i'm not really available for now

 

[SixKiller]

Hi, I'll take a closer look at your questions this evening, as i'm not really available for now

Thank you

 

[Tron1982]

Hi, so, I'll try to answer your questions first :

- I can't compare laptop now versus the one you got or versus a PS5

- the battery life : you have to be aware that the battery life of gaming laptops will be bad, even in "non-gaming" mode, but, it's true that the bigger the battery, the better ... (and it will probably not match what you can read on the spec sheet)
- the lifetime of your laptop : totally understandable, but keep in mind that this year mid range GPU are not the best and you would like to go at least for the 4080 if you want to maximise the futurproofing of the laptop. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling that the 4060 is that bad, but the gap between the previous generation mid range gpu and the 4060 is small and the gap between the 4060 and the 4080 is big ...
Anyway, if you don't want to go to the upper range gpu route, the 4070 is the way to go
- 2 SSD are the better way to go, you can find more explanations here :

Why more than one storage drive?

I've been meaning to put something like this together for a while. In recent weeks I've found myself writing this more and more so thought I would just post my thoughts in a thread that I could link to. So the reason for this thread is to try and give insight as to the reasoning behind having...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

- the golden warranty and the dead pixel guarantee are worth every penny if you have any kind of hardware trouble, so yeah, it's worth it ^^ (better safe than sorry )
- the docking hub is a "simple" usb port extension, not a one that can charge your laptop, so, it's up to you if you need more usb port (i have one, it does its job)

- About the chassis, both the ionico and the recoil can fit your uses, but you have to know that to fully "unlock" its potential, the recoil need the external watercooler ... Even if, with a 4060, it should be less an "obligation" to have it, than with a 4090 ...
I think that the ionico may be a little bit more sturdy than the recoil as it's a clevo chassis (clevo did better chassis than tongfang for some time)
And lastly, about the chassis, you may want to take a look at the keyboard form factor as the recoil don't have the full "full" keyboard (it doesn't have the right row of key)


Now, about the spec, this is what i'd chose with a ionico chassis :
I maximised the spec, with some futurproofing in mind (the 4070), i add 2 SSD, i kept the dock, i removed norton, i kept the guarantee/warranty

Spoiler: Ionico spec

Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 14 Core Processor 13900H (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
1 x Ionico Battery 73WH
Thermal Paste
VAPOR CHAMBER ADVANCED COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Docking Hub
PCS DS110 USB-C Docking Hub: 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45, 1 x TYPE-C PD
Keyboard Language
IONICO MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 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
Microsoft® Edge
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 PE60RNE-G (8GB RTX-4070, i9-13900H, AX211, QHD 240Hz sRGB 100%, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £1,961.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/ionico-16/7ar4AbapQy/

With the same kind of consideration, a recoil with the same spec will cost 2200 ish£ (with the external watercooler, 4070 and so on ...)


I hope i answered your questions and that i helped you.
Finally, keep in mind that many thing changed between last year and this year in terme of chassis, so, some thing may have changed ^^"

 

[SixKiller]

Hi Tron,

Thanks for your help.
- I didn't expect you to comment on PS5 or an old gaming laptop. It's just my bad experience 10 years ago hence I'm a bit cautious of buying a gamer laptop again... On the other hand, I was checking a PCs (without peripherals) and the saving is not so significant any more (pre-2010 laptop with similar performance was 3-5 times more expensive).
- Related to battery life: I don't expect 10 hours from a gamer laptop, but I think 3-4 hours is needed even after 2 years of use. I know that these builts are advertised up to 5 hours, but I take it with a pinch of salt. Does anyone have any experience with battery life deterioration?
- I get your point about the mid-range and top-end GPUs. This year you get a significant extra performance moving to the top-end (to RTX4080), I will consider the upgrade.
- I read your post about the SSDs, it was really good! I used to do the same pre-2010, when I had only PCs so I could do clean Windows installs easily, but I didn't know about the performance deterioration. If I buy a 2nd SSD later, can I install it (I can handle a screwdriver, but I'd never do soldering or anything more complex) without voiding the warranty or the laptop should be sent back to PCS?
- I haven't paid any attention to the importance of the chassis until now. Clevo is an established company from Taiwan, while TongFang is a "new-comer" from HongKong, now China. I reckon Clevo might be a better choice with a mid-range GPU (sleeker design, better keyboard), plus I'm a bit paranoid with Chinese software. Does anyone know what does the BIOS do or whether an external entity can check the source code if anything "funny" is added to it (I told you, I'm paranoid...). I have nothing to do with coding, so my question might be stupid.

