Specs for new laptop Witcher 3

[ssjchiel]

Specs for new laptop Witcher 3

Hey everybody,

I hope someone can help with this. I want to buy a new laptop, but I'm not going to buy a gaming laptop. But I do want to be able to play Witcher 3 on it on a minimum of medium setting with no difficulty at all. Two years ago I bought a Asus laptop which I thought hit all the boxes but still this wasn't the case. So can someone list all the things I've to check that all the important things must have.

My thanks will be eternal,

Greets from Holland.

 

[SigilFey]

Unfortunately, what you're basically saying is: "I want a decent steak, but I don't want to pay steakhouse prices." (You're gonna wind up at family diner trying to convince yourself the dry, 6 oz. flank you ordered isn't that bad. )

The trouble with your request is that off-the-shelf systems are simply not built (or configured) for gaming. This is especially true of off-the shelf laptops. Even if you find a system that seems like a "deal" (e.g. decent graphics card and a nice monitor), it's almost assuredly cutting corners in some other area (likely CPU, motherboard, RAM speed, slow or no SSD, etc.) I would recommend the following:

1.) If you can consider a desktop, look into to buying the components yourself. The system I built back in 2014 was priced over $7,000 on Falcon-NW (just for the tower!) I put together the entire rig, identical hardware (minus the liquid cooling, since I don't overclock), PLUS a new monitor, Razer keyboard and mouse, and a nice set of 2.1 speakers for just over $2,000. Yes, one can save that much...but it takes research and time. It took me about 6 months to get all the parts for good prices. This is the best way to go for gaming, as desktop components are cheaper, more powerful, and often last longer.

2.) If a desktop is completely out of the question, save just a few more pennies and spend it on a budget ASUS Republic of Gamers system or the like. I've owned one G51 and two G71 systems over time, and both of them were magnificent. Truly desktop replacements. The lower end G51's will likely run you between $1,100 - $1,500, but deals on overstock can be found online or in stores sometimes. Frankly, these systems, while they may seem to have lower-grade components, are often more than the sum of their parts since their hardware is specifically chosen and configured to work together. (Other, standard, off-the-shelf laptops that tout things like, "GTX 1000m Series for BLAZING graphics and gaming!!!" fail to mention that the wimpy CPU it's paired with will never be able to keep up with it, creating a bottleneck that strangles performance...or that the cooling for the system is so inadequate that the laptop will overheat and shut down if you try to play something heavy on it.)

In short, if you intend to buy an non-gaming, off-the-shelf system, it's a roll of the dice. In all the years I've been buying / building my own systems, I only got lucky once with a non-gaming laptop. It was a Dell, a bit pricey, but contained what seemed like well-balanced hardware...and to my surprise, it worked beautifully with games. (I later learned that Dell had purchased Alienware...so what I had bought was likely an "in-between" system put together by the Alienware crew. Since that time there has been a pretty clear divide between Dell laptops and Alienware laptops.)

How much were you willing to spend?

 

[ssjchiel]

Unfortunately, what you're basically saying is: "I want a decent steak, but I don't want to pay steakhouse prices." (You're gonna wind up at family diner trying to convince yourself the dry, 6 oz. flank you ordered isn't that bad. )

The trouble with your request is that off-the-shelf systems are simply not built (or configured) for gaming. This is especially true of off-the shelf laptops. Even if you find a system that seems like a "deal" (e.g. decent graphics card and a nice monitor), it's almost assuredly cutting corners in some other area (likely CPU, motherboard, RAM speed, slow or no SSD, etc.) I would recommend the following:

1.) If you can consider a desktop, look into to buying the components yourself. The system I built back in 2014 was priced over $7,000 on Falcon-NW (just for the tower!) I put together the entire rig, identical hardware (minus the liquid cooling, since I don't overclock), PLUS a new monitor, Razer keyboard and mouse, and a nice set of 2.1 speakers for just over $2,000. Yes, one can save that much...but it takes research and time. It took me about 6 months to get all the parts for good prices. This is the best way to go for gaming, as desktop components are cheaper, more powerful, and often last longer.

2.) If a desktop is completely out of the question, save just a few more pennies and spend it on a budget ASUS Republic of Gamers system or the like. I've owned one G51 and two G71 systems over time, and both of them were magnificent. Truly desktop replacements. The lower end G51's will likely run you between $1,100 - $1,500, but deals on overstock can be found online or in stores sometimes. Frankly, these systems, while they may seem to have lower-grade components, are often more than the sum of their parts since their hardware is specifically chosen and configured to work together. (Other, standard, off-the-shelf laptops that tout things like, "GTX 1000m Series for BLAZING graphics and gaming!!!" fail to mention that the wimpy CPU it's paired with will never be able to keep up with it, creating a bottleneck that strangles performance...or that the cooling for the system is so inadequate that the laptop will overheat and shut down if you try to play something heavy on it.)

