Budget £800 - how is this spec for a gaming laptop?

[FiggieG]

Hi all, I have a budget of £800 and have configured the following laptop. Just wanted to get an opinion from anyone in the know on whether or not this is the right/decent configuration for my budget (£800) - the laptop will be with me everyday (commuting on the train to work, etc.) hence the 15" screen selection and will be primarily used for gaming (Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Football Manager 12/13, etc.) - thanks in advance:

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3360M (2.80GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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 INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £785.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/optimusIV-15/BEZ_9NW76m/

 

[FiggieG]

Any suggestions people? I'm torn between going for the Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3360M (2.80GHz) 3MB or changing it to the Intel® Core™i7 Dual Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB??

Thanks again for any help offered.

 

[Noble]

The i5 is fine but it is recommended that you switch to the i7 to future proof your stuff, other then that everything is fine.

 

[Wake]

Looks like the spec of my 17.3 Optimus but I went for the I7 3630QM for the reason Noble gave just in case more games come out that make the use of 4 cores. I went for the 320 7200 drive as well for the additional £9 or something. I also got the upgraded connectivity, again for £9.00

 

[Iroquois Pliskin]

While i5-3360M is perfectly fine for gaming, an i7-3630QM would upgrade the cake level to "Eat it & Have it". If you go with the i7, swap the standard thermal paste for Arctic Cooling MX-4.

You can't do better for £800, that's why Optimus IV is so popular.

 

[FiggieG]

While i5-3360M is perfectly fine for gaming, an i7-3630QM would upgrade the cake level to "Eat it & Have it". If you go with the i7, swap the standard thermal paste for Arctic Cooling MX-4.

You can't do better for £800, that's why Optimus IV is so popular.

Excellent thanks guys, much appreciated. I thought that the i7 option will future proof myself but wanted to get some opinions from people more in the know than myself.

Tah