Ultrabook (ultra portable laptop) for GW2?

[Etaoin.4362]

I recently moved into a position that requires me to travel quite a bit and am looking for a portable, reliable, but still powerful means of playing while not at home. Do any of you have experience playing on ultra portable laptops (ultrabooks)? Failing that, can any of you offer purchasing advice based on technical specifications? Many review sites are pointing me toward machines such as the Microsoft Surface Book 2 (https://tinyurl.com/y7aktlck) and the Dell XPS 15 (https://tinyurl.com/ya39n5s9), but I feel safer checking in with the actual GW 2 community before making any decisions.

Thank you in advance!

[ArmoredVehicle.2849]

You didn't specify a budget amount so I'll just go with the specs.

The game isn't very GPU hungry however I wouldn't go for an Intel HD-only setup, something with a GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti will be enough. as far as memory concerns 8GB will be enough. The CPU is probably the most important part for this game, an i5-7300HQ would be enough for optimal gameplay, anything higher is of course just going to be better.

You might want to consider a cooling pad while you're at it. No doubt will help

[Etaoin.4362]

My budget is flexible, although spending less is typically preferable. Mostly I'm looking for something light and reliable that can play the game on high-ish graphical settings at native resolution. Another thing I've been read on a few sites is that the wattage of the CPU can also force the game to bottleneck and, given that GW2 is CPU intensive, I was worried that this might be a point of concern.

[Dawdler.8521]

@"Etaoin.4362" said:My budget is flexible, although spending less is typically preferable. Mostly I'm looking for something light and reliable that can play the game on high-ish graphical settings at native resolution. Another thing I've been read on a few sites is that the wattage of the CPU can also force the game to bottleneck and, given that GW2 is CPU intensive, I was worried that this might be a point of concern.

If you want to game on an ultrabook you can throw away that point of concern. Not because its not there, but because its always gonna be there. You arent getting away from it on any laptop, let alone ultrabook. The HQ models are the "best" but they are still completely gimped compared to "eqvivalent" desktop CPU. A 7700HQ is "best" of the 7th gen laptop CPUs and it still fall flat against a 7700K which is 30-50% faster.

But yes as above said 1050ti laptops is probably the most decent you can get away with. In my country thats about 1200-1500 usd. After that its a big leap to light real gaming laptops, like 2500+ usd for 7700HQ/1070 variants (fat gaming laptops is course cheaper).

Edit: well there are faster CPUs if you want go to even higher in price. But its not gonna be light, probably 3-4kg as opposed to less than 2kg for the lighter ones. Or extremely expensive.

[Etaoin.4362]

Thanks much for this advice! I do currently have a "fat" laptop that handles the game quite well but, as I mentioned, I am looking in the ultrabook range because lugging around this machine is a bit of a chore. I expect to pay a bit more, but I do not mind this.

Given what you both say, it looks like (of current models) the XPS 15 might be the best fit for my needs (so long as I don't find any damning evidence that it lacks structural integrity). Before I make that investment, though, I want to ask about rumored upcoming "hexacore" laptops. I am only moderately familiar with GW2's optimization issues, but would a 6-core laptop be able to handle the game better than a 4-core machine, or would the game simply not take advantage of the additional processing power?

[schmots.6803]

these are supposed to be good (for size) game laptops https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-laptops/razer-blade?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=razorblade&utm_campaign=adwordsusbrandsystemsblade&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0cnc6NL92QIVg0OGCh2z_wInEAAYASAAEgKKbvD_BwE but the price is a bit higher than some others.

[Kaly.8517]

@"Etaoin.4362" said:Thanks much for this advice! I do currently have a "fat" laptop that handles the game quite well but, as I mentioned, I am looking in the ultrabook range because lugging around this machine is a bit of a chore. I expect to pay a bit more, but I do not mind this.

Given what you both say, it looks like (of current models) the XPS 15 might be the best fit for my needs (so long as I don't find any damning evidence that it lacks structural integrity). Before I make that investment, though, I want to ask about rumored upcoming "hexacore" laptops. I am only moderately familiar with GW2's optimization issues, but would a 6-core laptop be able to handle the game better than a 4-core machine, or would the game simply not take advantage of the additional processing power?

Hi , did you buy your ultrabook ? i'm exalty in the same position , i have to choose between a xps and a Microsoft surface book 2 ?What is your experience with it ?thank you , and sorry for my English i'm french : )