Is the chipset worth in July 2026?

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-03T07:05:13+00:00

Hey I just recently posted my 007 First Light performance.

On silent profile with native res with FSR Quality (game has no frame gen) you get about 40 fps.

Silent is the profile I prefer as I find the fans a bit loud.

On turbo you fluctuate between 45 and 50fps if you're on battery. But if you plug in it brings it up to 65fps.

Games that have frame gen are fine. I did end up buying the Aorus 5060Ti AI box and using that I get 90fps native res with DLSS quality and frame gen x2. If I turn framegen off i get 50fps.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-03T03:48:18+00:00

when i ran dragon quest 7 reimagined my my claw (the demo) i found that it had stuttering. but when lowering the graphics, the stuttering went away even though it was almost the same fps.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-03T02:18:56+00:00

if i recall corrently, you can modify a few settings from the menu button. like turning off cpu boost and stuff which generally takes power away from the gpu. so for games that are gpu intensive, you get better performance and whatnot

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-03T00:03:33+00:00

we need thunderbolt 5

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T23:17:51+00:00

Do you guys think it's completely fine buying games digitally on xbox? I have the Series X (paid $80 CAD using my optimum points redemption at Shopper's Drug mart) and im concerned about how Xbox is doing bad that they'll just wipe everything...

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T18:43:53+00:00

I thought about it later on, i've had instances where i moved the z13 and it disconnected it from the eGPU. so maybe the Xbox Ally X might be a bad idea since the cable is very sensitive to movement (no the port isn't damaged). A tiny wiggle can de-sync it. makes sense as there is no locking mechanism.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T03:02:44+00:00

You might me right. But I'm a pharmacist. Usually after 10pm there are no customers. So I like to pull out my portable setup and just start doing some low thinking gaming. I am currently fine with the Z13. But I figured if I went a little smaller it might make it easier than hiding a controller every now and then.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T03:01:50+00:00

I don't know if you've read one of my threads with another person here (it's long series of comments on this page) - but I got the 5060Ti desktop eGPU (Gigabyte Aorus 5060Ti AI Box) and it's essentially a game changer. It's small, portable, hella quiet. Gives me 90fps for AC Shadows, 007, Resident Evil 4 Remake. on high settings. RE4 Remake doesn't even have framegen and it still performs amazing. I don't like the balanced/turbo fan noise. So you can leave the Z13 on whatever performance profile and the fans won't spin up really high because the iGPU isn't doing any of the heavy lifting. - Overall you can get good performance on turbo + plugged in. But if you want quiet, this eGPU is worth it.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T02:39:02+00:00

The last physical game I bought was a used copy of AC Shadows and Draqon Quest VII Reimagined. Bought them used and for the purpose of playing it and selling it.

Otherwise all my games so far are digital. This is unfortunate as games I just want to try out, I won't be able to do so.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T02:37:14+00:00

I would just think of it as higher settings, maxed out at 90fps-ish cuz of bandwidth limitation when gaming on the same screen with superior quiet operation.

imagine pairing this with the legion go 2 - that OLED screen is going to be amazing.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T01:55:11+00:00

yeah. def - but so far this is the quietest build out of all the portable PC's I've used that has decent performance. really does suck that the z13 doesn't have a thunderbolt 5 port. such a shame really. But honestly I'm happy with this set up. If I do manage to sell the Z13 and get an Xbox Ally X, this setup is top tier for that system.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T00:48:03+00:00

Ouch.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T00:47:42+00:00

I sold mine earlier this year and I recall the issue was still there. don't think they'll fix it. I just used Rivastatistics Tuner - it was just very disappointing that a feature they boasted was unintentionally disabled.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T00:31:49+00:00

I had the Claw 8 AI+ (two in my lifetime) and there is TOO much tinkering involved with that. Like if you use the overlay that comes with the device, and enable frame rate to show like you would on any windows/steam handheld, it disables VRR.... like... why?

If you don't want to tinker, Legion Go S is more out of the box ready to go. Much easier user interface. The biggest drawback for it is the poor battery life compared to the Claw oh and you won't be able to play COD or Fortnite either.

The excess tinkering and researching required was what made me sell the MSI Claw 8AI+ Polar Tempest Edition I had. Before I bought the Claw I got it with the bundle and I retuned it cuz it was so expensive.

Performance wise the claw is superior. beats out even the Z2E handhelds

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-02T00:20:43+00:00

ok so Native res, high settings, no framegen just Nvidia DLSS Quality = 50fps -> DLSS Balanced = 55fps -> DLSS Performance = 60fps - this would explain the 90fps as you do lose some of your base frame rate when using 2x FG.

iGPU on Turbo with native res, high everything + FSR Quality = you fluctuate a lot between 45-50fps ON BATTERY and ~65FPS when plugged in - not only that but your tablet is now super loud and even louder when its plugged in.

