Most likely a obvious answer...

[JMJenkins]

So I've decided that a laptop would better suit me for now until I finally could look at having a dedicated area for a gaming PC, as that cannot happen for now, I needed to find a laptop that could game at ultra/1080p/60fps and still stream.

 

Now I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure the i7-4940x CPU could stream and game all at the same time, correct?

 

I mean, it is a 4 core/8 threaded CPU with a max boost frequency of 4.0Ghz, a long with the SLI 980M's (8GB of VRAM Each) I should get a nice stable 60fps+ in majority of games at highest settings, or am I sadly mistaken?

[AlwaysFSX]

Yep, obvious answer.

[alexhelvetica]

Do you want a laptop or a desktop?

An i7-4940x is a Desktop CPU, and yes it can stream and play game at the same time.

[JMJenkins]

Do you want a laptop or a desktop?

An i7-4940x is a Desktop CPU, and yes it can stream and play game at the same time.

I cannot really deal with a desktop right now, the laptop I wish to purchase though has a i7-4940x CPU in it a long with SLI 980M's with 8GB Vram each.

 

correction, it is a i7 4940MX CPU.

[alexhelvetica]

I cannot really deal with a desktop right now, the laptop I wish to purchase though has a i7-4940x CPU in it a long with SLI 980M's with 8GB Vram each.

Can you show me the laptop? What model is it?

[Gale]

That sounds like a pretty powerful laptop. How much is it?

[JMJenkins]

It is the ultimate option from Digital Storm for the Behemoth, scroll to the bottom of the page.

[JMJenkins]

That sounds like a pretty powerful laptop. How much is it?

Sadly it's starting price is $3,957 which goes up once you customize it at all....

[runit3]

Sadly it's starting price is $3,957 which goes up once you customize it at all....

I'd pick up a EON17-X from Origin. Desktop i7-4790k and one GTX 980M should be more than good. 500GB SSD + 1TB Hybrid drive comes in at $2,715.14.

[JMJenkins]

I'd pick up a EON17-X from Origin. Desktop i7-4790k and one GTX 980M should be more than good. 500GB SSD + 1TB Hybrid drive comes in at $2,715.14.

I'll definatly take a look, but I'd prefer SLI 980M just to get as much power as possible, I know SLI 980M's can play Crysis 3 at a stable 60-70fps at max

 

 

Edit:

 

Took a look, I'm getting pretty much better performance out of the Behemoth even though it costs more, the idea is to have a machine that can still get 60+ fps at ultra/high in the future and then look at a desktop for the best performance in about 2-3 years. So yes, it would be cheaper to go with an origin machine, but I need those SLI 980M's and beast CPU.

 

Edit 2:

 

So I took a look at the SLI version, it doesn't have the 4790k but has the 4940MX CPU, but to be fair, the 4940MX and 4790k in a laptop do almost exactly the same in terms of performance, maybe off by a 0.4~ Ghz

[runit3]

I'll definatly take a look, but I'd prefer SLI 980M just to get as much power as possible, I know SLI 980M's can play Crysis 3 at a stable 60-70fps at max

 

 

Edit:

 

Took a look, I'm getting pretty much better performance out of the Behemoth even though it costs more, the idea is to have a machine that can still get 60+ fps at ultra/high in the future and then look at a desktop for the best performance in about 2-3 years. So yes, it would be cheaper to go with an origin machine, but I need those SLI 980M's and beast CPU.

1) Not every game supports SLI, and even some that do are not terribly well optimized.

2) "performance" is completely relative in reference to laptops. You are basically buying in to already obsolete hardware in comparison to a desktop build. You're paying for convenience and mobility over performance, just the nature of laptops. At least with desktops you can swap in a new GPU, selling the old one, and keeping your AAA titles running.

