Advice on RAM and graphics card

[JCH1976]

I am looking at customising a laptop for the first time and was looking for some advice regarding RAM and graphics cards.

Is there a lot of difference between RAM at 1600 and RAM at 1333?

Would it be worth upgrading from 4gb to 8gb?

What graphics card, 2gb 555 or the 1.5gb 560?

Any advice on what would be the best processor would also be helpful.

My budget is £1000.

Any help you can give would be very much appreciated.

 

[iceatcs]

If you are getting i7 CPU I would recommend get 1600.

GPUs, both much of same. 555 might be better run at higher resolution but it is a laptop you can't get higher than 1080p so 560 might wee little faster.

 

[InfernalBadger]

Probably wouldnt notice any difference between 1600 and 1333. I would go for 8gb just because it's cheap atm.

Definitely the 560 for gfx, not sure about the processor, just the best you can afford for the budget.

 

[InfernalBadger]

Something like this maybe:

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2520M (2.50GHz) 3MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,004.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[JCH1976]

Thanks for the advice guys just one more thing regarding the hard drive, is there a noticable difference between 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm?

Sorry if the questions are a bit stupid, just wanting to get the best for my money.

 

[PCS]

Thanks for the advice guys just one more thing regarding the hard drive, is there a noticable difference between 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm?

There is a difference in the time taken to open folders and load programs and copying files to/from the laptop. Bootup times will also be quicker on a 7,200rpm drive. A 7,200rpm drive spins roughly 33% faster than a 5,400rpm drive.

 

[JCH1976]

Thanks for the advice guys, very much appreciated

 

[AndyL]

If you are getting i7 CPU I would recommend get 1600.

GPUs, both much of same. 555 might be better run at higher resolution but it is a laptop you can't get higher than 1080p so 560 might wee little faster.

I would ignore all advice quoted above as its utter rubbish!

The truth is that there is not really much real world performance gain from choosing 1600MHz RAM over 1333MHz RAM, and the GTX560M is definitelly not anywhere near the same as the GT555M. The GTX560M is approximately 40-50% more powerfull.

And I would also recommend upgrading to the silver warantee as it only costs £5!

 

[vanthus]

I would ignore all advice quoted above as its utter rubbish!

The truth is that there is not really much real world performance gain from choosing 1600MHz RAM over 1333MHz RAM, and the GTX560M is definitelly not anywhere near the same as the GT555M. The GTX560M is approximately 40-50% more powerfull.
Your entitled to disagree,but surely you could be a bit more polite about it.

And I would also recommend upgrading to the silver warantee as it only costs £5!

Your entitled to disagree,but surely you could be a bit more polite about it.

 

[iceatcs]

Man someone must be having a bad day. :shaun:

Right if you really really care to play game, GTX560 will increase FPS about 20% in most of game. I wouldn't recommend anyone want a laptop only play games. PC Tower is cheaper and higher spec available

 

[AndyL]

Man someone must be having a bad day. :shaun:

Right if you really really care to play game, GTX560 will increase FPS about 20% in most of game. I wouldn't recommend anyone want a laptop only play games. PC Tower is cheaper and higher spec available

Yeah, sorry, bad day at the office yesterday. But I stand by my point that games are more GPU dependent and the 560M is about 40-50% more powerfull than the 555M.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-555M.41933.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-560M.48313.0.html

Also, you are correct when you say that desktops are better for playing games than a Laptop, however some people need the portability of a laptop and cant afford to buy both, therefore they buy gaming laptops - which I believe is what JCH1976 wants.

 

[JCH1976]

Thanks again guys, I know desktops are better but like AndyL said, it's more for portability and it's not just for games although there will be a lot of gaming going on. I think I have found my final spec and I went for the 560M on your advice AndyL so if it's not up to it look out .

 

[AndyL]

Thanks again guys, I know desktops are better but like AndyL said, it's more for portability and it's not just for games although there will be a lot of gaming going on. I think I have found my final spec and I went for the 560M on your advice AndyL so if it's not up to it look out .

You wont regret it. Just check out the links I provided in my previous post (look at the bottom of each page, it tells you what the cards can achieve in games.

e.g. Battleifeld 3 on High Settings
GT555M: 24.5 fps
GTX560M: 37.0 fps

thats about a 50% performance increase in battlefield 3.

 

[JCH1976]

Well here is the spec I am looking at ordering after some advice.
Any changes you would make?

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2520M (2.50GHz) 3MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,005.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[AndyL]

I would opt for a 7200rpm drive to make the OS more snappier

 

[JoshEly]

Yes, I would go for a 7200rpm as that will make a very noticeable difference.

 

[AshleyUK]

Id knock the Ram down to 4GB and upgrade the CPU to a Quad Core.

The ram you can always put some more in at a later date, however CPU is a different story, your notice much more performance from a Dual Core -> Quad Core CPU than a decrease from 8GB to 4GB.