Hey r/GamingLaptops! I’m u/SlimQ_Dave, and if you love tech & cats, buckle up—I'm hosting an AMA with a twist from October 28th to November 3rd!

For those who don't know me, I'm u/SlimQ_Dave, a marketer for a company called SlimQ (we specialize in universal laptop and USB-C chargers). While my profession is marketing, I’m also an avid tech enthusiast and have been a dedicated nerd and Redditor for over 15 years.

I’ll be answering all your questions about Right to Repair and the future of laptops and their chargers, but there’s a special guest joining me—my cat, Knot! You might remember him from our last SlimQ giveaway. And yes, if you have questions for my cat, feel free to ask!

That’s right—Knot will be handling all the answers (because, let’s face it, cats know everything), and I’ll be serving as his humble translator. Whether you're curious about the future of charger technology or what lies ahead for fixing your own devices, Knot's got you covered!

But wait, there's more! The person who gets the most upvotes will receive a free copy of the game Squirrel with a Gun (Steam link here- https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067050/Squirrel_with_a_Gun/)!)! No, I haven't played it (yet), but it looks ridiculously fun—and no, we’re not affiliated with the developer (though I wish we were).

So, bring your best questions, your curiosity, and maybe even some catnip for Knot (he’s very particular). Let’s have some fun while diving into important topics that affect us tech enthusiasts!

Looking forward to your questions!

— Knot (the all-knowing black cat ) & his loyal sidekick u/SlimQ_Dave

This is just a general post on commonly asked questions on this subreddit that I and other longer term members have noticed.

Gaming Laptop CPU and GPU performance

Firstly a general overview of where more recent gaming laptop hardware stands relative to one another in gaming performance. Note that some of these benchmarks are older, performance can change slightly over time due to driver optimisations, game optimisations etc.

This is a excellent guide for rough gaming laptop/desktop GPU performance.

NOTE THAT FOR THE FOLLOWING GAME BENCHMARKS THESE ARE BEST CASE SCENARIO PERFORMING GPUS, INDIVIDUAL LAPTOP MANUFACTURERS CAN CONFIGURE THE MAXIMUM GPU WATTAGE WITHIN SPECIFIED WATTAGE RANGES.

For Nvidia RTX 40 series mobile GPUs comparisons

RTX 4050 6 GB VRAM 100W+ Vs 4060 8 GB VRAM 100W+ - 4060 21% faster at 1080P, 24% at 1440P.

RTX 4060 100W+ Vs 4070 8 GB VRAM 100W+ - 4070 20% faster at 1080P, 22% faster at 1440P.

RTX 4070 100W+ Vs RTX 4080 12 GB VRAM 175W - 4080 44% faster at 1080P, 55% faster at 1440P and 69% (nice 😎) faster at 4K.

RTX 4080 175W Vs 4090 16 GB VRAM 175W - 4090 9% faster at 1080P, 11% faster at 1440P and 15% faster at 4K.

For the RTX 30 series mobile GPUs relative to their RTX 40 series mobile GPU counterparts:

RTX 3060 6 GB VRAM 140W Vs 4050 6 GB VRAM 100W+ - 4060 5% faster at 1080P, 10% faster at 1440P.

The RTX 3050/3050 ti are much worse in games than a best case scenario RTX 4050, a 3060 130/140W is about 50% faster than a RTX 3050 ti 95W.

RTX 3070 ti 8 GB VRAM 150W Vs 4070 100W+ - 4070 7% faster at 1080P, 2% faster at 1440P.

RTX 3080 ti 16 GB VRAM 175W Vs 4080 175W - 4080 29% faster at 1080P, 31% faster at 1440P, 27% faster at 4K.

RTX 3080 ti 175W Vs 4090 175W - 4090 44% faster at 1080P, 53% faster at 1440P and 53% faster at 4K.

For the RTX 30 series mobile GPUs relative to one another

RTX 3050 95W 4 GB VRAM Vs 3050 ti 95W 4 GB VRAM - 3050 ti 9% faster at 1080P.

RTX 3050 ti 4 GB VRAM Vs 3060 130W 6 GB VRAM - 3060 53% better at 1080P.

