Buying a gaming Laptop

solidMGSsnake

Hi some of you guys might know me for the incredibly long thread I made last month about a €1200 Gaming Rig, you can see it here if you're interested: Link
Well now that it is done with and I'm happy with my new gaming PC. The only thing is I'm starting college now and my course is Game Development so I need a somewhat powerful laptop that I can carry around with me. I'm not interested in buying online or building it myself, I just went through all that. I just want to buy a nice laptop in PC World.

TL;DR I need a powerful enough gaming laptop for college and I want to buy it locally from PC World.

My budget is around €600 or less. I went to PC World today and I was shown two laptops that the guy said met what I was asking for.

The first one was a White HP laptop, it didn't have a proper name so it was hard to find online but I THINK this was it but in black: Link Here are the specs that were in the store anyway: AMD A10-4600M quad core, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, HD 7660G Radeon Graphics, Win 8, 5.5H Battery, HD Web Cam, 2x USB 3 and 1x USB 2.

The second was a Asus and I didn't have time to take down the specs, all I remember was it had a i3 Intel CPU, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 3.5H battery and a 2GB Graphics Card. I'm almost certain this was it but it was much cheaper in the store and I'm fairly sure it only had a 500GB HDD, not a 750GB but I could be wrong: Link

I'm not very familiar with AMD terminology but the guy told me that as a whole the HP laptop was more powerful as it had more memory and a better processor but that the Asus would serve me better as the graphics card is better.

But I'm a bit worried about it, as I think the i3, 3.5H battery and only 6GB of RAM will hold my graphics back anyhow. Am I wrong? Which PC do you guys think is better suited for me? I know that neither laptop are incredibly powerful but I already have a high end desktop I built, I only need a portable PC for college.

Basically what it comes down to is better CPU and RAM vs Better Graphics Card. It doesn't matter much but I prefer the look of the HP laptop but performance is obviously more important than that.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Torqay

750 is way too much for that AMD A-10. The ASUS you have linked is an old model, 2nd gen Core i3, integrated graphics. You mentioned a 2 GB graphics card, VRAM is secondary, more important is the graphics chip. no matter how much memory you throw at a, say, GT 620M, it's still cr@p.

solidMGSsnake

Torqay wrote: »

750 is way too much for that AMD A-10. The ASUS you have linked is an old model, 2nd gen Core i3, integrated graphics. You mentioned a 2 GB graphics card, VRAM is secondary, more important is the graphics chip. no matter how much memory you throw at a, say, GT 620M, it's still cr@p.

Wow that was fast O_o

Like I said, these are only what think was them, obviously I was wrong, if that was the case then just pay attention to the specs I gave. The Asus definately had a 2GB dedicated Graphics Card and both laptops were in the mid €500 range. The prices on the website are wrong.

Torqay

If you'll get a AMD A-10 for 500-550, that'd be reasonable.

solidMGSsnake

So you're saying to go with the HP? Please if you can elaborate, I know the AMD processor is better but my question is which will be more helpful for me? The better graphics card or the better processor?

Lu Tze

What are you realistically going to be using it for? Documents, Notes, accessing internet and resources over the internet more than likely.

If i were you i would forget about the graphics card and get something as small and portable as possible with a good battery life.

You will know all about it lugging these yokes around all day. You have your pc at home for any heavy lifting (course projects, graphics tools etc)

Torqay

To give you an idea about the performance of the AMD A-10, its CPUMark score (3347) is comparable to that of an Intel Core i3 3120M (3300). The on-chip HD 7660G GPU is comparable to Nvidia's GT 630M.

To be honest, those specs are not really gaming material, "multimedia laptop" would be a more accurate assessment.

solidMGSsnake

Well you see I'm going to college away from home and I don't want to bring my desktop with me in case it gets damaged or stolen, so I'll only have access to it during the weekends, hence the laptop. I might decide to bring the desktop down eventually once I assess the area and make sure I can trust my roommate but not straight away.

I felt both laptops and neither felt too heavy, back in school I had to lug around this awful wide Dell "notebook" (it was the size of a dinner tray and as heavy as a PS3) so I'm sure I won't have trouble with either laptop.

I will need the laptop for basic things like Word and Powerpoint as well as programming, 3D rendering and maybe running a game I'm working on but nothing too high-end. I'll also be using it for entertainment like running games on Steam and streaming movies and such.

