WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:01.440 Do you like to game? 00:00:01.440 --> 00:00:02.280 Yeah. 00:00:02.280 --> 00:00:04.040 Do you like to game at your house? 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:04.880 Yes. 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:07.600 Do you like to game in kind of unusual places? 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:08.440 Hell yeah. 00:00:08.440 --> 00:00:10.960 Okay, whoa, dude, okay. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.520 I was kind of thinking like in a hotel or coffee shop, 00:00:13.520 --> 00:00:17.300 but anyway, the point is, if you are gaming on the go, 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:20.280 you're gonna have to make some kind of sacrifice, 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:24.240 be it performance, weight, or battery life. 00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:26.680 So today, we're gonna investigate 00:00:26.680 --> 00:00:30.560 which option makes the most sense for mobile gaming, 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:33.420 but not until after our sponsor, Synergy. 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:36.440 Synergy allows you to combine your desktop computers, 00:00:36.440 --> 00:00:39.020 laptops for that matter, into one cohesive system 00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:40.640 by allowing you to share your mouse and keyboard 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:41.920 between multiple systems. 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:52.700 Check it out at the link below. 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.400 Now, there are really three approaches for gaming on the go. 00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:59.160 Huge honking gaming laptop, thinner gaming laptop, 00:00:59.160 --> 00:01:02.560 or thin and light notebook with an external GPU. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:05.140 And today's objective is to find out 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.860 which one is the best, objectively, the best option. 00:01:09.860 --> 00:01:12.440 So let's meet our contenders. 00:01:12.440 --> 00:01:16.220 Coming in at a whopping 10.35 pounds, 00:01:16.220 --> 00:01:20.600 this laptop has been described as a shot of adrenaline, 00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:25.600 a big, heavy beast of a laptop, and barely even portable. 00:01:26.140 --> 00:01:31.140 The ASUS G703 is possibly the only mobile, asterisk, 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.820 device on the market that can actually take advantage of Intel's 00:01:34.820 --> 00:01:37.700 Core i9-8950K. 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:40.800 Some people have even gotten it to do five gigahertz 00:01:40.800 --> 00:01:43.440 on all six of its processing cores. 00:01:43.440 --> 00:01:47.100 And when you combine that with a GTX 1080, 32 gigs of RAM, 00:01:47.100 --> 00:01:49.860 and a RAID 0 NVMe storage array, 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:54.020 this laptop spanks most people's gaming desktops. 00:01:54.020 --> 00:01:55.860 Then, over on the other end of the spectrum, 00:01:55.860 --> 00:01:59.020 weighing in at a featherweight 2.9 pounds, 00:01:59.020 --> 00:02:03.120 is the Razer Stealth, which is, well, if we're being honest, 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:04.880 basically useless for serious gaming. 00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:08.820 That is, until we hit it with a GTX 1080 00:02:08.820 --> 00:02:11.740 in an external enclosure via Thunderbolt 3. 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:13.940 Now it's rocking a quad-core Core i7, 00:02:13.940 --> 00:02:16.660 16 gigs of RAM, NVMe storage, and of course, 00:02:16.660 --> 00:02:19.300 the GTX 1080 that we just duct taped to it, 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:22.920 helping it kick gaming laptop stereotypes in the balls 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:24.780 by combining extreme portability 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:26.760 with extreme gaming performance. 00:02:26.760 --> 00:02:30.280 Also an extremely useful, sometimes, touchscreen. 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:34.500 Finally, the middleweight in our bout is the Razer Blade 2018. 00:02:34.880 --> 00:02:38.160 At 4.63 pounds, this laptop is on the heftier end 00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:40.400 of what we might call totable, 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.500 but it does have the muscle to make up 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:43.820 for that junk in the trunk. 00:02:43.820 --> 00:02:48.820 It's got a six-core i7-8750H and a GTX 1070 Max-Q, 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:53.260 which some might say is the perfect compromise for gamers. 