Upvote Upvoted 0 Downvote Downvoted
Gaming laptop help
posted in Hardware
1
#1
0 Frags +

I'm a college student so I move around somewhat, so I'd rather get a laptop than a desktop. I checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specs

However I've been reading that laptop parts aren't the same as desktop even if they have the same name, as well as stuff like

https://www.techspot.com/article/1849-desktop-vs-laptop-gaming-performance/But the bigger story is the CPU, most gaming laptops are limited to 45W CPUs and in 2019 will use the Core i7-9750H. This is a six core, twelve thread CPU that’s rated at a 2.6 GHz base and 4.1 GHz all-core boost. However due to that power limit, the i7-9750H often sits in the mid 3 GHz range when fully utilized. In contrast, lots of desktop builders will choose something like the Core i7-8700K, which has a much higher 95W TDP and easily exceeds that on a regular basis. It’s clocked at a 3.7 GHz base and boosts up to 4.3 GHz all-core, with typical behaviour seeing that CPU sit locked at 4.3 GHz in a multi-threaded workload. From what I’ve seen the 8700K is usually clocked 1 GHz higher or thereabouts.

The article from the quote shows the same GPU on laptops giving 30% less fps in most games compared to the desktop version.

Is all this true?

This is the laptop I'm looking at (around 1150 eur)

ASUS G531GU-AL009 i7-9750H/16GB/256GB SSD/1TB/GTX 1660Ti 6GB

Display: 15.6" (39.62cm)
Resolution: 1920x1080
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H Processor 2.6GHz (12M Cache, up to 4.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660Тi 6GB
RAM: 16GB
1TB HDD
256GB SSD
I'm a college student so I move around somewhat, so I'd rather get a laptop than a desktop. I checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specs

However I've been reading that laptop parts aren't the same as desktop even if they have the same name, as well as stuff like

[quote=https://www.techspot.com/article/1849-desktop-vs-laptop-gaming-performance/]But the bigger story is the CPU, most gaming laptops are limited to 45W CPUs and in 2019 will use the Core i7-9750H. This is a six core, twelve thread CPU that’s rated at a 2.6 GHz base and 4.1 GHz all-core boost. However due to that power limit, the i7-9750H often sits in the mid 3 GHz range when fully utilized. In contrast, lots of desktop builders will choose something like the Core i7-8700K, which has a much higher 95W TDP and easily exceeds that on a regular basis. It’s clocked at a 3.7 GHz base and boosts up to 4.3 GHz all-core, with typical behaviour seeing that CPU sit locked at 4.3 GHz in a multi-threaded workload. From what I’ve seen the 8700K is usually clocked 1 GHz higher or thereabouts.[/quote]

The article from the quote shows the same GPU on laptops giving 30% less fps in most games compared to the desktop version.

Is all this true?

This is the laptop I'm looking at (around 1150 eur)

[code]ASUS G531GU-AL009 i7-9750H/16GB/256GB SSD/1TB/GTX 1660Ti 6GB

Display: 15.6" (39.62cm)
Resolution: 1920x1080
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H Processor 2.6GHz (12M Cache, up to 4.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660Тi 6GB
RAM: 16GB
1TB HDD
256GB SSD[/code]
2
#2
0 Frags +

yeah any laptop using a particular mainstream card, in your case a 1660 Ti, is always going to be made differently than a tower computer 1660 Ti would because laptops simply can't generate enough power reliably to a full strength card + all the other components

yeah any laptop using a particular mainstream card, in your case a 1660 Ti, is always going to be made differently than a tower computer 1660 Ti would because laptops simply can't generate enough power reliably to a full strength card + all the other components
3
#3
1 Frags +

What do you plan on doing with the PC and what are your expectations?

Laptops are relatively small compared to desktops, so are not only power restricted, but also thermally too. NVIDIA GPU boost will reduce clocks the higher your temperature is until a threshold when clocks drop dramatically. Intel CPUs don't thermal throttle until a specific limit that the manufacturer normally sets between 90-105 degrees. This assumes you don't reach any current or power limits which you probably also will.

You won't lose out on much performance, maybe 10% tops in GPU bound situations I bet.


From videos I see online
in gaming situations that specific laptop will turbo to 3.5-3.9GHz in "modern" games at about 80-90C on the CPU and above 1600MHz on the GPU. Hard to find any real testing on it though.

You pretty much can't have desktop performance in a laptop because the power and thermal restraints are there. There are virtually no benchmarks online for this notebook so I can't tell you if you lose 30% or any specific number of FPS. It will probably fine to run TF2 on it though at 200+FPS with a config. It will probably never reach 4.5GHz in anything that matters and only can boost up to 4GHz in all core situations max.

What do you plan on doing with the PC and what are your expectations?

