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Deciding on a laptop
DocProject
Member Posts: 49
Hello all,
I am hoping to get some advice/suggestions on a choosing a laptop from more experienced and knowledgable people than me. I am basically looking for a general use computer than can also double as a moderate gaming/play laptop. It does not need to run the latest games on high/ultra settings. I am just looking for decent performance and functionality.
My price range is up to $850 or so.
I would like to have a BluRay player with it because I do not have access to one currently.
I would also like a decent graphics card so that I will be able to play games at a decent graphics setting.
Here is the one I am looking at right now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246131
What do you think of this setup?
Thanks.
Comments
chose another!
amd quad core proc (940m for exemple)
ati 6xxxm for exemple
i would suggest 2 hdd if you dont get ssd(i say dont get ssd since you can ramdisk or ramdrive witch ever term you know)
just make sure you got 8 gigabyte of ram if you ramdisk.
i say amd cause they tend to be a lot cheaper and performance will be good!
oh i forgot make sure your graphic card as 256 bit data path also make sure you got a lot of shader (morphologic filtering will need those since you wont be using regular AA (only the very TOP of the TOP end should use ssaa or msaa these days.
morphological does a great job for a lot less ressource
enjoy your gaming!
Hey there go to ibuypower.com or cyberpowerpc.com for a gaming laptop dont buy that one from newegg you can build a better one for the same price please just take a look at those websites there laptops are great i know people who own them and we all play RIFT on ultra settings you can get a nvidia GTX 555M or something better i would highly advise it !
EVGA FTW-3 MOBO X58
EVGA GTX 580
G.SKILL RIPJAW 12GB
INTEL I7 950
CORSAIR H70 CPU COOLER
CORSAIR 1200W 80+GOLD
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X6-9200_Gaming_Notebook/
that notebook right there has a 540m 2gb it is a damn good notbook for 800$ and will play all your games alot better then the one from newegg! and for the same price this notbook has a i7!! has gaming memory its much more worth it plus a warranty also has 8gb of ram very very good deal i may purchase one for my girl and you can always customise this laptop is ideal for mmo gaming!
EVGA FTW-3 MOBO X58
EVGA GTX 580
G.SKILL RIPJAW 12GB
INTEL I7 950
CORSAIR H70 CPU COOLER
CORSAIR 1200W 80+GOLD
Both of the laptops that have been linked already are decent picks for what the original poster requested. One other that I'll throw into the mix is here:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&series_name=dv6zqe_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/High_performance/dv6zqe_series
Let's configure the HP properly while we're at it, with an A8-3510MX processor, a 7200 RPM hard drive (640 GB is the smallest option), and 8 GB of memory. No discrete video card, as the point of Llano is to use the integrated graphics. That brings the price tag to $745. You could save $35 off of that and bring the price tag down to $710 if you pick 6 GB of memory, buy your own 4 GB module, and replace the 2 GB module when it comes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178383
For simplicity, let's refer to them as the Lenovo, the CyberPower, and the HP, respectively. Let's compare the specs:
Processor:
The Lenovo and the HP will trade blows, with each winning for some purposes. The Lenovo has faster cores, but the HP has four cores while the Lenovo has two. Basically, the HP wins in programs that scale well to four cores, while the Lenovo wins in single-threaded programs. The CyberPower has the advantages of both, with the faster cores of the Lenovo, and also four of them.
Graphical performance:
Basically, the hierarchy goes HP < CyberPower < Lenovo. Neither of those are huge gaps, and the Lenovo might be 50% faster than the HP.
Storage:
The CyberPower and the HP let you pick a 7200 RPM hard drive. The Lenovo means you're stuck with a 5400 RPM hard drive unless you're adventurous enough to replace it yourself and do a clean install of Windows. Which isn't a bad idea if you have a DVD laying around.
Monitor:
The Lenovo has a 17.3" monitor with a 1600x900 resolution. The others have a 15.6" monitor with a 1366x768 resolution. You can upgrade the HP to 1920x1080, but that's out of your budget. Monitor quality matters, too, but I don't know about the difference there.
Load power consumption:
Here, it's HP << Lenovo < CyberPower. Note that lower is better. The Lenovo will tend to use less power at load than the CyberPower, but the HP is vastly less than either of the others. As in, maybe 20-30 W less under heavy loads. That makes a huge difference in the heat output, and is a reason why the HP will be far less likely to overheat.
Battery life:
The Lenovo and CyberPower have equivalent batteries. By default, the HP probably does, too, though it also offers larger batteries as upgrades for $14 or $21.
But battery life depends both on power consumption and on battery capacity. At idle, the HP will use less power than either of the others. The real question is how much less. I don't know if the Lenovo or the CyberPower use discrete switchable graphics, but my guess would be that they don't.
If they do use discrete switchable graphics, then you'll inevitably end up with driver problems of the graphics not switching when it should. The Intel integrated graphics are awful, so if it tries to use the integrated graphics when the discrete card should kick in, then the performance will be terrible. If the discrete card turns on when it shouldn't, then your battery life will be awful. And if you have to update the drivers, then you may not be able to.
If they don't use discrete switchable graphics, then you'll have a discrete card turned on and sucking power all the time, even at idle. That can cut the battery life in half. My guess is that this is the case, as neither explicitly say that they use discrete switchable graphics, and the other laptops will get you maybe half the battery life of the HP.
