Alienware Laptop for DCS?

[bernieleel]

Hi there, new to the forum and the game itself. I am struggling between an Alienware Aurora and the 17 laptop. I might move to another country after finishing a degree so I wish to avoid the trouble of shipping a desktop, but I also have no idea if the laptop will do fine. So if anyone can tell me if the laptop will run fine on high resolution settings or not that would be great. I've customized the 17 on alienware's site and here's the setup:

8th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK

32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4, 2666MHz

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 OC with 8GB GDDR5X

1TB PCIe M.2 SSD Class 40 + 1TB 7200RPM HDD

 

I know the same price would get me a decent Aurora as well so I'm wondering if it's worth it to sacrifice mobility for the liquid cooling. Also if I run in this setup, what would probably be the fps on high settings? I'm almost the opposite of a computer specialist so really need some advice.

 

Thanks a lot!

Edited December 21, 2018 by bernieleel

[Mars Exulte]

A really high end laptop like that will run DCS, yes. But a good gaming laptop is apt to weigh 20lbs and cost about $2000. It won't run for long not plugged into a wall socket. Voice of experience here =)

 

I would recommend getting a small desktop PC, instead. Like a mini or something. It won't be much 'bulkier' persay, but you'll get waaaaaay more bang for your buck, just the components will all be separate instead of integrated.

 

But, yeah, a $2000 notebook will indeed run DCS on good settings.

 

 

-edit

 

I would suggest Sager or MSI over Alienware though. AW is overpriced and shit quality.

[SVgamer72]

I used to play on a 17R3 laptop with no issues.

 

I ended up getting the Graphics Amplifier to run a 10 series card instead of the built in 980m on an external monitor, but it was fine for DCS.

 

Ultimately I went back to a desktop tower, because I wasn't gaming on the move as much as I thought I would.

[bernieleel]

Thank you both! Is the graphic amplifier necessary for an external monitor?

 

I have another laptop that is light and small for me to carry when I'm out, so the laptop here really just serve as an mini desktop, simply wish to avoid shipping it back to the States after finishing here in Australia, since it's just risky. I would prefer to carry such an investment on to the plane myself. One more thing I wonder would be, will the laptop with that setup get any cooling problem when it runs on high settings? Thanks again!

[Mars Exulte]

You don't need an amplifier to use an external monitor, no. Your laptop has ports on the back just like any other PC. The amplifier is just an apparatus for an external, full size graphics card, if its what I am thinking of.

 

Regarding heating, the trend in modern laptops is to be really thin and light, and this, imo, is going to tend to exaggerate heating issues as you're not going to have the airflow you would in a larger case obviously. So, yeah, that is going to be an issue.

 

#1 Do NOT close in the vents in any way. Do NOT lay it on a bed, do NOT put it on your lap, do NOT do ANYTHING that MIGHT restrict airflow.

 

#2 Ideally, purchase a notebook cooler. What that is is a large platform your notebook sits on to improve airflow. Most of them have one or more fans. I use to have one that was J shaped, with several movable fans. I placed the fans to blow directly into the notebook vents, and because of its shape I could slip the notebook into it and it fit rather snuggly, making transport easier.

 

There are countless styles, ranging from $20-60 and it looks like they have some clip on ducts or something now. The gist is the same, though, increase airflow. And DO NOT block off airflow. You can cook the whole thing in just a few minutes if you're careless.

Edited December 22, 2018 by zhukov032186

[BitMaster]

Yeah, heat is the #1 issue. I burnt thru my SLI's once in a Dell/Alienware, for my luck it was on warranty.

 

Asus had or still has the watercooled one. Maybe thatÄs an option.

 

I'd look for an ITX board and a nice small case, way better, faster and cheaper in the end.

[Mars Exulte]

I fried a 675M (I think it was called???) within 24 hours of arrival.... not a good feeling.

[Gladman]

Never, Ever, buy Alienware

[BitMaster]

Never, Ever, buy Alienware

 

Well, you know, on the very last day of my 4 year warranty it failed with a broken Power Brick.

 

Dell damage-repaired my trusty workhorse to death and I went over them like hell, took 2 escalations and a constant "No, I do not accept your solution to my problem, please escalade it".

 

In the end, they paid me 1.000€ nett w/o tax for a 4 year old device they killed while repairing.

 

Can't complain, took the cash, added some and got me an Asus G series back then. THAT had a bad service, real bad.

 

In the end, Apple won the laptop war for me, tho its not for gaming. None of my "books" lasted as long and as good as the Apple I am typing on, shines like on Day#1...and it's 6 years old.

 

When you have issue, Dell wont let you down, Asus did so in my cases. Had a few to be precise, ehhh LoL.

 

Dell rules when it comes to service and pleasing the customer, YOU.

 

*Apple outclassed them all in my world, got 2 free Retina screens way way after warranty. Excellent service !!!

[etherbattx]

Alienware Laptop for DCS?

 

i have always been lucky with laptops. i have 6 in the house right now, a few of them are 10 years old. all of them work as well as the day i bought them.

some even better than new after i removed the bloatware they came installed with.

[Gladman]

Had an R3. 3 motherboards later, I gave up. Dell sent me a new system but by then it was outdated and I spent my life with a busted PC.

 

About the same time I bought a Alienware Laptop, hardware issue after hardware issue. They are crap.

[Mars Exulte]

Well, you know, on the very last day of my 4 year warranty it failed with a broken Power Brick.

 

Dell damage-repaired my trusty workhorse to death and I went over them like hell, took 2 escalations and a constant "No, I do not accept your solution to my problem, please escalade it".

 

In the end, they paid me 1.000€ nett w/o tax for a 4 year old device they killed while repairing.

 

Can't complain, took the cash, added some and got me an Asus G series back then. THAT had a bad service, real bad.

 

In the end, Apple won the laptop war for me, tho its not for gaming. None of my "books" lasted as long and as good as the Apple I am typing on, shines like on Day#1...and it's 6 years old.

 

When you have issue, Dell wont let you down, Asus did so in my cases. Had a few to be precise, ehhh LoL.

 

Dell rules when it comes to service and pleasing the customer, YOU.

 

*Apple outclassed them all in my world, got 2 free Retina screens way way after warranty. Excellent service !!!

 

I used to be very pro Asus, but I've also had terrible experience with them more than once. I think they pulled a Microsoft/Intel and got comfortable. I vastly prefer Acer and Gigabyte for monitors/hardware

 

 

For a gaming notebook nowadays, I'd start with Msi or Acer Predator. I would absolutely avoid Alienware and ROG. But ymmv

[BusPilot]

I have a alienware 17 r4, i7 6820hk, 32gb ram, ssd, gtx 1070. Do not expect the same performance of a desktop. I had some issues with low FPS, the graphics are almost on high, maybe 75% and on cold start missions I got 45 fps... 40... it's a shame how laptop perform on Dcs, but I'm a airline pilot, this is the only one solution to travel and play..

 

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