Gaming PC/laptop/macbook
Discussion
Hi all. My son’s PC has died today. Christmas coming up I’m thinking of an upgrade for him.
I’ll start by saying that although I know a bit about PC specs, I know absolutely nothing about games. All I know is he plays Valorant, FIFA and Fortnite and always seems to prefer smooth play and FPS.
He currently has a 1080ti and an old i9 cpu.
I’m thinking about a laptop this time for him as at least he can connect his monitor and also take it to school etc. But can these play games without spending thousands? Then there’s a MacBook option? But again can these play games well?
Budget I would say is around £1,000 max (although happy to buy second hand if it gets a better machine).
Thanks all in advance
I’ll start by saying that although I know a bit about PC specs, I know absolutely nothing about games. All I know is he plays Valorant, FIFA and Fortnite and always seems to prefer smooth play and FPS.
He currently has a 1080ti and an old i9 cpu.
I’m thinking about a laptop this time for him as at least he can connect his monitor and also take it to school etc. But can these play games without spending thousands? Then there’s a MacBook option? But again can these play games well?
Budget I would say is around £1,000 max (although happy to buy second hand if it gets a better machine).
Thanks all in advance
What failed in the PC? That GPU will play most mainstream 1080 HD games, and the horsepower of CPUs hasn't changed hugely in recent years, most progress has gone into power efficiency for battery life.
You'll pay maybe 50% more for an equivalent specced laptop, and double that for a Mac.
You'll pay maybe 50% more for an equivalent specced laptop, and double that for a Mac.
Existing PC is at the limit anyways. The motherboard can’t take any better cpu and the gpu isn’t throttling it. It worked ok.
But it’s many years old and BSOD later and it’s throwing up some weird errors so could spend hours and money replacing stuff to find it’s the motherboard and just not worth it.
However, if you say £1k won’t get a laptop good enough (comparable to his current setup) then I might need to think again.
But it’s many years old and BSOD later and it’s throwing up some weird errors so could spend hours and money replacing stuff to find it’s the motherboard and just not worth it.
However, if you say £1k won’t get a laptop good enough (comparable to his current setup) then I might need to think again.
You can find low-end gaming laptops that are in-budget
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lenovo-loq-15iax9...
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lenovo-loq-15iax9...
Cheers guys, so this one for example, would it be better/worse/similar performance for those games to his current setup?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANV15-51-Gaming-i7-13620H...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANV15-51-Gaming-i7-13620H...
Cheers. So what am I missing when people are saying £1000 isn’t much for a gaming laptop (genuine question).
Are these games he’s playing not that cpu/gpu intensive? And that if he started to play more intensive games this device would struggle?
As I see it, 1080p at 240fps is all he’s ever going to need so is higher spec (and price) just overkill?
Are these games he’s playing not that cpu/gpu intensive? And that if he started to play more intensive games this device would struggle?
As I see it, 1080p at 240fps is all he’s ever going to need so is higher spec (and price) just overkill?
If interested, I have a year old Razer in indistinguishable from new condition I’d sell for well within your budget.
The spec says -Razer Blade 17 Intel Core i9 32GB 1TB RTX 3070Ti 144Hz 4K Ultra HD 17.3"
However, I don’t do gaming (purchased for the screen size alone) so check yourself if it would meet your requirements.
The spec says -Razer Blade 17 Intel Core i9 32GB 1TB RTX 3070Ti 144Hz 4K Ultra HD 17.3"
However, I don’t do gaming (purchased for the screen size alone) so check yourself if it would meet your requirements.
I think £1k is a lot for a gaming pc but then I'm happy with 60 to 100fps and 1080p /2k. Unlike some I have no urge to go over 140fps and listen to howling fans, and I'm also happy to turn down details a bit.
On my desktop I cap the fps on the odd game so they run cool, as it adds nothing for me going over 100. Not enough to warrant noise heat and expense
On my desktop I cap the fps on the odd game so they run cool, as it adds nothing for me going over 100. Not enough to warrant noise heat and expense
FlyVintage said:
If interested, I have a year old Razer in indistinguishable from new condition I d sell for well within your budget.
The spec says -Razer Blade 17 Intel Core i9 32GB 1TB RTX 3070Ti 144Hz 4K Ultra HD 17.3"
However, I don t do gaming (purchased for the screen size alone) so check yourself if it would meet your requirements.
Depends on the exact model of i9, but it usually won't be any faster in gaming than an i7 (in desktop or laptop forms)...and a laptop 8gb 3070ti from 2021 will be slower - and lose some of the newer Nvidia tech - vs a newer 8gb 5060 (less efficient, and half the memory bandwidth, no DLSS4).The spec says -Razer Blade 17 Intel Core i9 32GB 1TB RTX 3070Ti 144Hz 4K Ultra HD 17.3"
However, I don t do gaming (purchased for the screen size alone) so check yourself if it would meet your requirements.
audi321 said:
Cheers. So what am I missing when people are saying £1000 isn t much for a gaming laptop (genuine question).
Are these games he s playing not that cpu/gpu intensive? And that if he started to play more intensive games this device would struggle?
As I see it, 1080p at 240fps is all he s ever going to need so is higher spec (and price) just overkill?
It really depends. If you stay at 1080p, it will likely be fine for most things. Want to run the latest Indiana Jones game with ray tracing? Not at decent FPS. Cyberpunk 2077 will struggle as well if you turn on ray tracing etc. Same as running at 1440p at high settings etc.Are these games he s playing not that cpu/gpu intensive? And that if he started to play more intensive games this device would struggle?
As I see it, 1080p at 240fps is all he s ever going to need so is higher spec (and price) just overkill?
