Laptop Specs Help Needed

[SmokeyMc]

Looking for a solid laptop that can handle VR gaming could someone please give me some advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Looking for a solid laptop that can handle VR gaming could someone please give me some advice?

Thanks in advance.

What's your max budget?

What headset do you use?

What size are you after?

Do you need portability ie is battery life important?

 

[SmokeyMc]

Thanks for your reply. I'll give a few more details.

Max budget is £3000 but if I can do it for less that would be better (obviously lol).

Headset I use at the moment is the oculus in rift mode but I'll be upgrading this soon.

Screen is not the most important factor as I have monitors available at the locations I will be using the laptop so if I have to slightly sacrifice screen size / performance for overall performance that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Battery life not an issue as it will most likely be plugged in wherever I use it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for your reply. I'll give a few more details.

Max budget is £3000 but if I can do it for less that would be better (obviously lol).

Headset I use at the moment is the oculus in rift mode but I'll be upgrading this soon.

Screen is not the most important factor as I have monitors available at the locations I will be using the laptop so if I have to slightly sacrifice screen size / performance for overall performance that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Battery life not an issue as it will most likely be plugged in wherever I use it.

Coolies, thanks, we can go all out!

This would be my personal recommendation with Ryzen 9 processor. Be warned this one requires 2 power bricks, it's an absolute monster powerwise and comes well under budget:

Chassis & Display
Valeon Series: 17.3" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 9 Eight Core Processor 5900HX (3.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2933MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3080 - 16.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Valeon Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
VALEON 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GM7ZN8M (16GB RTX-3080, R9-5900HX, 165Hz QHD, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £2,301.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/valeon-17/p5rfXgh7Zq/

 

[AgentCooper]

That’s a behemoth, @SpyderTracks! The dead pixel guarantee is probably worth chucking in for the extra few quid too 👍

 

[SpyderTracks]

The other option is the full fat DTR (Desktop Replacement), it uses desktop processors so is very powerful, but as a result, is noisy, runs hot and has poor battery life, plus requires 2 hefty power bricks. Unfortunately at the moment, the 3080 option is not selectable as it's only available with the 300Hz screen which is currently out of stock, but it may be worth contacting PCS about that if this was tempting to you.

Chassis & Display
Recoil Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) + G-Sync
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight-Core Processor i9-11900K (3.5GHz) 16MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2933MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
2 x 280W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Recoil Series Detachable 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (97WH)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Atlas & Super X-Fi
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 3 x USB 3.2
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
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 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo X170KM-G (144Hz, G-Sync, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 7 working days
Price: £2,653.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/recoil-V-17/r4XgQsCPVb/

The other benefit of an Intel platform, is that it has Thunderbolt, so in a few years when the GPU starts losing performance and you're thinking you need an extra boost, you always have the capability of getting an eGPU chassis such as the Razer Core X and getting a desktop graphics card to slot in. It's expensive and you won't get the full capabilities of the card (around 80%), but it does increase the lifespan of the laptop greatly:

Razer Core X - Thunderbolt™ 3 eGPU | Razer United States

Now compatible with Mac and Windows laptops, featuring 3-slot PCI-Express desktop graphic cards, 650W power supply, and charges via USB-C.

www.razer.com

 

[SpyderTracks]

That’s a behemoth, @SpyderTracks! The dead pixel guarantee is probably worth chucking in for the extra few quid too 👍

Very good point, absolutely worthwhile

 

[SmokeyMc]

@SpyderTracks that's so helpful thanks. Am I understanding it right that the GPU will be a desktop version?

 

[SpyderTracks]

@SpyderTracks that's so helpful thanks. Am I understanding it right that the GPU will be a desktop version?

No, they're laptop GPU's in both, desktop cards wouldn't fit.

So the 3080 mobile is up to 35% slower than the desktop RTX 3080 which is a big margin, so it's roughly on par with a 3060ti

The mobile GeForce RTX 3080 is 40 percent slower than the desktop GeForce RTX 3080. What the hell happened?

Back in the Nvidia Pascal days, the chipmaker boasted that its mobile GPUs have caught up to their desktop counterparts in terms of performance. Fast-forward to 2021 and that claim has all been thrown out the window.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[SmokeyMc]

No, they're laptop GPU's in both, desktop cards wouldn't fit.

So the 3080 mobile is up to 35% slower than the desktop RTX 3080 which is a big margin, so it's roughly on par with a 3060ti

The mobile GeForce RTX 3080 is 40 percent slower than the desktop GeForce RTX 3080. What the hell happened?

Back in the Nvidia Pascal days, the chipmaker boasted that its mobile GPUs have caught up to their desktop counterparts in terms of performance. Fast-forward to 2021 and that claim has all been thrown out the window.

www.notebookcheck.net

Right I see, I knew about the drop in performance compared to desktop GPUs but still should be good enough and as you say, if its upgradable it future proofs it somewhat. I have done a lot of research but buying a laptop is such a minefield compared to building a desktop. You've been so helpful thanks a lot, I will definitely be using your recommendations.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Right I see, I knew about the drop in performance compared to desktop GPUs but still should be good enough and as you say, if its upgradable it future proofs it somewhat. I have done a lot of research but buying a laptop is such a minefield compared to building a desktop. You've been so helpful thanks a lot, I will definitely be using your recommendations.

Pleasure, let us know what you go for

 

[SmokeyMc]

Will do mate. Another quick question, will the RTX 3070 in the laptop be a Max Q or mobile version? Or are they the same thing?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Will do mate. Another quick question, will the RTX 3070 in the laptop be a Max Q or mobile version? Or are they the same thing?

Max Q is a power limited variant usually found in thinner chassis, as such they are less powerful, but it states in the configurator if it's the max q, if it doesn't state that then it's the full fat one.

 

[SpyderTracks]

So for instance, the 15" defiance which is quite a slim laptop has max q variants:

PCSPECIALIST - Custom Computers and Laptops Built to Order

PCSpecialist is a manufacturer of high quality custom computers and laptops. Configure your ideal computer in just a few simple steps with a broad range available.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[SmokeyMc]

Max Q is a power limited variant usually found in thinner chassis, as such they are less powerful, but it states in the configurator if it's the max q, if it doesn't state that then it's the full fat one.

Right I see, they don't make it easy do they lol. Think I need a break from researching, my head will explode soon. Thanks once again for your help I will keep you updated with my final choice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Right I see, they don't make it easy do they lol. Think I need a break from researching, my head will explode soon. Thanks once again for your help I will keep you updated with my final choice.

Yeah, they've had a lot of backlash especially with the 3000 series, the 2000 series were bad enough with Max P, Max Q, full fat, but at least their performance was somewhere near their desktop counterparts and at least used the same chips.

The 3000 series, they've gone too far, the 3080 laptop card uses an entirely different GPU to the desktop 3080 as do some other ones. It's really misleading and that's generally being quite kind to NVidia.

 

[Bhuna50]

As you’ve got the budget you might as well consider paying now for the 32gb ram.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SmokeyMc]

As you’ve got the budget you might as well consider paying now for the 32gb ram.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea that will be something I will probably do thanks.

 

[SmokeyMc]

This discussion has been so helpful. Learning about thunderbolt to future proof the machine using a egpu is really interesting. Its a shame the 3080 isnt available at the moment

 

[SpyderTracks]

This discussion has been so helpful. Learning about thunderbolt to future proof the machine using a egpu is really interesting. Its a shame the 3080 isnt available at the moment

Like I said, the 3080 is available, but the screen it pairs with isn't, give them a call and find out when it's going to be back in stock if at all.