Spec Check - Gaming Lappy

a1ias

a1ias

a1ias

Associate
Joined
7 May 2003
Posts
69
Hi guys

Time for a new gaming rig and I've ultimately decided on replacing my 4 year old desktop (E6750) with the Vortex II 15.6" to the tune of the following spec:-

Chassis & Display
Vortex II-15: 15.6" Full HD LED Backlit 16:9 Widescreen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glossy

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2630QM (2.00GHz) 6MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6970 - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)

Memory - Hard Disk
250GB INTEL® 510 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 500MB/sR | 315MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0


This little bundle stands me currently at £1522 of my hard-earned, and I'm basically after advice on a couple of things before I go ahead and 'checkout'...

1. The supplier does not have any matte screens in stock, is the difference between matte and glossy worth a (possibly several weeks) wait and the price diff? Rig will almost always be used indoors.

2. Will the CPU step up to a 2720QM (2.2GHZ) give me £100 worth of noticeable difference?

3. Likewise will the GTX 485M give me £250+ worth of noticeable difference over the HD 6970?

4. Is there any other option you would change for a marked improvement vs cost.

I'm hoping that this baby will have me maxing out any game for almost the next 3 years so I want to be sure and get it right. What I don't want to do is throwing money at 'overboard' power.

Many thanks in advance for your input.

a1ias
 
I've just purchased a similar spec (awaiting delivery of a few weeks) - only difference being I went for the 2720qm - from what I read it's worth the extra cash, that said not sure an additional 250 will make to much odds on the gfx - I understand the 6970 is a bit of a powerhouse anyway!
 
Get a matte screen if its an AUO panel, I have one on the 17inch version of this laptop and it is stunning. I'll never go back to a glossy panel again.

Dont bother with the 485m, its not enough of an upgrade unless you need CUDA for other things. I got one in my machine as a replacement for a faulty 6970 but only because it cost me nothing.

I went for the 2630qm and its had 0 issues with anything I've thrown at it so far, so I'm sure the 2720 is overkill purely for gaming. If you do VM or encoding stuff then the extra grunt may be worth it to you however.

Also consider if you actually need an optical drive, as you can get a 2nd HDD in that slot with an optional caddy which will give you more storage. SSDs fill up fast!
 
How about waiting for this to be released in the UK (hopefully next month). I've posted in the OcUK New Product Suggestions forum, but no reply yet.

MSI GT780R Gaming Laptop
Specifications
Display

17.3" 16:9 Full HD (1920x1080) MATTE LED backlit LCD

Video Graphics & Memory

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M 192bit with 1.5GB GDDR5

Processor & Chipset

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM (2.0~2.9GHz, 45W) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads Standard
Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM (2.2~3.3GHz, 45W) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads
Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM (2.3~3.4GHz, 45W) w/8M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads
Intel® Core™ i7-2920XM Extreme (2.5~3.5GHz) w/8M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads
Mobile Intel® HM67 Express Chipset

Operating System

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Genuine Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate (Optional)

Main Memory

16GB DDR3/1333MHz (4x 4GB) Standard, or up to 16GB DDR3/1600MHz or DDR3/1866 (Optional)
*Due to the 32-bit operation system's limitation, only 3GB will show up with a 4GB memory. The 64-bit operating system will not have this issue. For more information, please check Microsoft's support site: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946003

Hard Drive

Dual Hard Drive Bays
2x 500GB 7,200 RPM in RAID 0 (Standard)- Upgradeable

Optical Drive

Super-Multi Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive
Blu-ray Read or Read/Write - Super-Multi Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive (Optional)

7-in-1 Card Reader

SD/SDHC/SDXC - xD - MSPRO/MS/MM

Video Camera

720P HD Webcam

Fax/Modem/LAN/WLAN



Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 130 Wireless Card + Bluetooth 3.0+HS (Upgradeable)
10/100/1000 Base T RJ45 Jack Ethernet

Interface

Steelseries Backlit Gaming Keyboard w/10 Key Numeric Keypad
1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor
3 x USB 2.0 ports
2 x USB 3.0 ports
1 x eSATA port
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
1 x HDMI 1.4 Port

Audio

THX TruStudio PRO™
Dynaudio Tech Speaker System w/ 2x Stereo + 1x Subwoofer/li>
4 Multi-purpose Audio Jacks (Supports 7.1 Surround Sound)

Battery Pack

9 cells

AC Adapter

Output: 19V DC - 150 Watts
Input:100-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz universal

Dimension & Weight

16.85 x 11.34 x 2.17 in (W x D x H)
8.6lbs, (with 9 cell battery)
Click to expand...
 
I'm in exactly the same situation as you a1ias, I'm torn between the GTX485 and the HD6970 though, and the same CPU's as you. Same laptop infact, but up against a Kobalt G150:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18286553

I still haven't decided and the cash is burning a hole in my leg let alone my wallet lol

The main thing that's bothering me is that I'm not sure I would be happy with a glossy screen.
 
Brok said:
Get a matte screen if its an AUO panel, I have one on the 17inch version of this laptop and it is stunning. I'll never go back to a glossy panel again.

Dont bother with the 485m, its not enough of an upgrade unless you need CUDA for other things. I got one in my machine as a replacement for a faulty 6970 but only because it cost me nothing.

I went for the 2630qm and its had 0 issues with anything I've thrown at it so far, so I'm sure the 2720 is overkill purely for gaming. If you do VM or encoding stuff then the extra grunt may be worth it to you however.

Also consider if you actually need an optical drive, as you can get a 2nd HDD in that slot with an optional caddy which will give you more storage. SSDs fill up fast!
Click to expand...

If I got a 2nd HDD instead of a DVD burner would I be able to add any old DVD burner later occasionally or would I need some adapter to make it fit?

Thanks,

(sorry for the hi-jack op!)

G
 
As I understand it you can remove the caddy and fit another tray loading optical at a later date without any issues. Speak to your reseller about whether they provide the bezel/blanking plate, presumably they do but I'm not sure.
 
Kobalt have just mailed me saying they are have big problems with 6970m so have withdraw option from web site.offering me a 485m for an extra 290
 
Thanks for the input guys. I never realised spec'ing a gaming lappy would be so much hassle.

From what I can gather, the 6970 is epic fail atm so now it's whether I go with the GTX560 or stump up the extra for the 485.

The supplier I was going to go with seems to be very poor on cs and just come across 'amateurish' in general so they will not be getting their hands on my ££.

I'm having a 'mare!
 
Isn't the GTX580m out in a week or something?

I'm thinking of waiting and seeing what happens with prices when that is out personally.
 
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