6820HK with 1080GTX vs 7820HK with 1070GTX

Dear All,

I think I am ready to press the button on an alienware dell outlet laptop.

There are currently two options which interest me, which i want your opinions on.

There is one with 6820HK with 1080gtx without SSD (scratch and dent) for around 1700GBP
Another one with 7700HQ with 1070GTX with 256 PCIe SSD (scratch and dent) for around 1650GBP.

Taking into consideration that the 6820HK version is older and more prone to the heatsink design, as well as the lack of ssd, I am guessing the second option is a better choice correct? Also, the 1070, I am guess it produces less heat, so with a bit of overclocking, would it reach 1080's performance or at least close the gap?

I want the laptop to last a few years (4 minimum), and taking into consideration I will be getting the 1440p 120hz screen variant, I want a card that will benefit me the most of the years to come and make my screen worthwhile. I wouldn't say I play very demanding games, or I am a graphics freak, who wants everything on ultra to be happy. As long as I can take advantage of the 120hz in the future, with pleasant graphics I will be happy.

Finally, last question, all the 1440p 120hz screens are with GSYNC correct? BEcause the description on dell website doesn't specify GSYNC, but as far as I know, its there.

Thank you in advance.

 

6820HK with the 1080 much better deal IMO

 

Yes, maybe that is the case, since I saw that it was a 7700 instead of a 7820 (my eyes are playing games). Are there considerate disadvantages concerning 6820 vs 7820, except from speed? Is the fact that the one is older going to have any considerate drawbacks?

Also the model with 6820hk isn't prone to have the old WHD panel that had issues? or chances are that they replaced it?

 

I don't much about the 17 R4 and it's flaws but being a BGA GPU and CPU it always best to go for the best possible so u don't have to upgrade as then u will need a whole new motherboard... 1070 vs 1080 is a much larger difference then a 6820HK vs 7820HK (you can compare using game-debate or userbenchmark) so technically speaking the 1080 6820HK system will last u longer as u could easily OC the 6820HK to 7820HK Speeds... Where as a 1070 vs 1080 overclocking that difference is a little bit harder

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Hi there, I've owned several of both the skylake and kabylake R4s so I guess I'm well qualified to provide some answers here.
Yes all the QHD screens you speak of are G-Sync. Performance wise the difference between the two CPUs is pretty negligible unless you are planning on overclocking the 6820HK which can yield 4GHz. if you do, then you're looking at a 10-15% difference in clock speed but quite a noticeable difference in FPS also.

Having said that I'd recommend you get the 7700HQ. For me, the 6820 was only just capable of handling a 1080, the PCH (even with custom cooling mods) still gets very hot (mid 90s plus) when running at 4GHz and you're more likely to have an old **** paste, inferior heatsink and pads, cooling issues right out the box and a display with horizontal lines across it it. Although this would likely be negated if you got a laptop cooler or didn't overclock anyway.

The 1070 can be overclocked but it will be no match for the 1080, that's the only card that will guarantee medium or higher settings up to 120FPS for the next 4 years at QHD resolution. The 1070 is still a good pairing with the 7700HQ though, the CPU is just about powerful enough to keep up with the GPU and a solid 60FPS+ should be possible at medium or higher settings with QHD for 4 years.

Final note: I notice You're in the UK, recently I sent back my old skylake of that configuration to Dell. Just for ****s and giggles I stripped it down completely before I sent it back and fixed every problem with it. So if you're lucky you may be picking up that one... (came with 32GB RAM and a 512SSD)

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Correct, although he mentioned it was the 7700HQ not the 7820HK. There's a large difference between the performance of these chips!