Laptops are relatively small compared to desktops, so are not only power restricted, but also thermally too. NVIDIA GPU boost will reduce clocks the higher your temperature is until a threshold when clocks drop dramatically. Intel CPUs don't thermal throttle until a specific limit that the manufacturer normally sets between 90-105 degrees. This assumes you don't reach any current or power limits which you probably also will.

You won't lose out on much performance, maybe 10% tops in GPU bound situations I bet.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S-S-Ra9QdE]
From videos I see online[/url] in gaming situations that specific laptop will turbo to 3.5-3.9GHz in "modern" games at about 80-90C on the CPU and above 1600MHz on the GPU. Hard to find any real testing on it though.

You pretty much can't have desktop performance in a laptop because the power and thermal restraints are there. There are virtually no benchmarks online for this notebook so I can't tell you if you lose 30% or any specific number of FPS. It will probably fine to run TF2 on it though at 200+FPS with a config. It will probably never reach 4.5GHz in anything that matters and only can boost up to 4GHz in all core situations max.
4
#4
3 Frags +

#1
Yes it's true.

SylentI checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specs

I highly doubt that. "Same" specs would be ~700€, same performance even less.

#2
It's not made any differently.
It's a completely standard GTX 1660 Ti chip, just on a different board due to form factor and with half the TDP, 60W instead of 120W.
Laptops don't generate power. It's not a reliability issue either.
A single fan the size of a slice of toast simply can't cool 400W worth of hardware.

#1
Yes it's true.

[quote=Sylent]I checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specs
[/quote]
I highly doubt that. "Same" specs would be ~700€, same performance even less.

#2
It's not made any differently.
It's a completely standard GTX 1660 Ti chip, just on a different board due to form factor and with half the TDP, 60W instead of 120W.
Laptops don't generate power. It's not a reliability issue either.
A single fan the size of a slice of toast simply can't cool 400W worth of hardware.
5
#5
2 Frags +

are you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life

are you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life
6
#6
0 Frags +
FakeWhat do you plan on doing with the PC and what are your expectations?

Apart from general usage, mostly gaming. Whatever AAA games I've missed out on in recent years (witcher, dragon age etc) maybe some tf2 if I ever get the itch again

SetsulSylentI checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specsI highly doubt that. "Same" specs would be ~700€, same performance even less.

Shit country, no legit online retailer delivers here (and if they did, I'd have to pay import taxes), I'm bound by local store prices which are inflated and parts literally never go on sale (and I do mean literally never) unlike laptops that regularly go on sale for 5-15%. Although if the desktop versions of the "same" parts get me much better performance for the same price cause of power/heating issues in laptops, I'll just build a PC I guess. Obligatory thank u mr setsul

mare you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life

Eeh, I've been playing things including 6s on my 60hz 15 inch toaster laptop for the last 6 years, I'm used to it and it's not really a noticeable handicap.

If I do get a laptop, I'll probably get a monitor in the future (although the laptop I mentioned in the OP is already 120Hz). With PC you also need to pay for a separate monitor which is another 200-300 eur for 144hz.

But yeah, I don't like the idea of dropping 1000+ eur on a gaming laptop that has the real life performance of a 600 eur PC so I'll most likely use my old toaster laptop for portability and just build a PC myself for better performance or less cash.

Thanks for the help lads

[quote=Fake]What do you plan on doing with the PC and what are your expectations?[/quote]

Apart from general usage, mostly gaming. Whatever AAA games I've missed out on in recent years (witcher, dragon age etc) maybe some tf2 if I ever get the itch again

[quote=Setsul][quote=Sylent]I checked the prices and building my own PC would be the same price/marginally cheaper than getting a laptop with the same specs
[/quote]
I highly doubt that. "Same" specs would be ~700€, same performance even less.[/quote]

Shit country, no legit online retailer delivers here (and if they did, I'd have to pay import taxes), I'm bound by local store prices which are inflated and parts literally never go on sale (and I do mean literally never) unlike laptops that regularly go on sale for 5-15%. Although if the desktop versions of the "same" parts get me much better performance for the same price cause of power/heating issues in laptops, I'll just build a PC I guess. Obligatory thank u mr setsul

[quote=m]are you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life[/quote]

Eeh, I've been playing things including 6s on my 60hz 15 inch toaster laptop for the last 6 years, I'm used to it and it's not really a noticeable handicap.

If I do get a laptop, I'll probably get a monitor in the future (although the laptop I mentioned in the OP is already 120Hz). With PC you also need to pay for a separate monitor which is another 200-300 eur for 144hz.

But yeah, I don't like the idea of dropping 1000+ eur on a gaming laptop that has the real life performance of a 600 eur PC so I'll most likely use my old toaster laptop for portability and just build a PC myself for better performance or less cash.

