GTX 460m vs. 470m vs. 560m (vs. 6970m)

[miha2]

Hello everyone, I'm thinking which one is best here: 460m, 560m or 470m. Planning to get Battlefield 3 when out. But for that I need to know which video card is the best. I'm planning to spend no more than, let's say, $1700, but for a quality laptop. I know that AMD is best for gaming, but still, PhysX won't let me go... And I like nVidia more. So, for a great and wonderful (and cheap) gaming laptop, I'm thinking somewhere like this:
Intel Core i7 2630 2 GHz
8 GB
GTX 470 (looks best for my case, though don't know the system requirements for BF3 yet (I don't think that even demo/beta will be out any time soon...) but it should hold at least 30 fps on 1920x1080, I think...)

By the way, what's the cheapest system builder? I mean, is it Sager, Cyberpower, Eurocom or any other?

 

[Maziar]

6970M is much faster than the other 3 options.Its like
6970M>>>470M>560M>460M

 

[miha2]

But I actually have read somewhere that 560m is worse than 460m... Is it like that? And what manufacturer would you recommend?

 

[miha2]

By the way, a question off-topic, especially for you, my friend Maziar...

Is it true that you can install Windows to a flash drive (or thumb if it differs. For me flash drive, thumb drive, USB flash is all the same thing - USB flash drive...) and it'll last for a long time, like, 10 years? If so, why would somebody want to install it on a hard drive or even more expensive SSD? I'm talking about big sizes now - 32 or 64 GB flash drives...

 

[Maziar]

560M is faster,have a look at this link
http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-560M.48313.0.html
I strongly recommend installing the windows on either SSD or HDD.Installing it on a flash drive especially for a long time is kinda risky IMO

 

[miha2]

I like taking risks. But still, my teacher said it is possible (for a long time), and that some people have actually installed it.
About 560m - I've been there. I always go there to look at game benchmarks, as it's not an "artificial" benchmark like 3dmark.

 

[Maziar]

I never said it's not possible for a long time;however,flash drives are usually slower than HDD/SSDs and IMO have higher failure rates.
As for 560M,there is no need to look at the benchmarks,compare the specs and you'll see it's slightly faster than 460M

 

[miha2]

Agree. About 560m. But about flash drives: why are they slower? Are USB3 slower too? It should be about 3GBps, gigabytes, not gigabits, while SATA 2 works with 3 gigabits per second. Or am I wrong here? About failure rates - do you mean for a long time? What if the computer (in my case) will be on 24/7 and it'll be used for rendering?

 

[Maziar]

May I ask why don't you want to install it on the HDD ?

 

[AntiZig]

one thing I wanted to mention, flash drives heat up during prolonged use. my manufacturing principle, they don't have any features to improve cooling as they arent meant for prolonged use.

so as maziar said, it's possible to run windows from it, but the question is how long that flashdrive will last? from a reputable manufacturer, maybe year or two, from some 3rd party, you'll be good if you get 6 months out of it via having it run 24/7.

I don't think having an OS run from flash drive is a longevity solution

 

[miha2]

I didn't say I don't want to install it on the HDD, I want it to be as fast as SSD, but as cheap and reliable as HDD. That's the only reason.
OK, so back to video cards: So, there are big companies that have powerful, but expensive laptops. I want something "cheap" - around $1700, but with SB (hope everybody here knows it's Sandy Bridge, look below), 8 GB (8 is better than 4, at least for me, as I might start rendering on my laptop first, and then on my desktop, look below), GTX 470m (or higher, if possible)

P.S.: look below starts here.
When I speak about SB (Sandy Bridge), I mean least here should be 2630, or any other 4core...
Now, about memory: As for games, 8 GB might be too much, but there's one big BUT: I like it when Firefox is up and running with LOTS of tabs open. Ehmm... Now, I'm playing BF with minimal settings (in window mode) and it eats up almost 1 GB of memory. Wow... And Firefox right now with 11 tabs (I usually have more than that) open, it eats up a little less than 500 MB. But who told you I don't like to render? So, I might just stop for a minute to play, then switch back to rendering (actually, I want to get laptop first, and then build a computer for rendering only, with a POSSIBLE upgrade to 6970, if it'll be possible to use Quadro for PhysX, but we'll talk about it later, IF I want to build a desktop at all)

 

[Maziar]

It's your call,but if I were you,I'd installed it on HDD and then when the SSD prices dropped(which will be soon),I would add a SSD and install the OS on it.

 

[miha2]

"and then when the SSD prices dropped(which will be soon)"
That's what I wanted to hear... Any known info on when it'll drop?

 

[Maziar]

I've heard that in 2012 we'll see a price drop.(I'm waiting for it as well )

 

[miha2]

OK, so we're done with SSDs, let's switch back to the video cards... I couldn't find any laptops with 470m in stores, neither could I find 6970. But here's a tricky question: Are there any "official" laptops in stores I can find with a powerful video card at all? If no, what's the cheapest option would be for me?

 

[Maziar]

You can customize AW M17x R3/M18x with 6970M.
As for GTX 470M,I couldn't find any laptop with it,but 3 Sager laptops offer 460M,485M and 6970M
NP8150
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8150-built-clevo-p150hm-custom-gaming-sager-notebook-p-2972.html?wconfigure=yes
NP8170
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8170-built-clevo-p170hm-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2971.html?wconfigure=yes
NP 7282
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7280-custom-laptop-built-clevo-x7200-p-2881.html?wconfigure=yes

 

[AntiZig]

Just a note: Sager NP8170 has an option for 470M

 

[Maziar]

It does ? at least xoticpc doesn't show it

 

[AntiZig]

according to clevo's manual for it... D:
maybe nvidia no longer shipping 470?

 

[miha2]

It's best to go to the official web sites. Well, they actually had an option, 470+8gb, for $1800, but now they have 6970 for $1900 or more