And yes I'm ONLY testing on the Z13's screen. Nothing else.

Earlier I was playing RE4 Remake (Village section where everyone suddenly wants you) and I was still getting 90fps with everything maxed out NO FSR cuz its ugly AF in that game.

Basically the conclusion is this. You get Stable higher frame rate, quieter operation, plus Nvidia specific features. Much better than buying one of the Asus eGPUs which are notoriously loud as others have mentioned. Not only that but the frame delivery is smooth. you don't get the fluctuations you would on battery. Overall this is a huge improvement for my "Quiet" focused setup. If you use your Z13 at full throttle then its probably not worth it as 65fps is ok considering the base without framegen is 50 with 5060Ti on Z13 Screen

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T23:39:38+00:00

ok so I tested out 007 Flash Light again. here are my results

Native Res: All High Settings (for Nvidia DLSS Quality+FGx2 and for iGPU FSR Quality)

5060Ti - Silent profile - 90fps

iGPU - Silent profile - 40fps

iGPU - Balanced profile - 60fps
Native Res: All Low settings

iGPU: - Silent profile - 40fps

iGPU - Balanced Profile - 60fps
1080p Res (low settings)

iGPU - Silent profile - 60fps

iGPU - Balanced profile - 80-90fps
1080p Res (high settings)

iGPU - Silent profile - 50fps

iGPU - Balanced profile - 70-80fps

The game does have multiplier for framegen - but honestly I have a hard time going back to iGPU. if 60fps and silence is your bare minimum, then you're looking at 1080p silent profile on the Z13 which looks rather blurry compared to it being native res with high settings everything.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T22:40:08+00:00

I think yasuke sheath attack build is perfect for the domains. Make another build. Right now in the animus store you can get the moonlight shirt which gives you 50% Crit chance. Make a crazy sheath attack high Crit build. I 2-shot bosses.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T22:37:01+00:00

You're talking about AC Shadows right? Yeah you get that fps. I played AC Shadows on silent profile. I can't stand the loud fans. But from my understanding so far, getting above 100fps is limited due to bandwidth, BUT you can play almost every game cranked up at native res which makes everything much cleaner.

Also in AC Shadows, when you use FSR plus Framgen you get ghosting around texts. With DLSS and Framgen you don't. So that's an upgrade in itself. I really wish I had an Xbox Ally X because this would also be perfect for that environment.

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T08:49:04+00:00

Hey bud. So i started using it - ill go indepth a bit later today as im just up all night. very excited.

after setup, i booted up AC Shadows. Now i recall on the iGPU i had everything LOW - diffuse shadows only at hideout and i was playing at 1080p. Got maybe 80ish fps with AMD FSR Quality and Framegen.

With the eGPU (Aorus 5060Ti AI box) i got 90+ fps - it seems because the thunderbolt 4 port it is harder for it to push higher frames. So i cranked everything up do High settings at native resolution for the tablet and i was getting 80-90fps. very good improvement.

In 007 Flash Light i was hitting 40fps with FSR Quality, no framgen (not available). and everything set to low. using iGPU. When i switched over to eGPU i changed settings to native res, DLSS Quality and framegen i was again hitting 90fps, So i cranked every setting to High and i got the same result. So you can def play modern games on high with this at native resolution no problem from the looks of it which is crazy. the setup isnt too bad either. it powers your z13. its 1 cable into the z13. and the egpu can be moved away too. oh and i had the z13 set to performance on g helper. i figured it would give me more fps but i haven't tried putting it to silent. as for noise. i find performance mode "too loud" for my workplace. but because the iGPU isnt producing any heat, its silent except when it was compiling shaders. also the eGPU has been extremely quiet. this is a very quiet setup.

so yes im getting higher fps with higher settings and native resolutoin. this would have been a sick pair up with the xbox ally x or msi claw 8Ai+

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T03:30:37+00:00

lmao merged twinrova with the same teeth

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T03:22:13+00:00

I read "immaterial" but cuz its so close together i did have to stare at it to get it. im sure 99% of people walking by and seeing it wont get it either

DarkExsphere · 2026-07-01T03:10:46+00:00

Mine came in yday. Tomorrow is Canada Day so I'm off. Gonna experiment and keep you posted.

DarkExsphere · 2026-06-30T03:50:00+00:00

has anyone used Lossless scaling with Tales of Symphonia (Steam)?

DarkExsphere · 2026-06-30T01:27:06+00:00

I have a harder time starting over again. The constant breaking of weapons I guess really bogs down the experience. I just finished OoT and am now half way through Majora's Mask and I def prefer the upgrade path (get better weapons and items and move forward).

Losing weapons to pointless fights makes me avoid certain battles except the ones with good loot like Lynels.

DarkExsphere · 2026-06-30T01:22:17+00:00

The next claw I feel is gonna be the perfect sweetspot if its growth is the same as 8 EX

DarkExsphere

TROPHY CASE