Razer Blade Pro? (i7 6700HQ)

[Lukamak 36]

Hey guys

 Do any of you have any experience with Razer and FSX/P3D or with i7 6700HQ?

 All specs seem amazing but 2.6 GHZ seems a little low, so I'm not sure how it will handle it.

 Here are full specs
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (6GB) -
VR ready
Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad-Core Processor
512 GB SSD
 

[Colofalcon 1]

Vortex--

I'm also considering a Razer Blade Pro...did you end up "pulling the trigger"?  If so, are you running P3D 3.4+, and how is it working?  Add-ons? Framerates, etc.

Would love to hear your experience.

Kent

[Jimm 437]

Unless this is a 15.6" or larger, you're gonna need some serious cooling or else you succumb to thermal throttling.  The 1080 is a capable card for P3D, but you need an equally capable processor, one that can be overclocked.  Your HQ has a low turbo, and more than likely low voltage as well.  Razer makes some slick laptops but they don't leave a lot of room inside for cooling.

[Colofalcon 1]

Well actually Jimm...glad you commented on this thread, since it was YOU that started this whole line of thought for me a few months ago (the idea of using a laptop on the road for P3D....as I had read an early 2016 post you wrote about how well your Origin works).  Was that "accusatory" enough sounding (GRIN)?  After reading your earlier post, I immediately went and spec'd out an Origin....and one problem is, they got rid of the 2667Mhz RAM (I was/am looking at the EON15-X), now offering only 2400 Mhz.  I have since read some horrible customer service stories about them, so I have a level of concern about going with them-- but I have not made a final decision.  Here is the spec I was considering on the Origin EON15-X:

• FHD 1920 x 1080 15.6" IPS 120Hz G-SYNC Matte Display
• Single NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB (w/GPU overclock)
• Intel Core i7 7700K Quad-Core 4.2GHz (4.5GHz TurboBoost)
• GPU/CPU upgraded thermal paste
• 32GB Kingston HyperX Impact DDR4 2400MHz (4 X 8GB)
• WIN 10 Pro (64 bit)
• 2TB Samsung 850 Pro Series

It all comes out to about $3,600 pre-shipping.

I'm also considering an Alienware 15" R3:

• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocking up to 4.4GHz)
• Windows 10 Pro (64bit) English
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
• 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits Display
• 16GB DDR4 at 2667MHz (2x8GB)
• 1TB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

About $2,800 damage on that one...and free shipping

Anyway...those two are strong contenders...although I do a LOT of traveling (currently with 4.5 lb MacBook Pro 13"), so the weight increase of these machines will be VERY noticeable.

Enter the Razer Blade Pro.  It is 17", it doesn't look like "Frankencomputer" (like PC laptops typically do), and has a form factor that is easier to travel with....problem is, the specs are not that great:

• 17.3” IGZO UHD G-Sync, 16:9 ratio, 3840x2160, with LED backlight, with capacitive multi-touch
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5 VRAM) [<-- OKAY, THAT'S GREAT]
• Intel® Core™ i7–6700HQ Quad-core processor with Hyper Threading 2.6GHz / 3.5GHz (Base / Turbo) [<-- THIS IS NOT SO GREAT]
• Mobile Intel® PCHM 100-series chipset
• 32GB dual-channel memory (DDR4, 2133MHz) [<-- THIS IS MOLASSES SLOW]
• Windows® 10 (64-Bit)

So that's where I am...I'm not in a huge hurry (would like to get the next laptop, set it up, and head off on business with it in mid-to-late May), so I have to be semi rational about this.

Any thoughts?  I'm not necessarily weeded to these 3...but the first two seem to come closest to what you'd need to run P3D 3.4+, w/ORBX, PMDG, and some add ons.

Thanks,

Kent

[Jimm 437]

5 hours ago, Colofalcon said:

Well actually Jimm...glad you commented on this thread, since it was YOU that started this whole line of thought for me a few months ago (the idea of using a laptop on the road for P3D....as I had read an early 2016 post you wrote about how well your Origin works).  Was that "accusatory" enough sounding (GRIN)?  After reading your earlier post, I immediately went and spec'd out an Origin....and one problem is, they got rid of the 2667Mhz RAM (I was/am looking at the EON15-X), now offering only 2400 Mhz.  I have since read some horrible customer service stories about them, so I have a level of concern about going with them-- but I have not made a final decision.  Here is the spec I was considering on the Origin EON15-X:

• FHD 1920 x 1080 15.6" IPS 120Hz G-SYNC Matte Display
• Single NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB (w/GPU overclock)
• Intel Core i7 7700K Quad-Core 4.2GHz (4.5GHz TurboBoost)
• GPU/CPU upgraded thermal paste
• 32GB Kingston HyperX Impact DDR4 2400MHz (4 X 8GB)
• WIN 10 Pro (64 bit)
• 2TB Samsung 850 Pro Series

It all comes out to about $3,600 pre-shipping.

I'm also considering an Alienware 15" R3:

• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocking up to 4.4GHz)
• Windows 10 Pro (64bit) English
• NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
• 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 120Hz TN+WVA Anti-Glare 400-nits Display
• 16GB DDR4 at 2667MHz (2x8GB)
• 1TB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

About $2,800 damage on that one...and free shipping

Anyway...those two are strong contenders...although I do a LOT of traveling (currently with 4.5 lb MacBook Pro 13"), so the weight increase of these machines will be VERY noticeable.

