I’m in the process of buying a new laptop as my mac pro is c. 6 years old and needs updating. It will be for general use so don’t want a thick laptop that is obviously a gaming laptop, but I do want to be able to play some games on it, specifically wow which I haven’t played for a while and want to get back into. I likely won’t be playing any super new titles that need a really strong gpu. For various reasons I can’t currently get a desktop as amongst other things I need the portability of a laptop that, as mentioned, won’t just be for gaming, although I know this option would be much cheaper.
I like the look of the new Razer Blade stealth as it has a sleek, non-gaming (ish) design which for me is a high priority for general use but also has the dedicated gpu. However, because I don’t currently play wow I’m not sure what fps and settings I’ll be able to run on it, and need some advice on whether it will be able to play wow at reasonable settings and reasonable fps - not just for bfa but also thinking about the shadowlands expansion coming up. The spec is:
quad-core 10th gen intel i7-1065G7
nvidia geforce gtx 1650 Ti (4GB GDDR6 VRAM)
512GB SSD
16GB RAM
I’d appreciate all thoughts on the spec if possible and what performance I could expect with the above cpu/gpu. I understand wow is a cpu heavy game so I was thinking that the gtx 1650 Ti would be good enough? I probably won’t have the time to play hardcore all the time, but don’t want to be limited by my laptop’s performance. I’m not so interested to hear thoughts on the laptop in general, rather input on the spec specifically and whether it is competent enough for wow, but I guess any strong thoughts if any on the laptop too will be helpful. I know there are cheaper laptops out there, inc the new ASUS zephyrus which has a great spec, but I prefer the look of the razer.
I’ve tried to include all my requirements and the spec above but if any other questions please do let me know.
Razer laptops have mixed reviews and some have problems with their durability. The specs are kind of entry level in terms of gaming. It can run WoW but it’s not really anything special in terms of performance.
You could look at Acer Zephyrus G14 if you want something small, but there are also bigger ones if needed.
Thanks for the reply - I was going to go for the 120Hz one although as you say probs not expecting 120 fps. Was hoping for 60+ though (also, is around 60 a playable fps?), and presumably getting the 120Hz doesn’t mean the game has to try run up to that and could just be 60-80/90 fps?
Setting 7 sounds good - is it out of 10? Apologies for seemingly obvious question but haven’t been ingame for a while!
Edit: couldnt reply a second time so here’s my other reply.
Thanks for the reply - yeah I’ve heard some stories about the reliability on the razers although other stories have said the build quality is great so I wasn’t sure!
Agree re the specs, was originally thinking about aiming at the RTX 2060 graphics card or better, with probs intel i7-10750H processor, 16GB RAM, etc, but then I’m forced into a 15" laptop - not including the Zephyrus ofc which is 14" but I’ve also heard some mixed reviews on build quality on that too (also I know 15" is probably preferable for gaming but nevermind!). As long as the specs in my original post can run wow at an average/reasonable level I think I’m happy not having the ‘special’ performance as it were. From what I understand wow doesn’t really require super strong hardware(?) although correct me if I’m wrong!
Well it depends on the content you are playing.
World questing and lesser demanding stuff, you will exceed 60 FPS.
In raids and 40vs40 bgs etc., you will be CPU-limited and often experience drops below 60.
I saw the upgrade to 120hz is a bit over 100€, so i would say it is worth it, just don’t expect to hit 120 most of the time but more like 80-90 on avg.
Which is still alot better than 60hz.
I’m playing on a 144hz display now and it is amazing
Yes 1-10.
If you are aiming for higher refreshrates then setting 10 is out of the question even for highend rigs.
I’m playing on 8-9 on my Ryzen 3900x with a 2070S in 1440P and i still cannot hit a stable 144 while questing in BfA zones
Fair enough - probs not gunna do too much raiding, unless I somehow find time and am desperate for some piece of gear! More a fan of pvp but hopefully bgs okay, most aren’t that many players iirc.
I bet the 144 is niiiice! But yeah that’s what I was thinking about the 120hz - may not be able to get it but the higher the better.
Wow that’s a pretty decent setup no?! Sounds like I’ll be having to do like 5 then aha! Thanks for all the detail though, seems to me should be okay for most of the things I’ll be doing in wow with the razer stealth (on average settings), if I end up going for it.
Quick last q, if I end up deciding that actually 15" laptop is the way to go, any thoughts on minimum graphics/processor should be aiming for for the high end performance? Assuming 144hz screen refresh rate. Again, for looks would lean towards the razer blade 15 but starts getting pretty expensive when getting the better graphics cards.
Dell G5 15 - 5600M, Ryzen 4800H, Asus TUF 15/17 with 4800HS/4900HS and up to RTX 2060 though all of them can go bit hot. Aside of that Elektrolux/XMG 4800H based laptops or the 15,6" bigger XMG Apex with say 3700X and RTX 2070 (this laptop uses desktop Ryzen CPUs). Intel offers can also be nice but they tend to cost more. 6+ cores, GTX 1660 Ti/RTX 2060 you can treat as a good starting point. For harder gaming RTX 2070. Either way you will pay a premium to have that in a laptop form factor.
