Laptop Graphics

[wardy22]

hi, i was looking into laptops for mild gaming, but i will be playing crysis , and i was wondering what/ if there was, a mobile graphics card the could play crysis well and what laptop it was in.

i was looking at this one- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220412

and i really didn't wasnt to go over $1,500 (preferably a lot less)



thanks for any help

 

[doormatderek]

if you wanna game i would recommend at least a 7200RPM hardrive or a perhapsSDD

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Nah, a 5400RPM 320GB drive is faster than many generic 7200 RPM drives.

Main thing you want is lotsa CPU power and Lotsa GPU power.

There are many options out there from Gateway, HP and MSI.

The HDX is my personal favourite (but a little pricier for what you're looking for), but the fan favourite is usually this Gateway;
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

If you feel comfortable in the future, upgrade the CPU, plus it has that 7200 RPM drive for those that prefer that.

 

[L1qu1d]

P.S to add to TGGA's post CPU and VGA is very important, just remember though if you have to choose between a very fast CPU and Very fast Graphics Card, choose the 1 with the card because its much easier to come across a new Laptop CPU than a new GPU

 

[wardy22]

what makes you prefer the HDX? is it the CPU or GPU also, how hard is it to replace a laptop processor?

 

[indigoataxia]

hi, i was looking into laptops for mild gaming, but i will be playing crysis , and i was wondering what/ if there was, a mobile graphics card the could play crysis well and what laptop it was in.

By playing well if you mean medium graphics you should be okay. With a sub $1500 budget playing Crysis on High with a 17" screen will be tough. The notebook you posted is the best I could find also.

If your not interested in 17", you can find some cheaper 15.4" with better or equal performance:

ASUS N50Vn-D1 Intel Core 2 Duo T9550(2.66GHz) 15.4" 4GB DDR2 800 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA 1 GB GeForce 9650M GT $12,999
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220499

This one has a faster clock speed and faster hard drive access while everything, except for screen size, is the same for $200 less. I'm not sure about 5400rpm vs 7200rpm in reguards to Crysis but I imagine there is a big difference.

ASUS G50VT-X6 Intel Core 2 Duo P8700(2.53GHz) 15.4" 4GB DDR2 800 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS $1,299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220483

This one has the same clock speed as your posted but a better graphics card, 9800 GS, and 7200rmp HDD. This graphics is only 512mb where the other two are 1GB, not sure if a faster card with less memory is better in Crysis vs slower with more memory.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

what makes you prefer the HDX? is it the CPU or GPU also, how hard is it to replace a laptop processor?

I just like the build better, and I've owned both Gateway and HP and like them both.

But I just prefer the HDX's overall the look and feel of the 18" model (my favourite was the 20" which died before it got the horsepower it needed to drive the 20" 19x12 LCD).

For raw power the Gateway is better, but it could use some tweaks, like a higher resolution screen.

A little more balanced at a little more money, the MSI;
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=46

But it's been out of stock since appearing on the site essentially.

There is a lower version with the HD3850 for about the same as the Gateway, and has a better LCD, but the graphics solution is a bit lower than the Gateway, and the CPU is lower in a Turion (which also limits upgrade options).

As for upgrading the Processor, it's not as easy as on a desktop, but it's not rocket science and as long as you take it slow and deliberate, it's quite doable.

Main thing is that the options are good enough as a starting point, and then worry about CPU as you go along, if you want more power right away it's usually cheaper to pay for something just under the top like a T9400 or P9500 to begin with. But between a P8600 with GF9800 GPU and T9400 with a GF9600 GPU, I'd take the better GPU since it's the biggest limiting factor in most games and nearly impossible to upgrade (and more complex than CPU when possible).