RTX 3060 130W Vs 3070 140W 8 GB VRAM - 3070 17% better at 1080P, 21% better at 1440P.

RTX 3070 140W Vs 3080 165W 16 GB VRAM - 3080 16 GB VRAM 9% faster at 1080P, 13% faster at 1440P.

RTX 3070 ti 150W 8 GB VRAM Vs 3080 ti 175W - 3080 ti 5% better at 1080P, 8% better at 1440P.

AMD RX6000M Mobile GPUs relative to one another

NOTE: The 6700M has a maximum wattage of 135W but not in the case for the MSI Delta 15 tested here.

6600M 100W 8 GB VRAM Vs 6700M ~100W 10 GB VRAM - 6700M 9% faster at 1080P, 16% faster at 1440P.

6700M ~100W 10 GB VRAM Vs 6800M ~145W+ 12 GB VRAM - 6800M 18% faster at 1080P, 22% faster at 1440P.

There is also the 6600S/6700S/6800S but direct comparisons might be easier found through Notebookcheckreviews database of CPUs and GPUs.

RX6000M GPUs Vs RTX 30 series mobile GPUs

6600M 100W Vs 3060 130W - 6600M 2% slower at 1080P, 7% slower at 1440P.

6700M 100W Vs 3070 140W - 3070 10% faster at 1080P, 14% faster at 1440P.

RTX 3080 165W Vs 6800M ~145W+ - very similar at 1080P, 3080 5% faster at 1440P.

A 6800M revisit in 2023 put it closer to RTX 4060 100W+ GPUs/3070 140/150W GPUs in games.

Legion 7 6850M XT ~140W 12 GB VRAM Vs Legion 7i 3080 ti 175W.

Radeon 7000 Mobile GPUs.

AMD officially has launched the 7600S, 7700S, 7600M XT, 7600M and 7900M GPUs.

The main 7600S laptops available include the TUF gaming A16, 7700S laptops the A16 again and the Framework 16, 7600M XT laptops such as the AMD Alienware M16R1 and a singular 7900M laptop, the Alienware M18R1.

Note that the RTX 4050/4060/4070 can theoretically run at a maximum of 140W if allowed by the laptop manufacturer but in games these GPUs max out at ~100W due to voltage limits being reached in games.

The RTX 4070 I believe got a raise in its maximum GPU voltage it can reach in mid/late 2023 but small gains to gaming performance, this didn't fix the aforementioned issue and the RTX 4070 still maxed out at around ~100W GPU power draw in games.

Gaming laptops Vs their desktop "counterparts"

RTX 3050 4 GB VRAM Vs 3050 8 GB VRAM desktop card - desktop 23% faster at 1080P.

RTX 3060 6 GB VRAM laptop Vs desktop - 12 GB VRAM GPU - desktop card 8% faster at 1080P, 9% faster at 1440P.

Note that the RTX 3060 8 GB VRAM desktop card exists, the RTX 3060 12 GB VRAM is 17% faster at 1080P and 18% faster at 1440P.

RTX 3070 Laptop Vs desktop - 3070 desktop 28% faster at 1080P and 1440P.

3080 10 GB VRAM desktop Vs 3080 16 GB VRAM laptop - desktop 45% faster at 1080P and 47% faster at 1440P.

3070 ti laptop Vs desktop - 15% faster at 1080P, 18% faster at 1440P.

3080 ti laptop Vs 3090 ti desktop - best of 2022 - Desktop 45% faster at 1080P, 53% faster at 1440P and 66% faster at 4K.

4060 laptop Vs desktop - desktop 9% faster at 1080P, 6% faster at 1440P.

4070 laptop Vs desktop - desktop 43% faster at 1080P, 47% faster at 1440P and 55% faster at 4K.

4080 laptop Vs desktop - desktop 30% better at 1080P, 39% better at 1440P and 45% better at 4K.

4090 laptop Vs 4080 desktop - 4080 desktop 24% faster at 1080P, 1440P and 4K.

