Newer Laptop vs Older Desktop?

[Kelemvor]

Hi,

 

After watching the $69 Gaming PC video from a few weeks ago, I started wondering about something for my son.  He currently has a Dell XPS 15 Laptop that I'm pretty sure has an i7-8750 CPU and a GTX 1050 Ti video card.  The only game he really plays is a version of MineCraft.  Primarily Hypixel Skyblock with Lunar Client to run his mods.  I don't know what anything in that last sentence means.

 

Anyway, I have a lead on a Dell XPS 8900 desktop with an i7-6700 CPU.  It's obviously an older CPU, but it would let me add a much better GPU into it.  However, I'm not sure what the performance would be like for the game that he plays and if he'd see a difference.  He also likes to use OBS to record his gameplay so he can upload it later to YT or whatever, and that his current laptop can get laggy when he tries to do that.

 

Anyway, just looking for opinions on if setting up the desktop, ad picking up a video card (whatever would be best for under $100),would the be a significant upgrade from the laptop he has now?

 

Thanks!

[RedWulf]

I think it could be a good move depending on which cpu and what the current clock vs the new clock speed would be. Minecraft especially modded needs a good single core performance and the newer cpu does better stock, but laptops are often down clocked and you might get a good turbo on the new one balancing the difference. 

 

The main reason I say do it though is because you can then gradually upgrade as you go too. 

 

You could probably get a 2060 on a good deal with some hunting for 100 or easily get a 1070 for under $100 too.

[LloydLynx]

I'd say leave him with the laptop for now. Intel generations before 8th are unsupported on Windows 11, which can be bypassed, but it will likely have consequences later down the road. If you really wanna do him a favor, look for at least 8th gen Intel (or at least 2nd gen for Ryzen), an SSD for the boot drive, and at least 16GB of RAM. Also some prebuilt desktops are very restrictive with power supply, which could be an issue for fitting a good graphics card.

[Euchre]

Although laptops are very limited in expansion, getting a 2 generation older based system isn't likely to be much of an improvement. If his laptop handles his gameplay well enough, and it's mainly the OBS video capture that causes the issues, you might consider rounding up a spare desktop PC that could have a video capture card installed or device attached to it, and externalize the video capture. This would take 100% of the load of video capture off of his laptop, and if it is just good enough, might carry forward to a newer gaming system for his gameplay later on.

[Spring1898]

It is a tough position to be in.

 

If you think you can save and get something better, I am more for that than buying something that 'old,' as you are getting the point where you might start seeing real limitations in what the older hardware is capable of.

 

If the CPU is anything less than a 6700 I suspect the 8750h, may, in fact, be faster than it. The limitation being what budget GPU you can put into it.

 

I think that the bigger take away from that video is that even with a lower end CPU, you really still need a decent 8GB or greater GPU.

 

It really comes down to how limited your budget is, and if it is that limited, what he has is probably fine. But if you can put that whole rig together for under $250 with a RX 580 8gb or better (which would be better than his 1050ti mobile), it might be worth it.

 

Let's put some other options into pricing context

 

A 4060 laptop around $750, definitely not the best bang for the buck.

A 12th gen intel laptop w/ 3070 used around $650, still not very good

A 8th gen intel 8700 desktop with a 2080 8gb around $530

A 8th gen intel 8700 desktop with a RX 5700 8gb around $409 (will do better at 1440p than a 580 will do at 1080p)

A 8th gen intel 8700 desktop with a RX 580 8gb around $350

 

[Kelemvor]

I can get the XPS 8900 for like $10-$20.  It's more about what sort of GPU could I put in it that would make it better than the laptop.  If I can put something in it for under $100, that would make it a better computer for his Minecraft, then I'd consider that.  He could even then just use the laptop for OBS if Minecraft would do better with a better video card.

The alternative is that I do nothing and he just keeps what he has until he saves up some money to upgrade down the road.  I'm not looking to do something because I have to, I just had the opportunity to get this 8900 and thought if I throw in another $100, would that make a difference or not.

[Spring1898]

What is the processor?

 

But for that price add a $70 RX 590 and be done with it.

If you can find a sub $100 RX 5700, I would take that instead.

 

And if you find another one for that price, let me know and I might want to play with one, lol!

[Kelemvor]

28 minutes ago, Spring1898 said:

What is the processor?

I'm pretty sure it's an I7-6700 according to the Service Tag.