A Linux gaming Laptop isn't as crazy as it sounds: Slimbook Hero review
A Linux gaming Laptop isn't as crazy as it sounds: Slimbook Hero review
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crossposted from: https://tilvids.com/videos/watch/69008160-d7a9-4bf2-af92-ebcfc256b20f
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Timecodes: 00:00 Intro Sponsor: Start securing your CentOS 7 fleet now 02:06 Slimbook Hero 03:32 Design & Build Quality 04:45 Specs and options 07:02 Performance & Gaming 09:25 Display 10:06 Keyboard & Mouse 11:20 Software Experience 12:36 Linux gaming laptop? 14:10 Support the channel
#Laptop #Gaming #Linux
It's a 15 inch device, with a 1440p display that refreshes at 165 hertz, with an aluminium chassis, a 13th gen Intel i7 CPU, an RTX 4060 GPU, as much RAM as you could cram into a laptop, and very solid I/O.
So, this thing is chunky: it's not meant to be an ultrabook, it weighs 2.1 kilos, or 4.6 pounds, and it's pretty damn sturdy. Not much give or flex to this chassis, thanks to the aluminium.
The hinge is really solid as well, with minimal wobble when typing. It's a 16:9 form factor. Of course you can open the laptop, and access the 2 M.2 slots for SSDs, the 2 DDR5 RAM slots, and the battery, which is 62 Wh. You can also buy spare parts from Slimbook, including the bezel cover, touchpad, lid, battery, keyboard palm rest, display, and more.
Now, in terms of specs, this laptop is well equipped, with a core i7 13620H, and an Nvidia RTX 4060, with 8 gigs of VRAM.
You can spec the rest up to your liking, with up to 64 gigs of DDR 5 RAM, at 5200 Mhz, and up to 4TB of PCIE4 storage.
You can also choose to dispose with the gamer branding and use a more unified black keyboard instead of having the white accents on the WASD keys, and you can pick any keyboard language you want.
As per I/O, on the left, you get a kensington lock, a USB 2.0 port, probably for a mouse, a mic jack, and a headphone jack. On the back, you have a mindisplay port, USB C 3.2 gen 2 with dusplayport support, HDMI 2.1, a gigabit ethernet port and the barrel charger, since charging this thing over USB would be a challenge. And on the right, there's an SD card reader, and 2 type A USB 3.2 ports.
On top of all that, you get Bluetooth 5.2, Wifi 6, a basic webcam and onboard mic that won't blow your socks off, dual speakers that are pretty decent, and a backlit keyboard with RGB, because, gamer.
In terms of benchmarks, the CPU get a score of 2733 in single core and 11625 in multi core on Geekbench 6.
https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/3787232
Battery life is decent, with about 7h of generic office work with wifi on, 50% brightness, and using the silent mode.
In Horizon Zero Dawn, at the native 1440p resolution, without any upscaling, and at the ultra preset, the Slimbook Hero managed a super smooth 60 FPS.
For Shadow of the Tomb Raider, also at 1440p without upscaling, and the ultra preset, I got 99 FPS on average, sometimes going down to about 80, or up to 120.
The display is really solid, it covers 100% of SRGB, it has a refresh rate up to 165hz, and it's 1440p.
The keyboard is solid enough. The keys are very stable, and they have good travel. They're quite clicky, and the sound is pleasant, and they bounce back super fast, it's very nice to type on.
The touchpad is ok. It's smooth enough, and precise, although it's very off center, which I find annoying in day to day use.
It’s a 15 inch device, with a 1440p display that refreshes at 165 hertz, with an aluminium chassis, a 13th gen Intel i7 CPU, an RTX 4060 GPU
The whole setup makes no sense with Linux in mind and screams of a rebadged Windows notebook. Just go with an AMD-exclusive system, perhaps with an Intel WiFi module.
Yeah but consider the following: CUDA. I don't even game that much (and I was okay with older games that can be played on a Ryzen APU) but I had to get a laptop with a 3050 for GPGPU shenanigans. It is definitely a downgrade in terms of Linux compatibility compared to my older laptop (the machine doesn't go to sleep properly unless you are running Ubuntu 20.04, which I discovered accidentally)
CUDA isn't for games.
I just got an HP omen with a 3070ti and Ubuntu is doing a great job of gaming. It came with windows 11
Not doing a great job running basic modern desktop environments with Wayland, though, where workarounds are required everywhere to make shoddy Nvidia drivers work. Very recently (I think is was just last week) I've read that the developers need to give Nvidia special treatment just to make the cursor work. That's just fucked up.