Thanks

 

[Scott]

I'm not convinced you will ever get that level of battery life from a gaming laptop, even a low/mid end one. I have a 65w total power Dell laptop that I get 4-5 hours of reasonable use out of. A laptop 4070 and 13900H are going to be way past this sort of usage. I know that 5hrs is on the spec sheet but that's probably watching the desktop screen on the lowest brightness setting on power saving mode. My Octane III lasted around 2 hours with the lightest of usage when I first got it. I think I get around 40 mins to 1hr now, but those measurements were with me doing stuff.

Keep in mind that the naming conventions are a bit false with regards to the GPU. A mobile 4070 isn't anywhere near as powerful as a PC 4070, just in case this is where you were measuring the pricing structure from. A laptop will still cost a fair bit more than a PC for equivalent performance.

With regards to the warranty, everyone is different. With a laptop it's probably more sensible to go for the higher offerings as there won't be the same individual component cover that you get with PCs. PCS always cover for 1 year, but the manufacturers warranty can often cover for more without too much hassle. In my experience, anything that is going to go wrong with electronics it tends to happen quite quickly. This is typically why I'm quite happy with the 1 year cover (minimum silver warranty for free returns), the extra year from gold would be a nice cushion on a laptop though. The dead pixel warranty is a no-brainer for me though. Nothing worse.

 

[SixKiller]

I'm not convinced you will ever get that level of battery life from a gaming laptop, even a low/mid end one. I have a 65w total power Dell laptop that I get 4-5 hours of reasonable use out of. A laptop 4070 and 13900H are going to be way past this sort of usage. I know that 5hrs is on the spec sheet but that's probably watching the desktop screen on the lowest brightness setting on power saving mode. My Octane III lasted around 2 hours with the lightest of usage when I first got it. I think I get around 40 mins to 1hr now, but those measurements were with me doing stuff.

Keep in mind that the naming conventions are a bit false with regards to the GPU. A mobile 4070 isn't anywhere near as powerful as a PC 4070, just in case this is where you were measuring the pricing structure from. A laptop will still cost a fair bit more than a PC for equivalent performance.

With regards to the warranty, everyone is different. With a laptop it's probably more sensible to go for the higher offerings as there won't be the same individual component cover that you get with PCs. PCS always cover for 1 year, but the manufacturers warranty can often cover for more without too much hassle. In my experience, anything that is going to go wrong with electronics it tends to happen quite quickly. This is typically why I'm quite happy with the 1 year cover (minimum silver warranty for free returns), the extra year from gold would be a nice cushion on a laptop though. The dead pixel warranty is a no-brainer for me though. Nothing worse.

Thank you. So a gaming laptop is plugged in by default, it has not changed significantly in the last 10 years.

 

[Scott]

Thank you. So a gaming laptop is plugged in by default, it has not changed significantly in the last 10 years.

I would say so, at the very least when it comes to gaming. It's good to use the battery from time to time but I wouldn't be reducing it to zero and back too often.

 

[bladteth]

I'm not convinced you will ever get that level of battery life from a gaming laptop, even a low/mid end one. I have a 65w total power Dell laptop that I get 4-5 hours of reasonable use out of. A laptop 4070 and 13900H are going to be way past this sort of usage. I know that 5hrs is on the spec sheet but that's probably watching the desktop screen on the lowest brightness setting on power saving mode. My Octane III lasted around 2 hours with the lightest of usage when I first got it. I think I get around 40 mins to 1hr now, but those measurements were with me doing stuff.

Keep in mind that the naming conventions are a bit false with regards to the GPU. A mobile 4070 isn't anywhere near as powerful as a PC 4070, just in case this is where you were measuring the pricing structure from. A laptop will still cost a fair bit more than a PC for equivalent performance.

With regards to the warranty, everyone is different. With a laptop it's probably more sensible to go for the higher offerings as there won't be the same individual component cover that you get with PCs. PCS always cover for 1 year, but the manufacturers warranty can often cover for more without too much hassle. In my experience, anything that is going to go wrong with electronics it tends to happen quite quickly. This is typically why I'm quite happy with the 1 year cover (minimum silver warranty for free returns), the extra year from gold would be a nice cushion on a laptop though. The dead pixel warranty is a no-brainer for me though. Nothing worse.

