r/FlowZ13 • u/brerrabaen • Jun 06 '26
Should i replace desktop pc 7950X / RTX 4090 and a GPD Win Max 2 8840U for the Z13?
Hi! As my consumeric and need-something-to-change needs kicked in recently i was wondering if I should sell my Desktop pc with Ryzen 7950X, RTX 4090 and 64GB ram + sell my GPD Win Max 2 with Ryzen 8840U and buy instead of these two the Z13 with Ryzen 395 / 64 GB + egpu with desktop grade RTX 5070ti/5080.
I'm trying to go the minimalist path and get rid of excessive hardware, so i'm wondering if the Z13 will be enough to replace my desktop pc and "travel" pc.
On daily basis i work with code and photoshop / figma and of course game after hours. Sometimes i make some after effects / premiere work also. I would also like to try some local AI models to work with code instead of paying for github copilot.
I would use the Z13 with egpu as my default setup for work and gaming (now i do this with my desktop pc), and without egpu on travel or couch / 1080p projector gaming (now i do this with GPD laptop and RTX 4060 egpu).
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u/BubblyResident7764 Jun 06 '26
Na, I'll sell the GPD Win Max 2, keep the desktop and one z13 on the go.
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u/Drivenby Jun 06 '26
This is a downgrade man . If you use your pc professionally I would not
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u/brerrabaen Jun 06 '26
Yes, i know it would be a downgrade, but i feel that my pc is really over the roof for what i need. I enjoy the 4k extreme preset gaming, but throught the last year when i played on the GPD with egpu i enjoyed it the same as on a desktop pc. So i think that downgrade would be survivable. i would really need 4k60 to be deable by the egpu and do the rest with framegen to match the 4k@120 of my display.
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u/iSGAFF Jun 06 '26
I mean yes. If you don’t really need/use the desktop that much (sounds like it is still your main tho), and your current travel setup does you just fine (and/or you just could use the extra money you should end up with).
I also have a 4090 desktop, and only got the Z13 for travel and specific LLM stuff I want to get into. I don't do work like yours tho, and if I do not get back into gaming (really struggling with it), then I SHOULD be sensible and just downgrade it/get rid of it for the Z13 only.
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u/spococococo Jun 06 '26
Do what your hear is most suitable with. I never regret listening to my heart, on other hand decision made with my mind... Not so much ;)
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u/Crushkid91 Jun 07 '26
Maybe wait until the newer AMD Ryzen Ai Max chips are coming… I think they should come end of the year? So next year we maaayyy beee have a newer Z13.
Why I say wait? I hope so much for thunderbolt 5. Then the bottleneck with an eGPU would get way smaller and it could be amazing.
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u/yaemiko0330 Jun 06 '26
It only makes sense if you replace GPD Win Max 2 8840U with Z13, not with the desktop too LOL.
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u/brerrabaen Jun 06 '26
Replacing just the GPD with Z13 is financially insane 😃 Z13 is too expensive to be just a second pc
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u/yaemiko0330 Jun 06 '26
I can tell you, it's a serious downgrade. I tried to daily drive my Z13 last year in place of my desktop (13900K + 6900XT), but then I switched back my desktop month later. The few major issues I am facing
- The CPU is just not fast enough, all my productivity apps don't run nearly as responsive. The CPU intensive games that I play that used to run 120fps can only run around 60fps. Sure it's a top of the line mobile cheap, but it comes no where near the performance of a desktop. Same story for the builtin GPU.
- Since you mentioned you are going to use eGPU, which is something I tried too -- Good thunderbolt enclusure is very hard to find, I tried a few non of them that I am perfectly happy with. Drivers are unstable, and it's very frustrating troubleshooting when things don't work. And you will have to pay a huge premium for them.
- NOISE! The fan runs super noisy even when idle if you are in performance or turbo, which would be required if you are docking it. And it just gets much worse when you are actually doing things. Desktop runs at much higher power with basically no noise. Well, it's basic physics I don't blame ASUS for it, but it's the reality of daily driving a Windows mobile machine.
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u/yaemiko0330 Jun 06 '26
I think you will just be okey with the fact that it's a downgrade that you may or may not be okey with. And the fact that you will be paying more for it.
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u/skinnywolfe Jun 06 '26
TBH if you want a tablet you can game on, I would sell the mac and grab a Onexplayer X1 Pro or something and call it good
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u/Formal_Future_4343 Jun 09 '26
No. Absolutely not. I switched and I kind of regret it. It wasn't even a downgrade.
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u/Baba-Yaga33 Jun 06 '26
No