Laptop advice


Michael_Gia
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Hey there, I’m thinking of getting this Alienware X14 laptop. 
 

I’m led to believe that it would have much better performance than my current 2019 MacBook Pro. 
 

I’m getting it to do the occasional real-time ray trace, both in Chief and Twinmotion. 
 

Can anyone comment on this?   For the money, is there a better alternative?  
(Canadian dollars, by the way, so roughly $1450 USD.)
 

image.thumb.jpeg.dd5886eafe3679d65007eab89bb13ad6.jpeg

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I'd suggest spending the extra $400-500CDN and getting an Asus Strix or Gigabyte Aorus with 32GB of Ram and a 4070 perhaps....

and one with a 2560 x 1440 Panel so it matches your Desktop resolution too, in probably the 16" or 17" size if it is basically a desktop replacement.

 

M. 

 

  54 minutes ago, SHCanada2 said:

There were some with 3080s   4070  at memory express 

 

like this one perhaps

 

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00124464

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29 minutes ago, someguy said:

unless there’s something about it I don’t know.

nice price for a 17"

5 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

For the money, is there a better alternative?  

could do this for $1150 and buy more memory if you needed it

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00122400

 

they look about the same, although it is DDR4, not sure what your MSI is

 

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Something to consider if a Laptop is not essential is that Desktop GPUs are always more powerful than their similarly named Laptop GPU, due the the power limitations put on Laptops due too much heat being produced in a thin body and the battery usage too as a discrete GPU uses a lot more power.

 

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3080-Laptop-vs-Nvidia-RTX-3080/m1443565vs4080

 

image.thumb.png.ff6221c27fa4923cce4e98a2347bf801.png

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14 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

looks like the 3080 laptop GPU is pretty close to the same as the 4070 laptop

image.thumb.png.abbf4690bb16d390a80f597849340e93.png

 

so the one you pointed out is a later processor than mine but without the 32GB for $2450, $200 less than what I paid 18 months ago. 

 

and it is ddr5 for the ram so that is good

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, SHCanada2 said:

looks like the 3080 laptop GPU is same as the 4070 laptop

so the one you pointed out is a later processor than mine but without the 32GB for $2450, $200 less than what I paid 18 months ago. 

and it is ddr5 for the ram so that is good

 

 

 

 

The prices of NVMEs and Ram have come down considerably in the last 12-18 months , but from what I have read, DDR5 doesn't make much difference in the real world until it reaches speeds of at least 6000mhz, but that also depends on the latency too ie CL 38 (fast) vs CL 52 (slower) etc.

 

M.

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1 hour ago, Kbird1 said:

DDR5 doesn't make much difference in the real world until

I have two laptops, one with DDR4 and one with DDR5, I don't know what the tests show..I just know I wont go back to nearly an identical laptop , this one with the DDR5 is soooo snappy..I won't even use my desktop with a 4090, thats how much of a difference I feel

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There’s also this which is cheaper, although a smaller screen, it’s is still 2560 x 1440. 
 

I like that it doesn’t look like it comes with a skateboard like the very gaming Rog Strix. 
 

As an apple guy I don’t see the difference other than screen size.  Plus I’m cheap. 

 

 

 

 

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Michael,

On 4/5/2023 I bought a Dell Alienware 18" lap top  as I needed something portable. Dell had a 10% off sale so I put all of the upgrades that Dell would let me put on it including the 4090 Video card.

Long story short just found out 2 days ago the bastards at UPS either lost or stole the laptop. Dell they gave me a $400 credit plus 10% plus off plus a $99 back pack. Suppose to be here next week if they do not loose it again.

The entire unit cost me $2685. This laptop actually weighs almost 1/2 of what my 6 year old Alienware 17" laptop weighed. Hopefully this will be the last laptop I will ever need, I highly recommend getting the best video card you can because Chief is not really dependent on the chip as much as the video card. My old lap top would freeze up viewing in 3D otherwise it would run the program OK.

