To all the computer wizards! I need some advice.
I'm planning on buying a new laptop (yes, I don't play on desktop, because, reasons).
I'm looking at a Dutch brand atm called BTO. I can pick my own specs wich is pretty awesome.
I was wondering a couple of things:
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1060 6Gb, is this a graphics card that will go for a couple of years? I mean for basic games, not planning to get in to VR any time soon.
I mostly play Rainbow 6: Siege. And I'll probably play Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA's in the future. The occasional Fifa will make it in aswell.
Memory: Do I need 16 Gb of RAM? I now have 8Gb and it never looked like that wasn't enough for stuff I do.
The processor I'm looking to have is the i7-8750H 6core.
thanks in advance!
The easy bit first, yes you should get 16GB of RAM. Especially as you mentioned a few large open world titles. Many games will now quite happily use more than 8GB of RAM. Just because they will run with less doesn't mean they wouldn't like to have more! No one should be settling for only 8GB of RAM anymore, IMO.
Graphics cards then. The 1060 is mid range card, and almost 3 years old now. nVidia really took their time with the 2000s. For playing at 1080p 60 FPS, it remains fine. You may have to turn down some of the graphical bells and whistles in more demanding titles, but it will get the job done. That is now, though. I'm not sure I would call a 1060 'futureproof' anymore. Something like a 1080 would be a safer bet, particularly if you care for medium-high graphics settings. You may have to turn stuff down over the next few years with a 1060, but this does depend on the games you play, of course.
But a 1080 is too expensive!!! Keep in mind the 2000 series of laptop GPUs is just around the corner. Laptop flavours of the 2060, 2070, etc, are starting to show up here and there, with official reveals expected soon. This is likely to affect prices of laptops with the 1000 series cards in, and it may be worth waiting for this if you can. You may be able to pick up a laptop with a 1080 in for a fair bit less in a few months time. This does depend on how nVidia price the laptop GPUs though. The desktop 2000s haven't really affected the 1000 series prices as the 2000s are so stupidly overpriced. Only time will tell, but it certainly won't hurt to wait and see, if that is an option for you.
Lastly, let's talk framerates. It's 2019. Gaming at 60Hz should be relegated to the history books. If you primarily use your laptop's display, you should look to get one that supports 100+Hz. There are many 120Hz laptop displays now, and you should either look to get one of these, or get a 120Hz monitor to connect the laptop up to (but I imagine you don't to this, or why would you be buying a laptop in the first place). Any game can benefit from going above 100 Hz (even Windows is a different beast to be honest), but this is particularly true with fast paced games, like any FPS. Once you have played your FPS of choice at 100+ Hz, it becomes impossible to go back. 60Hz will feel sluggish and smeary, unplayable.
Of course, to run higher framerates you need a stronger GPU. The 1060 is 'made' for 60 FPS gaming. It will run some games at 100+ no problem too. This is why I called it 'fine'. Other titles it will struggle with, especially when you're trying to get to 120 FPS. As an example, I can run Overwatch consistently above 120 FPS on my laptop (1060, 1080p, 120Hz panel), but Battlefield V hovers around 70-80 with the GPU maxed out at medium-high settings. Like I have said, it depends on what games you play and how you like your graphics, but this is a good illustration of the 1060 starting to show its age with a more demanding newer title, where it just can't get above that magic 100 FPS. Just another reason to go for the 1080, or at least a 1070, if you're looking for something a bit more 'futureproof'. This is all at 1080p, btw. Do not get a higher resolution display on a laptop. Framerate > Resolution, especially at screens below 24".
tl;dr, I struggle to recommend the 1060 in 2019. Look for a 1080 or at least a 1070. Prices may drop over the next few months with the laptop 2000 series expected soon. Game on a 120Hz panel, anything less is masochistic :roflmao: !
If you DO end up with a 1060 just make sure you get the 6GB version and NOT the 3GB - the 3GB cards have gimped GPUs in addition to less memory, with very little difference in price to justify the downgrade. nVidia are evil.
Hope that helps!
