Budget gaming laptop, suggestoin and comments on what im looking at

[death_relic0]

Ok so im planning on getting a budget laptop, and im definately not expecting a miracles.. my maxed out budget is upto $625... the best laptop i could find out was this

http/www.shopping.hp.com/series/category/notebooks/dv6zqe_series/3/computer_store?jumpid=in_r329_personalization/browse1/SDP_SDP?&aoid=35252

and found a $10 coupon code for it too.. so with my budget, i can upgrade the graphics card to 7690, and processor to a8 3520...

the 7690 seems to be quite a powerful card, specially for the price.. but im a bit worried about the processor, heard its comparable to an i3.. wanted to know how much of a bottle neck it would be, if it would be one that is..

also, i mainly plan to play RTS games like starcraft 2, hearts of iron 3, red alert 3,etc, and ive heard these games are heavy on the processor as well so how would these games scale on the processor? any help would be great..

also, theres an i5 version with the same graphics card for $50 more.. even though thats out of my current budget, how better of a processor is an i5?


thanks

 

[jmsellars1]

The i3's and the Llano CPU's are both going to be fine at this budget. I'd be pretty surprised if either of them bottlenecked.

Seems odd as well to go with the A8-3520M and HD 7000 series discrete graphics. The integrated graphics are almost as good as the GPU and they won't be used at all since I'm pretty sure they won't Crossfire.

Looks OK but I'd save money and go for the integrated graphics on the A8 or go for an i3 version with the same graphics.

Personally I think the A8 with integrated graphics is the best option since the A8 is better than an i3 and it still has good graphics, especially for RTS games at 1366x768.

 

[sonexpc]

Here is some information on the performance on the 7690M Video...
I would say on Mid Range setting is OK.... but not ultra ... but for this price range is good.

http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7690M.67737.0.html

 

[erikalikesfire]

The i3's and the Llano CPU's are both going to be fine at this budget. I'd be pretty surprised if either of them bottlenecked.

Seems odd as well to go with the A8-3520M and HD 7000 series discrete graphics. The integrated graphics are almost as good as the GPU and they won't be used at all since I'm pretty sure they won't Crossfire.

Looks OK but I'd save money and go for the integrated graphics on the A8 or go for an i3 version with the same graphics.

Personally I think the A8 with integrated graphics is the best option since the A8 is better than an i3 and it still has good graphics, especially for RTS games at 1366x768.

The 7690m is quite a bit better than the integrated 6620g [1][2].

If you had another $150 or so I would say get the i5, but the AMD is good if you're on a budget. The 1.7 GHz A6-3430MX is more powerful than the 1.6 GHz A8-3520M — the A8 costs more because it uses less power and has better battery life, but for performance you want the mx processors. If you can extend your budget $5, you can upgrade to the 2 GHz A8-3550MX; with the 7690m GPU upgrade and the code 15SAVINGS, that brings the total to $630. SC2 is cpu-intensive, so I would recommend that if you can swing it.

 

[jmsellars1]

Ah I thought the difference was a lot less than that, the A8 would still be fine for RTS games though.

 

[death_relic0]

ok so now im a little concerned, the 6620g is not THAT MUCH better than the 7690m? i though the 7690m was comparable to the gt555m, which i think is a pretty decent notebook graphics card...

this is what i think, that the 6620g can generally play games (at 1366*768) from low to medium details, while the 7690m can generally play games (at 1366*768) from medium to high? us this the case? if it is, thats quite a big gap...

any ways, thanks for the suggestion for the processor, and the $15 coupon code, definatley gonna either get the A6 MX or the A8 MX inshALlah..


also, guess this is the best graphics chip available for the price?

also, for around $550, i can also get a 6650m, how much of a performance drop am i looking at there?lenovo IdeaPad Z575 with A6-3420M(1.5GHz)
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246328

 

[erikalikesfire]

ok so now im a little concerned, the 6620g is not THAT MUCH better than the 7690m? i though the 7690m was comparable to the gt555m, which i think is a pretty decent notebook graphics card...

There IS a large difference between the 6620g and the 7690m. Everyone is in agreement on that now. You are correct in thinking that the 7690m is around the 555m.

this is what i think, that the 6620g can generally play games (at 1366*768) from low to medium details, while the 7690m can generally play games (at 1366*768) from medium to high? us this the case? if it is, thats quite a big gap...

That sounds about right. I would say the 6620g should be able to play most games on low and many on medium, but some games will not be playable at all. The 7690m should play any game on low, and probably medium, and maybe better.

also, for around $550, i can also get a 6650m, how much of a performance drop am i looking at there?lenovo IdeaPad Z575 with A6-3420M(1.5GHz)
No]http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246328

No one can say what the performance difference will be unless they just happen to find benchmarks of the exact cpu and gpu combinations for the games you play at the same resolution and the same graphics levels — probably not going to happen. I would guess a 20% difference on the gpu, but my bigger concern with the Lenovo is the cpu. You said the games you want to play are cpu-intensive; the AMD Fusion processors are already kind of weak, and now you're looking at a processor clocked significantly slower than the HP.

If you get the Lenovo and it's not powerful enough for you, you either have to live with it not being able to play your games or return it and pay a restocking fee before getting something that IS powerful enough. If you get the HP and it turns out you paid a little bit more than you had to, it's not a waste — you're still going to get the benefits of higher graphics quality/higher fps.

My advice is to get the HP with the 2GHz A8 if you can, the 1.7 GHz A6 if you have to, and the Lenovo as a last resort if you have no other choice.

 

[death_relic0]

thanks a lot guys...really help..but best answer goes to erikalikesfire (obviously) 😀...also if u could tell me which site u use to look up coupon codes tht would b great 😀

 

[death_relic0]

Best answer selected by death_relic0.