Does this laptop look good for gaming?

[minusjason]

• Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor 1.6 GHz (2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Technology), 6MB L3 Cache, 1333MHz DDR3
  
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  
• 4GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM (2048MBx2)
  
• 500GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial-ATA)
  
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M with 1GB GDDR3 discrete graphics
  
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
  
• Lithium Ion battery (6-Cell, 4000mAh)

I know a desktop would be better but I need portability. This is going to run me about $1200... would it be worth it to upgrade to 8GB of RAM for $260? My budget is really about $1200 but I was just thinking it might make sense to go on and spend the money now, and not risk voiding the warranty by upgrading the RAM later... Any help is appreciated.

 

[corkyg]

Looks pretty good. You can always upgrade the RAM if it reflects a need when you start using it. That does not void a warranty. RAM is just about always user upgradeable. And, down the road, you may also want an SSD instead of the mechanical HDD.

 

[minusjason]

Thank you for the advice. I ended up going with the 6GB RAM upgrade as a compromise, thinking that 6GB of RAM might outlive my processor anyway. Just paid for the thing. Now allow me to go throw up.

 

[bamacre]

Actually, the video card looks sub par for gaming.

 

[minusjason]

Actually, the video card looks sub par for gaming.

It was ranked pretty high in the forums over at NewEgg... I didn't think it was really top of the line but I did think it was pretty good. Well, the thing's bought and paid for now anyway. And I guess that's something I can swap out in a couple of years if I really want to.

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

Graphics chips in laptops aren't like graphics cards in desktops. Laptop GPUs are integrated into the motherboard. There's no switching them.

 

[minusjason]

Graphics chips in laptops aren't like graphics cards in desktops. Laptop GPUs are integrated into the motherboard. There's no switching them.

Well, you see how much I know. That's all right I guess. I mean it's a decent graphics card, isn't it? I would be kind of horrified if I started up Spore and had to run it on the lowest settings after spending all that.

 

[thescreensavers]

the 330m is a decent card it scores 7.5k on avg in 3Dmark06. There are better GPU's for laptops but they are usually in the much higher price bracket. What games do you play OP?

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-330M.22437.0.html

 

[minusjason]

thescreensavers,

Thank you for the link. I wish I had it earlier; would have made this process easier. You are right about the better graphics cards being in the higher price brackets. I went over my budget on this one ("What's a few hundred more?") and I had to stop somewhere.

As far as which games I play, I've been using a Mac for the last 5 years, and it has 768 MB of RAM... so really I think I'm going to be blown away with all the games I can play anyway. On my Mac I play Warcraft 3, Starcraft, and Rise of Nations. Games I am thinking about purchasing include Spore, Starcraft II (not just thinking about that one, I must have it), Sins of a Solar Empire, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Fallout 3, Borderlands, Tropico 3, KOTOR 1 and 2, the new Alien vs. Predator game, and Dragon Age: Origins.

 

[Nintendesert]

You should be fine for a lot of those games. I play Tropico 3, KOTORs, Sins of a Solar Empire and Fallout 3 on a core2 system with an 8400m.

 

[corkyg]

There are always better graphics cards available. However, for the money ($300) it is pretty good deal seeing as how the same machine sells at Newegg for $379+.