Turn caravan into Ultimate Gaming Caravan and send the family to Spain.

Just wait until we all move there to escape the Brexit apocalypse.

Most games tend to do a pretty good job auto detecting the optimal settings for your PC.

If it's a nvidia card/chip then the geforce experience will auto optimises settings for what nvidia think they should be.

Between them I never need to bother changing any settings.

Medium to high is fine for a laptop monitor size.

Paul the sparky wrote:

I'll try to work out what those numbers mean Gurt.

Here's an example -


(I'm not necessarily recommending this particular model, if you find a model you like post it here and we can take a look to see if there's any issues.)

The "Intel Core i7-7700HQ" is the CPU, you can't tell from the i3/i5/i7 designation what the core/thread count will be, so copy and paste the model name into a google search. Look at the intel.ark site which will tell you everything you need to know. You can see there that it has 4 cores / 8 threads, which is the least you want, 6 cores / 12 threads would be even better. Don't bother with only 4 cores 4 threads now.

"16GB of DDR4" is the system memory, all you need to know is that 8GB is the bare minumum, and acceptable with a GPU that has at least 6GB of VRAM, but 16GB or accessible RAM slots that you can use to upgrade later on is highly desirable.

The "GTX 1060 with 6GB" is the graphics chip. The release schedule of new graphics hardware has slowed considerably due to lack of competition in the marketplace, and the 1060 has been around for 2 and half years now, there may be something new just around the corner, but the latest generation isn't that much better anyway. I would go for at least a 1060 6GB GPU to see you through the next few years without issues for 1080p gaming, it's approximately as powerful as the graphics chip in the Xbox One, though not like for like. A 1070 would be the next step up, but laptops with that chip seem to be quite a bit more expensive.

For the display, 1920x1080 resolution will be absolutely fine for a small screen. "IPS" is the LCD panel technology, it just means that colours and viewing angles should be really nice. VA is good too. If it says "TN" or doesn't mention the panel type in the specs then avoid. If you are someone who is quite sensitive to framerate and visual fluidity/game responsiveness then getting a display with a refresh rate higher than 60Hz is very highly recommended. Personally I'm never going to get another 60Hz screen again, I can't go back. But some people don't seem to be able to notice the difference. If you are just playing slow paced stuff then 60Hz is fine tbf, and most of the cheaper 144Hz laptops out there probably use TN panels anyway.

Those are the key specs to look out for, you probably also want to check reviews to see if the keyboard is decent.

The 2060 is a 1070/1080 equivalent, priced to match, isn't in laptops yet. There are rumors of an RTX-less 1660/ti and 1160, which will be the real successors.

7nm is when we will see real improvements in power/performance/price.

Ooh nice.
In the market for a new notebook soon.
A 500quid price hike is a bit ridiculous though even if it is rtx.

I really do hope this guy is right and AMD is on the verge of a breakthrough with integrated apu's.
It would totally revolutionise the gpu market for pc's and consoles.

Gurt's suggestion is still good for entry level notebook gamers.
The rtx model is certainly more hi end but so is the price.

Paul the sparky wrote:

Excellent piece of noob enlightenment there Gurt, much appreciated. I'll have a gander later on but my eyes are watering at the price. Surely I'll not need a top end graphics card just for Civ, FM2019 and a few Indies? Although they might come paired with the better processors. Plenty of food for thought though, great stuff.

No, you can definitely get by probably just fine with a 1050ti, I'm just reluctant to recommend it at this stage as you will be stuck with it for the life of the laptop. The 1060 is a significant upgrade, and is at the level of the most recent consoles so should have a good bit of life for years to come. Of course it will depend on your budget and how much you intend to use it.

hunk wrote:

I really do hope this guy is right and AMD is on the verge of a breakthrough with integrated apu's. It would totally revolutionise the gpu market for pc's and consoles.

Yeah it's all about to kick off this year in terms of CPUs, AMD have some serious stuff up their sleeve which we will be seeing shortly. Ryzen is still criminally underused by laptop manufacturers, 7nm should change that really.

Dark Soldier wrote:

My laptop is beastly but due to MSI fucking temps it sometimes hits 90 degrees on some games, so I mainly use it as an FM/indie machine.

without my consent

Tempy wrote:

Dark Soldier wrote:

My laptop is beastly but due to MSI fucking temps it sometimes hits 90 degrees on some games, so I mainly use it as an FM/indie machine.

without my consent

heh

What's this Epic Store exclusivity bullshit?

Most laptops tend to err on the side of silence over temps, most people care more about noise and don't really understand the impact thermals can have on performance and longevity.