Which current 15"/17" Laptop has the most "desktop like" performance from it's RTX3080?

ianh

ianh

ianh

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Hi All,

I've been using a Gigabyte 7700HQ/GTX1070 17.3" Laptop as a desktop replacement out here in Saudi for the past 3 years using various 55-75in TV's as a monitor as I don't use the laptop screen (I thought bigger chassis meant better cooling, only reason I got a 17"???) so I'm happy with what I've had over that time but now I'm after a bigger step into the world of the RTX3080 so with it's increased costs I'm after a good one.

I know I'm not going to get the same performance as a desktop 3080 obviously but which current laptop gets closest to it? I know it's power related with versions as low as 80w so I've found a few 130w+ versions with either 8 or 16GB VRAM but I can't find a decent comparison site with gaming FPS type scores etc, it's mostly productivity and/or CPU based.

I have zero brand loyalty towards AMD/Intel for the CPU, and I'm not fussed between 15" or 17.3" or even thermals TBH as I use a Coolermaster "3 moveable fan" cooling pad and headphones when gaming so fan noise isn't an issue, I'm just looking at the highest performing 3080 laptops, preferably that OcUK sell as they are literally a 5 min drive from my UK house whenever I get back into the country.

I've seen OcUK have the MSI GS66, the Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 and the Razer Blade 15 are in stock now but that'll obviously change as time goes on.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/gaming-laptops/gaming-laptops/nvidia-rtx-3080

Cheers!
 
Brazo said:
2) and the second question which 3080 laptop is the best? I think you’ve highlighted them well above https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/mylaptopguide.com/best-rtx-3080-laptops/?amp
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Thanks for the reply but I'd already googled and read that pretty crap list. It's nothing more than a simple list of laptops with a 3080 inside, zero ratings/reviews at all. For example there's several models in that list with just a lowly 80w 3080 but as there's no actual review/ratings you have no idea how the GPU performs for gaming.

I've had the same issue with lots of alleged "comparison" sites, none of which actually compare the GPU performance so I'm using OcUK's site as at least that tells you the GPU power usage to give you a hint of the expected performance but, as helpful as that is, it's not a review and so understandably can/does miss important bits of info that a review would pick up on.

Kohaashi said:
The MSI GE76 and Alienware M17 R4 have the most powerful (tgp) 3080 graphics.
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Cool, thanks I'll give them a look.

***EDIT*** - Had a quick scan, the Alienware has a 14% discount right now so I can get a much better spec for the same price as the MSI so thats currently top of my list, even if the RAM is slightly slower (2933 vs 3200).
 
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ianh said:
Nice! That'd be another £200-ish off the total for a saving of over £700 off from the list price for the spec I'm after!
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It might be 6% cashback on the 14% reduced price (and many retailers pay on the end purchase price minus VAT), so probably won't end up a straight 6% of the RRP.
 
Squink said:
It might be 6% cashback on the 14% reduced price (and many retailers pay on the end purchase price minus VAT), so probably won't end up a straight 6% of the RRP.
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Yeah I figured that, I dropped the 6% from the already discounted 14% off figure - approx £3700 down to £3200 (14%) then down to £3000 (6%) - which is a hell of deal but, to be brutally honest, still stupidly expensive compared to my OG laptop mentioned above at £1200 back in Xmas 2017 but I suppose thats just the situation we find ourselves in nowadays.
 
Alienware m15 r5 will be out soon using amd this time round cpu wise. Also will be clocking the highest wattage possible on a laptop GPU. Will come with its usual price tag though :p
 
Simmz said:
Alienware m15 r5 will be out soon using amd this time round cpu wise. Also will be clocking the highest wattage possible on a laptop GPU. Will come with its usual price tag though :p
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The R5 doesn’t have the 3080

also, the 3070 version of the R5 has a TGP of 125W compared to the R4’s 140W.
 
ianh said:
Thanks for the reply but I'd already googled and read that pretty crap list. It's nothing more than a simple list of laptops with a 3080 inside, zero ratings/reviews at all. For example there's several models in that list with just a lowly 80w 3080 but as there's no actual review/ratings you have no idea how the GPU performs for gaming.

I've had the same issue with lots of alleged "comparison" sites, none of which actually compare the GPU performance so I'm using OcUK's site as at least that tells you the GPU power usage to give you a hint of the expected performance but, as helpful as that is, it's not a review and so understandably can/does miss important bits of info that a review would pick up on.



Cool, thanks I'll give them a look.

***EDIT*** - Had a quick scan, the Alienware has a 14% discount right now so I can get a much better spec for the same price as the MSI so thats currently top of my list, even if the RAM is slightly slower (2933 vs 3200).
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Ram makes barely any difference. Like up to 5% at best and it can easily be swapped out for peanuts.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
it can easily be swapped out for peanuts.
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It's soldered in the Alienware R4, but I agree the performance difference is going to be minimal between those speeds, certainly not a deal-breaker in anyway.

Squink said:
Are AMD’s mobile chips noticeably better than their intel versions? I’ve read mixed conclusions on the matter.
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According to TechSpot the top AMD chip, the 5900HX, outperforms the current top Intel chip, the 10980HK in virtually every production task and 75% of tested games (using the same GPU - RTX3070 mobile IIRC) ) mainly down to Zen3 IPC increase.

Production test results graph from Techspot -

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What the performance of 11th gen Intel mobile CPU's looks like I've no idea, but based on the desktop chips it's really the 12th gen that AMD would have to be fighting against.
 
Why would anyone solder ram is beyond me. It's as if they want to force you to buy their higher end laptops but with so much competition you are just forcing people to go buy elsewhere.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Why would anyone solder ram is beyond me. It's as if they want to force you to buy their higher end laptops but with so much competition you are just forcing people to go buy elsewhere.
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TBF to Alienware, they solder upto 32GB of RAM so it's "unlikely" in a gaming laptop that someone would need/want more than that so I'm less willing to complain about capacity. However, it does raise "what to do with a faulty RAM stick" issues if a soldered stick does die eventually (outside or warranty) which I'm not a fan of.

Basically I'm back in the UK til Summer anyway so now I've got a good baseline idea of what I'm after I'll see what's available when I get back.
 
Cheers for those links and recommendations. The Alienware R4 really seems to be the "best" choice right now from those lists.

I looked at the XMG Neo, decent price but only the 5800 CPU available right now and a 4-6 week waiting list but definitely worth a look compared to their ULTRA version which is 1k Euro more for virtually the same spec!!!
 
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