Help! Need new gaming laptop or...??

[runzwithsizorz]

Asus Laptop

Here are the specs:


Processor: Core i7-720QM @ 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo), 6MB Cache, 45W TDP [Source]
Memory: 6GB DDR3 1066MHz

Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (1GB of GDDR5) (Default clock speeds are 700MHz/1000MHz –

Storage: Two 500GB**(***) 7200RPM Seagate Momentus Drives (16MB Cache)


:\ Here's my dilemma...I bought this laptop about two years ago for gaming (17" screen). Some new games (specifically Witcher 2 among others), probably won't play well according to "Notebook/Laptop Reviews and News".


Two questions:


1. Is it possible to upgrade or have upgraded the vid card?


2. What would you suggest as a replacement at a decent price (around 1200.00 or less). Does not have to be a laptop, but I prefer one as this my dedicated gaming computer and I use it in the bedroom.

Thanks for the input.

Wife of Runz

 

[Schadenfreude]

1. Nope; mobile GPUS are integrated onto the motherboard to save space, and it'd just not that cost efficient to upgrade it anyways.

2. I would suggest looking at desktops if you're looking at any upgrades int he possible future. That having been said, you might want to look up custom builders like XoticPC, Sager, etc. for gaming laptops in that range.

 

[sunzt]

1. Nope; mobile GPUS are integrated onto the motherboard to save space, and it'd just not that cost efficient to upgrade it anyways.

2. I would suggest looking at desktops if you're looking at any upgrades int he possible future. That having been said, you might want to look up custom builders like XoticPC, Sager, etc. for gaming laptops in that range.

NVIDIA has a line of upgradable mobile GPUs, check out XoticPC for those. Sager might have some too.

You can look into Lenovo Y580, Sager, MSI GE60/70 and Gigabyte U2442 ultrabook.

 

[Mark_K]

Look at the ASUS UX32VD. It has an integrated V-card and you can swap out the HHD for an SSD and you can upgrade the mem to 8g.

 

[gorcorps]

Look at the ASUS UX32VD. It has an integrated V-card and you can swap out the HHD for an SSD and you can upgrade the mem to 8g.

What? This is a terrible suggestion... ultrabooks w/ integrated graphics are not gaming machines AT ALL. My brain actually hurts thinking about trying to run The Witcher 2 on an integrated chip.

Anyway OP, if you're dead set on a laptop you should probably look at something with a 640m or better dedicated graphics card. It'll be able to RUN Witcher 2 with some graphics turned down, but that's a game that even brings most desktops to its knees so don't expect to max it out.

 

[Meaker10]

If it's the asus model I am thinking of, head over to notebookreview.com and I think you can upgrade that model.

Guys. MXM. Look it up.

 

[gorcorps]

If it's the asus model I am thinking of, head over to notebookreview.com and I think you can upgrade that model.

Guys. MXM. Look it up.

I understand it's possible, but it's over his stated budget and doesn't have the oomph that a good gaming PC will offer. The models that Mark_K recommended have a GT 640m option, which IMO is the minimum I'd recommend. It has a new architecture which is good for power savings, heat, and is faster than the last gen. The Asus (while I agree, a nice ultrabook) only has a 620m. Pretty good compared to the usual integrated stuff, but with the OP looking at incredibly demanding games like The Witcher 2 he really needs as much power as possible.

 

[HaX]

Sell it get a new one.

 

[EliteRetard]

That laptop is worth maybe $650 in good condition.

One possible option for $1200, get a SFF PC. (450w SG05 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EkhTN2wVc8)
Like AVADirect has a nano cube system (450w SG05), its less than 1 cubic foot in space and weighs like 10lbs built. For $1200 you could get an i5-35xx and aftermarket HS/F (probably don't need the K version, overclocking will be limited anyway) 8GB DDR3 1333 CAS9 1.5v, Z77 ITX MOBO w/ Wifi, Radeon 7850, Crucial M4 256GB SSD, Win7 Prem 64bit, and a 3yr warranty.

Significantly faster than your current laptop, and probably not much harder to move around. Faster than any any laptop with a single GPU...for $3K you might find a faster laptop, but it'll probably be just as big and heavy or more so.

And as for the GT640M suggestion, that's actually slower than your 5870. You'd need a GDDR5 GT650M to match it, a GTX660 pulls ahead...the 640/650/660 are all the same card, just different memory and clockspeeds. The DDR3 versions are much slower, you'd definitely want a GDDR5 version (twice the memory bandwidth, needed for the low 128bit bus).

Really to get an actual upgrade you'd need a GTX580/670M or better, or a 6970/7950M or better. For $1200 you'd probably get the 650M...maybe the GTX660M on a good sale. So basically you wouldn't be getting a faster GPU, just a CPU/RAM upgrade and an SSD (you can probably steal one of your current 500GB HDDs for your new laptop as a storage drive).

I did a quick look and it seems you can get a 15/17" full HD notebook with the GTX670M, i7-3610 quad core, 8GB DDR3 1333, 256GB M4 SSD, Intel wireless/bluetooth, etc for about $1400.

Found 15/17" full HD laptop with the same specs ("free" upgrade 16GB RAM) but with 7970M instead (about 50-60% faster than 670M and the fastest laptop card you can get) for about $1800. This would still be a bit slower than the SFF desktop for $1200 (7970M is based on the desktop 7850 card but lower clocked [at least that's what I recall]).

 

[HaX]

The mxm card in your asus g73 is propietary wont be able to upgrade it

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Thank you for all your help. I of course want the "latest and greatest" (Radeon 7970m or gtx 680m). Playing "Witcher"enhanced ed and have "Oblivion" not yet installed, so I think I'll wait a bit and see if prices come down. Once again, thank you...lots to think about.

Wife of Runz

 

[Chapbass]

for 1200 you could get one pretty sick gaming desktop, even if you wanted to go the SFF route and be semi portable with it (read: LAN parties). Sure, it won't have laptop portability, but you get a lot more bang for your buck in a desktop system, and you'd have the added bonus of not starting from scratch all over again in a few years if you need some minor upgrades.

 

[Meaker10]

I'd just like to point out that the 680M can clock to 670 desktop levels. That's hardly lacking in power.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Currently on sale at lenovo.com for $999 - http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...01C9:0000393A:

 

[sm625]

Yeah if you want gaming you can trade that for a 3570k desktop with a good $200 worth of video card. No reason to gimp yourself with mobile hardware if you want to use it for gaming.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Currently on sale at lenovo.com for $999 - http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...01C9:0000393A:

I just bought this model, but with 1tb and a 32gb ssd for 50 dollars more:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...4F5F5622D1AC7A

If you are can get the educational discount, you can get this for $1049 direct from Lenovo. I think another 500gb plus the 32gb ssd is worth the extra 50.

 

[SithSolo1]

www.xoticpc.com/forcemsi-1762-52007-670m-p-4347.html

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Hello, and thanks once again for all your input. But this lady has changed her mind. After considering all options, I have decided to build (or Runz will build) a desktop computer with the MSI 7870 Hawk and I-5 3570K and Asus P8Z77 V LE. At least this is easily upgradable in the future, and the price point is a lot less for more power. The gaming laptop was never meant to be portable, anyway. You might say I learned my lesson the hard way.

Thanks again,

Wife of Runz

 

[marcplante]

if you're back to desktops, there seem to be some deals on the Hd6950 2G vid cards. There have been a couple deals @ 170 lately.