Which is better to buy, apple MacBook pro 15 with amd 4gb for boot camp or any gaming PC laptop for 4 gb GeForce? But I wonder how many GB for full settings on video card graphic? Can it be without video card?? Razer blade stealth 13" have no video card but it has shared 16 gb, will that still works for games?? Star trek online said works better on Alienware. I wonder why? Since Alienware was the first founded then years later razer founded so I wonder razer is better or Alienware still better?? I'm no game expert but I want top best video card for full settings and I rather want MacBook but razer is same but not Mac-y. Hmm hard to thinking! What's your advice?
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NVidia GeForce 8000
ATI/AMD Radeon HD 2000
Intel G965M Express
Intel HD Graphics 2000 or better
keep in mind, these specs are old and uses the min setting.
alienware doesn't run STO better... they just pay for product placement.
First of all, yes you can play STO with a laptop that has integrated graphics. However, they will not give what most people would consider good performance in STO and STO has relatively low system requirements compared to many other games. My Dell Inspiron 7559 has a quad core i5-6300HQ (Intel HD 530 integrated graphics core) and a GTX 960m.
The GTX 960m can pretty much run the game with max settings at 1080p resolution and for the most part it gets 50+ FSP unless there are a lot of particle affects. Then it can drop below 50 FPS. The GTX 960m was considered to be the weakest of nVidia's previous generation GPU that most hardcore gamers (those people who likes to max out everything most of the time) that "qualifies" as a gaming GPU. The current generation nVidia GPU that "qualifies" as a gaming GPU is the GTX 1050 (which is roughly about 25% more powerful than the GTX 960m).
The Intel HD 530 found in 6th generation Intel CPUs basically has the same ballpark performance as the the Intel HD 620 / Intel UHD 620 found in the current 7th / 8th generation Intel CPUs. Definitely more powerful than the old Intel HD 2000, but still pretty weak compared to dedicated GPU. Playing at 1080p using a mix of low and medium settings with Lighting 2.0 disable, frame rates are generally floating between 20 FPS and 30 FPS with 24 FPS being the average. When there are a lot of particle affects frame rates can drop to 15 FPS or even lower. Lowering the resolution to 1600x900 the Intel HD 530 can more consistently get close to 30 FPS most of the time.
Also, unless you absolutely need portability I would avoid a laptop for gaming. Desktops (especially windows PCs) can be easily upgraded over time and it's very easy to manage heat, laptops on the other hand usually can't be upgraded outside of increasing the RAM and can have issues with cooling. Back in '05 I got an Alienware laptop and I swear it felt like that thing got hot enough to fry eggs on the mouse pad any time I played a game, I wasn't surprised at all when it eventually stopped turning on.
I now have a lap top with a dedicated Geforce 920MX with 2GB ram and everything is now at max again. I don't track frame rates, I just know that it requires a lot of action, with a lot of effects going off to notice any changes in smoothness.
Other advice, when shopping for a laptop, do not limit your search to gaming laptops. Search for laptops with dedicated graphics. When I was looking, the best priced gaming laptop I found was a refurbished one from Best Buy. Then I searched for dedicated graphics instead of gaming and found this one. Open box, not refurbished, same processor, ram, and video card as the gaming laptop, just a 1TB HDD instead of a 1.5 but only 1/2 the price. I do believe the "gaming" laptop had a few other options dealing with multimedia plus more USB ports etc, stuff I'll never miss. The big thing that I noticed in my searching was that with 2 almost identical laptops, just calling one a "gaming" laptop means the price will be significantly higher.
BTW, my old laptop that I first mentioned. It was a gaming laptop, and was quite expensive when I bought it. Even a "gaming" laptop might have integrated graphics so don't let the "gaming" in the name sucker you in like it did me.
Disclaimer: Amazon, Ebay etc might have had better laptops/prices, and possibly not such a huge price difference just for having "gaming" in the name. When it comes to things like laptops I only buy through a retail chain that has a store within driving distance. I'm not going to deal with the time and hassle of shipping it back and forth if something is/goes wrong with it.
I assume you are playing at 1366x768 resolution since the 920mx is a pretty weak GPU. Intel actually do have high end CPUs that have integrated graphic cores that are equal to or more powerful than the 920mx. Intel's most powerful integrated GPU is the Iris Pro Graphics P580 which is relatively close to the performance of the nVdia 945m.
If you really want to experience this game? Go for either card maker, Nvidia or AMD. The latter is always much cheaper but it is often unreliable, it is the reason i switched away from AMD for Nvidia. The former is far more expensive but you get a solid graphical beast and reliability to match.