Thanks Chaos! The refreshrate should be 144Hz according to the site. The problem is the 1070 is a different type of notebook, wich costs automatically 300 euro's more. Wich is a lot for a "small" update. I might wait a couple weeks and see what happens. I can already order one with the RTX cards in them. But they cost muchos dollares. Too muchos.
I don't really care too much for high graphics, as long as the game looks decent and gameplay is good and smooth I'm okay with it. The 1060 I was gonna pick is the 6Gb version.
I'm gonna wait a little bit,see what happens with prices.
Thanks a bunch!
No problem at all, happy to help.
I can certainly see the problem with the 300 euro price hike for the 1070. It's a shame, really. 300 for the 1080... Now that'd at least be more palatable!
As I've said, it's not that the 1060 is a bad card, just that I can't really recommend it as a futureproof card for >100Hz/FPS gaming.
Doesn't mean it can't be used for that at all, and in many games (particularly older or less graphically demanding titles) it performs admirably, even at high frame rates. It is by far the most popular GPU of the last few years, and many are quite happily gaming on it at 1080p. If you don't mind turning things down when games start to dip below 100 FPS, and you see yourself playing Siege and other older / less demanding games for the foreseeable future, it could serve you well indeed.
Seems my seal of approval can be quiet hard to come by, eh... :D
This might also help.
[video=youtube;ynWFa4Kpo3Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWFa4Kpo3Y[/video]
This video is almost 2 years old. I can imagine displays in laptops have improved by that time. The manufacturer guarantees 144Hz, if needed!
Old yes, but i thought still relevant for explanations of what and why.
Sent from my U_Pro using Tapatalk
Yep, definitely. Battle nonsense makes great videos. His bottom line was get 120hz, even 2 years ago! 60hz gaming is a thing of the past people!
Not much has changed in those 2 years tbh, apart from that we see far more IPS panels now than TN as the latter seems to have fallen out of favour due to poor colour reproduction and viewing angles when compared to IPS. TN panels still have faster response times and less ghosting, but as IPS has improved the difference has shrunk somewhat. I personally would rather use an IPS as even a good TN can look washed out - something that also matters, particularly when playing games made to look good!
Good writeup as always Chaos :D I've reached the same conclusion that 1060 is "fine" but really a 1070/80 is a better bet. Prices do jump by a lot (£300-400 per gpu) though, and there always seem to be caveats in the reviews. MaxQ sounds good for heat and noise until you realise it costs more but for less performance
How does your 1060 laptop fare with star citizen btw?
Can't say. My laptop gets used sporadically for gaming away from home. It hasn't got the biggest hard drive, so I have only installed games I regularly play on there. The main titles I've played on it would be Overwatch, Battlefield V, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I'll note that my laptop is also often CPU-bound, as it has one of the weaker i5 CPUs (it really was a budget conscious choice). The i7 mentioned by Free is a better choice for a stand alone gaming machine, for sure.
Check out this Star Citizen page -
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/telemetry
At a glance, it seems a 1060 (6GB) can pump out 40-50 FPS, although it isn't clear at what settings these numbers can be achieved. Playable at 1080p, I'm sure, but don't expect eye candy and 120 FPS, it just isn't going to happen in such a demanding game.
The only thing I'd throw into the mix is whether to wait and see what these GTX 1660 / 1660 ti cards are like. "Released Soon tm".
https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-vs-gtx-1060,news-59815.html
Disclaimer: Chaos may have already disregarded these. :flasher:
Quote from: Jamoe;436505The only thing I'd throw into the mix is whether to wait and see what these GTX 1660 / 1660 ti cards are like. "Released Soon tm".
https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-vs-gtx-1060,news-59815.html
Disclaimer: Chaos may have already disregarded these. :flasher:
:ohmy: ...more choices? :crazy:
Quote from: Jamoe;436505The only thing I'd throw into the mix is whether to wait and see what these GTX 1660 / 1660 ti cards are like. "Released Soon tm".
https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-vs-gtx-1060,news-59815.html
Disclaimer: Chaos may have already disregarded these. :flasher:
Not disregarded, just didn't bring up as there is really very little reliable information on these cards yet. We don't know for certain if they're laptop, desktop, where they fall in the product line-up, or when they will release. The leak suggests they're mobile and that they'll land soon, but until you start hearing collaborating information from multiple sources, I'd always advise a bit of caution with things like this.