It will likely age relatively quickly compared to a desktop. Unlike a Framework laptop or regular desktop, you cannot change the GPU and that is just a 5060 (not Ti) so in a year or two if you want to play a AAA game, it will be at low settings. That isn't to say it is BAD but its kind of the lowest end of the current crop of GPU's and AMD still have the gaming lead in CPU's, whereas a 1080Ti when new was very powerful and one of the best GPU's you could get.
Thanks again guys. I actually have 6 of these 1080ti (I bought a mining rig in 2020 and so they had a hard life for 3 years - then 1 went into his PC in 2023 and it’s been great since. Might sell these other 5 if they’re still useful then.
Back to the laptop. I think he’s gonna need a laptop soon for school (6th form) so that’s why I thought about combining a gaming pc into the laptop. I understand the lack of upgrade ability but surely he’s gonna grow out of gaming soon (when he gets cars/girlfriends etc) so it should outlast that hopefully.
Back to the laptop. I think he’s gonna need a laptop soon for school (6th form) so that’s why I thought about combining a gaming pc into the laptop. I understand the lack of upgrade ability but surely he’s gonna grow out of gaming soon (when he gets cars/girlfriends etc) so it should outlast that hopefully.
audi321 said:
Thanks again guys. I actually have 6 of these 1080ti (I bought a mining rig in 2020 and so they had a hard life for 3 years - then 1 went into his PC in 2023 and it s been great since. Might sell these other 5 if they re still useful then.
Back to the laptop. I think he s gonna need a laptop soon for school (6th form) so that s why I thought about combining a gaming pc into the laptop. I understand the lack of upgrade ability but surely he s gonna grow out of gaming soon (when he gets cars/girlfriends etc) so it should outlast that hopefully.
Could you put another 1080Ti into the PC and run them in SLI for the extra performance?Back to the laptop. I think he s gonna need a laptop soon for school (6th form) so that s why I thought about combining a gaming pc into the laptop. I understand the lack of upgrade ability but surely he s gonna grow out of gaming soon (when he gets cars/girlfriends etc) so it should outlast that hopefully.
Monsterlime said:
It really depends. If you stay at 1080p, it will likely be fine for most things. Want to run the latest Indiana Jones game with ray tracing? Not at decent FPS. Cyberpunk 2077 will struggle as well if you turn on ray tracing etc. Same as running at 1440p at high settings etc.
It will likely age relatively quickly compared to a desktop. Unlike a Framework laptop or regular desktop, you cannot change the GPU and that is just a 5060 (not Ti) so in a year or two if you want to play a AAA game, it will be at low settings. That isn't to say it is BAD but its kind of the lowest end of the current crop of GPU's and AMD still have the gaming lead in CPU's, whereas a 1080Ti when new was very powerful and one of the best GPU's you could get.
Are laptop discreet GPUs THAT bad? 5060? i7?It will likely age relatively quickly compared to a desktop. Unlike a Framework laptop or regular desktop, you cannot change the GPU and that is just a 5060 (not Ti) so in a year or two if you want to play a AAA game, it will be at low settings. That isn't to say it is BAD but its kind of the lowest end of the current crop of GPU's and AMD still have the gaming lead in CPU's, whereas a 1080Ti when new was very powerful and one of the best GPU's you could get.
I run a desktop , i5 (about a year old) 3070, 64Gb ram (Star citizen), and I ran Indy at full Ultrawide, pretty much max everything and it ran smooth as butter, as does Cyberpunk. Both with DLSS. It runs everything I throw at it with aplomb.
Griffith4ever said:
Monsterlime said:
It really depends. If you stay at 1080p, it will likely be fine for most things. Want to run the latest Indiana Jones game with ray tracing? Not at decent FPS. Cyberpunk 2077 will struggle as well if you turn on ray tracing etc. Same as running at 1440p at high settings etc.
It will likely age relatively quickly compared to a desktop. Unlike a Framework laptop or regular desktop, you cannot change the GPU and that is just a 5060 (not Ti) so in a year or two if you want to play a AAA game, it will be at low settings. That isn't to say it is BAD but its kind of the lowest end of the current crop of GPU's and AMD still have the gaming lead in CPU's, whereas a 1080Ti when new was very powerful and one of the best GPU's you could get.
Are laptop discreet GPUs THAT bad? 5060? i7?It will likely age relatively quickly compared to a desktop. Unlike a Framework laptop or regular desktop, you cannot change the GPU and that is just a 5060 (not Ti) so in a year or two if you want to play a AAA game, it will be at low settings. That isn't to say it is BAD but its kind of the lowest end of the current crop of GPU's and AMD still have the gaming lead in CPU's, whereas a 1080Ti when new was very powerful and one of the best GPU's you could get.
I run a desktop , i5 (about a year old) 3070, 64Gb ram (Star citizen), and I ran Indy at full Ultrawide, pretty much max everything and it ran smooth as butter, as does Cyberpunk. Both with DLSS. It runs everything I throw at it with aplomb.
Look at the comparison - https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-... vs the desktop 5060 - https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-...
Now, the mobile 5060 has been really pushed down in those charts, which seems unfair to me considering if you look at this source - https://nanoreview.net/en/gpu-compare/geforce-rtx-... it isn't that bad, but none of these show ray tracing performance which is technically not available in the 10 series cards.
Also, I believe the Techpowerup site is wrong re the power limit on 5060 mobile as well, since other sources say it is up to 100W, but that is dependant on the laptop manufacturer. 45W is the minimum. If the mobile 5060 was running at 100W the comparison would be different.
Basically, mobile GPU performance is really variable depending on how it has been implemented which you don't get with a desktop GPU really, their specs are within a small envelope and power draw etc are set by the GPU manufacturer, not the reseller.
Edited by Monsterlime on Tuesday 2nd December 11:59
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