3) The 4940MX is essentially a -1GHz 4790k. I do believe OCing is unlocked to a certain extent with the mobile extreme chips, but counting on a 1.5+GHz OC to catch up to the 4790k is pretty non-existent. For CPU dependent titles you're getting much better performance with the 4790k. If the laptop had a 1440p display I would say SLI 980M all the way, as that's the only way you're going to be able to push that resolution. At 1080p a single 980M can keep up with basically every current game aside from Crysis 3 and Metro http://www.anandtech.com/show/8585/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980m-970m-mobile-maxwell-gm204/3 With DX12 around the corner there may be a stronger argument for SLI, especially if the VRAM stacking is realized, but that would be counting on a lot given the huge price discrepancy between non-SLI and SLI ($800+ quoted for both companies, that's ~20% more than 1 980ti). 

 

My main point is that for $3500+ you could build 2 desktop machines that would both last at least 5 years. If you've got the cash to burn, and really need an extreme mobile platform, by all means -make it rain.

[JMJenkins]

1) Not every game supports SLI, and even some that do are not terribly well optimized.

2) "performance" is completely relative in reference to laptops. You are basically buying in to already obsolete hardware in comparison to a desktop build. You're paying for convenience and mobility over performance, just the nature of laptops. At least with desktops you can swap in a new GPU, selling the old one, and keeping your AAA titles running.

3) The 4940MX is essentially a -1GHz 4790k. I do believe OCing is unlocked to a certain extent with the mobile extreme chips, but counting on a 1.5+GHz OC to catch up to the 4790k is pretty non-existent. For CPU dependent titles you're getting much better performance with the 4790k. If the laptop had a 1440p display I would say SLI 980M all the way, as that's the only way you're going to be able to push that resolution. At 1080p a single 980M can keep up with basically every current game aside from Crysis 3 and Metro http://www.anandtech.com/show/8585/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980m-970m-mobile-maxwell-gm204/3 With DX12 around the corner there may be a stronger argument for SLI, especially if the VRAM stacking is realized, but that would be counting on a lot given the huge price discrepancy between non-SLI and SLI ($800+ quoted for both companies, that's ~20% more than 1 980ti). 

 

My main point is that for $3500+ you could build 2 desktop machines that would both last at least 5 years. If you've got the cash to burn, and really need an extreme mobile platform, by all means -make it rain.

Thanks for really detailed message you gave me here, basically my current predicament is that I cannot get a DESKTOP in South Africa that's cheaper than this gaming laptop that I would have to order from America anyway.

 

1) I understand not every game supports SLI but from the benchmarks I have seen, the few games that do, do get a large difference in FPS, anywhere from 10-50 boost.

2) I did state in the first post that I would like to stream as well as heavy gaming with this laptop potentially becoming a work machine too, I believe the term for this kind of laptop is a Desktop Replacement.

3) The i7-4940MX has a base clock speed of 3.2ghz with a boost clock speed of 4.0ghz, I wouldn't do much, or any overclocking at all on a laptop just to keep temps down, but the i7-4790k has a base clock of 4.0ghz and a boost of 4.4ghz. As for the Single vs SLI 980M, Crysis 3 got :Crysis 3, Very High, SMAA = 88.7 Average FPS

 

As for ordering a PC here, if I wanted a 980 Ti G1 edition, I'd pay $700 in America, which is R8750 (a lot of cash), but in South Africa, I have to pay $1016 which is R12700. All in all, by the time I have the PC without the monitor or keyboard, I'm paying upwards to R36,000 which is $2880. For the monitor I want, I'd have to add yet another R12000+ and then a keyboard would cost R2000+ for a decent mechanical one. All in all, I could buy the PC for the same price of this laptop by the time it arrives after VAT, but space is an issue and I move around a lot, so this laptop would be the saving grace as the places I go to don't have too much room for a mid-sized PC, never mind a full tower. So definitely in the future I would have a room dedicated for the PC and would build the dream machine then, but for now, this laptop should and could handle all my needs and wants.

[runit3]

snip

O_O and here I was thinking Canada and the UK had bad import fees. With all of that context the biggest package in the smallest size does make a hell of a lot of sense. 980m SLI FTW