In short, if you intend to buy an non-gaming, off-the-shelf system, it's a roll of the dice. In all the years I've been buying / building my own systems, I only got lucky once with a non-gaming laptop. It was a Dell, a bit pricey, but contained what seemed like well-balanced hardware...and to my surprise, it worked beautifully with games. (I later learned that Dell had purchased Alienware...so what I had bought was likely an "in-between" system put together by the Alienware crew. Since that time there has been a pretty clear divide between Dell laptops and Alienware laptops.)

How much were you willing to spend?

Thank for the fast and extensive respond. Basically I'm willing to spend around 1000 euro. I see what you're saying with the nice steak metaphor. But I thought that the game is a couple of years out now, maybe the off the shelf laptops right now can run the game. That's for the price I mentioned. I'm going to look up the laptops you mentioned. A desktop is out of the question yes.

 

[SigilFey]

Basically I'm willing to spend around 1000 euro.

You can set yourself up nicely with that -- no worries! I really recommend ASUS RoG, and that should be quite easy to come across in Europe. (It's where I bought my first one!) Alienware is nothing to scoff at, although you don't get as much bang for your buck, IMO. They offer a lot of quality-of-life stuff, though. Other brands to explore are Razer and MSI.

EDIT: Just as a benchmark.

My present specs:

ASUS Z97 Motherboard
i7-4790K @4.0 GHz
eVGA GTX 980 ti, 6GB VRAM
16 GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 RAM
Samsung EVO SSD

(Well, that's what affects the game...) I run the game at 1080p, Ultra settings + shadow tweaks for increased detail, Hairworks OFF, Vsync on, Frame Limit at 48 FPS. The game maintains rock-solid 48 FPS everywhere. If I turn Hairworks on, I drop to ~30 FPS in certain, rare situations. (Personally, I don't like the way it looks, so win:win.) You should be able to get roughly comparable performance for the money you're willing to spend.

TW3 is a beast that hardware can only help so far. Because of how it works, I consider the performance I'm seeing now to be flawless. You should be well-above "low to medium" setting in the end.

 

[ssjchiel]

You can set yourself up nicely with that -- no worries! I really recommend ASUS RoG, and that should be quite easy to come across in Europe. (It's where I bought my first one!) Alienware is nothing to scoff at, although you don't get as much bang for your buck, IMO. They offer a lot of quality-of-life stuff, though. Other brands to explore are Razer and MSI.

EDIT: Just as a benchmark.

My present specs:

ASUS Z97 Motherboard
i7-4790K @4.0 GHz
eVGA GTX 980 ti, 6GB VRAM
16 GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 RAM
Samsung EVO SSD

(Well, that's what affects the game...) I run the game at 1080p, Ultra settings + shadow tweaks for increased detail, Hairworks OFF, Vsync on, Frame Limit at 48 FPS. The game maintains rock-solid 48 FPS everywhere. If I turn Hairworks on, I drop to ~30 FPS in certain, rare situations. (Personally, I don't like the way it looks, so win:win.) You should be able to get roughly comparable performance for the money you're willing to spend.

TW3 is a beast that hardware can only help so far. Because of how it works, I consider the performance I'm seeing now to be flawless. You should be well-above "low to medium" setting in the end.

Thanks I will keep these in mind when I look for a laptop. Already found some good Asus ROG and they seem really nice.

 

[NukeTheMoon]

Been there, done that. Like SLI, the taste of what I get Versus what I paid always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
As someone who has spent a lot of money, and looked back with regret, I can't recommend anything more than a single GPU gaming rig with the best 3D card you can get with a moderate processor and RAM.
It is much cheaper to simply buy a new computer every year or two (or when I new GPU strikes your fancy) than to try buying a "future proof" PC.
As for laptop, if it HAD to be a laptop for some reason, I would definitely be one with a external graphics card, or one with streaming from a gaming PC.
Best of luck.

 

[SigilFey]

I can't recommend anything more than a single GPU gaming rig with the best 3D card you can get with a moderate processor and RAM.

Absolutely. I would like to expound upon this in two places:

1.) Get the best GPU you can get from the last-generation models. Do not buy state-of-the-art stuff unless you have money to burn and are eager to troubleshoot. Newly-released models are often proprietary tech and untested on the market. Developers have not had time to actually write software to take advantage of it. It will likely be a year or two before all the kinks are ironed out. By that time, the models that work really well are hundreds of dollars cheaper, and they're introducing more unproven cards for ~$1,000.

2.) Moderating the CPU, RAM, mo-bo, etc. is also really important. Some good that GTX Titan Exxxtreme 12GB Ultra will do when coupled with a low-level i5. That 4K screen is not helping anything if the laptop comes with a budget Geforce 800 series. Ensuring that all components compliment each other is paramount.

I would definitely be one with a external graphics card...

I've seen this come and go. I think this is fascinating solution, but right now, it seems the units required to mount the GPU are neither cheap nor very portable. In some cases, I've seen the cost the mounts exceed the price of the GPU!