00:02:53.260 --> 00:02:57.200 But then again, some people also love the Olive Garden, 00:02:57.200 --> 00:02:59.280 but, like, you go there and at first you're, like, 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:00.900 stoked about the unlimited bread, 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:04.340 but then you get your pasta and it's just, well, basically, 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:06.370 it's more bread. 00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:09.070 So then, we have designed a few challenges 00:03:09.070 --> 00:03:10.350 for these machines to compete in, 00:03:10.350 --> 00:03:14.450 so without further ado, let's get ready to ride! 00:03:14.450 --> 00:03:17.450 Not allowed to say that because I will get in trouble. 00:03:17.450 --> 00:03:19.650 Now, challenge number one. 00:03:19.650 --> 00:03:22.430 Our three contestants arrive with their laptops 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:24.590 in their backpacks at some destination, 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:27.610 let's say the gym. 00:03:27.610 --> 00:03:29.970 Just kidding, these guys. 00:03:29.970 --> 00:03:33.930 Then they need to game, so they gotta get it out and ready 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:35.090 as quick as possible. 00:03:35.090 --> 00:03:37.150 Ready, set, goldfish! 00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:39.390 I don't care, I'm going. 00:03:39.390 --> 00:03:41.420 Yeah, screw you, Linus. 00:03:41.420 --> 00:03:44.920 All right, so Colton. 00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:48.400 Oh, Colton's got the G703. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:50.820 Whoa, that's gonna be a bit of a challenge here. 00:03:50.820 --> 00:03:52.380 The Camara. 00:03:52.380 --> 00:03:57.380 The Camara has a whopping two power cords for him to set up, 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.860 two power bricks for him to figure out how to manage, 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:04.780 but it does make up for some of that with its massive IO, 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:06.880 pretty much everything else out of the water. 00:04:06.880 --> 00:04:08.240 It's got Thunderbolt 3. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:09.400 It's got USB 3. 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:11.100 It's got an SD card reader. 00:04:11.100 --> 00:04:13.820 It's got an actual Ethernet port. 00:04:13.820 --> 00:04:18.820 James, meanwhile, is already completely set up. 00:04:18.820 --> 00:04:20.720 The Blade Strike's kind of a middle ground, 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:22.700 so he's got ample USB. 00:04:22.700 --> 00:04:26.700 He's got no touchscreen, unfortunately, on this machine. 00:04:26.700 --> 00:04:28.640 I'll help you out with that there. 00:04:28.640 --> 00:04:29.920 He's got Thunderbolt 3. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.460 He's got mini DisplayPort and HDMI, 00:04:32.460 --> 00:04:33.680 along with Thunderbolt 3, 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:34.640 so he can do multiple displays, 00:04:34.640 --> 00:04:36.080 multiple displays out. 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:39.370 And Alex, are you set up now? 00:04:39.370 --> 00:04:43.730 Wow, so coming in first is the thin gaming laptop. 00:04:43.730 --> 00:04:45.810 Coming in second, actually, 00:04:45.810 --> 00:04:50.150 is the ultralight with the external GPU enclosure. 00:04:50.150 --> 00:04:51.730 I mean, you do give up some IO, though. 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:53.270 It's only got two USB ports, 00:04:53.270 --> 00:04:55.970 plus that Thunderbolt port and a headphone jack, 00:04:55.970 --> 00:04:57.530 so yeah, but then again, 00:04:57.530 --> 00:04:59.030 if you're willing to carry this around, 00:04:59.030 --> 00:05:00.130 you do get additional ports, 00:05:00.130 --> 00:05:01.910 including Ethernet over here. 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:05.320 And coming in dead last, poor Colton. 00:05:05.320 --> 00:05:07.410 Are you even at the desktop yet? 00:05:07.410 --> 00:05:09.640 I'm at the desktop. 00:05:09.640 --> 00:05:12.640 No one can see what you're typing. 00:05:12.640 --> 00:05:16.060 It's pretty clear that the winner here in terms of setup 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:18.680 is our thinner gaming laptop. 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:20.220 But now it's time for round two, 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:24.780 the drag race of the computer world, Cinebench, 00:05:24.780 --> 00:05:26.740 which hopefully Colton will figure out 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:27.860 how to open at some point. 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:30.260 Look, we had Riley, 00:05:30.260 --> 00:05:32.360 we had Riley cast for this spot, 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:34.660 and it just, like, he was busy with TechLink, 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:35.760 so it just doesn't matter. 00:05:35.760 --> 00:05:36.760 Anyway, on your marks. 