new laptop for best performance

Bro, does your rig even lift?
suzybee
Hasn't felt like this about software in a long time
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Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:08

new laptop for best performance

Post by suzybee »

Hi guys,

I'm looking for advice if anyone can offer it!

I need to get a new laptop for my Resolume Arena performance because my Lenovo Y70Touch is now starting to drop frames when i play. This has a lot to do with the fact that i'm now using lots of Blur and Feedback effects which require lots of computer power.

The main ones i'm looking at are the Razer Blade 15 (4K touchscreen), the new Alienware 15, and the ROG GX800VH.

I like the fact that the Razer Blade has a touchscreen for triggering clips, but there are other laptops with better spec. It also has a 6-core i7 processor but the GPU is Nvidia 1070 (not 1080). The Alienware has a 6 core i9 processor so should be more powerful plus a 1080 Graphics card (no touchscreen). The ROG GX800 is i7 (i think 4 cores) but it has dual 1080 graphcs cards and up to 64 GB RAM (the others are max 32GB).
They're all 4K.

Here's my main queries:

Can Resolume make use of the 6 core i9 processor in the alienware 15? (or is it no better for resolume than i7?)

Is dual 1080 graphics with i7 processor of greater benefit than single 1080 with an i9 processor?

How significant is the ROG's 64 GB RAM?

As they are 4K screens, how much does that soak up the computing power unnecessarily? Can you set the screen to 1080p for better performance (does that work better?)

I've seen alienware laptops have good benchmark scores on the Resolume forum and a lot of people seem to like the Razer Blades I don't see a lot of feedback on the ROG.

Getting a desktop wouldn't be practical because we often fly to gigs and i want to keep my computer with me on the plane.

I don't see any reason why the latest Macbook Pro would be any better. I used to use a mac and changed to PC so i could afford better spec and i have been perfectly happy with a PC...

Can anyone offer any feedback on this?
It's very confusing and some of the benefits of the specifications will depend on how Resolume uses the CPU and the GPU etc.
Hopefully this will be helpful to other people too...
Thanks for your help!!!
Suzybee :)

im_borealis
Met Resolume in a bar the other day
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by im_borealis »

Dual graphics cards isn't going to help you too much. Here's some text from Resolume themselves:
Resolume Support wrote: Single computer with two GPUs

This works in most cases. Keep in mind, there is always a performance hit by adding extra cards, and having two cards doesn't mean you can do twice as much. Quite the opposite.

Resolume let's your operating system decide how to render. This is great, because this means that if your OS can detect the displays, you can use them in Resolume. New cards will work immediately, and you don't have to wait on us to add support for them.

There are a few exceptions where multiple AMD cards in a PC will not sit nice with our OpenGL rendering. Creating an Eyefinity group with all cards usually works around these problems, but it's a problematic set up, because your main monitor becomes part of the Eyefinity group.

Letting the operating system decide how to render also means that the OS decides what card is used for rendering. Most of the time, this will be the card that has the main monitor on it.

So when using the outputs of the other card, the texture is first rendered on the rendering card. It then has to be transferred down the PCIe lanes of the rendering card, via the motherboard, up the PCIe lanes of the other card, and then sent out the ports. This will always result in a performance hit. The more cards you add, the bigger this hit will be.
I wouldn't recommend i9 laptops just yet. i9 gets way hotter than i7, and most laptops don't have the thermals to keep up with i9 yet, especially when you throw a GTX1080 in there, and run at load for hours at a time.

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cvanhoose
Is seriously in love with Resolume. Met the parents and everything
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by cvanhoose »

I have a new MacBook Pro i9 and a 2017 i7 both max configured.
They are pretty identical with performance in R6. I opted for an eGPU Razer Core V2 with a 1080ti card in it. It is one of the only eGPUs I know that use dual lanes. I use it with the new MbP running Windows 10 and it is a killer setup. To gain full performance out of it you will have to use an external Monitor for GUI, giving you 3 additional outputs. I usually route to FX4 units.
This makes traveling easy for me with flights instead of bringing my rackmounts.
Laptop cards to not have the same clock speeds as a full size 1080ti.
I am curious how the Blades run with this setup on the internal screen. Probably my next portable PC.

I don’t see a benefit with 64gb ram vs 32gb ram for playback, although more can’t hurt for future use or editing software.
FF589D94-F49F-474A-A139-260D15789A2B.jpeg

suzybee
Hasn't felt like this about software in a long time
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:08

Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by suzybee »

Hey both,

thanks for your helpful replies!
I feel reassured that one graphics card is plenty, and that it might not be beneficial to go for an i9 yet -i'll see if i can find out more about how the alienware does on the heat issue.

I had considered getting a Razer Core to improve the graphics.
What do you mean about needing an external monitor for that?
Are you able to fit a laptop plus the Core2 plus a midi controller in a cabin bag on a flight?

i think i'm narrowing it down to either the Razer Blade or the Alienware...

Thanks!
Suzybee :)

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Oaktown
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by Oaktown »

What do you mean about needing an external monitor for that?
If you don't use an external monitor connected to the eGPU, all the rendering will be done on the laptop GPU instead of taking advantage of the eGPU. I do the same on our NUC Skull Canyon/1080ti eGPU setup.

im_borealis
Met Resolume in a bar the other day
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by im_borealis »

A note about eGPUs:
Make sure the laptop you get supports 4 lanes of PCIe on the Thunderbolt 3 port. Many laptops with Thunderbolt 3 support only 2 PCIe lanes.

im_borealis
Met Resolume in a bar the other day
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 01:41

Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by im_borealis »

cvanhoose wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 20:57 Image
That setup is beautiful. What do you use to get the APC at that angle?

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cvanhoose
Is seriously in love with Resolume. Met the parents and everything
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by cvanhoose »

suzybee wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 22:38
Are you able to fit a laptop plus the Core2 plus a midi controller in a cabin bag on a flight?
I travel with a Pelican 1510 for my gear and a Pelican 1520 for my Razer Core V2. All carry on.
Sometimes I take only a 1510 case with the Razer Core V2/Laptop/misc gear inside and bring a backpack.
I usually acquire a monitor from the location if I am traveling light.

CVH

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cvanhoose
Is seriously in love with Resolume. Met the parents and everything
Posts: 277
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Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by cvanhoose »

im_borealis wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 01:37
cvanhoose wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 20:57 Image
That setup is beautiful. What do you use to get the APC at that angle?
Thank you. I have a handful of these laptop stands. They are great.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007B ... UTF8&psc=1

CVH

suzybee
Hasn't felt like this about software in a long time
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:08

Re: new laptop for best performance

Post by suzybee »

hey guys,

thanks,
I decided to go with the Alienware 15 inch with i9 processor and GTX 1080 graphics card.
hopefully it will be powerful enough so i don't need to add an external graphics card for a long while at least!
I think it's the best spec i can afford and i think Dell is a reliable company.

The Razer Blade is more stylish but the spec and price don't work out as well as the Alienware, and the other laptops on the market with the same spec are more expensive. All have pros and cons.

Fingers crossed it will enable me to play freely with my effects and maintain a smooth uninterrupted 30 frames per second!

Thanks for your help,
Suzybee :)

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