How will the i5-450M perform Gaming?

[Klosteral]

Hello there Tom's Hardware,

I am interested in purchasing a new high-end laptop - one that I can game on if I want to.
My searches have lead me to the company MSI and I love every bit of their laptops except one thing - the Intel Core-i5 450M CPUs. This is not as desirable as something like the Core i7-740QM found in many ASUS laptops.

However, I do not know enough about either CPU to make a judgment call (so far I have judged laptops purely on graphics cards).

So tell me forum, how does the Intel Core i5-450M perform when running games such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, StarCraft 2 and Crysis? Also, how does it compare to the Intel Core-i7 740QM?

Cheers,
-Klosteral

 

[jrocks84]

Wait a couple weeks before Sandy Bridge laptops start showing up. Their CPU performance will be better and they're more power efficient too. The i7-2630QM or i7-2635QM is the one you'll likely find in most higher end laptops once they get updated.

 

[jedi940]

Sandy Bridge might be better but either processor should be fine. Below are some benchmarks for an Acer 5740G i5-430M and 5650 gpu and a Dell studio i7-720QM with a 4650 GPU. The two trade blows but both are near the top.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3883/toshiba-satellite-a660d-amd-phenom-ii-p920/5

 

[Klosteral]

I do not think the arrival of sandy-bridge processors will change the prices any time soon.
First, they will have to be bought by laptop designers.
Then they will get integrated into laptops.
Then they will get shipped.
Then they will get sold.
Only then will the prices of laptops be affected so it will not be for another several months that I will be benefited.

Also I am not very good at deciphering benchmark results, so please just tell me plainly and simply:

How will the i5-450M perform in games and how does it compare to the i7-740QM?

 

[Klosteral]

Also, say there were two laptops with identical specs bar one had an ATI 5850M and the other had a 5870M, would I notice the performance difference between them or will I be bottle-necked by the Core i5-450M @ 2.4GHz?

 

[jedi940]

the i5 will perform admirably in games but the i7 will, of course, be quicker. Between the 5850 and 5870, the 5870 will be faster. I don't think it will be bottlenecked by the i5.

For graphics heavy games like Battlefield BC2 and Metro, and Crysis, the GPU will be more important. For RTS games like starcraft, the CPU will be most important.
Games like Call of Duty just run great on about anything.

 

[Klosteral]

Ok. I am considering the following four laptops:
ASUS G53 $1699 - http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/1191556/asus-g53jw-hd-sx109v-i7-740qm-173ghz-6gb-500gb-156-led-gtx460m-15gb-dvd-s-bt-win-7-home-premium-64.html
MSI GX660 $1599 - http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/1173488/msi-gx660-053us-intel-core-i5-450m240ghz-156-4gb-memory-500gb.html
MSI GX640 $1429 - http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/1173479/msi-gx640-260us-intel-core-i5-450m240ghz-154-wide-sxga-4gb-memory-500gb.html
Lenovo Y560 $1099 - http://www.digitalcentre.com.au/p/1164887/lenovo-y560-i7-720m-16ghz-4gb-640gb-156-wxga-led-11n-hd5730-1gb-win-7-home-premium-0646mfm.html

The MSI laptops have the most powerful graphics cards but they are restricted by i5-450M processors.

I would most prefer to get the GX640 but I do not know about the 1680x1080 res or the relative performance of the Core i5...

How will the i5-450M @ 2.4GHz perform in games such as Call of Duty black-ops, Fallout New Vegas and Grand Theft Auto (maybe some Crysis too)?

 

[jrocks84]

Personally, I would go with the MSI GX640 specifically because it has a higher resolution. (I'm a major fan of high res screens), but in terms of overall performance, I would say that the ASUS G53 is the most rounded. The GTX 460m is almost as good as the 5870 and the i7 740QM is better in both single and multi-threaded applications than the i5.

 

[Klosteral]

But come on, the G53 weighs more than 7.4 pounds and has a battery life of less than 1 hour and 51 minutes. The GX640 weighs 6.3lbs and has more than 3 hours of battery life.
Furthermore, the GX640 costs a good $270 less than the ASUS.

Finally, I have a gaming desktop that I am going to spend a solid $600 upgrading.

I want my laptop so that I can take it places and play some games on relatively good settings. I do not want to max out every game like I would on my desktop.

That is why I am asking about the i5-450M. I know the i7-740QM is among the best laptop processors there is and I know that will perform really well. I want to know if the i5 is powerful enough to do what I want it to, not to find out if there is anything better.

 

[jrocks84]

I didn't look at the weights before, but that G53 is really heavy.

Here's a review of the GX640 which shows that it can compete pretty well (is only barely slower) than laptops with an i7 720QM and a 5870:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3766/msi-gx640-speedy-dx11-laptop

 

[jedi940]

Go with the gx640. I don't think the i5 will give you any problems. Also, that review shows that the i5 can put out 40+ FPS in every game tested. That system should do fine. Also, that review confirms that you will get slightly under 3 hours of battery life surfing the web. not too shabby for that much power. Of course it also weighs over 6 pounds too

 

[Klosteral]

That review is pleasing; it shows that it is not too much slower than its brethren that are in the $1900-$2000 (Australia) bracket. Such a performance reduction is, however, to be expected.

Can you offer any personal opinions on my choice with regards to overall performance? (weight & portability vs specifications & performance vs cost & extras)

 

[cjl]

I do not think the arrival of sandy-bridge processors will change the prices any time soon.
First, they will have to be bought by laptop designers.
Then they will get integrated into laptops.
Then they will get shipped.
Then they will get sold.
Only then will the prices of laptops be affected so it will not be for another several months that I will be benefited.

Also I am not very good at deciphering benchmark results, so please just tell me plainly and simply:

How will the i5-450M perform in games and how does it compare to the i7-740QM?

I guarantee you that people from all the major laptop manufacturers already have thousands of Sandy Bridge CPUs, and have already integrated them into several laptops.

Normally, I wouldn't advocate waiting, but Sandy Bridge will have a monumental impact on laptop performance. It vastly outperforms the currently available stuff while maintaining excellent battery life. I'd wait for it, personally.

 

[Klosteral]

I see what you are getting at; I have just read this article here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4084/intels-sandy-bridge-upheaval-in-the-mobile-landscape

But all Sandy Bridge CPUs will do is drop the prices of current stuff, not add more items to this here mid-level market. That said, I am willing to wait 2-3 months to see if it has any effect on the Australian market.

On another note, will it affect the AMD processors and has AMD released anything to equal the new Intel CPUs?

 

[cjl]

AMD has not, although they do have several processor releases planned later this year. I haven't been following their mobile stuff at all, but they do have a completely new desktop architecture coming out (in perhaps 4-6 months) that should be quite impressive.

As for Sandy Bridge not adding things to the mid level market? I disagree - Sandy Bridge looks like it will cover pretty much everything from the lower-midrange stuff up through high end. The only area that it has not yet really launched in is the low end. If you look at the list in that anandtech article, they launched everything from an i3 dual at 2.1 GHz all the way up to an i7 quad extreme at 2.5-3.5 GHz.

 

[Klosteral]

I know what you are saying but what I meant by mid-level market is mid-level-market-pricing because I cannot see any new Sandy Bridge-powered laptop coming out with a 5850 or 5870 for only $1429AUD (about $1100US).

That is what I am getting at.