Will this LAPTOP play smoothly on High Settings?

[DigiDave]

Hi,
I am about to upgrade my laptop.

Will this have me playing Skylines in all it's glory?
https://www.asus.com/au/Notebooks/ROG-GL702VM/

The one I am getting has 256GB SSD with 1TB @ 7200 (I'll be playing off the SSD HDD)
16GB DDR4 System Ram - Upgradable to 32GB (I'll just be sitting with the 16GB at first)
GPU = GeForce® GTX 1060 graphics 6GB dedicated (actually I am not sure if that is full 6GB dedicated - will have to investigate that further) + full direct 12 support
i7 2.6GHz with 3.5 GHz in turbo mode (unsure how long I can run in turbo mode?)
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Surely that will have me playing smoother than my current 15FPS in low setting @ 1920X1080

Edit - The eBay add reads the GPU as:

Graphic
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 , with GDDR5 6GB VRAM

I'm assuming at this point that the graphics card has it's own 6GB of memory with no need for sharing??? How does that ready to others?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/332050501452?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Price in Australian $

The specs on this match Alienwares 17R4 (late 2016 model) Many other manufacturers are selling similar laptops but only with 8GB system Ram, only 128GB SSD and only 3GB GTX1060 GPU. This seems to be a good find - still thinking about it.

 

[medopu]

It's all top notch. Should run very easily with your i7 skylake processor. Enjoy the game!

 

[DigiDave]

TY for your response. I have not heard of the i7 Skylake processor. I did some further research on the CPU listed on the proposed laptop above:

Intel Core i7-6700HQ
I'm just hoping turbo mode can sustain 3.5GHz for long periods of time without damaging other component or itself.

Hopefully the system has a safety shut down sequence before it gets to such a point. Whilst the keyboard area has been report to get hot - most reviews seem to have the cooling systems as adequate enough. Being left handed, my keyboard hand rest over the numeric part of my system which gives the hotter part of my keyboard more room to breath.

 

[MarkJohnson]

Your CPU won't sustain 3.5GHz at all. Turbo mode is not turbo, it is throttle. Just a marketing gimmick. It will actually run 3.1GHz under full load. At least it's not the 2.6GHz that it's actually rated. But it will only ever get 3.5GHz is under very, very light load. Which is never. lol

With that said, 3.1GHz will do very well and easily surpass the 9-tikle limit of the game.

However, after 9-tiles you'll need mods to get further which will add to the game load on the CPU.

The GTX 1060 6GB is full 6GB GDDR5 memory on the board dedicated to the GPU. This will help slightly. I find you still use the same amount of ram, as the CPU still needs to process it, but will play smoother. This game doesn't use much GPU resources, so it won't be as noticeable as in other games.

Remember, this is a laptop, made to run on batteries, so it won't play like a desktop. Laptop parts are crippled and have limits that desktop parts don't.

 

[MarkJohnson]

Your CPU won't sustain 3.5GHz at all. Turbo mode is not turbo, it is throttle. Just a marketing gimmick. It will actually run 3.1GHz under full load. At least it's not the 2.6GHz that it's actually rated. But it will only ever get 3.5GHz is under very, very light load. Which is never. lol

With that said, 3.1GHz will do very well and easily surpass the 9-tikle limit of the game.

However, after 9-tiles you'll need mods to get further which will add to the game load on the CPU.

The GTX 1060 6GB is full 6GB GDDR5 memory on the board dedicated to the GPU. This will help slightly. I find you still use the same amount of ram, as the CPU still needs to process it, but will play smoother. This game doesn't use much GPU resources, so it won't be as noticeable as in other games.

Remember, this is a laptop, made to run on batteries, so it won't play like a desktop. Laptop parts are crippled and have limits that desktop parts don't.

 

[DigiDave]

Thanks for the detailed reply. That made a lot of sense! (also sounds promising ) Much appreciated. I know it's a laptop and aware of the bottlenecks. However that said, the graphics card in this laptop is one of the first to benchmark near its desktop counterpart: (but from what your saying not as much an issue as I first thought)
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile...060-Laptop-Benchmarks-and-Specs.169547.0.html
Other than the RAVE reviews on this laptop - I'm feeling more confident the more I read user reviews. Very impressive to say the least.