Now Laptops were never designed for gaming, not even the gaming laptops as they were originally designed for office use. If you really must play games from it with some graphical capabilities, play some games that won't stress the laptop enough to turn your cool room into a furnace. Luckily STO is 8 years old and the engine is even older, more than 10 years old. so the chances are that a reasonable laptop from today so long as the cpu and graphics are beyond min specs and not an intel intregrated, it would also be nice to make sure your memory is 8gb with good virtual memory numbers and graphics memory higher than 2gb if possible (and try to avoid ddr3 or ddr5 memory for the graphics card).
gaming laptops are seldom cheap and around level pegging with a complete entry level PC build.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
That being the case, what others have said is absolutely right.. get one of the two, do not depend on integrated graphics if you plan on playing games. Integrated graphics are just fine for normal web use, watching videos, social media, etc. They're also more then sufficient for work computers running office applications and they really help bring down the overall cost of building an 'every day' PC for non gamers.
If you want to game, you really need either an AMD or Nvidia GPU for best performance. Don't get too hung up on how many GB the card has because while it's important.. there are also many more factors that are just important if not more then total memory size.
Your first step is deciding between mobile or desktop. This decision should be fairly simple.. if you don't need the ability to take the computer with you on the go.. get a desktop. It's really that simple. Laptops in this day and age are great gamers but you pay for portability and you have to deal with how difficult (or sometimes impossible) they are to upgrade. Desktop will cost you less, generally perform better, and will last a very long time due to the fact that they're easy to upgrade.
If you're going the desktop route, the best deal at this time is still the GTX 750 Ti. It's more then enough to handle STO with ease but it's not powerful enough to be a desirable GPU for Crypto Mining so it still runs right around $250 USD for the 2GB version. If that's still more then you want to pay, I would give serious looks to the GTX 750 or the Radeon RX 560. At around $150 USD they are both great cards for STO if playing at 1080p resolution. They will struggle with higher end games, but even demanding games should still be playable on Low-Medium settings depending on CPU and RAM.
If you decide to go Laptop, that complicates things, but I am sure we can still find you some deals. I would be prepared to pay a bare minimum of $1k USD for a descent gamer and expect closer to $1200-$1500 depending on how much power you require. You could build a really good desktop for roughly half that. It all depends on how much you need portability.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The XPS (FHD not 4K) is my current laptop of choice while Apple corrects a few issues with their laptops. When you compare specs, ports, price, and upgradability it ended up being my choice and plays STO fine at FHD or 2560x1440 with external screen. It also has the benefits of upgradable RAM, M.2 SSD, as well as USB3, USB3 type C, Thunderbolt 3 and XDHC ports, and room for a second 2.5" HDD. The TB16 Thunderbolt block blends well with a laptop/desktop system as well. So far the ownership experience has been pretty good.
The current MBP 15 will play STO just fine though if you want to stay within the Apple environment except while gaming in Windows10. Tbh I miss that environment, as well as the better track pad and (versions 2015 and prior) better keyboard. Just be aware that the MBP 15 currently has keyboard issues and the storage and RAM isn't upgradable (soldered in).
Cryptic stating that STO plays better on Alienware (made by Dell) is nothing more than cooperative advertising. I looked at Razor laptop products but for me at least found the XPS 15 to be a better choice (accessories, price, reviews).
As others have stated a discrete graphics card is highly preferable. The mobile version of the Nvidea 1030 or better (PC) or the AMD in the Mac you're looking at (or the AMD used in any MBP 2013 or later). However gaming laptops (PC) with a 1060 or higher you'll usually pay a price of way more heat and fan noise for those better frame rates and higher graphics settings.
Yep, I play my games at the same resolution as my desktop as running a game in windowed mode at a different res than the desktop can cause problems. While the 920mx might be considered weak when compared to some top of the line cards, it is powerful enough to run every game I play at max, which makes it plenty strong enough for me.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
My Mac Pro desktop plays STO at 2560x1600 with all settings maxed. It meets all the requirements you've outlined: 16GB ram, OS's and game on PCIe connected SSD's, supports M.2, 10 series graphics card, 3.6GHz hex core processor. etc. It also runs W7, W10, and 3 different versions of Mac operating systems.
Since the OP seemed interested in laptops, I did mention the XPS 15 which I also happen to own. While not a gaming laptop it's one of the few I've come across that comes close to the construction, refinement, and portability of a MBP, while again meeting the other requirements you've outlined. Being a windows laptop and mentioning a current issue with the new MBP keyboards I guess you could say my advice was without prejudice.
This wasn't supposed to be a Mac vs PC thread, the idea is to help the OP within the guidelines he set in his post which was choosing a laptop.
I agree with some of this, but you're kind of moving further into the high end spectrum then it sounds like what the OP is after. You could build a quality gaming computer for less then what you suggested, even though your suggestions are obviously solid. The sweet spot for price to value in gaming right now lies more in the i5 lineup, a GTX 1080 is overkill for non VR gamers running 1440p or lower, but all of what you said is good except for RAM.