Enter the Razer Blade Pro.  It is 17", it doesn't look like "Frankencomputer" (like PC laptops typically do), and has a form factor that is easier to travel with....problem is, the specs are not that great:

• 17.3” IGZO UHD G-Sync, 16:9 ratio, 3840x2160, with LED backlight, with capacitive multi-touch
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5 VRAM) [<-- OKAY, THAT'S GREAT]
• Intel® Core™ i7–6700HQ Quad-core processor with Hyper Threading 2.6GHz / 3.5GHz (Base / Turbo) [<-- THIS IS NOT SO GREAT]
• Mobile Intel® PCHM 100-series chipset
• 32GB dual-channel memory (DDR4, 2133MHz) [<-- THIS IS MOLASSES SLOW]
• Windows® 10 (64-Bit)

So that's where I am...I'm not in a huge hurry (would like to get the next laptop, set it up, and head off on business with it in mid-to-late May), so I have to be semi rational about this.

Any thoughts?  I'm not necessarily weeded to these 3...but the first two seem to come closest to what you'd need to run P3D 3.4+, w/ORBX, PMDG, and some add ons.

Thanks,

Kent

Factually speaking, I am on my third Origin, the second for myself and the other was purchased for my wife.  The one I had before this one, was a strong contender for flight simming, but that GTX-980M just wasn't up to snuff.  I invested in my new rig, with the specs that I got to future proof it for X-Plane, and possibly P3D.  I do a lot of other things with this rig, so the specs again, were suitable.  Furthermore, with my new rig (which actually cost about $200 more than what you were quoted for the EON-15X) and the specs are in my signature, has truly made this a beast of a machine.  For mobility, you get a workout with it, but the impressive part about it is how very cool it stays under load.  I've run P3D and X-Plane on it and I have yet to hear the fans spin up at max, because the cooling solution they have for it is very effective.  The 17" Origin EON-17SLX has three fans with three heatsinks, which move the air very well.  I only have one 1080 in it, but there is a slot for a second, if I so choose in the future.

The RAM issue is due to how it all works in a mobile config, not sure why.  I too ordered mine with the 2666mhz, but was told later it kept failing with the 7700K so I agreed to the 2400mhz.  Honestly, I don't notice any performance issues.

I can't speak for service with Razer, but for Origin and Dell, I used both, with Dell being the first and I never had a good c/s experience with Dell.  Origin isn't 100% perfect BUT, if you have an issue, you will hear back from them very quickly and if your issue isn't resolved correctly, you let them know and it will get taken care of.  I had my rig shipped with a Killer Wifi card, and had issues from the getgo, but it wasn't Origin's fault, just a bad card, so after emailing Origin, within a day or two, they had shipped me a new card (go with intel!) and i popped it in and issue fixed. Let's just say that Origin stays receptive, and that's key.  Dell, on the other hand, at least for me, always tried to pass off issues as not their fault and God forbid if you have to send your machine back to them for repair.  I did ONCE, and it didn't come back the same.  I spent a good month and a half resolving one issue that was actually their fault from the beginning.

The only way to really enjoy, without the hassle, a flight simulator on a laptop is to go custom.  That way, you know what you have in it, the way you want it.  Dell makes it very difficult now to fully customize your system, whereas Origin has a lot more options.  If it helps, i was weary, just like you about these mail order, custom built machines, and I only tried Origin initially because I heard it on good authority from Froogle (Youtuber Flightsim Veteran), that he was very happy with his and it would work well with FSX and P3D.

One last tidbit of information, more often than not, if you see rigs built by custom builders, like Dell, AVA Direct, Origin, iBuyPower, and even Sager, their cases all originate from Clevo.  Razer builds good gaming laptops, not sure about their case originator, but they don't do very well for flight simulation because of their "stylish and sleek" cases not providing enough cooling.

[Colofalcon 1]

Jim,

I see no surprises in your replies, and several welcome validations:

"I do a lot of other things with this rig, so the specs again, were suitable."  Yep, I will be using it as a business computer as well (I am a consultant, so I don't usually need a powerhouse, but once in a while I might build a complex schedule in MS Project).  I assumed that if it ran P3D well, that it would pretty much handle anything I might throw at it business-wise.

"I too ordered mine with the 2666mhz, but was told later it kept failing with the 7700K so I agreed to the 2400mhz.  Honestly, I don't notice any performance issues."  Yep, I was told the same thing by the sales rep....and I'm extremely happy to hear that you suffer no noticeable performance hit from having 2400 vs. 2666.  So that's good to hear.

"I can't speak for service with Razer, but for Origin and Dell, I used both, with Dell being the first and I never had a good c/s experience with Dell."  I wasn't overwhelmed with the CS when I was getting a quote from them, either-- plus their sales CS was clearly outsourced and the person's English was hard to decipher at times.  But the CS rep was certainly pleasant enough.

"Razer builds good gaming laptops, not sure about their case originator, but they don't do very well for flight simulation because of their "stylish and sleek" cases not providing enough cooling."  Yep, that has been my concern all along-- as well as the specs being lower (3.5 turbo CPU vs. 4.5).  Now I have to consider whether I would go with the Origin 15" or the 17".  Weight is going to be the key issue (7.5 vs. 8.5 pounds), and I usually have a monitor to use when on the road (I keep one stashed at each of the Residence Inns that I use-- one on the west and one on the east coasts respectively).  The ONLY question I have is about the 1080 that is available with the 17" vs the 1070 on the 15".  Do you think there will be a noticeable performance hit if I go with the 1070 vs. 1080?

Thanks for expanding on your experience!

Kent