In terms of battery life, it's a bit unfair comparison. Octane III was a behemoth with desktop CPU and always-on discrete GPU, probably consuming at least 50W just idling. OP specs mention laptop CPU with switchable graphics. My Ionico with similar configuration idles at around 15W despite the fact CPU could potentially run at 120W and GPU at 165W at full load. It lasts about 5 hours, which is pretty much what's advertised.

 

[SpyderTracks]

In terms of battery life, it's a bit unfair comparison. Octane III was a behemoth with desktop CPU and always-on discrete GPU, probably consuming at least 50W just idling. OP specs mention laptop CPU with switchable graphics. My Ionico with similar configuration idles at around 15W despite the fact CPU could potentially run at 120W and GPU at 165W at full load. It lasts about 5 hours, which is pretty much what's advertised.

It's the 13900H (which is just a 13900HX with locked multiplier) which is just a down clocked and power limited 13900, it is a desktop CPU just without the IHS. It can use 154W under PL3

Most CPU's these days have integrated graphics, mobile or desktop. It's only Intel still pushing the F series skus which are a thing of the past, but I believe they've dropped those for the upcoming generations.

 

[bladteth]

It's the 13900H (which is just a 13900HX with locked multiplier) which is just a down clocked and power limited 13900, it is a desktop CPU just without the IHS. It can use 154W under PL3

Most CPU's these days have integrated graphics, mobile or desktop. It's only Intel still pushing the F series skus which are a thing of the past, but I believe they've dropped those for the upcoming generations.

13900h is a mobile chip limited to 115W, but that's irrelevant. OP was asking about non-gaming, presumably office type work, and 5 hours battery life seems likely from this config, based on similarly specced laptops reviews from different vendors.

 

[SpyderTracks]

13900h is a mobile chip limited to 115W, but that's irrelevant. OP was asking about non-gaming, presumably office type work, and 5 hours battery life seems likely from this config, based on similarly specced laptops reviews from different vendors.

It’s not a mobile chip, it’s the exact same silicon as the 13900 and 13900k which are the same processor just unlocked vs locked multiplier.

115w is the PL2 value, 154w is under full load PL3 (unlocked power) which intel boosts to as much as possible under turbo mode

It simply doesn’t have an IHS, there’s no other difference at all silicon level

So to those that understand CPU architectures vs marketing, the following are all the same CPU, if you're looking up the Intel ARK database and seeing "mobile" next to the 13900H, you're looking at marketing, not actual truth.

13900, 13900k, 13900f, 13900kf, 13900ks, 14900, 14900k, 14900f, 14900kf, 14900ks, 13900H, 13900HX, 14900H, 14900HX, 13901t, 13901te, 13901e, 14901t, 14901te, 14901e

They're all exactly the same processor, just different bins with different power limits and frequencies based on bins and the 901 versions with ecores disabled.

 

[bladteth]

It’s not a mobile chip, it’s the exact same silicon as the 13900 and 13900k which are the same processor just unlocked vs locked multiplier.

115w is the PL2 value, 154w is under full load PL3 (unlocked power) which intel boosts to as much as possible under turbo mode

It simply doesn’t have an IHS, there’s no other difference at all silicon level

So to those that understand CPU architectures vs marketing, the following are all the same CPU, if you're looking up the Intel ARK database and seeing "mobile" next to the 13900H, you're looking at marketing, not actual truth.

13900, 13900k, 13900f, 13900kf, 13900ks, 14900, 14900k, 14900f, 14900kf, 14900ks, 13900H, 13900HX, 14900H, 14900HX, 13901t, 13901te, 13901e, 14901t, 14901te, 14901e

They're all exactly the same processor, just different bins with different power limits and frequencies based on bins and the 901 versions with ecores disabled.

You are splitting hairs. Whether it's marketing or not, is irrelevant. The point is that 13900H has (significantly) lower power limits and is designed for use in laptops. At idle 13900 alone draws more power than the whole laptop with 13900H.

Back on topic. Notebookcheck has reviewed XMG Pro 16 Studio, which is basically the same laptop OP enqired about, just from a different vendor and they achieved 6:45 hours battery life when browsing. At full load its 13900H could barely reach 100W, far cry from your claimed PL3 limit, and surface temperature was well over 60C. There is just no way thin laptops' cooling systems can cope with so much power.

 

[SpyderTracks]

You are splitting hairs. Whether it's marketing or not, is irrelevant. The point is that 13900H has (significantly) lower power limits and is designed for use in laptops. At idle 13900 alone draws more power than the whole laptop with 13900H.

