Gaming desktop replacement feasibility?

[Haggisman]

I currently have a reasonably high-end gaming PC:

5800X3D
32GB RAM
7800XT

Probably 90% of the time I game my desk, but recently I've been considering whether it might be worth getting a laptop for when I want to sit downstairs with the other half, or visiting friends/family for some gaming.

I was originally going to pick up something relatively cheap & cheerful 2nd hand e.g. 1660/2060/3060 sort of level, but then wondered if it's worth getting something a bit more meaty to replace the desktop and just running a single system.

How realistic is it to get something within 10-20% of the performance of my desktop, running at 3440x1440? Is that going to have me looking at basically a 4090 laptop?

Is something like that going to be ridiculously hot and loud when gaming as well, or have things improved on that front?

 

[brendy]

Laptop form, High Performance, Quiet. You can have any two of the three.
I have an Acer Predator 12th gen i7 with 32gb ram, 3070ti 8gb and it runs pretty well, even better in Turbo mode but I dont think laptops will ever be as powerful as the desktop equivilent.

 

[Haggisman]

Probably better sticking with the original plan of a relatively low spec. 2nd hand one then?

 

[brendy]

Cant advise too much as its your money , but I have a Dell XPS 11th gen i7 /32gb/3050ti 4gb for work and had COD Warzone installed on it, it was struggling to break 40fps though maybe the XPS isnt a good example as it has a relatively low wattage system and not the best at clearing heat.
if it was my money, id maybe set a budget then shop around for a while as there are 2nd hand bargains to be had.

 

[Haggisman]

Thanks, seen the lower end of what I'm looking for go around £4-500 on the MM, so that's roughly what I'm aiming for, could probably go to ~3x that if replacing the desktop

 

[Twentymac]

I'm currently in the same position. Looking for something half decent that I can move around with but also play COD and achieve at least 60-70fps.

I feel that I am very out of touch of whats required of most modern games now since it was around 7-8 years ago I was classed as a PC gamer.

The options I'm looking at are coming in at the £1200-£1500 mark. Is that overkill for what I want?

 

[Liquid_Entity]

In November 2022 I got an Asus TUF F15 with 12th gen Intel and 3070 GPU. I get about 70 to 90 fps in COD but at lots of heat. Also the low 1%s and 0.1%s are low which leads to stuttering and poor framerates. I spent £1100 on it and tbh I wished I'd spent a little more and got a desktop gaming PC. I went for portability at the time as use it for gaming as well as dj streaming on Twitch so it only.ever lives in 2 spots. My desk or my dj booth.

 

[Haggisman]

In November 2022 I got an Asus TUF F15 with 12th gen Intel and 3070 GPU. I get about 70 to 90 fps in COD but at lots of heat. Also the low 1%s and 0.1%s are low which leads to stuttering and poor framerates. I spent £1100 on it and tbh I wished I'd spent a little more and got a desktop gaming PC. I went for portability at the time as use it for gaming as well as dj streaming on Twitch so it only.ever lives in 2 spots. My desk or my dj booth.

I guess the heat potentially results in throttling which would be responsible for those lows. Definitely something to consider re. ditching the desktop!

 

[brendy]

I went for the Predator Helios 300 with the 3070ti as Id seen the reviews mention just how powerful and noisy they (fans/cooling) were, I use headphones when gaming so it really doesnt matter to me, when on regular mode, its as quiet as a mouse. I went for the 17" version though so whethger that has the edge over a 15" in cooling, im not sure. It runs COD very well, I use an external 75hz Dell screen at 1440 with frame sync enabled sand it is absolutely pinned to the 75fps so id say in turbo mode it could go faster on the local screen or a faster external. 75 is plenty for me though.

 

[Haggisman]

I went for the Predator Helios 300 with the 3070ti as Id seen the reviews mention just how powerful and noisy they (fans/cooling) were, I use headphones when gaming so it really doesnt matter to me, when on regular mode, its as quiet as a mouse. I went for the 17" version though so whethger that has the edge over a 15" in cooling, im not sure. It runs COD very well, I use an external 75hz Dell screen at 1440 with frame sync enabled sand it is absolutely pinned to the 75fps so id say in turbo mode it could go faster on the local screen or a faster external. 75 is plenty for me though.

Thanks - yeah, I'd probably be looking at a 17" as while the portability is the reason for considering the change, it doesn't need to be particular slim/lightweight - it would be transported in the car to be plugged in at destination, rather than needing to be carried around all day/used in cafes/on the train etc.

Makes sense that a bigger chassis with more space for fans/heatsink etc. would be better for cooling/quieter.

A refurb Alienware M17 from Dell outlet looks like a potential option - can add a few years extra warranty as well, which is always a bonus!

 

[Scrutinize]

I currently have a reasonably high-end gaming PC:

5800X3D
32GB RAM
7800XT

Probably 90% of the time I game my desk, but recently I've been considering whether it might be worth getting a laptop for when I want to sit downstairs with the other half, or visiting friends/family for some gaming.

I was originally going to pick up something relatively cheap & cheerful 2nd hand e.g. 1660/2060/3060 sort of level, but then wondered if it's worth getting something a bit more meaty to replace the desktop and just running a single system.

