Greetings,
I need a bit of help. I am looking at two different options for my gaming in the near future. One is laptops for portability, but that also means I need it to be good enough to last for a couple of years. The other is an upgradable tower (preferably small form factor - space constraint).
Here is the best laptop setup I have found so far.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X6-7450_Gaming_Notebook/
summery:
Clevo W150ERQ Gaming Notebook 15.6" Full HD 1920x1080 Display w/ Built-in 2.0 MP Webcam, Fingerprint Sensor, HDMI Port, Li-Ion Battery, & Universal AC Adapter
Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM Mobile Processor 2.30 GHz 6M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.30 GHz
Mobile Intel HM77 Express Chipset Mainboard
NVIDIA GT 650M 1GB PCIe Video
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-1333 SODIMM Memory, corsair or Major Brand
500GB 5400RPM SATA300 Hard Drive
8X DVD±R/RW/4X + DL Super-Multi Drive (NB-373-DVDRW)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro External Sound Card w/ THX TruStudio & EAX 5.0
Wireless 802.11 b/g/n WiFi Card
Priced at $1040 with before various rebates for sales and whatnot. I might be able to save $50-$100 depending on when I buy this.
Anyone care to throw in their 0.02 cents and give me your opinion or put up something better for the price?
I am also working on the towers now, but I would take any and all suggestions.
Thanks.
my one cent would be to worry about that notebook nvidia chip frying the system, and also concern about the durability of the system cooling for a laptop game rig, and to suggest if you do get it to use the computer on either a HARD surface like a tabletop OR on a low stand like an old fashion cake cooling rack, but not use it on soft surfaces like rugs/laps as these reduce the airflow available to the cooling inlet vents on the bottom of the computer.
regarding towers for most games the best performance in games usually comes from higher ghz per core of the cpu and higher ghz speed of the ram (if using the high performance settings) and one of the upper-mid range video cards like a geforce 560,ati 7850 and a SSD for the os and main use programs and a hdd for bulk storage/less often used programs.
hope this helps you decide
harpo
@OP That GPU is not going to last you a few years on anything but the lowest graphical settings.
Hmm, okay, for arguments sake.. if I get this laptop, will it be able to run E:FE W:MoA, ES (endless space), SD (star Drive), Civ5 without any problems at a high graphic setting and not be a total dog?
e;fe yes, but I do not know the other four, so can not advise on them
No, you won't. You'll be playing at medium.
Disclaimer: I was never good at building gaming rigs. It's not my cup of tea.
Okay Heavenfall, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother for you, would you be willing to build something using that site? A maxed out gaming machine for around $1k that can also be used for other things like web surfing, word processing, and picture/video/music editing? I do not need keyboards, mice, or monitors. I also have 3 external HD's.
Thanks in advance.
Are we still talking about a laptop?
Edit: Check out this deal. It's a HP computer that is basically identical except you get the 2GB version of the card and 140GB more storage on HDD. It's at 975 USD after coupon.
I had a quick look around and it seems that the card is basically "what you get" for a 1k USD gaming laptop. Which means it's the best you can get for the price, but I have my doubts it will take you all the way to high settings for those games.
Keep in mind when you're buying gaming laptops you're always paying premium for outdated technology. If you are considering going for a stationary my advice is to do that and get a computer that blows this laptop out of the water at ~ thrice the horsepower.
Desktop.
Laptops seem to be a deadend based on what you and a few other people have said.
This is what I'd get
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/geCPPrice breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/geCP/by_merchant/Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/geCP/benchmarks/CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ NCIX US) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($75.98 @ Outlet PC) Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg) Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ NCIX US) Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($300.79 @ Amazon) Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz) Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS424-98 DVD/CD Writer ($22.99 @ SuperBiiz) Total: $979.20(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-01 09:49 EDT-0400)
I'm sure there are more experienced people on the forum so please tear it apart!
That should be decent enough. Down the road you can also upgrade the card too.
Why an i5? I thought you always had to go with the fastest/newest processor.
The i7's are vastly overpriced for very little return (1-2%) for a gamer. Every buck you spend on the GPU instead earns you ten times the improvement a buck on an i7 would.
the i5 is quad core without hyperthreading (this makes each core of the cpu act like it is two cores)
the i7 is quad core WITH hyperthreading (so with hyperthreading enabled in bios windows and other thread heavy programs (read video encoding and similar tasks) can run in about 50-75% of the time an i5 would take), BUT no game that I have seen yet uses a quad core fully, so would also suggest the i5 over an i7.
SO let me get this straight, for now, the core i5 is a better chip because it is optimized correctly for current games and the core i7 isn't, but in the near future the core i7 will be because it has more untapped potential?