You should check out this article and other similar articles on the topic of RAM for gaming. In short, even at 4k, you will never.. ever break the 16GB barrier. 32 GB is toally unnecessary and respectfully.. 64GB is ludicrous. With the current pricing on DDR4 RAM you would spend more on 64GB of Memory then you would on on the rest of the system. In short, 8GB is fine.. 16GB is optimal. More then that is 100% useless if you're just gaming.
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It's wasn't about pretty looks for for me at least but quality of construction and the engineering behind it that leads to easy of use with great longevity... therefore there used to be some value for the extra cost you'd pay. A mac laptop almost a decade old used to have a better trackpad and keyboard than the vast majority (if not most) of PC laptops on the market. It's a shame many PC laptops were made so cheaply that they might as well be considered "short term, disposabe" items.
Lately though Apple has done a great job with their own design decisions (after leaving their users with outdated systems since about 2013) making their high end laptops even thinner so they can thermal throttle faster, not be able to handle even a lower TDP half decent video card, needing a lower profile keyboard that is almost due for a mass recall, and have soldered in not only the RAM but the SSD storage as well, while raising their prices to almost ridiculous levels. Did I mention their way oversized trackpad that interferes with typing for many? Looks like they really are targeting the naive coffee shop crowd instead of the creative professional and are trying their best to make their expensive machines disposable.
I'm not a pro film editor but at one time was involved in professional level fine art printing. Entire video, photo, and audio studios (including mine) used to be often based upon the former 2012 and prior Mac Pro. Then came the the 2013 garbage can style replacement which may have been a great example of unique airflow engineering but was otherwise useless in a studio environment due to lack of connectivity and expansion options. Can't speak for video but they also outright dropped their class leading Aperture photo management software leaving many studios who used it in a lurch with massive libraries that had to be converted and imported into replacement software. It's no wonder 99% of your customers run PC based systems. I'm making the switch as well.
Many people still prefer the Mac OS environment for their consumer day to day needs. For quite a while it was at least a decade ahead of windows in many ease of use aspects. I agree that this is no longer the case. It's about time Windows caught up. It's neither outdated nor restrictive imho, but may be restrictive for your own uses. If the OP likes the Mac environment the choice is his but agree it shoehorns you into that environment unless you want to dual boot.
Given the direction Macs have been heading I can't disagree that they've had their day. Again though don't confuse pretty with well built and realize for the non-gamer there isn't much in the way of consumer software a Mac can't natively run. Also agree with their products being overpriced while in their day at least you got some return on that price by way of build and engineering.
Are you calling me naive and uneducated? (j/k) It attracts people who like working within the Mac environment. From your narrow perspective of just gaming I agree you're going to need a powerful Mac to make all games work well. Do they currently make such a product that can compete with a Windows machine, especially within a reasonable price range and with ease of upgrade-ability? Nope. Another clear win for windows. They haven't really offered a decent desktop since 2012, which happens to be the unit I own and was referring to as hitting all your requirements in my original post, and has been heavily upgraded.
I advised the OP that the MBP he was looking at would play STO just fine, but also suggested that he consider a windows laptop. You may not see any point for buying a Mac at all, I still do but those reasons are diminishing so rapidly I may be in 100% agreement with you any day now
There was once a picture of a Mac on the cover of PC Magazine entitled "the fastest Windows laptop of the year is... a Mac". Sadly they've most likely had their day and unless you like the environment for general purpose day to day use I agree with your recommendations, and thank you for your well written post. This response written on a PC by a former Mac enthusiast.
and i will echo the others.. stay away from MAC as long as widows 7 is supported by M$.
I think NVIDIA won the competition this year because they practically made AMD get lost in oblivion in the high end market and they still did pretty well in the budget end.
Obviously if you have specialty uses (serious gaming is a specialty use) where windows is a better fit get whatever is best for you or provides what you value most.
Keep in mind the OP was trying to decide between a Razor, Macbook Pro, or Alienware laptop and seemed to be questioning discrete versus dedicated graphics (i.e. Razor 13" dedicated).
My recommendation remains the same as above: a quality Windows 10 laptop with a discrete Nvidea card in the 1050, 1050Ti, to 1060 range. I'll add that it should be M.2 NVMe SSD based in this day and age and have no less than 8GB of ram.
If you really like the Mac OS and experience as some do, hang tight until the issues mentioned are corrected and be prepared to pay more for a less up-gradable product (memory, and possibly SSD) that will most likely give you less gaming performance, but may make up for this in other areas for some.
agreed, but for the price he is going to pour into any of his choices, he is far better off with a desktop, unless as I posterd before, he needs the portability. but I'm thinking he can build the game rig and still get a decent lappy for whatever else he needs to do