Playing games on 4k resolution

I have an Alienware 17 r5 i9 laptop. The specs are:-
1) 2.9 GHz Intel Core i9-8950HK Six-Core
2) 32GB DDR4
3) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X)

I am connecting my laptop to a tv which is 1080p 60hz by hdmi. I play games on 60fps. My tv is very old so I need something new. I am planning on buying a 4k 120hz screen and I will connect it to my laptop. I will play games on 1080p 120fps because my laptop is not powerful enough to handle gaming on 4k. Later on in the future when I buy a laptop which has a stronger graphics card I will play games on 4k 120fps.

The problem is that there are people who are telling me that I can't play games on 4k on a laptop and I have to get a desktop pc if I want to play games on 4k because the graphics card of a desktop pc is stronger than a graphics card of a laptop. Those people believe that you have to play games on 1440p if you want to play games on a laptop.

For example I know a guy who has a desktop pc and his specs are rtx 3080ti, i7 11700k cpu and 32gb ram. He told me that he tried to play modern demanding games on ultra graphics settings on 4k and he said that his pc struggled to run the game and he got a low fps which is around 60fps. Thus he is playing those games on ultra graphics settings on 1440p so he gets higher fps in games.

Why is this happening? I think that if you play a game which is extremely demanding and it has graphics which are very detailed on ultra graphics settings on 4k then of course your pc won't be able to handle that game and it doesn't matter if you play the game on a desktop pc or a laptop. You have to lower the graphics settings to high\highest if you want to play games like that on 4k.

Thus it's the fault of the game and not the pc. So then later on in the future when I get a laptop which has a stronger graphics card I should be able to play games on 4k 100fps+ as long as I don't over do it with the graphics settings in the game?

I am a firm believer of not gaming on a laptop due to lackluster performance. Graphics cards in laptops often don't make the cut as far as I am concerned, not to mention the heat issues.

That being said, you might find a lappy with a powerful enough chip and be able to play games at 4K, but I don't think you're going to get the frame rates you might expect with a regular PC and a discrete graphics card.

I have a 3070ti in my PC and I can play games in 4K fairly well, but the card gets hot and the fans spin like crazy. I get not bad frame rates (70 to 80 which is good enough for me), but performance could be better. I think that a good graphics chip in a laptop will not be able to dissipate the heat and will throttle and give inadequate performance.

As with anything, YMMV.

Gaming on laptop changed alot in the last few years. I own a Acer Predator G9-793-71SJ with a gtx 1070 and games ran great on 4K, i still have this laptop after 6 years and never cleaned it and used it daily. I did not have any heat issues at all. A few months ago i bought a msi crosshair 15 with a rtx 3070ti. Games also do run great, no issues at all.

cns00 said:

I have an Alienware 17 r5 i9 laptop. The specs are:-
1) 2.9 GHz Intel Core i9-8950HK Six-Core
2) 32GB DDR4
3) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X)

I am connecting my laptop to a tv which is 1080p 60hz by hdmi. I play games on 60fps. My tv is very old so I need something new. I am planning on buying a 4k 120hz screen and I will connect it to my laptop. I will play games on 1080p 120fps because my laptop is not powerful enough to handle gaming on 4k.

1. TV displays have a limited resolution branch. Mine is 1080p and is from 2012 where my dedicated computer display can do 4k but also do resolutions less then 200 as well. Doing that on my display will not do well at at all.

2. Your computer GPU will only go as far as it can take you. Try setting the resolution on your labtop over the amount. You have other resolutions in the Display-setup. However be-careful as some settings could cause problems. In fact within your videogame you could set the game as a specific resolution you want.

3. I do not understand what you have against 60fps. That is usually the ideal max for videogames in terms of the limit. Yes I know you want the "Best of the best of the best" or whatever is marketed. I understand the idea of "On screen drawing" but honestly I do not see a problem with 60fps on 4k.

4. We are at 9K now I believe? Again setting future standards that most are unable to afford right now.

5. I understand perfectly what you mean. Sometimes the computer display will only output enough for it's own display while external displays may or may not show correctly even at all. We all could see the difference.

6. Again in terms of having a 80" display and you wanting the most sharpest image I understand. Even most 50" displays you could not tell the difference in resolution. So before your purchase anything make sure you know "ALL the modes your graphic card could support and know if the modes your Display ( TV ) could support as well.

7. If all else fail then invest into an external GPU. Because I am not repurchasing a desktop just because direct X version needs to be 12_1.