Which laptop is better?

[S_F]

I am looking to purchase a gaming laptop to use when I am away from my desktop. I have narrowed it down to a few choices, but I am unable to make a final decision mainly due to the difference in GPU's. Could someone please help me?

MSI GE62 2QE-003US APACHE: $1350.00

i7-4720HQ
8GB DDR3L,up to 1600 MHz
GTX 965M 2GB
1TB (SATA) 7200rpm

Lenovo Y50-70: $1199.00

i7-4720HQ
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
GTX 860M 4GB
Hybrid 1TB 5400 RPM + 8GB SSHD

Lenovo Y50-70 Touch: $1299.00

i7-4720HQ
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
GTX 960M 4GB
Hybrid 1TB 5400 RPM + 8GB SSHD


I like the MSI laptop due to the GTX 965m but it only has 2GB vram. I looked online and the MSI has an additional slot for a msata ssd, and ram which is expandable up to 16GB. I have looked at reviews online and it seems like the 960m is the same as the 860m but with slightly higher clock speeds. I am unsure whether this 860m is the one based on the maxwell or kepler architecture. The appealing thing about the Lenovo laptops is they have 4GB vram, 16 GB ram, but they both have a 5400 rpm HDD. Also, I looked at user reviews that the 2014 model (gtx 860m) has a low quality screen, which is why I was considering the one with the gtx 960m. I honestly am not interested in the touch screen because I know i'll hardly use it. I game quite a bit on my desktop, but this computer will mostly be used for gaming when i'm away from home. I am looking for a laptop that will easily last me the next 2 to 4 years. Any suggestions?

 

[Guest]

I'm not a laptop guy but to me the first one looks like a better option.
It has the 965m though I'm not sure as the touch screen one looks decent too. The touchscreen has more ram and vram although the first one has a faster rpm. Its really up to you.

 

[S_F]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm hoping someone will have a better idea of which laptop to choose based on the gpu. I know the 965m has higher specs than the 960m, but I don't know if it's worth going for the 960m with the higher vram or not. Anyone else have any idea?

 

[Tradesman1]

I'd go one of the Lenovo's, more DRAM in the rig and more VRAM, with the MSI you're going to end up sharing system DRAM to the GPU. Like the quality of Lenovo also

 

[S_F]

For playing games on high settings, would the higher vram and less gpu power run better, or higher gpu power and lower vram? Also please take into consideration that I want this laptop to work decently on games for the next few years. I know as time goes by it won't be able to play games on high settings, but I would like best performance over next few years. Thanks.

 

[Tradesman1]

That's part of it, as time goes on and the games advance more and more, the 2GB is going to continue to need more and more system DRAM, draining the amount you have for the OS and games themselves, 8GB system DRAM is already at entry level and you are starting off giving the OS it's share and sharing some with the 2GB GPU before you ever open the box

 

[S_F]

The 8GB DRAM isn't a major issue because I can always upgrade it. I believe that the msi notebook comes with 2 slots and one is occupied by the 8GB ram. I can purchase another 8GB ram later and add it to the second slot. I am mostly wondering if it's better to go with higher gpu performance with 2GB vram or lower performance with 4GB vram. Which would benefit me more in the long run?

 

[Tradesman1]

I'd want the additional VRAM myself, then too I generally add a monitor when at home or using one for any length of time

 

[velo3100]

I would go with the firs as the gpu is better than the other 2. Also msi is known more for their gaming than lenovo.