Back on topic. Notebookcheck has reviewed XMG Pro 16 Studio, which is basically the same laptop OP enqired about, just from a different vendor and they achieved 6:45 hours battery life when browsing. At full load its 13900H could barely reach 100W, far cry from your claimed PL3 limit, and surface temperature was well over 60C. There is just no way thin laptops' cooling systems can cope with so much power.

This isn’t XMG though, this is PCS, you do understand that? The PL limits are set by the management driver tying to the BIOS which is different between different SIs.

Im not splitting hairs, I’m trying to educate you on custom chassis as it appears you’re confused about how they’re done.

 

[Ekans2011]

Notebookcheck has reviewed XMG Pro 16 Studio, which is basically the same laptop OP enqired about

They are not the same; XMG usually customises the BIOS, whereas PCS mostly uses the manufacturer's.
The display, cooling, and other components are not always the same.

Only the base chassis from TongFang or Clevo is the same.

 

[SpyderTracks]

They are not the same; XMG usually customises the BIOS, whereas PCS mostly uses the manufacturer's.
The display, cooling, and other components are not always the same.

Only the base chassis from TongFang or Clevo is the same.

100%

In a custom chassis, the only thing that Clevo / TongFang distribute is the motherboard, case and power supply. All the rest including the screen panel, BIOS and management driver is down to the SI

But if you’re saying control center has been removed from your downloads page, you need to be liaising with PCS, it’s nothing we can help with. I suspect that you haven’t actually transferred ownership and hence don’t have the proper control center available.

 

[bladteth]

This isn’t XMG though, this is PCS, you do understand that? The PL limits are set by the management driver tying to the BIOS which is different between different SIs.

Im not splitting hairs, I’m trying to educate you on custom chassis as it appears you’re confused about how they’re done.

Again, irrelevant in this case. If you read the review, PL is set at 120W, but the laptop won't get there due to thermal limitations of cooling system, which is the same for both laptops. There was a review of this particular PCS on this forum if you want to compare them. I've had Clevos from different vendors in the past and currently typing on PCS Ionico 17. I've always consulted NBC reviews before buying and they have been pretty much spot on even if they were not the same SI.

I'm not sure what your point is, Spyder. Surely, as educational as they might be, your posts are off-topic and I don't see how they help OP. Your suspicion is wrong and you are answering in a wrong thread.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Again, irrelevant in this case. If you read the review, PL is set at 120W, but the laptop won't get there due to thermal limitations of cooling system, which is the same for both laptops. There was a review of this particular PCS on this forum if you want to compare them. I've had Clevos from different vendors in the past and currently typing on PCS Ionico 17. I've always consulted NBC reviews before buying and they have been pretty much spot on even if they were not the same SI.

I'm not sure what your point is, Spyder. Surely, as educational as they might be, your posts are off-topic and I don't see how they help OP. Your suspicion is wrong and you are answering in a wrong thread.

Lols, the OP doesn’t need any help, they got the relevant advice over a year ago, you’re necroing a dead thread from an OP that hasn’t revisited ed the forum since they initially posted

My suspicion is not incorrect, it’s factually based on experience , you seem to be basing all your knowledge on other SI and manufacturers products which is irrelevant. Clevo are not remotely similar to TongFang in the same way as another SI products are different to PCS, assuming they are will cause complications.

Im posting this to avoid misinformation for other users reading your necro

 

[Scott]

In terms of battery life, it's a bit unfair comparison. Octane III was a behemoth with desktop CPU and always-on discrete GPU, probably consuming at least 50W just idling. OP specs mention laptop CPU with switchable graphics. My Ionico with similar configuration idles at around 15W despite the fact CPU could potentially run at 120W and GPU at 165W at full load. It lasts about 5 hours, which is pretty much what's advertised.

I wasn't comparing the Octane III, I was comparing my Dell laptop. The comments on the Octane were with regards to then vs now. The higher end systems tend to wear the battery down quite significantly due to how they can draw the juice when at full chat.

I was stating that the 5hr timing would likely be lowest power settings available, with lowest screen brightness. It's often inconvenient in my experience, but the biggest thing to consider is how long the battery will last with wear.

I have no doubts that it'll last a couple of hours with reasonable use, with very light use the 3-4 hour mark will likely be achievable without pulling the useability too harshly. I don't think this will last very long though, my battery is completely dead now.

If the OP is happy to refresh the battery every couple of years then it may cover their needs nicely. I just like to advise caution on what the spec says vs the reality of running such a system with daily, and varied, use.