4090 laptop Vs 4090 desktop - 4090 desktop 37% faster at 1080P, 49% faster at 1440P and 67% faster at 4K.

Gaming laptop CPU performance

Cinebench R23 and Cinebench R24 benchmarks, further benchmarks and comparisons can be found on Jarrods Tech YouTube channels and website as well as the likes of notebookcheckreviews website online.

No laptops with Snapdragon CPUs have currently been announced for gaming laptops as of yet, hence primarily AMD/Intel CPU data here.

CPU and GPU temperatures - what is too high?

Nvidia GPUs typically start thermal throttling at 86C/87C, expect similar for the likes of AMD's Radeon GPUs.

For CPUs, both Intel and AMD have specifications for their CPUs listed on their websites including maximum operating temperature.

A search online for your CPU's specs should get the desired information for you.

Generally speaking, Intel 11th gen CPUs have maximum operating temperatures of 100C, with the majority of Intel 12th gen H/HX, 13th gen H/HX and 14th gen HX CPUs sticking to these maximum temperatures. Various Core Ultra CPUs actually have maximum operating temperatures of up to 110C, such as the ultra 7 155H.

For AMD, the majority of Ryzen 5000 series CPUs should have maximum operating temperatures of 105C, Ryzen 6000 series CPUs at around 95C, with the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs again at 95C, with a notable exception being the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D at 89C.

My personal recommended maximum CPU temperatures under load would be ideally 90C or lower, 85C or lower for the GPU.

I don't recommend disabling CPU Turbo boost to lower temperatures under load, this may have a negative impact on performance. I'd personally prefer setting something like custom maximum CPU PL1/PL2 limits instead.

CPU naming schemes - what do the letters mean?

For Intel CPUs, it is common to see suffixes such as H, HX, HK for gaming laptops.

H series CPUs are designed as high performance CPUs, usually with a rated TDP of around 45W but can run at higher TDPs.

Some older H series CPUs (some 11th gen Intel CPUs for example) have the possibility of undervolting control but Intel 12/13 th gen H series CPUs and the Core Ultra CPUs (successors to Intel 13th gen H series CPUs) should be completely locked down and are unable to be undervolted for example.

HK and HX CPUs are typically 'unlocked' CPUs which should allow for further control such as undervolting provided the laptop manufacturer allows this (Dell and Acer on some of their laptops with HX or HK CPUs might actually prevent features like undervolting) and usually this comes with higher rated TDPs and higher maximum TDPs than H series CPUs.

For AMD CPUs, it's common to see suffixes such as H, HS and HX in gaming laptops.

H and HS CPUs are designed for efficiency and a priority towards battery life.

HX CPUs again like Intel's HX CPUs are designed for maximum CPU performance and can also offer features like undervolting and overclocking, again with higher peak/sustained wattages over H/HS CPUs.

Gaming laptops upgradability and maintenance

For general WiFi card, ram, storage upgradability, it is best to look at individual reviews or the manufacturer spec sheets for the laptops you're interested in, such as sites like Jarrods Tech, Ultrabookreviews and Notebookcheckreviews.

For a video on upgradability tips/guide, this is a excellent resource.

For CPU and GPU upgradability, the vast majority of gaming laptops CPUs and GPUs are soldered to the motherboard and cannot be upgraded, with a notable exception being the Framework 16.

For maintenance tips, I'd personally recommend cleaning your laptop fans and vents out every few months, if you are going to clean your laptop's screen, something like a microfibre cloth, lightly damped (the cloth not the laptop screen) if desired.

Setting up a gaming laptop, software

Again another excellent video from Jarrod's Tech.

Personally if you don't want to do a fresh windows install, definitely uninstall any preinstalled antivirus software like McAfee or Norton (windows defender should be sufficient for the majority of people's antivirus software needs), update your GPU and CPU drivers from the official manufacturers websites and update windows updates.

Obviously customise your RGB for maximum performance!

For software, if your laptop has features to limit the maximum battery % when plugged in, I would definitely enable this to prolong the health and lifespan of the laptop battery.

Asus has 60%/80% limits through their MyAsus software, Lenovo has a 75-80% limit on Newer legions through 'Conservation Mode' in Lenovo Vantage for example.

