Lushang

Commendable
Feb 10, 2016
2
0
1,510
I'm looking for a good laptop for game development (Unreal Engine 4) and ended up with these two options after couple hours of research:

Asus ROG GL752 17,3" (~ $1100)
CPU: Intel Core i7 6700HQ / 2.6 GHz
RAM: 8 GB DDR4 RAM (2133 MHz)
GPU: GTX 960M (2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM)
Storage: 1TB HDD + 126GB SSD

MSI GE72 2QF Apache Pro 17,3" (~ $1500)
CPU: Intel Core i7 5700HQ / 2.7 GHz
RAM: 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM
GPU: GTX 970M (3 GB GDDR5 SDRAM)
Storage: 1TB HDD + 126GB SSD

So it's a bit of a give and take with the RAM and CPU, but I think the main difference would be the GPU. From what I read so far, the 970 seems to be quite a step up from the 960. But 400$ more is quite a step up as well and I can't find any precise information about how much better the 970 actually is.

If anyone could give me some advice on what would be the better choice in terms of value for money (and also how these cards perform with UE4, if you have any experience with it), it would be very much appreciated!
 
Solution
The 970m is substantially faster than the 960m. The 960m is actually based on the old GM107 core, so you can think of it as an overclocked 850m. The 970m uses the GM204 core, same as the 980m and desktop GTX 970 and 980...

bootcher

Honorable
Feb 22, 2013
178
0
10,910
The difference is huge, especially in gaming. Considering the mobile GPU's do not perform like their desktop counterparts, you can conclude that a mobile 960m is not very good for gaming, seeing the desktop already is an entry-level GPU. The mobile GTX 970m is a decent GPU that can play any game at 1080p/60 fps at medium to high settings, the 960m would in my opinion not be very good at 1080p at all.
I previously was aiming for a 970m laptop, but after doing this research I went with a 980m laptop instead.

Some benchmarks:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-960M-Review.137893.0.html
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-970M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-960M/m17319vsm27242
 
The 970m is substantially faster than the 960m. The 960m is actually based on the old GM107 core, so you can think of it as an overclocked 850m. The 970m uses the GM204 core, same as the 980m and desktop GTX 970 and 980.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.13849.0.html?type=&sort=&deskornote=0&or=0&search=&month=&benchmark_values=&gpubenchmarks=0&professional=0&archive=1&dx=0&multiplegpus=0&showClassDescription=0&itemselect_5965=5965&itemselect_6157=6157&condensed=0&showCount=0&showBars=0&showPercent=0&gameselect%5B%5D=373&gameselect%5B%5D=371&gameselect%5B%5D=368&gameselect%5B%5D=366&gameselect%5B%5D=361&gameselect%5B%5D=359&gameselect%5B%5D=355&gameselect%5B%5D=353&gameselect%5B%5D=351&gameselect%5B%5D=346&gameselect%5B%5D=344&gameselect%5B%5D=342&gameselect%5B%5D=336&gameselect%5B%5D=332&gameselect%5B%5D=334&gameselect%5B%5D=329&gameselect%5B%5D=316&gameselect%5B%5D=308&gameselect%5B%5D=297&gameselect%5B%5D=293&gameselect%5B%5D=263&gameselect%5B%5D=249&gameselect%5B%5D=217&gameselect%5B%5D=214&gameselect%5B%5D=204&gpu_fullname=1&codename=0&architecture=0&pixelshaders=0&vertexshaders=0&corespeed=0&shaderspeed=0&boostspeed=0&memoryspeed=0&memorybus=0&memorytype=0&directx=0&opengl=0&technology=0&daysold=0
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html?type=&sort=&deskornote=0&or=0&search=&month=&benchmark_values=&gpubenchmarks=0&professional=0&archive=1&dx=0&multiplegpus=0&showClassDescription=1&itemselect_5965=5965&itemselect_6157=6157&condensed=0&showCount=0&showBars=1&showPercent=0&3dmark13_ice_gpu=1&3dmark13_cloud_gpu=1&3dmark11_gpu=1&vantage3dmarkgpu=1&3dmark06=1&gpu_fullname=1&codename=0&architecture=1&pixelshaders=1&vertexshaders=1&corespeed=1&shaderspeed=0&boostspeed=1&memoryspeed=1&memorybus=1&memorytype=1&directx=1&opengl=0&technology=0&daysold=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeForce_900M_.289xxM.29_Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeForce_900_Series

I should point out though that for game development you are probably better off with a desktop. A desktop GTX 970 is faster than even a 980m. And a GTX 960 will be about the same speed as a 970m. Not to mention extra RAM and dual or triple monitors is tremendously helpful for coding and debugging.
 
Solution

Lushang

Commendable
Feb 10, 2016
2
0
1,510
Thanks everyone, this settles it then. MSI and 970M it is!

Side note about getting a desktop PC instead: I actually already have a solid machine at home, but I need something for the road as well.