Enigma III

Colin.

Member
Hi,

First of all I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate PC Specialist. PC Specialist provide custom built PC's at very competitive prices, often much more cost efficient and with less opportunity cost attached than the traditional off shelf manufacturers. To add to this the customer service is excellent. It is fast and direct albeit very friendly. The Moderators on the forums generate a great rapport with the customers that is rare to see these days where most companies are only interested in the transaction component of their customers. :D

I am considering purchasing a laptop, for a number of reasons. Primarily mobility and as a backup for my desktop, which by my diagnosis seems to be on it's way out. I do play modern video games but I would not describe myself as in need of an extreme gaming laptop. I have purchased a desktop by PC Specialist before so I have no concerns regarding you as a supplier.

So on to my Questions. (Based on the Enigma III)

Is it worth waiting for the Core i3 2310M 2.1GHz. Despite the architectural improvements and a purported 10-25% increase in performance per core, is this not offset by being 570MHz slower than the Core i3 390M? My only concern is that at face value it looks like one of "those" Intel moves. :p

Is it worth getting a Core i5 2410M 2.3GHz over a Core i3 2310M or 390M. How much does Turbo-Boost really aid to the performance, especially when considering that most applications and games now fully utilise dual core hardware. Also will the thermal and power limitations of a laptop make it worthwhile. Will Turbo-Boost be as efficient on a laptop chassis as it is in a desktop?

How much of an improvement approximately is the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M over the ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650? Will it have GDDR5 and in terms of memory will it have 1GB. It's just on the preview is states it has 2GB's.

The Nvidia GT 540M is similar to the GT 550M. the only difference is that the GT 550M has higher Core and Shader speeds. I would like to know if , in theory :eek:, it would be possible to overclock the GT 540M to a GT550M? This is purely for hypothetical purposes.

How much of an effect on FPS will the 1920x1080 take a toll on. Is it too high a resolution or should it be fine if I raise the DPI when not gaming?

Lastly Is there much of a point getting a faster 7200RPM Hard Drive. How much will this effect performance?

Thanks off reading this rather probing essay. Take a tea break and pat yourself on the back.

P.S. Expect some similar questions when I am considering a Desktop Q4 2011/Q1 2012. ;) Can't wait for AMD Bulldozer.
 

Meds

Moderator
Moderator
Hey,

1) If you're ordering an Enigma III Laptop then you will not be able to select the i3-390m I'm afraid so it'll have to be the i3-2310m. I've tried to browse the web to get performance comparisons between the two CPUs but I'm yet to come up with anything I'm afraid :( Either way, both CPUs will perform well in almost any task.

2) The 2410 will set you back an extra £30 or so but when compared to the 2310m it looks like value for money. You'll be getting a faster stock speed + the advantages of the turbo boost. Turbo boost will be just as efficient on a Laptop as it would be on a desktop.

3) Link to the GT540m can be found here - http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/product-geforce-gt-540m-uk.html. After reading around on the web, I'm hearing it will have 1.5GB DDR3 Graphics Memory, final specs will be confirmed once stock arrives and the Enigma III Laptops go live.

4) We wouldn't advise to overclock/tweak any component within a laptop.

5) The GT540m is a mid ranged graphics card and should run most games and a relatively good standard. You may be able to run at maximum settings though.

6) HDDs are very cheap at the moment anyway, I'd personally pay the extra for the WD Scorpio Black HDDs as the price difference is minimal.

Hope this helps? Anything else, feel free to ask.
 
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