Which laptop?

[cjnlstntxs]

I am looking at getting the wife a laptop for Christmas (I tend to buy early to space out spending) and I have narrowed down my results....

She mostly does very low usage stuff like search the internet, plays words with friends, etc. However she does like to jump on a few MMOs with me every now and then. We both very casually play GW2 and we are looking at Arch Age for the future

Here is my 2 machines… normally I would not consider an AMD laptop, but paired with a 7970…. Sounds very tempting..

Intel System MSI GT70
17.3”
I7 3610AM
12gig DDR3 1600
Nvidia 675M
Killer nic
750 gig HD
$1390

AMD System MSI GX60
15.6”
AMD A10 4600M
8Gig DDR3 1600
AMD 7970M
Killer nic
750 gig HD
$1,200

$200 cheaper for the AMD and a much better Vid card… but I wonder if the CPU will be a major bottleneck for that card… Surprisingly the AMD uses less power as well (vid and cpu) but the i7 is far superior. Is it worth sacrificing the CPU or GPU for gaming on a laptop????

 

[cjnlstntxs]

Bump, been searching and cant find any real comparisons

 

[nbelote]

And you won't.

The i7 will crush that AMD APU with ease in multithreaded applications, including games. GW2 is pretty CPU-dependent and the 675M will back it up. I would go with that, personally, but the argument is still valid for the 7970m... it's one sick GPU, but I feel that the A10 is going to hold it back.

 

[lawhornjjr]

I would have to agree with nbelote. I just purchased a Laptop with my specs being

iBUYPOWER
Case: Valkyrie CZ-17 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080 LED-Backlit Display Laptop w/HDMI Port, E-SATA, USB 3.0, Illuminated Keyboard, Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power Adapter - Original Metallic black
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Mobile Processor (4x 2.4GHz/6MB L3 Cache)
Memory: 32GB [8GB x 4] 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM [Laptop Memory] - Corsair or Major Brand **FREE Upgrade to 32GB DDR3-1600 G.Skill**
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 4GB GDDR5 Video w/ NVIDIA Optimus [CZ-17]
Primary Hard Drive: 256 GB OCZ Agility 4 SSD - Single Drive
Full system spec

It use the same chassis developed by MSI. It holds it owns when it comes to gaming. Intel CPU is far more superior if you plan on gaming.

 

[cjnlstntxs]

I am still trying to resist the urge to jump on the AMD system, just for the vid card. Found it for 1100.
Think i am going to hold out till some comparisons come out.

 

[nbelote]

After comparing individual reviews, I am going to recommend the AMD system above the i7 one.

AMD system review: http://www.kitguru.net/laptops/zardon/msi-gx60-gaming-laptop-review-a10-4600mhd7970m/18/
Notebookcheck 675m listing: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-675M.70785.0.html

The Notebookcheck Max Payne 3 listing was run at 768p while the benches for the AMD system were run at 1080p. MASSIVE gain in the AMD arena. That alone is a significant enough difference to warrant going with the AMD one, in my book. Happy gaming!

I know that's one comparison, but check the others... Dirt is the same, while the AMD system blows the 675m out of the water in Sleeping Dogs. This is pre-12.11 drivers, as well, and they have further FPS increases. It looks like AMD has a gaming winner on their hands, though I bet the 7970m would destroy all with an i5 or i7... but be wary, non-gaming applications won't run as fast as they would on SB/IB CPUs.

 

[nbelote]

Oh! Read that review carefully. They keep saying they run into where the games run on the APU without specifically being set to run on the dedicated GPU. Make sure you read what they say and how they do that... even on my laptop, which is far from a 7970m, it does that.

And keep your drivers updated on that 7970m, the official ones are finally good for that series and they just keep getting better.

 

[cjnlstntxs]

Thanks that makes me feel better. Like I said she will be using it primarly as a look facebook/explorer machine with the ocasional gaming times. The i7 (have yet to see an i5 with one) and 7970 are faster at a >$500 cost. seems for her it may be the way to go.

Also read about the switching deal. Fix is having the 7970 run for the specific appliaction manually. a pain but what isnt.

Merci

 

[nbelote]

She'll suffer in standard Windows applications with an AMD CPU, in comparison to the i7, sorry to say, but really the difference is negligible... not as much as the Llano APUs... I would get a Lenovo Z585 for my wife, it has an A10-4600m and even that tiny APU integrated GPU can game enough for her.

The GX60 is the gaming champion, however, but she wouldn't be disappointed in the 675m when it came to gaming if she wanted a slightly faster non-gaming experience.... though that could be mitigated on the AMD system with a SSD in place running the OS/applications.

Edit: I take that back about the Z585, I would probably get something thin and light since she's always picky about how heavy laptops get... something like this, which has power enough to game on medium/high but is portable enough for her to stop complaining about it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215392&name=Laptops-Notebooks

 

[cjnlstntxs]

Best answer selected by cjnlstntxs.

 

[cjnlstntxs]

thanks again Nbe, seems teh GX60 is still on a waiting list for most sites... will just have to wait. (and yes, i plan on dropping a SSD in there for the OS and maybe her "main" game).

Thanks!

 

[cjnlstntxs]

SOOO the GTX60 is still missing in action. I did find a very good GT70 on sale though for right at 1,500

MSI GT700NC-494

i7 3630QM
12 Gig DDR3 1600
750gig 72k (will need to get a SSD)
Blue-Rad DVD Combo Drive
GTX 60MX 3 gig GDDR5
Win 8
Killer Gaming Nic
Backlit keyboard

Bit more cost, but with the new 670MX, i was happy.