So if I decide to do a laptop I should go with core i7, but if I do a tower, I should stick with a core i5? is that the gist of things.
Any decent quad core will do. Your GPU is more important even for games you wouldn't expect. You could save a bunch of money getting a slightly older AMD CPU. I'd build a desktop if I were you. Get a nice budget build figured out for now and you can upgrade and work on it over time. Eventually you'll have your dream machine
unless you want to edit/recode videos the i5 is enough processor for the next couple of years for games and other tasks in my opinion, as we would have heard about any games that in the next year or two that will want high core counts.
It's about getting the most bang for the buck. You want to optimize the total power of the rig.
The good i7 processor goes for 500+ USD. For a 1-2% increase in gaming performance over the i5 selected above you'll be spending 300 USD.
Okay, I see what you are saying. That makes sense. I've upgraded a HD, VC and ram before, but never built a comp from the ground up. I guess now need to read up about all of this.
as you have already experienced the 'difficulties' of upgrading (assuming you actually DID fit the parts you upgraded), then you are most of the way to actually building your own computer, which is choosing the parts, then fitting the parts into the case you bought ie first set up the components on the bench to see and test how they plug in to each other (and also do a quick 'will it all work' test of power up the parts after the test assembly(this is a very good idea as if a part does not work at this point it is a lot easier to power down then un-plug and replug the components to see if it was just not properly seated on the bench than in a case)), then fi into the case, making sure all the working parts are correctly seated, and there is NOTHING that could short out (for example through the case from having too many support posts for the motherboard holes fitted in the case( had this happen to a first system builder neighbour of mine he destroyed the motherboard and damaged the video card but did not kill the ram, cpu,drives or power supply)),
and one more suggestion is to do the work on a nonconductive surface jsut to prevent such shorting out when testing
Thank you everyone for your help. I will see what tools I need, and do my research before I start this project. I'm in no rush, but I'd like to have it done by Thanksgiving (u.s.), so we'll how it turns out.
the tools you will need are
1 flat non-conductive (preferably rigid) area to work on
1 phillips #1 or #2 screwdriver (suggest at least eight inches long to get the hand outside the case when screwing in the motherboard)
lots of patience and persistence
lots of attention to detail ( especially tracking the different screws and where the go)
several hours of time (for the first time it gets quicker the more systems you build (I am down to about half an hour per system+software install))
willingness to read manuals first then follow the instructions in them.
This build is fairly legit. Personally I am a fan of the nVidia cards but realistically, that is a preference thing for most games. Someone else can comments on the pros and cons with both of these cards.
i5-2500K @ 3.30GHz (that I've clocked up to 4.3GHz in my Antec 902v3 Tower [USB 3.0])
500gb Hybrid Drive (4gb SSD fast loader with the rest at 7200rpm)
nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1gb) (Gigabyte dual fan, non-overclocked)
msi P67A-G43 B3 motherboard which supports overclocking (tell it how fast you want it to go, and it adjusts the rest for you) w/ the i5 k series processors. Also has USB 3.0!
Corsair Hx650w Modular Power Supply
8gb of DDR3-1600 Memory
1 CPU cooler (Cooler Master) [Air Cooled]
The cost of the above build ^ when purchased during the Newegg.com black friday sales was $1050 before mail-in rebates.
Keep in mind that i7s are optimized for low level computing [number crunching software / simulation algorithms etc] and that is where the extra $200 (minimum) in cost comes from. The i5 in my experience is able to handle just about anything you throw at it without fail.
The best part about a desktop is that in 3-4 years when you want to gain a little bit of an edge, just upgrade a single component and you're good to go for another 2-3 years. Much better than buying a $2000 labtop and finding out that 2 years after you buy it, nothing will run on it other then at low settings. I've been there and done that. Never again.
Awesome thread - considering building a new rig, thx for the info!
Do you fellas recommend an SSD (maybe 120GB or so) to hold the OS and some games? I'm thinking that plus a 1TB HDD to hold the usual stuff. Thanks in advance.
[Edit] Harpo just reread your post in reply #1.
I would say that if you have the extra cash to sink into an SSD, DO IT!.
However, if you have a budget limit, build the best PC you can without worrying about an SSD at this point in time. A cheap 7200rpm drive (or Hybrid Drive) will do you just fine with your initial build. You can always ALWAYS upgrade to an SSD later when you save the cash to get one large enough to satisfy your needs.
My budget build listed above would have been set back an extra $300 to get the SSD I wanted. I chose to spend that money on a graphics card instead.
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