Which gaming laptop should I get ~$650

[Lyubo]

Hello,

It is my first post here, I would like to be excused for any mistakes or inaccurate English.

I am currently studying and I would like to be playing some games but my laptop has unsatisfactory performance it is:

Asus K52JE 15.6'
I3 370M @ 2.4Ghz; 3Mb Cache (http/ark.intel.com/products/49020/Intel-Core-i3-370M-...)
4GB 1333 Mhz
ATI Mobility radeon HD 5470 512MB version
Hard drive REPLACED: Intel SSD 330 Series 180GB [http/ark.intel.com/products/67288/]


I would like to play games such as Crysis 3/Witcher 2 and 3 when it comes out, Far Cry 3 and etc. However since I know that from a $600 laptop you cannot expect to run these games on full details I am comfortable running them on 1024*768 or smaller resolution and at the lowest possible graphics settings. I would like to run these games smoothly and it does not matter how bad they will look.

So I am planning on buying one of the following laptops and I will be replacing their HDD with my current SSD:

Acer

Processor/CPU: Intel Core i7-3610QM (2.3 - 3.3 GHz, 6MB cache)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT640M with 2GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB SATA 5400 rpm
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Screen: 15.6 WXGA 1366 x768 HD Ready (16:9)


Acer

Processor/CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)
Screen: LCD 15.6" IPS FHD Acer ComfyView LED-backlit HD non-glare
Memory: 6 GB DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M 2 GB VRAM
HDD: 1TB 5400 rpm

Asus

Processor/CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3230M Processor (3M Cache, 2.6GHz up to 3.20 GHz)
Screen: LCD 15.6" HD (1366x768) Wide View Angle LED Backlight Anti-glare
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M 2GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB 5400rpm

They are all around $650 give or take $20. I do not care about battery performance, nor do I care about non-gaming related performance or mobility. I cannot buy a desktop computer because I travel a lot and I change my accommodation frequently.

Which one is best for my gaming requirements? Will there be any bottlenecks anywhere? Could you suggest a cooling pad, I currently have the Coolpad U2 from CM, and I do not find it decent. If you have other suggestions about better laptops in the $650 price range I would be glad to read them, keep in mind I am from Bulgaria but I also live in the Netherlands.

Sincerely,
Lyubo

 

[ayushde]

Hello,

It is my first post here, I would like to be excused for any mistakes or inaccurate English.

I am currently studying and I would like to be playing some games but my laptop has unsatisfactory performance it is:

Asus K52JE 15.6'
I3 370M @ 2.4Ghz; 3Mb Cache (http/ark.intel.com/products/49020/Intel-Core-i3-370M-...)
4GB 1333 Mhz
ATI Mobility radeon HD 5470 512MB version
Hard drive REPLACED: Intel SSD 330 Series 180GB [http/ark.intel.com/products/67288/]


I would like to play games such as Crysis 3/Witcher 2 and 3 when it comes out, Far Cry 3 and etc. However since I know that from a $600 laptop you cannot expect to run these games on full details I am comfortable running them on 1024*768 or smaller resolution and at the lowest possible graphics settings. I would like to run these games smoothly and it does not matter how bad they will look.

So I am planning on buying one of the following laptops and I will be replacing their HDD with my current SSD:

Acer

Processor/CPU: Intel Core i7-3610QM (2.3 - 3.3 GHz, 6MB cache)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT640M with 2GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB SATA 5400 rpm
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz
Screen: 15.6 WXGA 1366 x768 HD Ready (16:9)


Acer

Processor/CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)
Screen: LCD 15.6" IPS FHD Acer ComfyView LED-backlit HD non-glare
Memory: 6 GB DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M 2 GB VRAM
HDD: 1TB 5400 rpm

Asus

Processor/CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3230M Processor (3M Cache, 2.6GHz up to 3.20 GHz)
Screen: LCD 15.6" HD (1366x768) Wide View Angle LED Backlight Anti-glare
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M 2GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB 5400rpm

They are all around $650 give or take $20. I do not care about battery performance, nor do I care about non-gaming related performance or mobility. I cannot buy a desktop computer because I travel a lot and I change my accommodation frequently.

Which one is best for my gaming requirements? Will there be any bottlenecks anywhere? Could you suggest a cooling pad, I currently have the Coolpad U2 from CM, and I do not find it decent. If you have other suggestions about better laptops in the $650 price range I would be glad to read them, keep in mind I am from Bulgaria but I also live in the Netherlands.

Sincerely,
Lyubo

If you go just by the gpu then the third laptop is the best.......But the second one has a much faster processor and a full HD screen unlike the other ones which is great. It also has a much larger hdd.
If you want sheer gaming performance than the 3rd one wins but overall I think the second one is the best...

 

[Lyubo]

The HDD will be sold and I will put my current SSD in. Do you think that the Dualcore I5 CPU will bottleneck the 740M?

 

[ayushde]

The HDD will be sold and I will put my current SSD in. Do you think that the Dualcore I5 CPU will bottleneck the 740M?

Not in most cases. There might be a very slight bottleneck in cpu intensive scenarios like BF3 multiplayer..

 

[Lyubo]

How about in future. I mean I know that now most games do not utilize all 4 physical cores that is why for gaming is does not really matter if I get the i5 or the i7, but looking at the consoles, things may change. What do you think? How much better overall is the 740M over the 640M in terms of gaming performance I saw few reviews and in some situations it is about 15% better, however, in others they are on par. What about a cooling pad - how about this one: http/www.deepcool-us.com/Product/WIND_PAL/. I currently have the Coolermaster U2 but one of the fans already started to sound weird.

 

[Lyubo]

Today I found the following Asus
ASUS N56VZ-S3376
• CPU
Intel® Core™ i5-3230M Processor (3M Cache, 2.6GHz up to 3.20 GHz)
• Chipset
Intel® HM76 Chipset

• LCD
15.6" HD (1366x768) Wide View Angle LED Backlight Anti-glare

• Memory
4GB DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 16 GB SDRAM

• VGA
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with 2GB DDR3 VRAM

• HDD
500GB 7200R

Do you think the CPU will bottleneck the 650M?

 

[ayushde]

How about in future. I mean I know that now most games do not utilize all 4 physical cores that is why for gaming is does not really matter if I get the i5 or the i7, but looking at the consoles, things may change. What do you think? How much better overall is the 740M over the 640M in terms of gaming performance I saw few reviews and in some situations it is about 15% better, however, in others they are on par. What about a cooling pad - how about this one: http/www.deepcool-us.com/Product/WIND_PAL/. I currently have the Coolermaster U2 but one of the fans already started to sound weird.

Do you really need a cooling pad??? I would only recommend a cooling pad if you want to OC the gpu..

 

[ayushde]

Today I found the following Asus
ASUS N56VZ-S3376
• CPU
Intel® Core™ i5-3230M Processor (3M Cache, 2.6GHz up to 3.20 GHz)
• Chipset
Intel® HM76 Chipset

• LCD
15.6" HD (1366x768) Wide View Angle LED Backlight Anti-glare

• Memory
4GB DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 16 GB SDRAM

• VGA
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with 2GB DDR3 VRAM

• HDD
500GB 7200R

Do you think the CPU will bottleneck the 650M?

Again this depends on the games you play...If you play games like tomb raider then I think you'll be fine but if you play games like BF3 then you might see a bottleneck @ low settings.

BTW GT 650M DDR3 ~ GT 740M
So I would still stick to my earlier recommendation and ask you o stick with the acer laptop with a 1080p display and i7 3630qm. The FHD screen is great for day to day use and much better than 768p displays. And when you want to game you can always lower the resolution..