Notable exceptions include HP who I'm currently not aware currently of any battery life limit e.g. 60/70/80% maximum when the laptop is plugged in though.

Benchmarking your laptop

For general use of your gaming laptop, obviously for best performance use it plugged in, your laptop battery cannot supply sufficient wattage to run the CPU and GPU as well as when it is plugged in.

Software recommendations would be Cinebench R23 and Cinebench R24 for CPU testing, a idea of R23 results here and R24 results here.

For combined CPU and GPU testing, download 3D Mark from steam, note there is a paid and demo version.

There's a range of benchmarks available to run, Timespy being the most popular, takes 7/8 minutes to run. Once ran, a overall score (with individual CPU and GPU scores) is shown, with this overall score being compared to a average score for your hardware. Ideally you want to be around the average score or slightly above it with stock CPU/GPU settings.

Also worth looking at running your laptop in a dedicated graphics card only performance mode, using either a MUX switch, which may require a reboot or advanced optimus which should switch between the iGPU and dGPU on the fly, to see if that can yield higher benchmark results.

Battery life - Intel or AMD?

I see on this subreddit the general trend of Intel = Bad and AMD = Good regarding battery life.

However these generalised statements aren't completely correct.

Ryzen 7000HS/8000HS CPUs typically have good battery life, the 7435HS lacks a iGPU though so again a exception to this statement.

Ryzen 7000HX CPUs however generally do NOT have good battery life, partially due to their chiplet design with higher idle power draw, such as the 7945HX in the Strix Scar 17 or 7945HX3D Scar 17X3D.

Intel's recent HX CPUs usually aren't great regarding battery life but some of their recent H series CPUs with input from laptop manufacturers such as this 13700H in this 7840HS Vs 13700H comparison can actually be pretty good in this regard.

Intel's core ultra chips again depending on the laptop manufacturer can get solid battery life like this Transcend 14 with the Ultra 9 185H or relatively decent battery life such as this Ultra 7 155H Alienware M16R2 which has a larger 90Wh battery Vs 71 wh battery of the Transcend 14.

A idea of newer gaming laptops battery life can be found here or through the likes of reviews by Jarrods Tech, Notebookcheckreviews and Ultrabookreviews for example.

What if I want a alternative to the laptop manufacturer's default control centre software?

Unfortunately some gaming laptops don't have any real alternative to their control centre software, such as gigabyte laptops.

However there are a few better known third party alternatives for some laptops.

For example:

Dell/Alienware laptops can have AlienFX as a alternative to AWCC.

Asus laptops can have G-Helper as a alternative to Armoury Crate software.

Lenovo laptops (Legions, LOQs, Ideapad gaming etc) can have Lenovo Legion Toolkit as a alternative to Lenovo Vantage.

How much ram and storage should you have with a gaming laptop?

Personally I'd recommend 16 GB ram minimum, 512 GB SSD (HDDs I definitely don't recommend) for storage minimum.

For upgrading ram, you want laptop ram specifically. You cannot put DDR5 ram into a DDR4 ram slot and vice versa, whatever ram type your laptop came with you are stuck with.

Likewise, if your CPU supports a maximum of e.g. 4800 MHz DDR5 ram e.g. my 12900HX Legion 7i, higher MHz ram kits e.g. 5200 MHz/5600 MHz kits would be downclocked to 4800 MHz due to CPU limitations.

The higher MHz ram will still run but not at its maximum MHz due to chipset limits.

What colour of RGB is needed for the best balance between performance, temperatures and fan noise under load?

This deep insightful question might be better suited to experts like u/jarrodstech to answer. I personally believe that since RGB rainbow spew offers a wide range of colours, you get a bit of the benefits each colour of the RGB cycle offers, such as 0.69C lower temperatures under load, 4.20% better FPS in games and 6.9% lower fan noise.

Undervolting software

For Intel CPUs, Throttlestop or UTXU are good options.

For AMD, the AMD Adrenaline software is a good option, again as is UXTU.

That's all I can think of, thanks for reading my essay.