PC Sherdog Gaming Laptop & Review Thread (OP Updated Apr-2019)

[sverre054]

People were never really "paying up" for the Intel name, not in the same way gamers continue to pay an "NVIDIA tax" on GPUs according to a subjective perception of their greater value relative to their raw performance because of opinions about driver stability, celerity of patches, and other software features. It was just that Intel dominated AMD for so many years in terms of raw performance.

That flipped when AMD took the gaming crown, and it was funny for me to witness, personally, because it actually took a few years before the world woke up to what had happened, and suddenly you'd see kids who didn't really understand much voicing very strong negative opinions about Intel on forums like Reddit.

Either Intel or AMD make great processors, so it just comes down to what build will get you the most for your money. Tom's Hardware has always maintained a regularly updated section devoted to this.

Tom's Hardware: The Best CPU for Gaming in 2024​

Although I think Techpowerup's latest test roll will always have the most actual game benchmarked, with a focus almost purely on that, so I suggest using it if you are calculating values. It's what I always link. The i5-13400F, i5-14400F, Ryzen 5 7600X, and i5-14500 offer the best value among really strong current offerings.

Intel Core i9-14900KS Review - The Last of its Kind

The Intel Core i9-14900KS reaches impressive clock frequencies up to 6.2 GHz, which yields remarkable performance in applications and gaming. However, this comes at the cost of serious power consumption, especially if you go beyond stock, where we saw over 500 W during testing.

www.techpowerup.com

Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16" Touch Laptop i9-13905H GeForce Rtx 4050 32GB 1TB SSD W11H | eBay

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050. You’ll enjoy seamless creator workflows, multitasking, collaboration, gaming, graphics work, and more. 83C00003US - Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16IRP8. Color: Storm Grey. Scratch and Dent.

www.ebay.com

Any opinions on this? Seems like a pretty good deal. With promo codes it just under 1000

 

[Madmick]

Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16" Touch Laptop i9-13905H GeForce Rtx 4050 32GB 1TB SSD W11H | eBay

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050. You’ll enjoy seamless creator workflows, multitasking, collaboration, gaming, graphics work, and more. 83C00003US - Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16IRP8. Color: Storm Grey. Scratch and Dent.

www.ebay.com

Any opinions on this? Seems like a pretty good deal. With promo codes it just under 1000

Those 13th gen i9's just generate so much heat. That's my main concern. Median 140W pull in the Prime95 test I was talking about in my earlier post:

Intel Core i9-13905H Processor - Benchmarks and Specs

Benchmarks, information, and specifications for the Intel Core i9-13905H

www.notebookcheck.net

I overlooked we're in the laptop thread, here, in my most recent post before this. You're after laptop CPU comparisons. For a master list, here is notebookcheck's:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html

Unfortunately, Notebookcheck don't supply a single table showing all of their Prime95 power consumption results in one neat roll. But you can Google "notebookcheck" and any individual processor to find the link like the the first one above, browse to power consumption, and expand the "comparison chart". This is because heat and power consumption are so closely correlated. Unfortunately, this correlation isn't as linear as it once was, because of the how CPUs ramp up frequency across cores these days (i.e. turbo boosting aka dynamic overclocking), but it's still useful. The latest Intel CPUs tend to consume much more power, but they're also much better at managing heat with these dynamic overclocking schemes, so it makes up for that a bit. However, the Ryzen 8000 series mobile CPUs are most desirable in this context.

Fortunately, Nanoreview does offer this nice table that attributes an "Energy" score trying to rate this. As you can see, the i9-13905H scores a mediocre 71. The Ryzen 5 8640HS scores the best among Windows x86 CPUs with an 89.

Laptop Processors Ranking List [2025] - NanoReview

Ranking of the best laptop CPUs based on real-world tests, benchmarks, power efficiency, iGPU performance and other factors.

nanoreview.net

 

[avenue94]

Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16" Touch Laptop i9-13905H GeForce Rtx 4050 32GB 1TB SSD W11H | eBay

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050. You’ll enjoy seamless creator workflows, multitasking, collaboration, gaming, graphics work, and more. 83C00003US - Lenovo Slim Pro 9 16IRP8. Color: Storm Grey. Scratch and Dent.

www.ebay.com

Any opinions on this? Seems like a pretty good deal. With promo codes it just under 1000

Is it for gaming or what do you want to do with it? Price isn't bad, but i9 paired with an RTX 4050 doesn't make a lot of sense if you're trying to game. For reference, the lowest price for a new Slim Pro 9 with those specs is $1,499. It's been a while since I've checked tags at Costco so don't remember if it's clearance or not right now.

TLDR: Good price for that model if you trust the buyer, but not a very good price for those specs or most use cases.

 

[sverre054]

Is it for gaming or what do you want to do with it? Price isn't bad, but i9 paired with an RTX 4050 doesn't make a lot of sense if you're trying to game. For reference, the lowest price for a new Slim Pro 9 with those specs is $1,499. It's been a while since I've checked tags at Costco so don't remember if it's clearance or not right now.