I hear ya though! I was just playing into the turbo hype - I deep down know enough myself that it really is mostly BS when it comes to all that added software and tweaking - especially doing it through the OS. I've built a number of OC systems back in the day. I switched to laptops a few years ago and to be honest ... I've done pretty good with them up to this point.

I'll be sure to let you guys know - if I decide to go ahead with this laptop ... how it fairs.
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I just finished putting together a proposed Budget PC. Fact is I am not sure just yet about spending $2400.00au

The following I wrote up for a friend whom like me - gets a disability pension and can't afford much. It's an AMD Setup - $901.00au System Box Only: [a lot less in us $ ]


CPU:

AMD FX-6300 Black Edition 6-Core Socket [3.5 GHz] AM3+ CPU Processor- $119.0


GRAPHICS:

Asus Radeon RX 470 Strix 4GB Aura Sync RGB Video Card- $239.0


MOTHERBOARD:

ASRock 970-PRO3.R2 AM3+ AMD970 4*DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 2*PCIEx16 RAID - $95.0


RAM:

Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) CML16GX3M2A1600C10 DDR3 1600MHz CL10 LP Vengeance Unbuffered DIMM Memory with X - $169.0


HHD:

Toshiba 1TB 7200RPM HDD - $65.0


POWER SUPPLY:

Antec 650W True Power Classic. 80Plus Gold. Up to 92% Efficiency, 2x High current +12V Rail - $125.0


CASE:

Aerocool Strike X Coupe Mid-Tower Case - $89.0


I'll include my notes:

let me know what you think of the above configuration. I’m modeled specifically on the average advance payment welfare/disability recipients are able to apply for from time to time.

I have not tried an intel setup just yet, however I doubt I could make it fit the proposed budget.

The selected AMD CPU is the beginning of the AM3 socket series. Don’t let the age of it fool you. It’s got great reviews! The largest chunk of cash, as usual, goes into the graphics card. The RX 470 @ 4GB – you might consider going another brand, however this for me was my best pick with all others things considered.

The motherboard seems to fit the bill – more importantly – the budget and allowed me to fill all else in.

Ram is ram – good enough – The HDD I had to go with something basic. The power supply is decent as I never like to skimp on that part – and the case very basic but good enough.


All in all – this system is just meant to get someone up to speed in 2017 with the option to upgrade the cpu another 3 to 4 steps! – Graphics as well! – HDD of course (I’d slip in a 256GB OR 500gb SSD when the time is right) System ram is also upgradable to 64GB.

If Lisa was not helping me get my gaming laptop (and she still might not) This is the setup I would be tending for.


Let me know what changes you might make … Just keep in mind I need to keep it around the $900 mark. No more – No less.

I already have keyboard and mouse +monitor.

So far so good.

I’ll go link the parts to Umart now. (Just click the component titles)


Look forward to your response.

Summery:
You get a 6 core 3.5GHz machine with 16GB DDR3 (expandable to 64GB) 4GB RX 470 Graphics with a quality power supply (12volt rail to match GPU) – Keep in mind when your next advance payment comes up – all these components can then be MAXED out without having to change the case, power supply or motherboard.

 

[DigiDave]

Went with the laptop.

 

[DigiDave]

Here's a screen recording I did and some notes. I'm definitely playing this game smoother than I was before; just struggling to capture that experience whilst recording at the same time:

First screen recording (using NVIDIA GeForce Experience) of "Cities: Skylines" off an - Asus GL series Republic Of Gamers -Laptop. Rendered in Adobe After Effects @ 1920X1080 AVI H264 5.1 - High - 6mps/6mps - Audio 128kps - HIGH - [Game settings Maxed Out - Unrecorded Game Performance and Graphics Quality not reproduced very well] Recommend adjust game settings and upload a few more comparison videos to find best recording settings. City Size aprox 250 000 +

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

Looks pretty good to me. Looks like the new machine is working out for you.