I sent Perry a PM about monitors and he talked me into 2-43" monitors. They are LG.

Good luck !

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4 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

I like that it doesn’t look like it comes with a skateboard like the very gaming Rog Strix.

 

It's no as bad as you think :)  I had the same thought about mine ( see my Sig.) All the RGB Lighting can be turned off on the Strix or set to a single color if you prefer , at least mine can, though I like the Illuminated Keyboard on the Strix , (set quite low single color) and now have one on the Desktop too. 

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6 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

I have two laptops, one with DDR4 and one with DDR5, I don't know what the tests show..I just know I wont go back to nearly an identical laptop , this one with the DDR5 is soooo snappy..I won't even use my desktop with a 4090, thats how much of a difference I feel

 

I guess it's not in your Sig. then , and it likely has a top of the Line CPU  eg 13th gen (with a much faster IMC) and Faster NVME(s) and high-end GPU too , so I'm not surprised that overall it is faster/snappier than the one in your Sig.  ( as one would hope :) )

 

M.

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I have an older Alienware laptop that I am going to replace soon to keep up with the graphics needs. If you are buying the Alienware products, check the specs for the weight. I was able to eliminate my gym membership  after about 90 days of lifting the Alienware laptop. 

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16 hours ago, Michael_Gia said:

How about this, then? 
and the screen is 2560 x 1440. 
(Thanks for reminding me about resolution)

 

for that budget that is simialr to what I would buy(i would buy intel, but that is just because I have no idea on AMD), as long as the memory is expandable. i have a 17" screen. I wouldnt go back to anything smaller

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12 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

 

I guess it's not in your Sig. then , and it likely has a top of the Line CPU  eg 13th gen (with a much faster IMC) and Faster NVME(s) and high-end GPU too , so I'm not surprised that overall it is faster/snappier than the one in your Sig.  ( as one would hope :) )

 

M.

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/legion-series/legion-7-16arha7/82uh/82uh0001us/pf3zh50m

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  • 7 months later...

Regarding laptops for x15.

 

I purchased an alienware M17 R5 (made by dell)
Processor    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX with Radeon Graphics           3.30 GHz
Installed RAM    32.0 GB (31.2 GB usable)
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

 

numerous phone supports sessions

i have had 3 site visits for onsite tech support,

they switched out the actual laptop with a refurbished unit.  

 

After 1 month of use the refurbished laptop started crashing and running slow.  

 

I started another support ticket!

 

the warranty expired during the support ticket.  They have deleted the support ticket and stated they would not sell me an extended warranty because the computer was broken.  

 

During my call to Dell today, (which resulted in them denying the support) I spoke with a very knowledgeable tech who was polite and helpful as he could be within their rules.  He said that the heat generated by the graphics is not good for a laptop.  

 

so take this into consideration when purchasing a 3500.00 laptop.  (this is my 3rd laptop in 3 years.)

razer 15, got hot, warped the case.  purchased a new battery, runs great.  used this heavy for probly 2 years.  

Legion 5, would not render high graphics renders, clay, ray trace

another high end laptop, i don't have the name, it is with our office manager, it would not render high graphics renders.  

 

I then went to the Alienware M17, r5.  this was according to the guy at Best Buy be the best model for chief and my use.  

 

So maybe i should be looking at a desktop?

 

 



 

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Desktops are always more powerful , they basically cripple the laptop GPU to keep the heat down  generally by lowering the Power it can pull but about 2/3's.

 

That said it sounds like the Lenovo Legion 5 and the other High End Laptop were not seeing Chief as a 3D App and thus not switching to the Nvidia ( or AMD Discrete GPU) from the Intel iGPU on the CPU, there are several posts here on the Forum about those Issues.

 

I just ordered a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i and the Asus in my Sig. also runs Chief X15 no problem....

 

Your Sig. is a bit confusing  as you say  it's a Dell now?

 

 

Mick.

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