A house build on shortcuts and workarounds is not on a strong foundation. It'll break down on the user at some point.
Agreed with Linux gaming AMD all the way. For laptops if you don't wanna go dedicated GPU they make some wonderful budget friendly performance APUs (CPU plus GPU like Intel integrated graphics but more capable for light gaming :) IMO of course
As far as I can tell, there isn't a single Linux laptop with an AMD GPU. Admittedly, even in the Windows world AMD laptops are a lot rarer than Nvidia ones, but there are still a few. None of them come with Linux out-of-the-box, though.
Well, then those Linux notebook makers do a crappy job. Radeon is the best supported gaming GPU on Linux as of now. That's just fact. Any notebook manufacturer would look which vendors Valve uses for Steam Deck and pick whatever is the latest component from that vendor because all the driver improvements made by Valve also benefit the newer, more powerful GPU.
Taking an obvious Windows notebook and just rebadging it isn't a real Linux notebook anyway. If I were to buy a new notebook, it would be the Framework 16. Sure, there is no option for it to ship with Linux but the DIY edition ships without Windows.
Framework laptops don't come with Linux out of the box, but Linux is very nicely supported and tested on them.
A "Linux gaming laptop" is just any "gaming" laptop you install Linux on. Ideally use AMD graphics, but even NVIDIA should work fine if you set up the graphics switching properly.
Honestly though, I don't see a point in a "gaming" laptop these days, just get a Steam Deck and a business class laptop and be done with it. My ThinkPad E495 is still going strong years later, and it might outlive my Steam Deck. I'd much rather replace a cheaper Steam Deck instead of a gaming laptop when it stops keeping up with games.
Not everybody has the money to spend on two devices, which is why these things exist.
I'm saying two devices can be cheaper than one, like in my specific example of a simple laptop (~$500) and a Steam Deck (~$500) vs a gaming laptop ($1k+). The simple laptop will also remain viable longer than the gaming laptop since it only needs to handle simple use cases, so you'd save money over time.
If you need games that don't work on the Steam Deck (e.g. MP games with anti-cheat), then look into the rest of the handheld PC market. You should be able to use Steam Link to play from the laptop, or just connect it to a USB hub and play on a monitor for KB+mouse usage. I rarely play MP games, handheld mode works for most games.
This keeps the laptop light and inexpensive, which is fantastic for my primary use of my laptop, to get work done on the go.
Last time i used slim laptop for gaming it's generate heat too much like i want to melt iceberg in north pole with it & climate activist start protesting arround me
I don't say it's bad but it's not for me, in the end it's nice for some people that need lightweight portable laptops especially if you work on long shiftPermanently Deleted
Yeah, but they're sometimes the best option anyway. I wouldn't use one for any length of time for gaming, but I have the luxury of not having to leave home much, and almost never for extended time. Back when I was still able to work, a laptop for gaming would have made sense on the long overnight shifts (the job has lots of downtime, and limited limitations on how it was filled).
Folks that travel a lot are in a similar boat.
Folks that can only have one PC and need it to be portable are reliant on laptops totally.
Yeah, even the best of them aren't ideal, but they're sensible for various use cases.
Gaming laptops in and of themselves don’t make much sense…
Why?
I disagree with it, but the premise is that they cant be upgraded so they are stuck at a set spec, they struggle with heating and dust issues, they make a lot of sacrifices due to needing to fit into a laptop size, and they basically need to be plugged in 24/7 which bites at the portability.
All valid points, but also all acceptable trade offs if you need a portable and flexible machine.
Just pack up the whole rack every time you go to Grandma's house
Why not?
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It absolutely makes sense. For us who want to game but also need a computer to do day to day work and meetings. I'm not buying two computers, so what I buy for work is what I have to game with.
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It’s not. It’s the ultrabooks or any crazy form factors that are a challenge to Linux. But the Steam Deck has been a huge step forward.
How are ultrabooks are challenge to linux?
Nvidia? On a LINUX laptop? Ouch.... not good.
I wouldn't buy it either. It always surprises me when a linux shop makes NVIDIA-only linux laptops. There must be some financial reason.
Nice to see Slimbook here. It's a Spanish company. I bought slimbook zero some years ago and it's working really well. I would thinking about getting proper laptop/dekstop from them but in the end I went with Vant, another Spanish company. Vant is not as pretty but has better prices.
How is their support? Their knowledgebase seems to be a hodgepodge of Spanish and English articles.
Had a issue with my zero just recently (motherboard battery run out), I posted on their forum and had a replay in a matter of hours with a link to disassembly video. I talked to them in Spanish but from what I see they reply in English without issues.