TLDR: Good price for that model if you trust the buyer, but not a very good price for those specs or most use cases.

I decided to pull the trigger on it. It's already shipped. It comes with a new 1-year Warranty from Lenovo, and it comes with an additional 3-year warranty from all state insurance. Its honestly probably way over kill for what I will do with it, but ju

Is it for gaming or what do you want to do with it? Price isn't bad, but i9 paired with an RTX 4050 doesn't make a lot of sense if you're trying to game. For reference, the lowest price for a new Slim Pro 9 with those specs is $1,499. It's been a while since I've checked tags at Costco so don't remember if it's clearance or not right now.

TLDR: Good price for that model if you trust the buyer, but not a very good price for those specs or most use cases.

st seemed like a good deal, and I need a new laptop.

 

[avenue94]

I decided to pull the trigger on it. It's already shipped. It comes with a new 1-year Warranty from Lenovo, and it comes with an additional 3-year warranty from all state insurance. Its honestly probably way over kill for what I will do with it, but ju


st seemed like a good deal, and I need a new laptop.

Hope you enjoy it. I'm of the school of thought that a lot of the time pulling the trigger and not spending hours trying to save a little more is the best bet.

 

[Madmick]

I decided to pull the trigger on it. It's already shipped. It comes with a new 1-year Warranty from Lenovo, and it comes with an additional 3-year warranty from all state insurance. Its honestly probably way over kill for what I will do with it, but ju

st seemed like a good deal, and I need a new laptop.

If it holds up as long as you were expecting it to last it's a pretty freaking phenomenal deal in terms of components for the money, and the all-aluminum build is really nice. Looks like the biggest issue in reviews was battery life.

Lenovo Slim Pro 9i review: A fantastic laptop with one major flaw

Lenovo Slim Pro 9i’s big miss is a huge problem

www.laptopmag.com

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/lenovo-slim-pro-9i-16-inch

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Slim-Pro-9i-16IRP8-laptop-review-The-Apple-MacBook-Pro-16-alternative.736688.0.html

Hopefully it holds up for more than a few years under the heat stress the CPU generates, and continues to perform as it should right out of the box. Fortunately, there's a really efficient, relatively low-powered GPU paired with that CPU.

 

[Err]

In the market for a gaming laptop in Canada, pretty out of the loop when it comes to technology. I’m after something that can play newer games reliably, don’t really care about maxed out settings. Amazon has this one for 2499.00.

ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” 16:10 165Hz Display, AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, 32GB LPDDR5X, 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD, Wi-Fi 6E, Windows 11, FA608WI-EB97​

or this one for 2199.

ASUS ROG Strix G17 Gaming Laptop 17.3" 144Hz AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX GeForce RTX 4070 32GB 1TB SSD Windows 11 Home, G713PI-RS91-CA​

Anyone have a suggestion?

 

[Slobodan]

In the market for a gaming laptop in Canada, pretty out of the loop when it comes to technology. I’m after something that can play newer games reliably, don’t really care about maxed out settings. Amazon has this one for 2499.00.

ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” 16:10 165Hz Display, AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, 32GB LPDDR5X, 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD, Wi-Fi 6E, Windows 11, FA608WI-EB97​

or this one for 2199.

ASUS ROG Strix G17 Gaming Laptop 17.3" 144Hz AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX GeForce RTX 4070 32GB 1TB SSD Windows 11 Home, G713PI-RS91-CA​

Anyone have a suggestion?

Between those two I'd go with the A16, that CPU is more efficient but you can't go wrong with either one tbh.

 

[Err]

Between those two I'd go with the A16, that CPU is more efficient but you can't go wrong with either one tbh.

Between those two I'd go with the A16, that CPU is more efficient but you can't go wrong with either one tbh.

Appreciate the input, there are a few local as well,

ASUS TUF 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Mecha Grey (Intel Core i7-13620H/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/GeForce RTX 4070)​

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2024) 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop (AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS/1TB SSD/32GB RAM/RTX 4060)​

Both for 1800. Out of the four, which would you say is the best option?

I was originally trying to find an A15 with the Ryzen CPU and an RTX 4070 but I can’t find any available anywhere.

 

[Madmick]

In the market for a gaming laptop in Canada, pretty out of the loop when it comes to technology. I’m after something that can play newer games reliably, don’t really care about maxed out settings. Amazon has this one for 2499.00.

ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” 16:10 165Hz Display, AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, 32GB LPDDR5X, 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD, Wi-Fi 6E, Windows 11, FA608WI-EB97​

or this one for 2199.

ASUS ROG Strix G17 Gaming Laptop 17.3" 144Hz AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX GeForce RTX 4070 32GB 1TB SSD Windows 11 Home, G713PI-RS91-CA​

Anyone have a suggestion?

