Flintlock: The Siege of Dawnwas released on the 18th of July 2024 and happens to be one of the most anticipated Souls-lite titles of the year. This is in part due to its unique art style, refined combat offerings, and excellent soundtrack in play.
It also comes with mid-range hardware requirements that may require users to upgrade their gaming PC or laptop to enjoy it in full.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Hardware Requirements at the time of writing (Source: Steam)
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) Gaming Laptop
Playing Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn On A Gaming Laptop
While the PC hardware requirements for Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn remain relatively on the lower side of the spectrum for most gaming PCs, they would see a slight bump up when it comes to gaming laptops.
That is because gaming laptops, unlike gaming PCs, also have to factor in power and thermal limitations, in addition to what is sometimes confusing nomenclature when it comes to CPU and GPU models that do not correspond directly to their perceived desktop equivalents. This essentially means that a gaming laptop is a more expensive choice for gamers relative to gaming desktops in general when targeting the same performance class.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn does leverage newer tech, including Nvidia’s DLSS3 for higher visual fidelity and frames per second (FPS) on compatible hardware, as well as Nvidia’s Reflex low-latency optimizations to keep things smoother for gamers who have its more recent RTX-based GPUs. This is in addition to Intel’s XESS offerings for supersampling for users who can not leverage DLSS currently. Users have managed to get the title working with AMD’s FSR3.1 offerings, but official support has yet to emerge for it.
The team at Game Rant has handpicked a series of gaming laptops that allow users to play Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn at a variety of presets with a focus on performance, value for money, and support for similar single-player games.
ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) Gaming Laptop
A Balanced Premium Offering
If you’re after a laptop that runs games well but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, then the ASUS ROG Strix G16 may be the best choice for you. This mid-range modern gaming laptop boasts an impressive 14-core Intel i7 processor and a dedicated RTX 4060 GPU that is capable of handling most modern games on medium to high settings. Also included is a whopping 1TB of SSD storage, meaning you will experience faster start-up and load times on all installed games and programs. The 16GB of DDR5 RAM also helps to keep programs smooth and consistent, creating a luxurious experience that isn’t absurdly expensive.
While the ASUS ROG Strix G16 has plenty of iterations out there, some of them are on sale at a relatively high discount, allowing users to take advantage of what is a premium gaming laptop in terms of build quality at a lower price.
The SKU above meets those requirements while also being able to take advantage of Nvidia’s DLSS3 and Reflex low latency enhancements, making for a more polished gameplay experience. With a large SSD in play, in addition to a capable 14-core CPU as well as better thermals versus most other 16-inch gaming laptops, the ASUS ROG Strix G16, in its current iteration, when on sale is hard to beat for users looking for an upgrade to play Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.
MSI Cyborg 15
A Balanced Budget Proposition
The MSI Cyborg 15 (A13VE-218US) is a budget-friendly gaming laptop that features the 13th-Gen Intel Core i7-13620H CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. It comes with a 15.6-inch FHD, IPS-level display capable of 144Hz refresh rate. The laptop has two 2W speakers and a single color backlight for the keyboard.
The MSI Cyborg 15 is a powerful gaming laptop in its own right, especially for its asking price, which sits well below the $1000 price tag that most of its similarly configured peers ask for similar internals. It offers a capable deca-core Intel Core i7 CPU and an RTX 4050 GPU that MSI advertises with a TGP of 45W.
It meets Flintlock’s hardware requirements as advertised while allowing users to leverage the title’s DLSS3 support for a smoother experience. The Cyborg 15 does, however, make some compromises along the way apart from its relatively power-restricted GPU, which includes a smaller battery than most of its peers. Given its price tag and a powerful CPU in addition to hardware that can hold its own versus most of its competition in 2024, it does make for a compelling case as a gaming laptop to get on a budget to play the latest titles on PC currently.
GIGABYTE Aorus 15 (2023)
The Value Proposition
The GIGABYTE Aorus 15 (2023) packs the Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and the Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU (140W). It comes with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. There is a 15.6-inch QHD 2560x1440 display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The Aorus 15 is backed by a 99Wh battery.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is an excellent high-end gaming laptop that comes with a mid-range price tag in tow, making it uniquely appealing in a market that offers either a lower-end CPU or GPU for a similar ask. It comes with a standard 1TB of storage for its price bracket and 16GB of RAM that meets Flintlock’s needs easily.