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:38.420 Get set. 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:39.500 Bench it. 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:41.100 No, Colton, wrong one. 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:43.300 Fortunately, you have a super-fast machine, 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:45.680 so we can just cancel that, run the CPU one, 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.460 and you'll probably still finish before them. 00:05:47.460 --> 00:05:49.320 So you can actually see here, 00:05:49.320 --> 00:05:52.160 Colton's six-core, 12-thread processor 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.860 has already overtaken the Blade Stealth's 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:58.180 quad-core, eight-thread processor, 00:05:58.180 --> 00:05:59.520 because remember, there's more to it 00:05:59.520 --> 00:06:02.400 than just how many cores and how many threads you have. 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:05.340 There's how high it'll turbo and how long it'll stay there. 00:06:05.340 --> 00:06:06.180 In fact, 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:08.120 it's even closing in on the Blade, 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.300 although this one does look like 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:10.980 it's gonna come in slightly ahead, 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:13.340 with about 1,000 points. 00:06:13.340 --> 00:06:16.000 Finishing, well, second in time, 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.500 but that's only because of Colton. 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:19.940 With nearly 1,200 points, 00:06:19.940 --> 00:06:23.400 the Chimera is clearly the fastest machine here 00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:27.410 when it comes to multi-threaded CPU-intensive processes, 00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:31.170 and the Blade Stealth does show some of its weakness, 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:33.470 because there's only so much cooling, 00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:36.210 and therefore turboing up that you can do in such, 00:06:36.210 --> 00:06:38.770 thin and light chassis. 00:06:38.770 --> 00:06:42.890 There we go, about 530 points. 00:06:42.890 --> 00:06:46.930 So, when it comes to getting serious work done on the road, 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:50.350 you're pretty much stuck with something at least this class, 00:06:50.350 --> 00:06:54.320 with more serious work being most suitable 00:06:54.320 --> 00:06:56.740 for obviously the most powerful machine. 00:06:56.740 --> 00:07:00.720 Now, it's time for the main event, gaming performance. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:04.040 So, let's get Shadow the Tomb Raider fired up here. 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:06.440 Make sure you guys are all on the high preset. 00:07:06.780 --> 00:07:09.020 And fight! 00:07:09.020 --> 00:07:11.060 Whoa, did Colton get the game launched 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:12.620 well before everyone else? 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:16.260 Looks like that RAID 0 NVMe is working out for him over there. 00:07:16.260 --> 00:07:18.140 All right, everyone's set up and good to go? 00:07:18.140 --> 00:07:19.200 Everyone's on high? 00:07:19.200 --> 00:07:20.040 Yeah. 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:21.880 Everyone's on DirectX 12? 00:07:21.880 --> 00:07:23.620 Go! 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:25.340 Let's see who manages to load in first. 00:07:25.340 --> 00:07:30.440 Pull out wide so we can see. 00:07:30.440 --> 00:07:31.280 All of them at once. 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:32.120 Whoa! 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:35.480 Colton's out ahead with the loading times! 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:37.860 Followed by, I mean, this is basically what we expected. 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:39.920 I can't act too surprised right now. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:41.800 Now, what's interesting here 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:46.800 is that even though our Camara has the same GPU, 00:07:47.080 --> 00:07:50.020 a desktop-grade GTX 1080, 00:07:50.020 --> 00:07:53.240 as our Blade Stealth does in its external enclosure, 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:57.520 the frame rates that it's seeing are significantly higher 00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.640 because you're gonna be limited, 00:07:59.640 --> 00:08:03.980 not just by the PCI Express 4X interface 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:05.940 over Thunderbolt 3 here, 00:08:05.940 --> 00:08:09.820 but also by the fact that the data has to be sent back from 00:08:09.820 --> 00:08:13.480 the core to the display over that same link, 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:15.480 causing a little bit of bottlenecking. 