Best GPU in a 15" laptop (Summer 2017)?

I am sorry I wasn’t clearer: what I meant to ask is if others were avoiding playing demanding 3D games just because of the fan issues. I know I do, and it may actually shape a lot of what I thought was my gaming taste. Anyway, nevermind, that was a derail!

I do that with my desktop. There are games I pretty much only play on Winter because of that. So you are not alone.

Dang, I thought buying a desktop would eventually solve those issues, even in the mean subtropical weather like the place I live. I guess not!

I’m a bit paranoic (paranoid?) about those things, since having an issue and buying a new part or computer would be really complicated for me, so don’t take me as a standard for anything. :)

A long time ago I lived in a swamp box cooled apartment and I did kinda worry about certain games. But today I feel like if I can’t use my equipment in the way it was intended I need a different setup; i.e., if I lived in a location where PCs just got too hot to use in 3D games I might stick with Console or iOS games instead. No point in having something that you can’t use (if your use case in this instance is 3D gaming).

Very few games have my PC running hot enough for me to worry a bit, so it’s not a huge issue. But I have stopped playing some games with notable near-overheating issues like Lords of the Fallen and Might & Magic X.

FYI, it’s definitely paranoid.

Well, the Webster cites paranoiac, paranoid, paranoic, and paranoidal as valid choices. I felt like paranoic better followed the “original” greek form of the word (and it is closer to the corresponding adjective in Portuguese), but I was under the impression that paranoid was the most used form. Thanks for confirming that, I appreciate it.

I picked up an Alienware 15 R3 (with 1070 & 7700HQ) along with a graphics amplifier box and 1080 Ti. Using the amplifier with a Dell 1440P gsync monitor the 3DMark Time Spy score is 8038 overall, with 9586 for graphics and 4199 for CPU. Seems… not bad :-)

I plan to try the same test with an Alienware 13 R3 over the next few days then decide which to keep. I couldn’t find one with the OLED screen locally so I have to wait for its arrival.

Edit: The fan noise on the laptop and the graphics amplifier is not too bad. If you aren’t stressing them, there’s almost nothing to hear. Under heavy load, it’s not an annoying frequency.

The little (ha!) Alienware 13 R3 did slightly better on both GPU (using the graphics amplifier) & CPU than the 15, but not enough to notice (I was just making sure it didn’t underperform – check!). The fan noise on the 13 is notably higher-pitched. The screen (OLED) is vastly superior, though. I’m still not sure about those bezels, and the trackpad’s two-finger scrolling is abysmal.

Getting back to the original topic, the best GPU in a 15" rig is now a 1080 – thanks to the new Asus ROG Zephyrus. http://www.techradar.com/reviews/asus-rog-zephyrus

It’s apparently reasonably quiet, too. $2700 (that’s more than the Alienware 15, graphics amplifier GPU box, & 1080 Ti combined, though).

I’d be interested me your experiences with the graphics amplifier.

Although the OLED screen isn’t super color accurate it has a much wider color space; ie, i don’t really want to use it for writing or web surfing, but it’s fantastic for games and even Amazon Prime. Without the OLED i’m not sure i’d go Alienware. It’s funny though my 15" sounded louder (to me) than my 13", for some reason.

At $169, the graphics amplifier (GPU case) is fantastic. The case’s build quality is not up to the Razer Core standard, but for that price and its easy GPU compatibility, it’s really hard to fault.

Graphics performance is truly desktop-level, and getting there is seamless; power down, install, power up, let the Geforce Experience software install everything automatically, and reboot. It’s also a 4-port USB hub, so I only have 2 cables going into the laptop. It’s also quiet, with only 1 case fan along with the PSU fan.

There’s a quirk I’ve seen on the 13 that I didn’t see on the 15: if the laptop defaults to the integrated GPU for 2D use even with the accelerator connected, fullscreen video isn’t displayed. I disable the Intel 630 to prevent this; I’ll probably contact support at some point since it shouldn’t be happening, but I don’t want the integrated GPU firing up pretty much ever if the box is connected, so it’s fairly moot.

edit: I should add: I have only used it with an external monitor (I settled on a 2017 4K LG).