To be fair I'm not paying for this, my parents are so it's not like I'm saving money anyway, an extra €100 isn't going to kill them and I'm also putting €100 towards it, so I might as well get a slightly more powerful laptop than standard.

So with that in mind which do you guys think I will benefit more from, not value wise but performance wise. Will I get more use out of a better processor or a better graphics card?

Torqay wrote: »

To give you an idea about the performance of the AMD A-10, its CPUMark score (3347) is comparable to that of an Intel Core i3 3120M (3300). The on-chip HD 7660G GPU is comparable to Nvidia's GT 630M.

To be honest, those specs are not really gaming material, "multimedia laptop" would be a more accurate assessment.

Well to my knowledge the AMD is a quad core while the i3 is a duel core, so surely that makes a big difference. On-chip? You mean it is a GPU integrated into the Motherboard?! The guy told me it was a dedicated graphics card just it was only 5612 or whatever.

BobCobb

Go online and get both!

http://www.amazon.de/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Notebook-NVIDIA-64-bit/dp/B00B7BZAGU/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1377463900&sr=1-3

solidMGSsnake

No I'm buying it locally, I'm starting college next week so I don't have time to wait 2-4 weeks for one. Also be careful about that, if you read the fine print you will see the keyboard is QWERTZ. But it really does show that everything on the internet is cheaper doesn't it? I don't need a super powerful laptop, I already built my PC and I'm happy with it. I just want to buy a nice laptop for college that can do what I said above.

Guys I appreciate the help and I'm sure there are better laptops for the money out there but please just answer the question, out of the 2 laptops, which would be better suited to what I'm asking for? Better processor vs Better Graphics Card?

Also I hate saying this but if you don't mind can you guys answer ASAP as I'm planning on buying it tomorrow, thanks.

Torqay

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

No I'm buying it locally, I'm starting college next week so I don't have time to wait 2-4 weeks for one.

Well, you should have thought of that a bit earlier. Online you'll get a Core i7 laptop for 600 yoyos that should last you through your college years if you treat it with care. Now you'll end up with some Core i3 or i5 which, by design, will run out of steam in 2 years or so (hardware requirements progress rather fast, you know).

With a budget of €600 you can forget about a gaming laptop. A GT 630M is not that much of an improvement over the integrated Intel HD 4000. Buy some Core I5 in a shop and you may have some money left for extra memory and maybe a solid state drive (highly recommended), just forget about "dedicated graphics", it's just not worth it in this market segment.

Torqay

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

Well to my knowledge the AMD is a quad core while the i3 is a duel core, so surely that makes a big difference.

Well, apparently, it doesn't make much of a difference... there was a time when the chip manufacturers tried to beat each other over the clock frequency, today it's the number of processor cores. Then and now they pull all sorts of marketing stunts. AMD's Trinity chips include only two modules with four integer-cores and two floating-point cores total. As a result, the CPU is not a true quad-core processor. Intel's Core i3 dual-core processor with two virtual cores performs just as well.

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

On-chip? You mean it is a GPU integrated into the Motherboard?!

No, I mean, the GPU is integrated into the processor. The AMD A-10 has a Radeon HD 7660G integrated, AMD calls them APU (accelerated processing unit) rather than CPU. Just as Intel's mobile Ivy Bridge Core processors have the Intel HD4000 integrated in the chip, not the motherbaord. Both are "integrated graphics".

solidMGSsnake

So you're saying it doesn't matter which laptop I get? I can't choose can you please just make a decision for me with reasoning behind it please xD
That was the whole point of this thread. I think the HP looks nicer but I think the Asus is probably better.

So again here's the specs:

HP - AMD A10-4600M quad core, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, HD 7660G Radeon Graphics, Win 8, 5.5H Battery, VGA, HDMI, HD Web Cam, 2x USB 3 and 1x USB 2.

Asus - i3 Intel CPU, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Win 8, 3.5H Battery and a 2GB Graphics Card. (from memory, may be different)
The Asus probably had a webcam and HDMI, VGA and USB 3 as well.

beno619

Since you don't really care about the specs, just go with the one with the best build quality and the least awful screen.
Does battery like concern you ?

Torqay

We still don't know which graphics card it is in that ASUS laptop. Unless it's a GT 640M or better, the HP is the better choice.

