the vram debate with a mid-range GPU

[tviceman]

I am going to be getting a new laptop in the fall, likely with a 860m. With only slightly slower clocks and vram than the desktop gtx750 ti (which can easily made up with a small overclock), the performance is easy to extrapolate.

The question is, would getting laptop with 4gb of vram vs. 2gb make much of a difference when taking into consideration this class of performance 1-2 years from now? I plan on keeping the laptop 2+ years.

 

[RussianSensation]

750Ti is at GTX480/7850 level of performance. 2GB of VRAM is the sweet spot. If you want to future proof a little, I would much step up to the 870. Btw what laptop are you getting?

The MSI GS60 with 870M for a 15 inch model is 4.36 lbs. Looks pretty sweet.
http://usgaming.msi.com/Product/2014/Notebook/GS60-Ghost/

They have this model with a 1080p screen too with 870M for about $1699-1799.

 

[wilds]

Isn't the 870m just a rebranded 680m? I'd wait for Maxwell to be rolled out further than getting an old kepler chip. The 860m is really good for its power consumption, but who knows what will be out later this year.

I'd wait for the higher-end Maxwell chips or AMD's mobile refresh as both of NVIDIA's and AMD's high-end notebook chips are based on pretty old tech.

 

[tviceman]

750Ti is at GTX480/7850 level of performance. 2GB of VRAM is the sweet spot. If you want to future proof a little, I would much step up to the 870. Btw what laptop are you getting?

The MSI GS60 with 870M for a 15 inch model is 4.36 lbs. Looks pretty sweet.
http://usgaming.msi.com/Product/2014/Notebook/GS60-Ghost/

I am looking at the gigabyte p34g v2 (which has 4gb vram as standard) and also the Lenovo y50. There are pros and cons to either one, but right now I'm leaning towards the Lenovo because for $200 less the Lenovo has the same cpu, gpu, and vram while having 2x system ram, significantly lower operating temps, and a slightly larger (although inferior) screen. The advantages for the gigabyte is being lighter, a tiny bit thinner, not having a gaudy-looking red tint backlit keyboard, and also coming with an ssd+hdd instead of an sshd. But in either case I am most likely replacing any drives with a 512gb ssd so that last bit is a moot advantage.

They have this model with a 1080p screen too with 870M for about $1699-1799.

That will probably be above my price range. Ideally I would like to decide between the msi ghost and gigabyte p35w v2 cf1 but the wife won't graduate from nursing school till December and I am also trying to make sure I have enough money to surprise her with some diamond earrings as a graduation / Christmas gift.

I'd wait for the higher-end Maxwell chips or AMD's mobile refresh as both of NVIDIA's and AMD's high-end notebook chips are based on pretty old tech.

This is also a very possible option.

Thanks!

 

[tviceman]

Ended up going with the Lenovo Y50.

Got this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...870&CatId=3982

Got a first time customer $15 off instant rebate and also $15 off through amex offers for you. So under $1100 I'm happy. Current owners are reporting the 860m easily overclocks past stock desktop speeds so it'll be a fairly decent performer with a slim profile.