Your advice is still valid though

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From what I can tell it's a 9% difference and you lose 2MB of Cache... This is not at all a big deal in most cases and u can OC the Cache and the chip to make up for as much as the loss possible I would rather be short 2MB of Cache than having a much worse GPU which is more important for gaming anyway. The GPU will allow him to play games longer (4 years like asked) at better settings than the lower end gpu and the better cpu. CPU helps in games of course but doesn't make as big of an impact as a GPU. For budget systems I still recommend gen 1, 2 and 3 i7 CPUs and for really low budgets I recommend the FX Line (for gaming and rendering there's nothing it can't really handle) if people can game on something like a 2700k today with a new GPU it shows my point that cpu doesn't have as big of impact. Now keep that in context you don't pair a Pentium with a 1080Ti

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Guys thank you very much for your assistance. The models have changed again. Now the 1080 version is way too expensive compared to 1070 model. Will see what I will do. Is the 1080 worth 400 more pounds? my brain tells me no

Don't get me wrong, I am not a gaming junkie, I just want to be future proof!

 

400 more.... No probably not... I recommend getting some thermal grizzly liquid metal paste for the cpu and GPU, from what I hear that system has some heating issues so hopefully that paste will allow u to clock a bit higher or in the least keep ur Temps lower

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Who are you buying from? If it has a scratch and dent u could try to say they dropped it and u want it lower for that reason. It's always to go for the best ur wallet can buy... But it doesn't even have an SSD which kinda makes it hard to say go for the 1080 model. But being BGA and not replaceable it's really up to u... If u ever want to upgrade from a 1070 u need a new motherboard (check eBay) which will cost more than an SSD, a 256GB SSD at that.

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I think the 1080 variant is yours! shall I pick it up since you sorted it out?

 

Its from dell outlet. The models have changed now. The 1080gtx is for around 1950 pounds with 10% discount, and has 512gb ssd and 32gb as well. If the heating issues are sorted by Pete then it may be worth the money, unless dell has screwed it up again haha

 

For 400 more u get more ram a larger SSD lower end cpu and the higher end gpu?

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Essentially yes, however what Pete said about the 6820 and its temps scared me a bit, but I guess if he sorted it out it will be okay. I guess the same would apply with the 7770

 

I would go for that... Don't let Temps scare you always ways around that even cooler modifications (very useful) but thermal paste is a good start

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Thank you. As a novice- casual user, would I notice any difference between 6820 vs 7820 or nothing in my terms of use?

 

No you won't notice a massive difference

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For that money you could go with Clevo P775TM with i7 8700 and 1070...way way more future proof...

 

I have explored that option. I am afraid it isn't the same money. Clevo retailers in EU are more expensive. Adding the 1440p 120hz screen, a 512gb ssd and and the extra ram, ramps the costs around 2600-2700 euro. At present 1930 pounds equals around 2200 euro, and I get the gtx 1080.

Is the difference between the cpus that drastical? Is it stupid for me to buy a cpu that is 2 generations old? Speed wise we are talking between 4.0ghz to like 4.3-4.4ghz i guess. Would that have a major difference?

 

The 8700 is much much better yes but IK terms of gaming or everyday use not that noticeable... People run 980M SLI with a 3rd mobile i7

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Thank you Dantee. I tried configuring the Clevo with 1070gtx and the price goes up to almost 3k with windows installed. Crazy difference

If indeed its the laptop that Pete has fixed, and it comes without issues then I can see a better bargain. The 32gb ram is a bit of overkill but anyway

Can the 6820HK cpu be upgraded if I want to, to Coffee Lake or the motherboard won't support it?

 

You will have to buy a whole new motherboard for a CPU upgrade

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https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/octaneIV-17/

I7 8700 with 1070 120hz

1770£

use rest for ram and storage

 

He's getting 32GB Ram with a 1080 much better value bot to mention the 512GB SSD... I would advise the clevo as you can always upgrade it later on down the road, get a new GPU or CPU. But it will be better bang for buck to go for the Alienware. But you won't really be able to upgrade that.

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Thank you. I had pc specialists in mind. It goes around 2200 GBP with 16gb ram and 500 ssd 960 Samsung, but it is lacking the 1440p screen and the 1080gtx, but u get the the 8700 cpu. 300 pounds for just a better cpu worth it, while you lose the 1440p screen and 1080gtx?

