Laptop for college/gaming

[n00sipher]

So I'm planning to get this laptop for college use and for gaming. These are the specs.

AMD Quad-Core Processor A8-4500M

4GB DDR3

AMD Radeon HD 7640G + 8750M 2GB Dual Graphics

What discourages me is that the HDD is only 5200rpm but I guess that really doesn't affect in-game framerate. So is this build decent? Will this be able to get good FPS on 1360x720 res? I regularly play NBA 2k13 and Skyrim but I also play other latest games.

 

[Throckmorton]

This better be a very cheap laptop for such crappy specs. You need more RAM, a better video card, and a better screen than 1366x768 if you plan to use it for typing documents etc

 

[dma0991]

I do recommend separating your needs to a desktop and laptop. Not much can be inferred just from specs but I doubt it will be light nor would it have battery life long enough to last you a day. These two criteria that I mentioned is fairly important especially if it is intended to be carried around in campus or during lecture sessions.

A separate desktop(SFF) can be placed in the dorm and gaming performance is usually never a problem for a desktop with a discrete GPU.

 

[dagamer34]

Absolutely separate gaming from general computing. Even a $400 desktop build will wipe the pants off a $1000 laptop, plus it's upgradeable. The difference between decent and great graphics at 1680x1050 or even 1920x1080 is just $200. But trying to coax that same level of performance out of a laptop limits your options WAY too much.

Yes, it won't be super portable like a laptop, but if you get a SFF mini-ITX build, it's still far more desirable than spending $1500 on a laptop with graphics that get outdated in 2 years.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I generally agree with the negative sentiments of the other posters, but for general college use that laptop would be adequate. For gaming, not so much. You could play some older or less graphically intense games at the low native resolution. It would struggle with Skyrim but might handle low to med settings at that low res. Current FPS games like Crysis 3 or FC3 would I expect be basically unplayable.

 

[jacktesterson]

What price is this notebook?

Have you looked used?

Look around.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Laptop and gaming should not go together.

But I would pick up a cheap laptop and buy/build a A8 based computer.

By cheap I mean an i3 or trinity. And don't fall for those gimmicks about optiumus graphics or whatever. Just get a laptop without discrete graphics.

 

[JWade]

You can get an alienware laptop from delloutlet when they have coupons codes going for around $750 to $850 usually. I have a M14xR2 and it does everything I want it to and then some.

 

[Enigmoid]

Absolutely separate gaming from general computing. Even a $400 desktop build will wipe the pants off a $1000 laptop, plus it's upgradeable. The difference between decent and great graphics at 1680x1050 or even 1920x1080 is just $200. But trying to coax that same level of performance out of a laptop limits your options WAY too much.

Yes, it won't be super portable like a laptop, but if you get a SFF mini-ITX build, it's still far more desirable than spending $1500 on a laptop with graphics that get outdated in 2 years.

No, the OP has nothing. He would need a monitor, OS, keyboard, speakers which would put the price tag of the desktop way over $400.

(You can get an acer V3 laptop with an i5 and 730m--basically a 645m for around $630).

 

[alyarb]

exactly, plenty of 15 and 17 inch laptops with low-end kepler products for 600-700

 

[n00sipher]

Actually based on benchmarks on notebookcheck.net, the 8750m is almost comparable to the gt 640m without it being crossfired yet with the HD 7640g.

 

[Enigmoid]

Actually based on benchmarks on notebookcheck.net, the 8750m is almost comparable to the gt 640m without it being crossfired yet with the HD 7640g.

Crossfire is going to yield little to no benefits because the 8750m is much stronger than the a8 igp (and possibly cause MS problems).

And the a8 is a lot weaker than the i5 cpu wise.

For a similar price get the i5 + 730m