Appreciate the input, there are a few local as well,

ASUS TUF 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Mecha Grey (Intel Core i7-13620H/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/GeForce RTX 4070)​

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2024) 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop (AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS/1TB SSD/32GB RAM/RTX 4060)​

Both for 1800. Out of the four, which would you say is the best option?

I was originally trying to find an A15 with the Ryzen CPU and an RTX 4070 but I can’t find any available anywhere.

Get the A16.

 

[Err]

Get the A16.

Was reading online that the RAM on the A16 was soldered, but with 32 GB I imagine I’d be ready to upgrade anyways before that would become an issue. In your opinion would it potentially be worth waiting until the 5070 comes out? I’m not sure how it’ll effect the market, but if the prices on 4080-4090 laptops drop, would it be worth picking up one of them over the 4070?

 

[Madmick]

Was reading online that the RAM on the A16 was soldered, but with 32 GB I imagine I’d be ready to upgrade anyways before that would become an issue. In your opinion would it potentially be worth waiting until the 5070 comes out? I’m not sure how it’ll effect the market, but if the prices on 4080-4090 laptops drop, would it be worth picking up one of them over the 4070?

It is a pretty awkward time to drop $2K with the new GPUs hitting the laptop market supposedly in March and April.

Google tells me the 5070 and 5070 Ti units can be expected to be available in April. The 5000 series desktop GPUs haven't been reviewed yet, and NVIDIA hasn't even confirmed pipelines, so I don't really know what sort of generational advancement we can expect in performance. Because the new laptops with the 5070 will be at least several hundred dollars more expensive than what you're seeing, I suspect, at least with similar specs. The hope for you as a consumer that the 5000 series reviews well is that it translates to them driving down the price of the 4000-series options out there more steeply than with a disappointing uplift over the current gen (if you don't want to increase your budget).

It's only a few months, so unless you're in some desperate need for a laptop right now, it's probably worth waiting to see what your options are. Unless you see some crazy clearance sale.

 

[Err]

It is a pretty awkward time to drop $2K with the new GPUs hitting the laptop market supposedly in March and April.

Google tells me the 5070 and 5070 Ti units can be expected to be available in April. The 5000 series desktop GPUs haven't even been reviewed yet, and NVIDIA hasn't even confirmed pipelines, so I don't really know what sort of generational advancement we can expect in performance. Because the new laptops with the 5070 will be at least several hundred dollars more expensive than what you're seeing, I suspect, at least with similar specs. The hope for you as a consumer that the 5000 series reviews well is that it translates to them driving down the price of the 4000-series options out there more steeply than with a disappointing uplift over the current gen (if you don't want to increase your budget).

It's only a few months, so unless you're in some desperate need for a laptop right now, it's probably worth waiting to see what your options are. Unless you see some crazy clearance sale.

Sorry to keep bugging you, man. What’s your thoughts on this laptop stacked up to the others?

MSI Vector 16 Series 16" Gaming Laptop- Cosmos Grey (Intel Core i9-13980HX /1TB/32GB RAM/GeForce RTX 4080)​

A place nearby has it on sale for 2300.

 

[Madmick]

Sorry to keep bugging you, man. What’s your thoughts on this laptop stacked up to the others?

MSI Vector 16 Series 16" Gaming Laptop- Cosmos Grey (Intel Core i9-13980HX /1TB/32GB RAM/GeForce RTX 4080)​

A place nearby has it on sale for 2300.

I think the A16 makes more sense. At this more aggressive end of gaming for laptops, you want the hardware that consumes less power, and runs cooler. That's the HX 370 and the RTX 4070.

 

[Madmick]

The processing power of the top mobile APUs is pretty awesome. The middle chipset is in the new 2025 ASUS ROG Flow Z13 laptop series which has a 2560x1600 touchscreen and detachable keyboard (not that Windows 11 is particularly well-suited to a tablet format):

https://rog.asus.com/us/laptops/rog-flow/rog-flow-z13-2025/spec/

Apple M4 Max
(Most advanced mobile APU in the world; basically a Ryzen 7 7900x + RTX 4070 level of performance that consumes a peak 145W; more typically a sustained 125W under max load...meaning ~40%-45% of what the 7900X + 4070 would consume. If only they made games for Macs...)
Cyberpunk 2077 @1920x1080 render w/Metal FX super-resolution upscaling


AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395
Cyberpunk 2077 @1920x1200 render w/FSR super-resolution upscaling

Spoiler: A cool video which shows analysis of the performance efficiency curve for this chipset

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Cyberpunk 2077 @1920x1080 render w/XeSS super-resolution upscaling



*Edit*
BTW, it appears NVIDIA with finally be looking to compete in this space again by developing its first powerful APU since the NVIDIA Tegra X1 which it made in 2015, and powered its NVIDIA Shield devices in addition to the Nintendo Switch. The new chipset will be an ARM processor, again, made in collaboration with one of the top smartphone chipset manufacturers, Mediatek:

NVIDIA x MediaTek Are Now Rumored To Develop An AI Smartphone Chip; PC Chip Slated For Computex 2025​