Thanks for the help lads
7
#7
-2 Frags +
mare you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life

Performance for any decent desktop at the 900 dollar range probably isnt that better then a 1300-1100 dollar laptop unless you dump most of that money on the gpu/cpu combo, which doesn't really leave you with much for anything else. Any desktop hes going to be building for 800, 900 dollars, not counting cost of a monitor and all that good stuff. also really depends on if he is going to be living in a dorm, because i would not trust having an expensive desktop in a dorm room

If you do some research there are laptops out there that don't perform at the 600 dollar desktop range, I'm not quite sure where that came about, unless your looking at really old gaming laptops. These days the the gap is not that big

You can find desktop parts in laptops, but those get into the 1800 dollar range new, but you can probably find a used alienware with a desktop 1070 on ebay or desktop 1080. If you want to go used then theres all sorts of really good deals to be had.

[quote=m]are you planning on playing games on ur 15 inch 60hz display as well?

id recommend just getting a cheap (200 or less) burner laptop for classes and buying a decently specced out desktop

youll get better gaming performance at home and better portability/battery life[/quote]

Performance for any decent desktop at the 900 dollar range probably isnt that better then a 1300-1100 dollar laptop unless you dump most of that money on the gpu/cpu combo, which doesn't really leave you with much for anything else. Any desktop hes going to be building for 800, 900 dollars, not counting cost of a monitor and all that good stuff. also really depends on if he is going to be living in a dorm, because i would not trust having an expensive desktop in a dorm room

If you do some research there are laptops out there that don't perform at the 600 dollar desktop range, I'm not quite sure where that came about, unless your looking at really old gaming laptops. These days the the gap is not that big

You [i]can[/i] find desktop parts in laptops, but those get into the 1800 dollar range new, but you can probably find a used alienware with a desktop 1070 on ebay or desktop 1080. If you want to go used then theres all sorts of really good deals to be had.
8
#8
3 Frags +

#6
Well I've always wanted to send a package to Greenland. A little smuggling never hurt anyone.
For real though, if the prices are insanely inflated it's better to import the parts somehow.

#7

platscPerformance for any decent desktop at the 900 dollar range probably isnt that better then a 1300-1100 dollar laptop unless you dump most of that money on the gpu/cpu combo, which doesn't really leave you with much for anything else.

Probably is though. I don't want to see a 900$ budget build where less than half of that is spent on CPU and GPU. If you "need" 500$ for mobo, RAM, storage, case and PSU you're doing it wrong. It's not like that 1300$ laptop is coming with a 200$ SSD either.

I guess desktops are easier to steal than laptops where you live, it's the other way around here.

#6
Well I've always wanted to send a package to Greenland. A little smuggling never hurt anyone.
For real though, if the prices are insanely inflated it's better to import the parts somehow.

#7
[quote=platsc]Performance for any decent desktop at the 900 dollar range probably isnt that better then a 1300-1100 dollar laptop unless you dump most of that money on the gpu/cpu combo, which doesn't really leave you with much for anything else.[/quote]
Probably is though. I don't want to see a 900$ budget build where less than half of that is spent on CPU and GPU. If you "need" 500$ for mobo, RAM, storage, case and PSU you're doing it wrong. It's not like that 1300$ laptop is coming with a 200$ SSD either.

I guess desktops are easier to steal than laptops where you live, it's the other way around here.
9
#9
1 Frags +
Setsul#6
Well I've always wanted to send a package to Greenland. A little smuggling never hurt anyone.
For real though, if the prices are insanely inflated it's better to import the parts somehow.

International postage packs get cracked open by customs before you can pick them up. Friend ordered a 300 eur OnePlus a few years back and he paid 120 eur in customs fees/import tax so he could pick it up from the post office. My only chance would be driving to a country near me that's got better prices when there's a sale and physically smuggling the parts over the border. Shouldn't be too hard since they dont check you unless you're suspicious, but I'd still rather pay an extra 200 eur and build it here than risk getting my stuff confiscated by customs or getting into legal trouble for smuggling. Plus, I'd probably have to pay 50-100 eur in gas money and toll stations to drive anywhere with better prices so the risk stops being worth it. I'll think about it for a while though, I'm in no rush

[quote=Setsul]#6
Well I've always wanted to send a package to Greenland. A little smuggling never hurt anyone.
For real though, if the prices are insanely inflated it's better to import the parts somehow.[/quote]

International postage packs get cracked open by customs before you can pick them up. Friend ordered a 300 eur OnePlus a few years back and he paid 120 eur in customs fees/import tax so he could pick it up from the post office. My only chance would be driving to a country near me that's got better prices when there's a sale and physically smuggling the parts over the border. Shouldn't be too hard since they dont check you unless you're suspicious, but I'd still rather pay an extra 200 eur and build it here than risk getting my stuff confiscated by customs or getting into legal trouble for smuggling. Plus, I'd probably have to pay 50-100 eur in gas money and toll stations to drive anywhere with better prices so the risk stops being worth it. I'll think about it for a while though, I'm in no rush
10
#10
0 Frags +

You're in the EU and you're not on an island. There are plenty of EU shops that will ship to wherever you are. VAT will be paid directly at the shop. If customs try to charge you anything you're legally allowed to shove Article 30 TFEU up their asses.