Either way, their eventual release will undoubtedly further lower the price of the 1000 series (that is, assuming there will be ones equivalent to the 1070 and 1080) in the same way that the laptop 2000 series will. Problem is, if you keep waiting for the next hardware release to lower the price of the old stuff, you never commit to anything! PC hardware can move along pretty quickly, and at some point you have to just take the plunge. If you wait first for the laptop 2000 series, and then for these (atrociously named) 1600 series cards, well then you may as well wait for the 3000 series too! :D
Always a bit of a gamble tbh, when to buy and when to wait. The laptop 2000 series seems to be cropping up all over the place, so my guess is we'll see these in the next few months. Not sure about the 1600s as we have only just this week heard of their existence. Could be they're released the day after I post this, or we could be waiting another 6 months to actually see them in shipped laptops. If they do release soon, then I'd still wait a little for the 2000s, if you can, and hopefully both will drive the price down! Even better!
At the end of the day other factors usually decide when we end up buying a PC too, like pay days and permission from significant others! :roflmao:
Totally agree Chaos, only reason I mentioned it was because Free didn't really indicate any timeframes.
My own factors go something like:
1. Research
2. Get Permission
3. Get Fund Saved
4. Lose Permission
5. Lose Funds to some essential Item
6. Gain Permission
7. Save Funds
8. Research
9. Gain Permission again because selective memory
10. Don't look back and hit buy
11. Get buyers remorse and cancel order
12. Research
13. Order Again
...Insert Build/RMA Loop ...
99. Profit
So Free, when are you looking to buy? imminent or you do have saving to do?
Brilliant. :roflmao:
Feels like you just described my constant state of existence. Apart from the profit bit, I've yet to achieve that nirvana! :roflmao:
Quote from: Jamoe;436518So Free, when are you looking to buy? imminent or you do have saving to do?
Soonish, probably gonna buy in a couple of weeks. That is if I don't lose permission for some essential item or something :p
Quite a few 20x0 laptops about now, and some of the 10x0 seem to be getting discounted more /more often. No 1660 yet but looks like a decent time to either get the new tech or grab a discounted slightly older tech :D
I might be interested in a sneaky wee 1080 laptop. Any specific links?
I found this https://www.amazon.de/Zephyrus-GX501VI-GZ020T-i7-7700HQ-GeForce-schwarz/dp/B073BC2R5Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550582897&sr=8-3&keywords=GTX+1080m
Pretty machine.
Weird RAM config to have 24GB... must be 1x 16 and 1x 8. Not that this is a problem.
Decent spec. i7, 1080, 512 SSD, 120Hz screen. They're still a bit pricey IMO, but that's laptops I suppose!
So, I may be starting to look at laptops again seriously (famous last words...:rolleyes:)
The 1660 ti laptops seem to get pretty good results for a good bit less layout - from some places it seems they beat 2060 (non-max-q) and also 2070-max-q ... but cost less than either ... what am I missing?! I've been advised to look for a 9th gen intel cpu (hardware fix for that bug?)
As far as chassis go the gigabyte aero 15 (https://www.scan.co.uk/products/156-gigabyte-aero-15-xa-fhd-240hz-igzo-i7-9750h-16gb-ddr4-512gb-nvme-ssd-8gb-rtx-2070-max-q-win10) and razer blade 15 (https://www.scan.co.uk/products/156-razer-blade-fhd-240hz-i7-9750h-16gb-ddr4-256gb-nvme-ssd-8gb-rtx-2070-max-q-thunderbolt3-win10) both look pretty slick though the 1660ti doesn't seem to pair up with the 9750 cpu yet so just the more expensive 2070 max-q cards. Then there's things like the Aorus 15" and the bigger 17" Aorus (https://www.scan.co.uk/products/173-aorus-7-sa-144hz-fhd-ips-i7-9750h-16gb-ddr4-512gb-nvme-ssdplus1tb-hdd-6gb-gtx-1660-ti-usb-31-gen) which are a little cheaper with more drives etc...
Anyone else been following updates in this sector? :flirty: