Is an i5-6300HQ good enough for VR? Or should i upgrade (Alienware 13 R3)

[Nvidiaguy07]

Been contemplating buying a laptop that is VR capable (I already have a desktop at home, so this would not be my primary gaming machine).

Alienware has a pretty good deal right now in its 13R3 - which has a 1060 in it.

Not sure if its worth spending an extra 150 to upgrade the 6300hq to a 6700HQ. For any other application a 6300HQ would be fine for my use, but VR is my only question.

Heres the deal if anyone is interested: https://slickdeals.net/f/9817315-al...1x8-ddr-4-ram-1920x1080-ips-as-low-as-934?v=1

Thanks for the advice!

 

[NTMBK]

Same amount of cache, only 300MHz and enabled Hyperthreading in it... I'd say not worth the upgrade. But I'm not a VR gamer, so I don't know how critical that last 10% is

 

[Insomniator]

Those mobile CPU's are already gimped compared to desktop, I would say every bit of performance you can get counts. Its only 11% more money spread out over the entire length of ownership. I believe those chips are soldiered on, so in 3 years if some game is 50% faster thanks to HT (results here have shown the i5 2500k getting beat handily by the i7 2600k), you won't be able to upgrade.

 

[LTC8K6]

How long will you keep it?

If you plan to keep it for a while, then I'd go for the 6700hq for longevity.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Probably plan on keeping for a while, will only resell and upgrade if the resale value is worth it, which is rare for me.

Im just so on the fence about what I want/need in a laptop. Heres my scenario:

-Use desktops at home/work 90% of the time
-Currently have a shitty chromebook as a laptop (most of the time I just use remote desktop)
-originally wanted to upgrade to a 13" windows laptop, with a decent cpu for around $500 (15 is too big for me) good enough to play indie games but nothing more.
-Decided if im spending money I might as well spend a bit more and get something with a dedicated GPU
-Was eyeing the new $800 Inspiron 7000 14" with a 1050 in it - which is perfect for my needs -with the exception of not being able to play VR (14 inch is a little too big as well)
-Recently Ive gotten into VR, which was making me maybe consider spending a little more to have a VR capable PC. Seeing the Alienware on sale which is much more powerful, and a better form factor made me consider the upgrade

So basically I went from wanting to spend 400-500, to 800, to eventually ~1100.

Its still not my main PC, and like I said with the exception of VR the 6300HQ is more than enough. I think if its good enough for VR for the next 2 years, that should be good enough. I guess I can always sell and upgrade if it loses the ability the play new VR games - if thats still important to me.

 

[richierich1212]

Why would you use a laptop for VR if you already have a desktop?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Why would you use a laptop for VR if you already have a desktop?

To bring it places. I dont have a very big house/room to play in. My friends/family have been asking about it, so it would be nice to be able to bring it to a friends house to play when we have people over.

Like I said its not totally necessary, but if I'm shopping for a new laptop, and I want something that can play games (was gonna spend $800), why not spend a little more and have something that is VR capable.

 

[Crono]

Which VR headset? You didn't mention, so I'm guessing you don't have one yet?

In any case, the VR setup isn't that portable for either Vive or Rift. If you want a portable-ish computer with a lot of power, build or buy an SFX (mini-iTX or micro ATX) build that's sturdy and has a handle. With a Ryzen or Kaby Lake CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a decent SSD, and a GTX 1070 mini, you'll be in much better shape for VR gaming, both now and for the future.

Otherwise if you just want a gaming/VR laptop, it's a good deal. But personally I prefer my laptops to be lightweight and power/thermally efficient ultrabooks, and keep the real horsepower in a desktop (even a tiny one) I can fix or upgrade as needed.

 

[LTC8K6]

Resale value would also favor the 6700HQ.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Which VR headset? You didn't mention, so I'm guessing you don't have one yet?

In any case, the VR setup isn't that portable for either Vive or Rift. If you want a portable-ish computer with a lot of power, build or buy an SFX (mini-iTX or micro ATX) build that's sturdy and has a handle. With a Ryzen or Kaby Lake CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a decent SSD, and a GTX 1070 mini, you'll be in much better shape for VR gaming, both now and for the future.

Otherwise if you just want a gaming/VR laptop, it's a good deal. But personally I prefer my laptops to be lightweight and power/thermally efficient ultrabooks, and keep the real horsepower in a desktop (even a tiny one) I can fix or upgrade as needed.

I have the HTC Vive. How is what you posted a more portable setup than the laptop I linked? With the laptop, you would need: laptop and charger. With your setup, you would need: computer, mouse, keyboard, cables, monitor.... I dont see your logic.

I am buying a laptop regardless, but am interested in spending a little more on a better laptop that would also serve the purpose of being a secondary VR computer for the few times I bring it places.

 

[Crono]

My logic is a small ITX system is a better secondary VR system, not that it's more portable than a laptop (in either case you are still lugging around lighthouses, controllers, cables, and the HMD itself). But if your priority is a gaming laptop and the VR capability is a nice extra, then yes, that laptop is probably adequate, but I would pay to upgrade to the 6700HQ.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

My logic is a small ITX system is a better secondary VR system, not that it's more portable than a laptop (in either case you are still lugging around lighthouses, controllers, cables, and the HMD itself). But if your priority is a gaming laptop and the VR capability is a nice extra, then yes, that laptop is probably adequate, but I would pay to upgrade to the 6700HQ.

Im trying to find benchmarks to see the difference between the 6300 and 6700 in VR, but cant seem to find anywhere.

I see similar systems 3dmark scores, and its showing a 3953 vs a 3506 score in TimeSpy, with the 6700HQ winning by 47%: http://www.3dmark.com/compare/spy/899420/spy/824966

Im just on the fence because I originally just wanted something decent for gaming (the dell with a 1050 is more than enough for that), but adding VR if its a little more is probably worth it, but then once you add the CPU upgrade it ends up being much more expensive, so ive drifted away from my original price point dramatically.

Id like to see what a 6300 vs 6700 gets on a steam vr score, or even a VRmark test.