You're in the EU and you're not on an island. There are plenty of EU shops that will ship to wherever you are. VAT will be paid directly at the shop. If customs try to charge you anything you're legally allowed to shove Article 30 TFEU up their asses.
11
#11
1 Frags +
SetsulYou're in the EU and you're not on an island. There are plenty of EU shops that will ship to wherever you are. VAT will be paid directly at the shop. If customs try to charge you anything you're legally allowed to shove Article 30 TFEU up their asses.

Not in the EU actually. Europe yes, eu no

[quote=Setsul]You're in the EU and you're not on an island. There are plenty of EU shops that will ship to wherever you are. VAT will be paid directly at the shop. If customs try to charge you anything you're legally allowed to shove Article 30 TFEU up their asses.[/quote]

Not in the EU actually. Europe yes, eu no
12
#12
6 Frags +

Then stop stealing our currency. Or join.
Good luck in your search for pc parts in your mystery country.

Then stop stealing our currency. Or join.
Good luck in your search for pc parts in your mystery country.
13
#13
3 Frags +
SetsulThen stop stealing our currency. Or join.
Good luck in your search for pc parts in your mystery country.

I'd love to, can you ask Merkel to let us in?
Jokes aside thanks for the help, much appreciated

[quote=Setsul]Then stop stealing our currency. Or join.
Good luck in your search for pc parts in your mystery country.[/quote]

I'd love to, can you ask Merkel to let us in?
Jokes aside thanks for the help, much appreciated
14
#14
2 Frags +

does that customs bullshit apply to all packages?
Where I'm from parts get import taxed to shit (often coming to 170% the original price or higher) but you can import a computer duty free so id get someone to put it together for like $20 then send it to me
I dont know the full circumstances behinds greenlands customs and taxes but if youre gonna buy parts for a PC build then try to exploit any loophole you can.
If youre gonna go for a laptop, I hope youre going to college somewhere thats not greenland so that you can buy it there and then carry it to and from greenland normally (or are your customs folks anal about everything, including personal items?)

does that customs bullshit apply to all packages?
Where I'm from parts get import taxed to shit (often coming to 170% the original price or higher) but you can import a computer duty free so id get someone to put it together for like $20 then send it to me
I dont know the full circumstances behinds greenlands customs and taxes but if youre gonna buy parts for a PC build then try to exploit any loophole you can.
If youre gonna go for a laptop, I hope youre going to college somewhere thats not greenland so that you can buy it there and then carry it to and from greenland normally (or are your customs folks anal about everything, including personal items?)
15
#15
3 Frags +

Do Greenland players get better ping to NA or EU servers?

Do Greenland players get better ping to NA or EU servers?
16
#16
2 Frags +

do you live in an igloo

do you live in an igloo
17
#17
0 Frags +

what's your opinion on trump trying to buy your igloo

what's your opinion on trump trying to buy your igloo
18
#18
4 Frags +
DRIFTAdo you live in an igloo

No I sold it to Trump

Brimstonewhat's your opinion on trump trying to buy your igloo

Good trader +rep

[quote=DRIFTA]do you live in an igloo[/quote]

No I sold it to Trump

[quote=Brimstone]what's your opinion on trump trying to buy your igloo[/quote]

Good trader +rep
19
#19
0 Frags +
ZestyDo Greenland players get better ping to NA or EU servers?

this is the question I'm really curious about can you please answer this?

[quote=Zesty]Do Greenland players get better ping to NA or EU servers?[/quote]
this is the question I'm really curious about can you please answer this?
20
#20
1 Frags +

Can't give any proper answer to that, but I used to have one friend from Greenland who got like 70-80 ping to EU servers if I remember correctly, below 100 ping for sure. Seeing as NA players aren't bound to playing on ESEA servers anymore the routing could be in favor of them finally.

Can't give any proper answer to that, but I used to have one friend from Greenland who got like 70-80 ping to EU servers if I remember correctly, below 100 ping for sure. Seeing as NA players aren't bound to playing on ESEA servers anymore the routing could be in favor of them finally.
Please sign in through STEAM to post a comment.