-----
If the only thing you care about is how nice your games look, then I'd say, go ahead and get the Lenovo. But if you want low power consumption (whether at idle or at load), little heat output, or long battery life, then the HP wins in a landslide.
Well said sir! If he is looking to play MMO's then i would reccomend the Cyberpower pc cause it has a nice video card faster then the rest Cause integrated graphics are no good for gaming if not going to be gaming much then yes but as the fellow above me said all is true i read the whole thing well said hehe very true!
EVGA FTW-3 MOBO X58
EVGA GTX 580
G.SKILL RIPJAW 12GB
INTEL I7 950
CORSAIR H70 CPU COOLER
CORSAIR 1200W 80+GOLD
The Radeon HD 6650M in the Lenovo is faster than the GeForce GT 540M in the CyberPower. It might use less power, too. But neither of those are all that much faster than the Radeon HD 6620G integrated graphics in the HP. Llano integrated graphics are an entirely different class of product from anything that was on the market even two months ago. They're actually meant to be good enough for gaming. The Radeon HD 6650M has six SIMD engines, while the Radeon HD 6620G integrated graphics has five. For comparison, AMD's previous best integrated graphics, the Radeon HD 6310, has one. Those are all a similar architecture, too, so while it isn't a perfect apples to apples comparison, it's reasonably close.
OH wow really so they're making integrated cards that can game i've never heard of this very interesting ill have to do some research and also are these integrated cards still very small and built into the mobo ?? how are they Heat wise?
EVGA FTW-3 MOBO X58
EVGA GTX 580
G.SKILL RIPJAW 12GB
INTEL I7 950
CORSAIR H70 CPU COOLER
CORSAIR 1200W 80+GOLD
http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/platforms/home/2011-mainstream/Pages/2011-mainstream-platform.aspx
as you can see for 2011 ,the best and badest from amd is the a8-3530mx
It's built into the same die as the processor. Loosely, take an Athlon II X4, a Radeon HD 5570, a northbridge, and a memory controller, build them all in a single die on Global Foundries' latest and greatest 32 nm HKMG SOI process node, and you've got Llano. Power consumption is higher than traditional AMD or Nvidia integrated graphics, in part because performance is so much higher, but performance per watt is vastly better than older integrated graphics, partially because of using the best process node available, rather than something much older.
It also manages to reduce power consumption by not needing any external circuitry on the motherboard to allow the CPU and GPU to communicate with each other. Having the CPU and GPU in the same die allows some latency and bandwidth improvements, too. Perhaps more importantly, not needing separate power circuitry and video memory to run a discrete GPU saves a lot of power.
Thank you all for the replies and assistance. I ended up deciding on the custom HP and I believe I will be happy with the purchase if all goes well. Thanks again.
One important thing to note about the HP is that you need to match the memory channels or else you'll cripple the graphics for lack of memory bandwidth. If you get the 4 GB option, with two 2 GB modules, you're fine. If you get the 8 GB option, with two 4 GB modules, you're fine. If you get the 6 GB option, then that comes with one 2 GB module and one 4 GB module, which mismatches the channels. That's fine if you replace the 2 GB module by your own 4 GB module, which is cheaper than upgrading to 8 GB directly. But don't just buy it with 6 GB and leave it that way or you won't get anywhere near the performance that the system should offer.
A reputable laptop vendor wouldn't even offer mismatched memory channels. The problem is that none of the major laptop vendors are reputable. It's not a coincidence that memory manufacturers don't offer kits that have modules of different sizes in the same kit. They don't offer that because no one should get it.
also last i check there is no such thing as triple channel on the amd side (so far has i know only intel has that!
IMO, it's better to get a matched pair for memory. meaning you either buy the 8(2x4) gigs from HP, or you buy the 4(2x2) gigs from HP and replace both sticks with a matched pair for the 8 gigs of RAM. getting 6 and replacing the 2 with another stick of 4 means you are mixing possibiliy a different brand/batch of RAM. most likely you wont have problems, but it's just better to have a matched set when it comes to RAM
Worthless. See this thread I just created:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/323748/ASUS-G-Series-gaming-notebook-sale-on-Newegg-best-deals-I-have-ever-seen.html
There is an optional Blu-Ray one in the G series search results on Newegg
None of the ones in your link have the requested Blu-Ray player, and two of them are out of the budget, anyway.
One of them is only $50 over. Blu-Ray is overrated and unnecessary.
Another important thing about HP is that they are rather famous for heat issues. My last laptop was a HP and you could toast bread under it. A buddys burnt up.
Just don't get a HP, there are so many better brands, like ASUS, Acer and Sony. I can't actually think of a single worse brand for Laptops even if they surely exists.
all laptop NEED a fan plate under the laptop to keep it cool.it is nice for a short use without plate but gaming on a laptop require a cooling plate i melted 2 laptop because they were overheating!
No, a bad laptop needs that. My Vaio never gets hot and neither does my buddies ASUS. And I played AoC a while without it raising more than 5 degrees over room tempetaure under it.
A SSD also really helps getting the heat down a lot.
Both your laptops were HPs, right? They suck.