How realistic is it to get something within 10-20% of the performance of my desktop, running at 3440x1440? Is that going to have me looking at basically a 4090 laptop?

Is something like that going to be ridiculously hot and loud when gaming as well, or have things improved on that front?

Does Geforce Now cover your games library?

If it does and you have decent network then for your budget nothing beats it now.

 

[Haggisman]

Does Geforce Now cover your games library?

If it does and you have decent network then for your budget nothing beats it now.

Probably most of the newer stuff - I assume you're suggesting to ditch the high end PC/desktop completely, grab a cheapish laptop and just stream the games instead? Not really an option I'd given much thought to be honest, although one of my mates does this, will have to grill him for some honest feedback (he's been playing BG3 with us on it for a while now though with no issues).

I can get gigabit with both Virgin and FTTP, so could be an option and would give me the same access on my Shield TV and Steam Deck (I assume I can register multiple devices on it as long as I'm only using one at a time?).

However, when I've tried it before, the latency was noticeable (granted, this is when I first got my Shield about 5-6 years ago and it was free/in trial. £200/year is quite a significant chunk as well - 2 years of subscription would pretty much pay for the kind of laptop I'm potentially looking at.

Looks like they have daily passes coming out soon though, so might give it a shot when those materialise

 

[Scrutinize]

Probably most of the newer stuff - I assume you're suggesting to ditch the high end PC/desktop completely, grab a cheapish laptop and just stream the games instead? Not really an option I'd given much thought to be honest, although one of my mates does this, will have to grill him for some honest feedback (he's been playing BG3 with us on it for a while now though with no issues).

I can get gigabit with both Virgin and FTTP, so could be an option and would give me the same access on my Shield TV and Steam Deck (I assume I can register multiple devices on it as long as I'm only using one at a time?).

However, when I've tried it before, the latency was noticeable (granted, this is when I first got my Shield about 5-6 years ago and it was free/in trial. £200/year is quite a significant chunk as well - 2 years of subscription would pretty pay for the kind of laptop I'm potentially looking at.

Looks like they have daily passes coming out soon though, so might give it a shot when those materialise

I use it and no lag.

Tethered to phone or WiFi or direct on my phone etc.

It's light years ahead of shield etc.

So flexible re devices too and no impact on battery life.

Hi res gaming for hours in silence on battery.

 

[PaulM]

Steam Remote Play is pretty good now if you're just on a local network. I probably wouldn't play a multiplayer FPS through it but I've played games that do require relatively little input lag (Elden Ring) and didn't have any problems

 

[Quartz]

but then wondered if it's worth getting something a bit more meaty to replace the desktop and just running a single system.

What's wrong with having two systems? If you just want one system then try to find one with an Oculink port so you can have a GPU dock on your desktop.

 

[Haggisman]

Steam Remote Play is pretty good now if you're just on a local network. I probably wouldn't play a multiplayer FPS through it but I've played games that do require relatively little input lag (Elden Ring) and didn't have any problems

I use this for streaming my PC to the shield connected to the living room TV, and to the Steam Deck for more demanding titles and yes, works (almost*) perfectly. The laptop would be for when I'm away from home, otherwise I'd be I'd be relying on:

a) My PC being on
b) No annoying quirks of certain games/crashes/bugs requiring local intervention
c) The quality of the internet connection wherever I am

What's wrong with having two systems? If you just want one system then try to find one with an Oculink port so you can have a GPU dock on your desktop.

No particular issue, just weighing up options.

Not heard of Oculink before, but that does look great - I did investigate USB-C/TB3 eGPU docks, but seems they suffer quite a significant performance hit; Oculink doesn't seem to have the same issue?


Edit: seems my GFN account from 6 years ago is still active and is already on the free tier (which is currently "full" to new subscribers), so I can give that a go later on



* a few minor issues:
Occasional quirks like sometimes needing to allow access to Steam by accepting a prompt on the physical machine.
No HDR streaming
Can't use my controller except on games launched through Steam, works fine for most GOG games, but haven't been able to get anything from Epic working

 

[Quartz]

Not heard of Oculink before, but that does look great - I did investigate USB-C/TB3 eGPU docks, but seems they suffer quite a significant performance hit; Oculink doesn't seem to have the same issue?

There is a performance hit, but not to the degree of Thunderbolt.

I'm sure fancier docks exist.

 

[jrwagh333]

Have you considered a handheld?

Steam Deck
ROG Ally
Legion GO

 

[Haggisman]

I have a Steam Deck, which is great for casual on-the-go use, not ideal for some "proper" LAN gaming though

 

[Haggisman]

I use it and no lag.

Tethered to phone or WiFi or direct on my phone etc.

It's light years ahead of shield etc.

So flexible re devices too and no impact on battery life.

Hi res gaming for hours in silence on battery.

Eugh, just tried Deep Rock Galactic (pretty performant, fast paced, so a decent test I think) on this (free tier), and almost instant motion sickness due to the slight latency. Don't know if the paid tiers are any better, but that's a non-starter for any FPS games. I'm sure it's fine for 3rd person or strategy, RPG, etc.