Which is going to generally be faster? Core I3 2310m or Core I5 480m w/ Nvidia 310m

[Agentbolt]

Still sifting through laptop choices. Obviously the Core I5 blows even the newer-gen Core I3 when it comes to CPU heavy tasks, but for light gaming, which is going to be the better option? The NVIDIA gpu is getting old, but there's not much info on how badly the I3's lower clock speed is going to cripple the HD 3000 igp.

I ask because I can still get my hands on the Samsung qx410 woot was selling, but I don't really know just how more capable a laptop it really is. Any thoughts?

 

[fralexandr]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html
the nvidia 310 really isn't significantly faster than the intel hd 3000 :\ it's a mixed bag favoring the intel hd 3000. the 310 is slower in most games and faster in a few. The 310 runs slightly better at higher settings, but is still unplayable at those settings.

you'll be able to play some games on low settings at least, like left 4 dead.

if you want to game on a notebook, i think the cheapest current options would be to get in on one of the alienware m11x r2 deals. i've seen them at $600, or if you're not in a hurry wait for an r3 or perhaps hope for a m14x deal.
amd's llano would probably be a good choice.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4444/amd-llano-notebook-review-a-series-fusion-apu-a8-3500m
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ue=402%3A54076 a list of notebooks <$700 with low-end to decent GPUs for you to consider (includes some 15.4", 17.3", and 14")

 

[Agentbolt]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html
the nvidia 310 really isn't significantly faster than the intel hd 3000 :\ it's a mixed bag favoring the intel hd 3000. the 310 is slower in most games and faster in a few. The 310 runs slightly better at higher settings, but is still unplayable at those settings.

you'll be able to play some games on low settings at least, like left 4 dead.

if you want to game on a notebook, i think the cheapest current options would be to get in on one of the alienware m11x r2 deals. i've seen them at $600, or if you're not in a hurry wait for an r3 or perhaps hope for a m14x deal.
amd's llano would probably be a good choice.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4444/amd-llano-notebook-review-a-series-fusion-apu-a8-3500m
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ue=402%3A54076 a list of notebooks <$700 with low-end to decent GPUs for you to consider (includes some 15.4", 17.3", and 14")

Thanks, appreciate the input. The only problem is that I'm REALLY trying to cap this purchase at 500 bucks, as I am an extremely casual gamer. I did check out the HD 3000 stuff at notebookcheck, the only thing is that's a core i5 or i7 they're testing, the HD 3000 on a core i3 runs a lot slower and can't turbo. I was curious if anyone knows how much that hurts it, maybe to the extent the 310m comes out on top.

 

[fralexandr]

if you sort the newegg search, there are a 2 <$500 (a 15.6" 1366x768 and 17.3" 1600x900) (the 6470m is faster than the 6480g but is packaged with a higher res lcd)

if you're an extremely casual gamer, then i would just go with whatever notebook has the best battery life and portability that fits your budget. what kind of games are you planning to play on the go? and do you have a gaming computer already?
you could look into getting a brazos "netbook" or notebook (<=12.1" notebooks tend to not have optical drives) some of which tout 9 hour battery lives (awesome?) but can't play games at all (other than flash and way older games, even left 4 dead 2 wouldn't run at native, but counterstrike source will run ok http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOj5gQjcT5c).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...40f72a6f24f9ad
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rder=BESTMATCH