GPU:CPU Laptop Comparison

[vipers992]

Hey guys, i've spent days worth of hours searching for what would be a perfect laptop for me, with a maximum spend of £600 all i'm willing to pay since i need to save money for University.
At first there was only ever one GPU on my mind, the beastily 5650, providing value for money with power which you won't find in any other medium classed GPU in Laptops, however i stumbled across the 5165, although not DX11, this is just as powerful. I'm not too sure what the benefit of having DX11 over a DX10 card is just yet since it would be hard to imagine any PC games in the next 4 years or so without DX10 capability.

So here is my choice, unless you guys can find better (And over my budget if you think a Laptop is too good to miss out on).

i5-430m + 5165 ATI
http/www.medion.com/gb/electronics/prod/MEDION%C2%AE+AKOYA%C2%AE+P6625+15.6%22+Laptop+%28MD97409%29/30010926A1?category=notebook_9&view=pictures

or

i3-330m + 5650 (I will expand to 4gb RAM)
http/www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L650-165_Core_i3_Laptop_PSK1KE-00N014EN/version.asp?refsource=LDfroogle

Now they both total to near the same price, so is DX11 really worth a downgrade of processor (and this Turbo Boost in the i5/i7 everyone is raving about)

Give me you're opinions or alternatives, thanks

 

[Maziar]

Hello
In gaming,HD 5650M blows away the HD 5165,so if you are gaming,go for the second one

 

[toolinthemist]

I'm with Maziar, the second one is a better option. The 5650 will easily beat out the 5165, while the processor downgrade is minimal.
plus, having the dx11 is better since, at least theoretically, the dx11 capable games will perform better on a dx11 card over a dx10 card.

 

[vipers992]

5650
http/www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5650.23697.0.html

5165
http/www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5165.24579.0.html

While what toolinthemist said is noted, the benchmarks dont seem all that different, but dont get me wrong im in no denial that the 5650 is definetly better, after all, the 5165 is only a rather manipulative sounding 4 series and so older.

But one thing rests on my mind, would i5 be comparable to i3 for gaming, say for instance, like MMORPGs where processing power does show more?

And is this turbo boost capability overrated?

 

[toolinthemist]

hmm, you're right, the benchmarks are pretty close.
http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

the real defining difference between the two is gonna be the dx11.

as for the cpus, they're equally close
http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

the i5 will definitely help in gaming if not just for the higher base clock speed along with the turbo option. nevertheless, the i3 also would definitely not be a bottleneck.

having looked at the two posted options, i'd say go with the Medion with the i5 and 5165 because its got 4gb of ram (versus 2 in the other) and a larger 500gb hdd (vs 320)

 

[vipers992]

Adding 2gb extra to the Toshiba would total it to a similar price, in all concideration if you could find an i5 AND a 5650 at no more than 100 Pounds more i would aim for buying that instead for the sake of future proofing since i would like to have this laptop all throughout University and be able to decently play FPS shooters and MMORPGs alike.

That is until i get my own place then the big baby gaming rig comes in

If you cannot find such a system then the Medion it is, plus imo, it looks pretty slick and sexy to take into a lecture with

 

[toolinthemist]

lol, you could just go with the gaming rig right now. it takes a little extra work but it is definitely worth it, trust me. Thats what I do. I lug my desktop with me college and its nice having the power. Although i will say that I seriously wish we could get some bigger desks in our rooms.

 

[vipers992]

Yeah i was concidering it at one point, i may spend some time seeing what i can get for the same money, however for the sole reason i won't be taking my Xbox, and may even sell on eBay, is because i cant be bothered taking a TV up, with a rig i'd need to take my G15, the PC and a TV up which is very much a hassle to travel back and forth with.

With the laptop i can game on it, word process on travels in lectures and in the library which i will be doing alot of since i'm studying History and there is the huge bonus of it being lightweight which is what i'm aiming to achieve since home is fairly close in relation to my University (20 min train), i'll be home every other weekend for a sunday Roast!

I'll look a bit into gaming rigs but before i make a final decision i'll spend most of my time further pursueing Laptops; see if i can find an i5 + 5650 at a good price.

 

[toolinthemist]

well good luck with the desktop hunt. If you're up to the experience, building your own can be very rewarding.

lol, unfortunately i wouldn't really put lightweight and gaming together to describe a laptop (except for maybe a few like the alienware m11x) but its still lighter than a desktop

 

[vipers992]

Well i ain't looking to play Crysis maxed, or for that matter atall, and even then i could prob handle it medium'ish with these two systems, currently i'd probably just play World of Warcraft, CS:Source, CoD4 and a few RTS's new and old.

My first computer was a Compaq low end laptop which i played games on, it wasn't great, but i made do with it, my family PC handled games poorly aswell, i chucked in a 4 series ATI and some ram when i started my first job, it made the games i played bareable, so to be honest, the standards bar is pretty low for me personally, i think a laptop would do me just fine.

If i decided in future, and i was still in Uni, that the Laptop just isn't good for gaming anymore, i can still invest in a rig, since the Laptop wouldn't lose it's use to me atall, just for the fact that, it's a laptop and you can take it anywhere

 

[Maziar]

My bad,i thought its HD 5145.Still 5650M is faster than 5165M but the difference isn't much.

 

[vipers992]

My bad,i thought its HD 5145.Still 5650M is faster than 5165M but the difference isn't much.

Your choice between the two? Unless you know of any i5 5650 Laptops below £700

I lost out on an i5, 5650, 6gb Ram Vaio for £488 last night since my money was in my wallet not my bank and it sold by the morning ;(

 

[deweycd]

I say go with the i5 5145, the extre CPU power will help with gaming and any apps you need to run for your courses.

 

[Maziar]

Your choice between the two? Unless you know of any i5 5650 Laptops below £700

I lost out on an i5, 5650, 6gb Ram Vaio for £488 last night since my money was in my wallet not my bank and it sold by the morning ;(

It depends, if you mostly play games,then go with i3/5650M, otherwise if you do other tasks like Image/Video editing,then a faster CPU will help.