Future-proofing a gaming laptop

[carphi]

Need some advice, please.

I bought a laptop from PCSpecialist back in 2013 that is still doing a great job in many respects, but even though it has coped well with the last decade the latest games are beginning to need more than the Intel® Core™ i7-3940XM (3.00GHz) and NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M that has served me so well for nearly a decade.

So I need a new gaming laptop, and preferably one that lasts a comparable length of time. My question to the forum is: is it best to invest in the latest CPU (go for a i9 and throw a lot of money at the 17,3 Recoil) or look for laptops that carry a 16gb graphics card alongside a i7 (Defiance). Or pay for both. Or stick with an 8gb graphics card.

Which route do you think will future-proof the laptop best?

 

[Steveyg]

Is there a particular reason for a laptop?

Generally laptops by their design are not "future proof" in any way. The only way we can plan for the future is to go with builds that are designed to be upgraded over time which in laptops isn't really a thing.

As for what machine will last longest it's really difficult to say in laptops. There are some guys around here who really know what they are talking about when it comes to laptops so I'll defer build suggestions to them.

 

[barlew]

Need some advice, please.

I bought a laptop from PCSpecialist back in 2013 that is still doing a great job in many respects, but even though it has coped well with the last decade the latest games are beginning to need more than the Intel® Core™ i7-3940XM (3.00GHz) and NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M that has served me so well for nearly a decade.

So I need a new gaming laptop, and preferably one that lasts a comparable length of time. My question to the forum is: is it best to invest in the latest CPU (go for a i9 and throw a lot of money at the 17,3 Recoil) or look for laptops that carry a 16gb graphics card alongside a i7 (Defiance). Or pay for both. Or stick with an 8gb graphics card.

Which route do you think will future-proof the laptop best?

With laptops the general rule of thumb is to buy the most powerful GPU you can afford. Out of the whole build this will be the first thing that goes out of date. So if you can afford one of the 16GB RTX 3080's that's what you want to aim for.

Is there any reason you arent looking at the AMD offerings?

The advice will also differ slightly depending what you are planning on using the laptop for?

 

[Tron1982]

So, first of all, as said by @Steveyg, do you need a laptop as expensive as the recoil ? (it's a lovely machine, i have one, but do you "need" a laptop, for that price ?)
And yeah, as said by @barlew for laptop, the best gpu and cpu, the better it is for lifespan

If you're willing to go to the laptop path, i think the "best" actual options are the 17" amd cpu valeon (even if i don't like the keyboard design and some other small flaws - but barlew is really happy with it), the 17" intel cpu recoil (the most expensive laptop here, but one of the most powerfull - i think the i7 is enough though) or the 15" amd cpu destian (even if the gpu is limited to the 3070, as the other 15" amd cpu laptop)

You may want to wait the end of the intel and nvidia embargo about the new cpu and gpu though, this may be a good option for other options ^^

 

[carphi]

Thanks all. To address questions in turn...

Why a laptop? I like gaming on the sofa. I realize it will be less future-proof than a desktop, but I have been spoilt by my existing laptop.

I have considered AMD but from the combos available it seems that an AMD and a 16gb graphics card cannot co-exist on any of the builds.

The 17,3 Defiance seems to be a good compromise - offering the 16gb graphics card and the i7 CPU, and a grand cheaper than the top range Recoil. Follow up question - would the top range Recoil last significantly longer, in your opinion, than the Defiance?

 

[Tron1982]

Hello, so,
1) fair enough (it's your choice ^^), considering this point, I'm not sure the recoil would be a good fit because it's weight, it's really heavy, you may need some kind of support ^^"
2) the valeon should have a combo amd/3080 available as soon pcs will have new stock I think (and in this case, it may be the best option for your needs)
3) be carefull at the "3080" name, as the defiance should not have the maximum tdp, so even if it has the 3080 name and characteristics, if it power is lower than a 3070, it may not be worth it ^^" (the 3070 could be a better value)

So, to answer your question, I think the recoil may last longer than the defiance
(For me, the better airflow will help to improve the lifespan as the component will run cooler etc, etc)


But, you didn't answer my question, do you need it right now ? Or can you wait for the 12th Intel gen into laptop ?

 

[barlew]

Hello, so,
1) fair enough (it's your choice ^^), considering this point, I'm not sure the recoil would be a good fit because it's weight, it's really heavy, you may need some kind of support ^^"
2) the valeon should have a combo amd/3080 available as soon pcs will have new stock I think (and in this case, it may be the best option for your needs)
3) be carefull at the "3080" name, as the defiance should not have the maximum tdp, so even if it has the 3080 name and characteristics, if it power is lower than a 3070, it may not be worth it ^^" (the 3070 could be a better value)

So, to answer your question, I think the recoil may last longer than the defiance
(For me, the better airflow will help to improve the lifespan as the component will run cooler etc, etc)


But, you didn't answer my question, do you need it right now ? Or can you wait for the 12th Intel gen into laptop ?