But as I said, a dedicated graphics card is a waste of money in this price range. Say you want to play someting as demanding as BF3, you can play it on low detail settings with Intel HD 4000 just as well. Budget GPUs like the GT 630M can't do much better (for medium detail settings you'd need a GT 640M). Look around if you find a Core i5 laptop for this price. And for the real fun you already have your gaming rig anyway.

solidMGSsnake

Well you know it is 2GB anyway so won't that make a difference? I'll probably be leaving soon so try answer quickly, would I be able to ask the guy if it is on par with a GT 640M or would he have no idea off the top of his head?

solidMGSsnake

beno619 wrote: »

Since you don't really care about the specs, just go with the one with the best build quality and the least awful screen.
Does battery like concern you ?

What do you mean? of course I care about the specs, that's why I made this thread. I'm not going to buy one over the other just because it looks cooler.

Torqay

Even the crappiest Nvidia GT 610M is advertised with 2 GB these days. That doesn't make it any better, it's still good for nothing.

Some Passmark scores for you:





As you can see, a GT 610M is a waste of money, no match for the on-chip HD 4000. Unless you get a GT 640M or better, it's not really worth investing in a dedicated GPU.

solidMGSsnake

The Asus machine is only marginally more expensive then the HP, although I'm not a big fan on how it looks. Like I said money isn't the issue here. So just before I go, are you telling me if it has GT 640M I should get it because it is the better laptop and if it doesn't than get the HP because it is the better laptop? Even if it doesn't have a GT 640M but it is still slightly superior to the HP (besides value) then tell me ok? I'm looking for the better laptop out of those two, regardless of price or value.

OhHiMark

What about a GT540M? Mine has that and it definitely gets the job done.

beno619

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

What do you mean? of course I care about the specs, that's why I made this thread. I'm not going to buy one over the other just because it looks cooler.

Well in that case the GPU's on these machines are awful if you wanna play anything on at least medium settings at 720p.

Im not sure why you are hung up on PC World but you can this from Amazon which is up to a lot more for €600.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B2HVYT6/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=computers

Benchmarks for the GT 635

solidMGSsnake

No I'm buying it locally, that laptop is in pounds, do you know how much that will come to? I'm getting it in PC World because it also comes with a bundle for an extra €120, I get a bag, mouse, HDMI cable, Microsoft Office Pack, Xbox Live Gold and Anti-virus. Please stop showing me other laptops, I know you're only trying to help, but I just want one of these laptops ok? So please just focus on the question

Torqay

OhHiMark wrote: »

What about a GT540M? Mine has that and it definitely gets the job done.

It's an old model, comparable to the current GT 620M. I don't know which job you're talking about but when it comes to the ever so popular reference Battlefield 3, then low settings is all you get. Just like a GT 630M, or Intel HD 4000 for that matter. If you want anything better than that, you're looking for a GT 640M (Kepler) or higher.

Entry level GPUs are nothing but a marketing spin really, Intel's on-chip graphics have come a long way.

OhHiMark

Torqay wrote: »

It's an old model, comparable to the current GT 620M. I don't know which job you're talking about but when it comes to the ever so popular reference Battlefield 3, then low settings is all you get. Just like a GT 630M, or Intel HD 4000 for that matter. If you want anything better than that, you're looking for a GT 640M (Kepler) or higher.

Entry level GPUs are nothing but a marketing spin really, Intel's on-chip graphics have come a long way.

I can play Crysis 2 on high settings with it.

solidMGSsnake

Guys please just one final time, I'm literally leaving in 5 minutes, which laptop will I get?

beno619

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

Guys please just one final time, I'm literally leaving in 5 minutes, which laptop will I get?

The HP laptop would be better for gaming.

Torqay

OhHiMark wrote: »

I can play Crysis 2 on high settings with it.

But you're not getting nowhere near 30 FPS which is considered to be acceptable.

GarIT

Neither laptop is good enough for what you want to do. Neither will be able to do 3D rendering or gaming, you need to add a minimum of 200-300 to your budget just for the bare minimum if you want to buy in Ireland.

Torqay

beno619 wrote: »

The HP laptop would be better for gaming.

How did you establish that without knowing the GPU model in the ASUS?

Torqay

GarIT wrote: »

Neither laptop is good enough for what you want to do. Neither will be able to do 3D rendering or gaming, you need to add a minimum of 200-300 to your budget just for the bare minimum if you want to buy in Ireland.

That's what I keep saying... OP already has a gaming rig. He should focus on CPU performance and get a Core i5 laptop with Intel HD 4000 graphics.

GarIT

That bundle for €120 is sh*t it costs less if you split it up and buy everything separately. Id say you are just looking for Xbox live or something and getting over excited about it letting it cloud your judgement.