 

[NukeTheMoon]

Absolutely. I would like to expound upon this in two places:

1.) Get the best GPU you can get from the last-generation models. Do not buy state-of-the-art stuff unless you have money to burn and are eager to troubleshoot. Newly-released models are often proprietary tech and untested on the market. Developers have not had time to actually write software to take advantage of it. It will likely be a year or two before all the kinks are ironed out. By that time, the models that work really well are hundreds of dollars cheaper, and they're introducing more unproven cards for ~$1,000.

2.) Moderating the CPU, RAM, mo-bo, etc. is also really important. Some good that GTX Titan Exxxtreme 12GB Ultra will do when coupled with a low-level i5. That 4K screen is not helping anything if the laptop comes with a budget Geforce 800 series. Ensuring that all components compliment each other is paramount.

I've seen this come and go. I think this is fascinating solution, but right now, it seems the units required to mount the GPU are neither cheap nor very portable. In some cases, I've seen the cost the mounts exceed the price of the GPU!

I've never looked into the pricing on external GPUs, honestly.

About #1, Sort of depends factors. I have replacement cycle.
Generally the "Ti" family, 980Ti, 1080Ti, family provides a lot of value when they show up. So I would recommend just waiting for a third party, ZOTAC, EVGA, MSI, etc, to put a unlocked variant of that card on the market. It's a fair value, reasonable expense for how often it occurs. It keeps me towards the edge of performance, and usually the "Ti" shows up when most of the bugs have long been worked out.

About #2, This one is tricky.
Balance or "complimentary components" is extremely difficult to understand or define. Which is why I just said moderate.
High clock speeds, fast ram, not the absolute fastest. It's just about not being too edgy with the specs because it rarely pays off.
Mid tier mother boards with their highest compatible cores and ram is good enough for a single GPU and what I would recommend.
Partially because of the lack of efficient code in console ports, partly because the average computer is swamped in background programs, particularly anti-virus software, which I don't consider optional.

 

[Cercaphus]

I didn't want a gaming laptop, because their design was OTP for my taste, but wanted an ultrabook-style chassis to carry for my work and because I don't have a desktop. The best compromise I found at the time (about a year ago) was the Asus Zenbook UX501JW. i7 4750HQ, 16GB ram, 960m, 512GB SSD and 1080p IPS panel which cost me about 1500 euros. I've been 100% satisfied with its performance so far. I recommend you look around for similar models, I think they are a good middle ground, just below dedicated "gaming" laptops.

So use my model specs as a benchmark while looking around, but keep 2 things in mind: Instead of the 960m look for the 1060m AND avoid paying for a 4K resolution screen. They are market-speak and they continue to have problems with Windows applications and they are a needless burden on a laptop gpu for the time being.

 

[SigilFey]

About #1, Sort of depends factors. I have replacement cycle. Generally the "Ti" family, 980Ti, 1080Ti, family provides a lot of value when they show up. So I would recommend just waiting for a third party, ZOTAC, EVGA, MSI, etc, to put a unlocked variant of that card on the market. It's a fair value, reasonable expense for how often it occurs. It keeps me towards the edge of performance, and usually the "Ti" shows up when most of the bugs have long been worked out.

All agreed. Especially, about the "ti" cards. That does seem to be the "Certified Angus" stamp for Nvidia GPUs.

About #2, This one is tricky. Balance or "complimentary components" is extremely difficult to understand or define. Which is why I just said moderate. High clock speeds, fast ram, not the absolute fastest. It's just about not being too edgy with the specs because it rarely pays off. Mid tier mother boards with their highest compatible cores and ram is good enough for a single GPU and what I would recommend. Partially because of the lack of efficient code in console ports, partly because the average computer is swamped in background programs, particularly anti-virus software, which I don't consider optional.

It is really tough. I find myself doing weeks of research to catch myself up whenever I go to buy a new system. (I remember being all on top of it when I was younger...then all this stupid "life" and "career" nonsense started getting in the way of gaming and novel series. Totally bogus.)

As a rule of thumb for right now, I would check the the Falcon-NW as a benchmark. Especially for their motherboard pairings (getting the right mo-bo for the right CPU is a critical quality-of-life thing.)

Also, get fast RAM over more RAM, though nothing under 8 GB.

CPU should match GPU, or the CPU should be better. It's fine for the CPU to have untapped power while giving the GPU a workout. If the CPU struggles to feed the GPU, the GPU gags and dies. Any 980 or 1080 should be coupled with a contemporary i7. Any 970 or 1070 can probably get away with a good i5.

So use my model specs as a benchmark while looking around, but keep 2 things in mind: Instead of the 960m look for the 1060m AND avoid paying for a 4K resolution screen. They are market-speak and they continue to have problems with Windows applications and they are a needless burden on a laptop gpu for the time being.

Honestly, I'd stick to anything that starts with GTX and ends with "80". The 1060 is actually falls below a 980 ti, and the 1060s and 1070s do both seem to be having odd issues. The 1080 seems to be flying mostly clear. For myself, just for stability's sake, I'd probably stick with my 980 ti even if I could get an upgrade to a 1070 for free. I would jump to a 1080, though.