 

No but you will be able to upgrade the GPU and CPU later if you want... Personally I would go clevo route but u said u don't want to upgrade for 4 years so I don't think it's a big deal for u

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they just added a model with 7820hk and 1080gtx for 20pounds more, certified refurbished so i might get that.

 

Thank you for your post again. I think the reasonable purchase at this moment, taking into consideration the price factor and what you get is to go with alienware. Unfortunately, the systems that you get is like the lotto so it might end up being a pain in the ass. If I buy the 7820hk one, I think the gap has closed and it should be a straightforward purchase. The only thing I am afraid is the heating problems.

 

I am telling them to book it for me and I will see.

Spoke with pc-specialists, they can't do any better prices unless there is a competitive quote from Dell for an identical system.

 

I didn't say I disagree with you. The GPU is more important for sure, but that statement from you that there's not much difference is not correct. You will not be able to overclock the 7700HQ to make up any difference. In fact, the opposite is true. That 9% difference is the maximum the 7700HQ can run at but not the maximum the 7820 can run at. I overclock my 7820 on a daily basis to 4.3GHz (and it can go more!). that's nearly 35% faster (especially taking into consideration the additional 2MB cache). Like I said, big difference...

Regarding the CPU affecting game performance an important clarification here is that age isn't necessarily a factor anymore. Early gen i7s are fine because the clock speed is still high, in this example the clock speed of a 2700k is still comparable to a 7700 in terms of speed so not much difference. what got better since then is mostly power consumption additional features and HW support and form factor (allowing higher speeds in smaller laptops for example).

However, for reasons stated above, I still notice at least a 20 FPS drop in BF1 if I run at 7700 speed instead of 4.3GHz because I have a 1080 and the CPU just simply isn't able to keep up with the demand. I'd say that was noticeable enough that people should be informed...


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That's an overclocked speed. The overclocking potential in the 7820 is much better, 4.6GHz is possible with the right cooling and a lucky chip.

If you don't overclock, the difference will be less noticeable for sure

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Don't forget build quality. Alienware is second to none, far better than crappy PC specialist, Clevo or MSI...

I see you mentioned the 7820 is available for 20 pound more. That's a no Brainer, get that!

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Haven't had a clevo do can't comment I think the Alienware 18 is built alright... Had an X51 years and years ago went like 500 Series was new lmao and it was built alright. But 7820HK only does 4.6GHz sounds junk... U can push a 4930MX or 4940MX to 5GHz with the right cooling

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Alienware 17 - R4 - 0Ghz - 1512.00Gb HD - 32000.00Mb Mem - -
- Alienware 17 - R4 - - 1 TB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) - - 512GB PCIe Solid State Drive - - 32GB (2x16GB)
DDR4 SDRAM 2400MHz NE - - Software - - Information - - Software Driver (No Media) - - Info Mod - - Software
Driver - - Label - - Placemats - - Additional Software - - Software - - Info Mod - - Shipping Material - - Info Mod - -
info Mod - - No Software Anti-Virus - - Software - - Software Driver - - 2 x Software - - Label - - Label - - Info Mod -
- Software Driver - - Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 - - 17.3in QHD(2560x1440)120Hz TN+WVA AG -
- Intel Core i7-7820HK (4C, up to 3.90 GHz, 45W) - - Software - - NVIDIA GTX 1080 8GB - - Windows 10 Home
(64bit) - - Primary 6-cell 99W/HR Battery - - LCD Cover Assembly - - Power Cord : 250V - - Power Supply: 330W AC
Adapter - - Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard - - Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard -

I guess lady luck was by my side yesterday and they had a 20% flash sale discount. I got the above system for a total of around 1950 Euros, which is a price that can't be beaten i guess. I am waiting for this beast now and will see how its thermals are!

Thank you all so much for your help and assistance. You will hear more from me soon, since I will be needing your assistance!