Usually the Valeon does have the 3080 option but it appears to be out of stock. The 5900HX RTX3080 combo is insanely powerful. If you look at the leader-boards the Valeons are beating the Recoils with I7 3080 combo in benchmarks.

Real Users' Benchmarks - Rank of PCS Laptops

Hi, I would like to share my Firestrike results with you all (especially as my build is a bit uncommon) and, with your help, also create a consolidated thread with benchmarks of most PCS laptops. Hopefully, this will be of help to future buyers looking to compare their current builds and...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

I really would recommend waiting for the AMD RTX combo to come back into stock or to see what happens with the 12 gen laptops.

 

[DarTon]

I dont know much about laptops but the Intel 12th gen 12900HK seems to be a very capable CPU that will leave prior 11th gen somewhat in the dust. So if that is really what you want, perhaps wait a couple of months.

Of course it's still utter rubbish compared to the Apple M1 Max, with the Intel CPU using 3x the power to produce a very modest amount more performance but we can't expect high end Intel CPUs to be anything other than thermodynamically challenged!

 

[Scott]

Throwing another option into the mix. If your laptop is currently at a reasonable level, why not get a high end PC of similar budget and play remotely on the laptop?

That's the way I do all my gaming now. Either remotely through my Shield TV, remotely to my Oculus or remotely through my laptop (Since my Kid nicked my gaming laptop at least).

 

[SpyderTracks]

Throwing another option into the mix. If your laptop is currently at a reasonable level, why not get a high end PC of similar budget and play remotely on the laptop?

That's the way I do all my gaming now. Either remotely through my Shield TV, remotely to my Oculus or remotely through my laptop (Since my Kid nicked my gaming laptop at least).

This is a very realistic option nawadays, even using Steam Remote Play is incredibly effective, just a direct stream from your main PC to the laptop, it's very effective. No other hardware required.

 

[barlew]

Throwing another option into the mix. If your laptop is currently at a reasonable level, why not get a high end PC of similar budget and play remotely on the laptop?

That's the way I do all my gaming now. Either remotely through my Shield TV, remotely to my Oculus or remotely through my laptop (Since my Kid nicked my gaming laptop at least).

Now that is what you call lateral thinking.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is a very realistic option nawadays, even using Steam Remote Play is incredibly effective, just a direct stream from your main PC to the laptop, it's very effective. No other hardware required.

I'm not sure I got across how effective it is, just realised I think I need to add some more mentions of effective, you know the word effective

 

[Martinr36]

I'm not sure I got across how effective it is, just realised I think I need to add some more mentions of effective, you know the word effective

is it an effective way of gaming effectively

 

[barlew]

I'm not sure I got across how effective it is, just realised I think I need to add some more mentions of effective, you know the word effective

Is it really that good? Even if both machines are connected via wifi?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Is it really that good? Even if both machines are connected via wifi?

I ran mine a while ago both on wifi and the performance was extremely good, this was shortly after Steam released the Steam Link, and I was under the impression you needed one of those to stream internally, but someone on the forum (could have been @Scott ) said that it wasn't actually necessary, that you can just set it through the Steam game client.

It was a doddle to setup, and I was playing AAA's over the network to my laptop downstairs, allbeit with Google Wifi mesh setup.

I do think you need quite a robust wifi network, but it definitely works well.

Sorry, I mistakenly referred to remote play, that's a different thing, it's actually just called "In Home Streaming", it's literally just a setting on the steam client on both pc's

How to Use Steam In-Home Streaming

Steam's In-Home Streaming is now available to everyone, allowing you to stream PC games from one PC to another PC on the same local network.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[barlew]

I ran mine a while ago both on wifi and the performance was extremely good, this was shortly after Steam released the Steam Link, and I was under the impression you needed one of those to stream internally, but someone on the forum (could have been @Scott ) said that it wasn't actually necessary, that you can just set it through the Steam game client.

It was a doddle to setup, and I was playing AAA's over the network to my laptop downstairs, allbeit with Google Wifi mesh setup.

I do think you need quite a robust wifi network, but it definitely works well.

Sorry, I mistakenly referred to remote play, that's a different thing, it's actually just called "In Home Streaming", it's literally just a setting on the steam client on both pc's

How to Use Steam In-Home Streaming

Steam's In-Home Streaming is now available to everyone, allowing you to stream PC games from one PC to another PC on the same local network.

www.howtogeek.com

Class mate thanks for the link.

The missus is out tonight so ill give it a go!

 

[Scott]

With NVidia, check out Moonlight. I use it 99% of the time, I rarely use the Steam Streaming client. With Moonlight I setup "Notepad" as one of my games. That way I can connect to my PC via that and launch any content that I wish. Otherwise it can be a bit limited by what's supported and what game you got from what client etc.

 

[barlew]

With NVidia, check out Moonlight. I use it 99% of the time, I rarely use the Steam Streaming client. With Moonlight I setup "Notepad" as one of my games. That way I can connect to my PC via that and launch any content that I wish. Otherwise it can be a bit limited by what's supported and what game you got from what client etc.

I shall have a ganders at this as well, thanks for the suggestion.