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    Alienware Amplifier + CPU question

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by LaptopGamingGeek, Jun 23, 2018.

  1. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    Hey all,

    Pardon the newbie question here.

    I think it'll be time soon to attach some life support to my 17 R4 especially as the 1080 is struggling when using it over 1080p.

    Now I wanted to ask, if I wanted to connect an amplifier with a 1080ti/titan will there be any performance degradation when:

    1. using the Laptop monitor

    2. connecting to an external display

    Also I have a 6820hk, how much time do I think I can hold off a full laptop upgrade? Or should I just upgrade now?

    Thank you all in advance!
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jun 23, 2018
    #1
  2. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Internal GTX 1080 should should be good enough for QHD gaming.
    Connect the monitor using GPU's HDMI port in AGA to get best performance.
     
    Vasudev, Jun 23, 2018
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  3. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    Yeah, I mean it's holding up for now. I'm just wondering if the CPU will cause me an issue soon...?
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jun 23, 2018
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  4. Onetwo345

    Onetwo345 Notebook Geek

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    6820hk is still a very good processor. If it's holding you back in a couple of years, you can always overclock it.

    There is no way that processor will be underpowered anytime soon. The same goes for your 1080 gpu.

    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
     
    Onetwo345, Jun 23, 2018
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  5. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I doubt 6820HK is under-powered. It can OC to 4.4GHz like Onetwo345 said.
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2018
    Vasudev, Jun 23, 2018
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  6. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    Fair enough, thanks guys that put my mind at ease. I'll still upgrade my card for use on an external screen. I've overclocked my CPU to 4.0Ghz, but it tends to thermal throttle as I haven't upgraded the paste method. I should probably do that when the time comes. Thanks guys.
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jun 23, 2018
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  7. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    4.4ghz for a quick bench if your on LM and have a golden chip but no more than 4ghz for gaming with no throttling. However as others have said this is plenty for gaming for now

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
     
    Pete Light, Jun 25, 2018
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  8. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    Hey all, sorry was about to pull the trigger on a Amplifier and a Strix 1080 Ti...

    But it's just occurred to me, can I even use a 1080Ti in an amplifier? (given the PSU inside)

    Also does anyone have an idea how much of the Ti's performance I'll lose, utilising this solution?

    and if I wanted to game away from monitor and just use the 17's screen, I can do that can't I? though I presume that also comes at an additional performance hit?

    Thanks again for all help in advance.
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jul 7, 2018
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  9. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    The PSU is enough but the strix doesnt fit, you cannot close the lid with non reference boards.

    If you use the itnernal screen, you will have about a 10% performance penalty.
     
    rinneh, Jul 8, 2018
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  10. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    Fair enough, it's just awesome that I can use a 1080 Ti in general and even use the internal screen if need be.

    Many thanks for that, I guess I'll get a reference 1080 Ti then.

    Thank you!!!
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jul 8, 2018
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  11. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    No prob. and yeah the reference variants are your safest bet and in general work great. Using an AGA now for more than 2 years and happy with the setup.
     
    rinneh, Jul 8, 2018
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  12. LaptopGamingGeek

    LaptopGamingGeek Notebook Geek

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    That's great, I'm making much more use of 17 R4 as both home primary gaming desktop PC and still using it for work out and about (though of course it's really overkill for work). I'm generally really pleased with it but I can see in certain titles @ 3440x1440 or 2560x1440 it can't quite maintain that magical 60fps point.

    Not a problem when my the laptop and I are on the road, but when I'm chilled in the gaming room at the house, I want it to be as flawless as possible when outputting to my ultrawide monitor...

    The amplifier seems like a far better solution to those other USB-C offerings too.
     
    LaptopGamingGeek, Jul 8, 2018
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  13. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    Good info folks, roughly whats the performance hit on a reference desktop card used within an AGA solution?

    The op asked this too but no-one answered it as far as I can tell
     
    Pete Light, Jul 12, 2018
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  14. Sentential

    Sentential Notebook Evangelist

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    One other thing not mentioned which is a huge plus especially for those of us with HK processors. When you connect an amplifier it electrically disables the onboard GPU which means your CPU will get to use the entire heatsink for itself and not share it with the GPU which leads to significantly lower temps across the board.
     
    Sentential, Jul 12, 2018
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  15. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    About 2 to 3%
     
    rinneh, Jul 13, 2018
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  16. Pete Light

    Pete Light Notebook Deity

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    blimey I was expecting it to be more like 20 - 30% given the AGA port isn't full PCIe x 16 is it?
     
    Pete Light, Jul 13, 2018
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  17. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Pushing to internal display there is 20-30% loss. Driving through external monitor on AGA the losses will be minimal.
     
    Vasudev, Jul 13, 2018
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  18. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    Nah not 20 to 30%. Close to 10. on TB3 it is over 20% yeah.
     
    rinneh, Jul 13, 2018
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  19. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    rinneh, Jul 13, 2018
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  20. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I meant on Optimus and when GPU in AGA is OC'ed the perf. benefits seemed too thin.
     
    Vasudev, Jul 13, 2018
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  21. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    I havent experienced such performance drops on my optimus systems and an eGPU. Optimus is disabled when the AGA is in use. The iGPU is not in use in that case. Thats why booting with the AGA takes longer, the bios forces a reboot after an eGPU is found and it uses a different path similar to a MUX switch in that case where the eGPU is the sole GPU in the system.
     
    rinneh, Jul 13, 2018
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