WIth an RTX 4070 under the hood and a capable QHD display that refreshes at 165Hz, it comes prepared for the title even as its 14-core Intel CPU keeps up with the game’s CPU needs with ease, allowing it to leverage AI sharpening tools to run at a relatively high frame rate out of the box, making it easier and rewarding to hold your own against the gods of the nether world in-game.
Note: This laptop also comes with a complimentary copy of Black Myth: Wukong as part of an ongoing Nvidia Promotion for its RTX 4000 series GPUs
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 (4070)
Premium Compact Gamer
The Zephyrus G14 from Asus is their ultra-premium compact laptop packed with the latest-gen specs. Powering this computer is an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, their high-efficiency mobile chip. An 8GB RTX 4070 running at a max 1655MHz with an MGP of 90W finds itself in a tight 14" laptop chassis, making it impressive for its size.
For users needing a more compact gaming experience, the ASUS Zephyrus G14’s 2024 iteration rises spectacularly to the occasion. Not only does it have double the RAM on offer versus what Flintlock needs, it also houses a capable octa-core CPU and a powerful RTX 4070 GPU under the hood.
The biggest feature it does have is its excellent OLED display that offers a sub-3K resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The G14 does come with some quirks, however. It has much more stringent power restrictions in play than most of its peers thanks to its relatively compact size. The RTX 4070 under the hood comes in a 90W configuration (65W+25W boost) offering which makes it relatively slower than its competition and the 2024 iteration of the G14 moves to soldered RAM completely, making any future upgrades virtually impossible for end users.
For those looking for a polished experience out of the box, the G14 doesn’t disappoint and its OLED display is one of the best in the business, making it a treat to play titles like Flintlock with its unique artwork on the go.
Acer Predator Helios 16
16-Inch Powerhouse
The Predator Helios 16 from Acer is a great performer with its Core i9-13900HX CPU, Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. It features a 16-inch 2560x1600 IPS panel with 240Hz refresh rate. The laptop comes with a 90Wh battery and a 330W power adapter.
For users needing beefier internals for their gaming and/or productivity needs, the Acer Predator Helio 16 does the job, offering a 24-Core Intel Core i9 CPU and a high TGP RTX 4080 GPU along with a 240Hz IPS display with a QHD resolution in a package that hovers above $2000 at the time of writing.
This allows it to breeze past a title like Flintlock with ease even as it doubles the recommended RAM requirements and offers a standard 1TB NVMe SSD drive in tow. The Helios 18 does have some user concerns surrounding its penchant for running warmer than the competition, but given the powerful internals in addition to a smaller 16-inch form factor versus its alternatives, that does need to be considered a given for a gaming laptop that houses a 165W TGP GPU alone in addition to a CPU that pushes considerably past its rated 55W TDP when under load.
The Best At A Premium
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 Gaming Laptop is a newer 2024 model of ASUS’s successful Scar lineup that pairs Intel’s latest 24-core Core i9 CPU with Nvidia’s fastest GPU to date, the RTX 4090. With an excellent 18-inch 2.5K display that boasts a high peak brightness as part of ASUS’s Nebula offerings as well as a high 240 Hz refresh rate, the Scar 18 offers plenty of power under the hood. In addition to this, it also has built-in lighting on the laptop itself that offers software control via ASUS’s Aura Sync.
For users looking for one of the very best gaming laptops they can get, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 offers the best in terms of a CPU and GPU money can currently buy on a gaming laptop. It leverages Nvidia’s RTX 4090 and a powerful 14th generation 24-core Intel Core i9 CPU to power its excellent 2.5K MiniLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate.
The 18-inch laptop offers 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM and 2TB of NVMe storage in RAID 0 configuration in addition to a dedicated MUX switch, all of which are found in its premium-priced peers, but its display and liquid metal cooling under the hood make it a more appealing option than other entry-level RTX 4090-based gaming laptops.
The ROG Scar 18 in its current configuration trades at a considerable premium, but it is one that one can justify given its build quality, thermals and higher-end SSD configuration. With that being said, it is considerably overkill for playing a title like Flintlock, but is a great unit to get for users looking at a more complete upgrade to get what is arguably one of the best gaming laptops in the business.
FAQ
Q: Does Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Require An SSD?
Yes, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn requires an SSD and explicitly states so as part of its PC requirements on Steam.
Q: How Much RAM Do I Need For Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn?
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn recommends 16GB of RAM for smooth gameplay.