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:19.360 Also, this processor doesn't turbo up to five gigahertz 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:20.200 or whatever. 00:08:20.200 --> 00:08:23.860 So what that means in the real world is that the Blade, 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:27.060 which also has the benefit of a nice, fast 120 Hertz display 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:28.740 compared to our Blade Stealth, 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:33.200 ends up with better real-world FPS at the same resolution, 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.320 even though it has a GTX 1070 Max-Q. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.240 So that's like a neutered 1070. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:39.780 So no real surprises, in short. 00:08:39.780 --> 00:08:41.700 In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:45.300 or in any of the other games that we ran while we're at it, 00:08:45.300 --> 00:08:49.360 bigger is more badder when it comes to gaming performance. 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.280 But with that said, our Razer Blade Stealth, 00:08:54.280 --> 00:08:56.720 and therefore the Ultrabook category in general, 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:59.200 is not down for the count yet, 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:02.560 because our final category is portability. 00:09:02.560 --> 00:09:07.560 As I alluded to before, the G703 has terrible battery life. 00:09:08.180 --> 00:09:09.760 Like, you could put the largest battery 00:09:09.780 --> 00:09:11.400 allowed in it, 00:09:11.400 --> 00:09:14.660 and it would still barely have juice for over an hour. 00:09:14.660 --> 00:09:17.120 As for the Razer Blade, well, it does a bit better, 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.100 but even if you're just watching YouTube videos 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:20.820 or using Excel, 00:09:20.820 --> 00:09:23.900 you're still looking at around four hours of battery life max, 00:09:23.900 --> 00:09:26.040 not to mention that both of those laptops 00:09:26.040 --> 00:09:29.080 are heavier than I'd like to carry around with me all day. 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:32.020 The Stealth, on the other hand, is easy to cart around 00:09:32.020 --> 00:09:34.320 and has a battery that lasts over eight hours 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:35.960 with light to moderate use. 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:38.820 That is over double the Blade and almost eight times, 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:39.700 and that's a lot of battery. 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:41.160 So if you're looking for a laptop that's as heavy 00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:42.920 as you're looking to carry around, 00:09:42.920 --> 00:09:44.740 then you're gonna need more than one. 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:46.960 I'm gonna go with the G703. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:49.920 And this is where things kind of get a little bit tricky. 00:09:49.920 --> 00:09:51.180 So we set out to determine which one 00:09:51.180 --> 00:09:53.780 was the best gaming laptop, 00:09:53.780 --> 00:09:56.020 but you could make a pretty strong argument 00:09:56.020 --> 00:10:00.940 for the clear winner being having a gaming desktop at home 00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:03.480 and a thin and light for when you're traveling. 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.060 With that said, for people that travel a lot 00:10:06.060 --> 00:10:08.760 or are on shift work, or are truckers, 00:10:08.760 --> 00:10:25.420 So for me personally, a big part of me is leaning towards the external GPU because I hate carting around a gaming laptop a lot and probably 80 to 90% of what I use my notebook for is kind of writing scripts on the go. 00:10:25.420 --> 00:10:35.400 So that gives me the flexibility to do what I need to do during the day without running out of battery, but still be able to have the full experience when I'm able to get to a desk. 00:10:35.400 --> 00:10:55.220 With that said, it's just hard to recommend to most people because first, you need a notebook with a Thunderbolt 3 X4 port, then you need to buy an expensive enclosure, then you need to get a GPU knowing that there isn't going to be enough bandwidth over Thunderbolt to take full advantage of it. 00:10:55.220 --> 00:11:00.960 Meaning in the end, you have paid top dollar for a middle-of-the-road gaming experience. 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:04.840 So for the time being, I'm going to keep rocking this. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:13.420 But we'll have to let you guys decide, and let us know in the comments below, who do you think ultimately won the game off? 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