GAgging for gaming (laptop)

[BAnksyG]

IVe been in desperate need of a new laptop for about a year now, and i figured if im going to do this why not splash out abit extra and make it a gaming one. IVe always thought pc gaming is heads and shoulders above console and this is the perfect opportunity to acquire a mean gaming machine...so here's the rig ive gone for...

what do you guys think?

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Dual Core Mobile Processor i7-2640M (2.80GHz) 4MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)

Memory - Hard Disk
250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Carry Case
Belkin Black/Red 15.6" Neoprene Notebook Sleeve (£14)

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

 

[Corfate]

I don't know too much about laptops, but i have a few suggestions

Think about upgrading to a quad core CPU, more future proof.
Is the 250gb HDD big enough?

 

[Garfield The 2nd]

I agree with what was said above, for a bit more, if the budget will stretch, upgrade to the 2.2 quad core, and maybe the 320gb scorpio black, hdd size is secondary though, also if you tell us your budget we can make a few more suggestions

 

[BAnksyG]

already above my 1000 budget.

so the quad is better than the one ive got even though its less GHZ and cheaper? for gaming that is...?

i think the hard disk is big enough, cause i dont store anything bulky other than the games im playing at the moment...any more suggestions welcome



thanks guys

 

[Wozza63]

quad will be better for gaming yes, its more GHz really, 2.8x2= 5.6 and 2.2x4= 8.8

if the HDD is big enough it will be fine

if you drop to 4GB RAM, you may be able to squeeze in a 6990m, which is much more important than 8GB when you will only need 4GB, plus if you get 1x4GB then you can add another later if you feel it is needed

 

[TheKeir]

quad will be better for gaming yes, its more GHz really, 2.8x2= 5.6 and 2.2x4= 8.8

Don't listen to this - the maths is not that simple.

Some games don't make use of more than 2 cores, so if you were playing one of those games then the 2.8 dual would be better. Many games do utilise 4 cores if you have them, in which case the processors would be about even (since if the game does make use of 4 cores then the jump in performance between each extra core will diminish). For future-proofing you would probably be better off with the quad core, but if you do play games which use a maximum of 2 cores (off the top of my head, I know World of Warcraft doesn't use above 2 cores however hard you push it) then you should go for the dual core. Up to you really!

You could get this spec instead, it's a lot cheaper and there's not much difference in performance:

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Dual Core Mobile Processor i7-2640M (2.80GHz) 4MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W Adaptor (GT 540M) / 120W Adaptor (GT 555M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £790.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusII-15/

 

[Wozza63]

*facepalm, only old games use 2 cores, and in windows and running programs that is pretty much how it works, games are slightly different but will always perform better on a quad if it was released within the last 3 years, a quad will last much longer than a dual core

and the optimus is clearly not designed for gaming, there is a big difference between the 555 and 560 so you are just creating a much worse spec that is under the max budget

 

[TheKeir]

*facepalm, only old games use 2 cores, and in windows and running programs that is pretty much how it works, games are slightly different but will always perform better on a quad if it was released within the last 3 years, a quad will last much longer than a dual core

and the optimus is clearly not designed for gaming, there is a big difference between the 555 and 560 so you are just creating a much worse spec that is under the max budget

Well, the games I play - all of which were released last year - only need a maximum of 2 cores to perform the best.

Either way, the maths is not as simple as GHz x cores so don't go around telling people that. Also, I did not say that the performance was the same, I said there will not be a huge difference, which is very true. Unless you're playing Crysis or something, the 555 will work brilliantly. And I was just posting a spec that was a lot cheaper and not massively different in performance, which I clearly explained. I was just throwing an idea out there, if he wanted to save some money... no need for negative rep.

What games would you be playing on this BanksyG?

 

[Wozza63]

just going by PassMark, you will get on average, a 20% increase in the 560m

i dont know what you play but high end games can use 4 cores, not effectively but they still can, and if you decide to get a dual core, you will definitely be significantly cutting the life of your laptop, not by it breaking, but it will become slow much quicker and perform worse in newer games meaning you'll be forced to buy another laptop

 

[BAnksyG]

the demanding games im looking to play are

skyrim
witcher 2
(maybe) crysis
la noire....

it just strikes me as odd that the better processor is cheaper....also is ATI really the way to go? is the 6990 a significant step up from the gtx 560m?

also does anyone know what make the monitors are? and wether the glossy one is a decent enough choice...thank you all

also isnt the 6990 an overheater? and according to notebookchecker only suitable for 17" laptops....

cheers..

 

[Wozza63]

defo get the quad for those games, their recommended settings will probably all say quad core

im not sure why its cheaper tbh but its definitely better and will last you much longer without the need to upgrade

the 6990m would be a big step up, im not sure of the difference in price but i imagine there is a pretty big jump, with laptops there isnt as much choice to give you the option of which to go with, usually nvidia though as they have more, AMD are good value for money though

the monitor is whatever Clevo produce, who make majority of the PCS laptop chassis'

 

[TheKeir]

Yeah for those games I would go for the quad core not the dual. I agree, it's weird how the dual core is more expensive, but as I said the dual core can sometimes be better by a fair bit, due to the difference in GHz.

 

[Music Guy123]

Definately get the quad core. The reason for it being cheaper is that to go the extra bit of ghz, it costs a lot more than just sticking another core on with the same a smaller ghz. It is a lot more expensive to add the additional ghz. The rest looks good, have you considered a 17" screen? Also, If you can afford it, a 6990m will give you about 50% performance increase.

 

[BAnksyG]

a 17" is a bit too large for me but thanks for the suggestion.

So is there any truth to the 6990m being only suited to a 17" as reported on notebookchecker.com? and that it overheats a lot? will this be a problem on my chosen rig?

if i go with the quad will say older games (e.g. Fallout 3 which has 2.4 ghz as its min req) suffer because it is not made for a quad??

Thanks for your advice and apologies for being so nitpicky!

 

[Wozza63]

no fallout 3 and similar games wont suffer, they will have had updates to allow them to push into the other cores when they need to be

 

[BAnksyG]

so any word on whether or not the 6990m is an over-heater? and also whether its better suited to a 17" or bigger laptop?

im generally of the mind set that you get what you pay for and have read plenty on nvidia's higher price being justified by their quality and reliability...any opinions on that?

 

[BAnksyG]

where do the new skyfire chasis fit in in all this! ?

why is it sold as ideal for intensive use as opposed to extreme gaming?

with 570m on paper it appears to be a superior gaming laptop than my original build...(see earlier posts)

URGH Life is so complex

 

[Music Guy123]

The 6990m isn't an overheater, it just runs hotter than the nVidia cards. It is just better in a 17" chassis as there is more space for heat dissapation. I would suggest a cooling stand though to make sure you don't get any problems.