Whats the point of an i9 for gaming tho?

Yes it gets you more FPS, but any decent chip will get you more than enough if paired with a top end gpu.

I've felt that way about computer hardware for years. I still game on an old laptop with 1060 mobile and HQ6700 at 1080p when I am away on vacation. The performance is quite acceptable.

My 1080ti was financed by Nicehash and I actually have a work related reason (Excel sims) to get CPUs with high core counts.

Even then I haven't found it necessary to upgrade beyond 8 cores on my desktop.

Yea but Im not even talking about that.

You are going to have great performance on any reasonable chip paired with a top end gpu, all your going to get from an i9 is numbers on bench that the human eye cant see when you are actually playing games.

How do people feel about Dell XPS and Alienware laptops? Are they good quality and representative of the top of the line laptops available? I'm looking for moderate graphics, like running Hearthstone at 4K. I'll be running several types of virtual machines, so I also want access to i7-i9 configurations if possible.

This laptop will travel to construction sites on occasion, so I would prefer something that is pretty portable, I don't want a full numpad keyboard by any means. An ethernet port is preferred but not necessary, as long as there's a decent USB A/C interface.

Any recommendations based on those parameters?

Agree with all this for the most part.

I do think we're kind of near a performance/price equilibrium though near the high (but not top) end. Going from a 2070super to 2080ti costs ~600-700 and gets you about 60% more performance. Going from i5-9600k (or some other $200 AMD equivalent) to an i7-9700k gets you ~15% (YMMV depending on games) and will cost you ~150-300 extra.

For certain price points it makes sense. For what it's worth, I think the sweet spot today for gaming is 2070 super, an i-7 9700k (not i9) or Ryzen 3700/3800x, and a 1440p 144hz G-sync/Freesync monitor. This setup will get you near best in class performance in all the games in the market. Anything over that and the value proposition just isn't there. Less than that you are going to lose significant performance at least in some games.

Depending on the games you play, maybe downgrade the CPU (if you're into AAA titles that are really graphics intensive and play ~60fps at high resolutions) or maybe downgrade the GPU (if you play esports games at low res and ultra high FPS).

A long time ago I said I think the most cost effective gaming setup is a macbook (due to low cost of ownership/high resale value) plus eGPU.

I think I found an even stronger use case: business laptops are going quad core with high boost clocks. I just got my new company issue laptop with 8665U CPU. With 4 cores and 16gb RAM and single core boost up to 4.8ghz... I thought it should be fine for gaming.

It is. As a bonus, when I get home, I only need one cable to get the machine hooked up to all my monitors.

Granted I'll always be 10-30% behind people on full gaming desktop rigs with same GPU but the convenience factor is pretty massive and my effective cost of ownership of having 70-90% of the performance is something like 1000 cheaper lower two years (company laptop end of lease every two years it seems).

I really don't get your point, so maybe I missread somewhere. A self built tower pc will always be more cost effective than any other solution.

If you are comparing something, you need to compare to the same specs using retail prices. My work laptop was free, that doesn't make it the most cost effective gaming platform ever built.

Also, you will be way more than 30% behind unless your favorite game is opening chrome tabs, because laptop GPUs already suck, and a business laptop will not sport a good gpu in the first place. Additionally, a $1000 laptop will never be more cost effective than a $1000 tower for the same target specs.

So, getting stuff for free is the best deal, got it.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

I prefer to think of it as maximizing the use I get out of free hardware.

I'm sure this is dumb because I assume people in this thread want better gear than this, but if you are looking for a dirt cheap "gaming" keyboard and mouse, I picked up a Redragon S107 combo that's pretty darn good for the price. It comes with a keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad. My son said he could use a new keyboard and I happened to stumble upon it at Microcenter, so I gave it a shot. He's only used the keyboard so far and really likes it.

It was $35 at Microcenter, but it's $29 on Amazon.

Clearly, the keyboard isn't mechanical, but I tried it for a minute and it has a very nice feel. Keys aren't "clicky," but they have a nice, firm spring to them, not mushy at all. Has the number pad, as well. Basic RGB lights - can't customize beyond changing the color of the entire keyboard. I used the mouse for regular work yesterday and it's ok. I've used Redragon mice for gaming and they are good - didn't like the feel of this one quite as much as my previous one, but it's fine.


So anyway, if you want something that's crazy cheap but pretty nice for the price, try it out.

I honestly feel like reviews like those are some of the more useful ones, in a ton of hobbies.

Everyone knows the roccat kone pure is a great mouse. There have been 5000 reviews of it if you want to spend the whatever it costs dollars to get it.

But sometimes you just need or want the cheap stuff for whatever reason, and can never find a good review of what the good cheap stuff actually is, so you either roll a die to gamble or buy the expensive stuff.

Can anyone recommend a sub £50 gaming palm grip mouse?

I'm happy to wait for a good discount at Amazon if it results in getting something better for my money.

Logitech G502 is the modern reigning champ I think and it's exactly 50 euros on Amazon.de.

Thanks for the recommendation. I ended up going for the G402 as Amazon had it on offer and a few of the user reviews online indicate that it's a bit better than the 'upgrade'.

So reviews of the new 4900hs mobile Ryzen chips suggest the Ryzen chips are basically on par with the 9700k Intel desktop part. If the specs scale pretty much linearly, that makes the budget version 4800H better or roughly on par with the current top mobile part 9980HK.

Intel really really needs to get its manufacturing process caught up. It's now more than a full node behind. Intel's upcoming 10980hk should be roughly on par with 4900 despite being a full node behind. That suggests Intel's chip design is still superior and is being held back by Intel's exclusive use of in house manufacturing.

RTX 3070 supposed to outperform 2080ti with $499 sticker.
RTX 3080 supposed to double 2080 performance with $699 sticker
RTX 3090 has $1499 sticker. Supposedly to be able to play at 8k 60fps with upscaling.

I put myself on the "Notify me" list for 3080 on nVidia's site.

Just hot damn.

They look nice, I'm holding off for now since I'm probably building a new computer next summer.

Also RIP 2000-2020:

Middle mouse click doesn't work 50% of the time.

Open it up and check for dust. I've had a few mice over the years that would lose wheel functionality if too much dust got in it and were fine after a good dusting.

I'm back to my 2006 MS keyboard after my 5th fancy mechanical keyboard died. Never again.

Really interested in seeing what a 3060 can do.

Looks like not long till 1080p is a dead resolution.

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-7-4800H-...0265451&sr=8-4

$1000 for gaming laptop with 4800h (8-core) and 2060 mobile.

I don't expect these to last. I strongly suspect gaming laptops are going to be in short supply for a few months as OEMs work to switch to Ryzen and Ampere for next product cycle.

It's a good time to be a PC gamer.

I’m debating with myself on getting a gaming laptop. I’m in no rush what so ever though, should I wait for this switch? I’m looking at getting an Alienware one but they’re all intel

has anyone gotten a 3080 in here?

3070/80 looks pretty appealing but i dont make use of my 2070 as it is..

All the 3080s were sold out by the time I woke up. I suspect only people running scripts managed to place orders.

I am fine with waiting though. Other than driving my Valve Index, a 3080 is overkill (I game at 1440p) unless you game in 4K.

Def in the market for a 3080 but it feels like it'll be a month or 2 before they're available.

Also the FE seems like the card to get unless you need literal whisper quiet.

Also I game at 1440, and think the 3080 will barely get me where I want to be on ultra fwiw. Hoping for average of 120 fps on ultra for most games. Ultra wide monitor fwiw.