Help me build a wicked-awesome-sweet laptop, plz!

[Hawke1]

University. Around £1000 to blow. Big gamer. Here's what I was thinking:

Optimus II: 15.6" with...

Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6230 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
Upgrade to 62.16WH 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (£39)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

(and all other options as standard)

for £942.00 inc VAT. Which I like.

First off, some questions about that spec:

1) I read that the Optimus II casing feels a bit cheap and plastic. I really don't mind this, and much prefer a dressed down laptop to those big show-off Alienware ones. However, is there an increased danger of it breaking without the £79 Matte option?

2) 4GB RAM - is it better to have 2x2GB or 1x4GB?

3) What is the difference between a 150Mbps Gigabit LAN wireless and the 300Mbps one? 'Faster' internet?

4) How much more juice do I get from a 62.16 battery over the 48.84 one? Enough to warrant the £40 more?

5) What's the difference between 64-bit and 32-bit Windows 7?


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Secondly, the 'other option'. The VortexII 15" laptop with a worse processor (Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2450M (2.50GHz) 3MB) but better GPU (1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11). While I'd get a better battery and webcam (not too bothered), I'd have to get a worse HDD and it would set me back a hefty £971.

I did some research using this awesome site - http://www.passmark.com/index.html

OptimusII: CPU - i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) is 37th best CPU
GPU - GeForce 555M is 123rd best GPU

VortexII: CPU - i5-2450M (2.50GHz) is 197th best CPU
GPU - GeForce 560M is 85th best GPU

As you can see, the OptimusII has a much, much better CPU, but a slightly worse GPU than that Vortex. I really like the Optimus, as it's cheaper and I can add more extras like better Gigabit and faster HDD and stuff - but (this is question 6) is the 555M a great deal worse than the 560M? I'll be looking to play games like Battlefield 3, Metro: Last Light, etc - most big releases that pack a visual punch (though I usually leave big RPGs like Skyrim to my PS3). So will I regret choosing the 555M? How well do you think I could run those AAA games? Basically - thr Optimus or the Vortex?

A lot of questions there - bit if you could leave clear answers it would seriously help me out. Thanks so much!

 

[AndyL]

The Vortex Laptop is a much better gaming laptop than the Optimus. The GTX560m will give you 40 - 6-% more fps in games than the GT555m will.

In terms of your questions:

1. The matte option refers to the screen (not the chassis) and therefore has no effect on how likely it is too break. If you are going to be using the laptop in places where sun/light glare is likely to be a problem then I would consider getting the matte screen option.

2. It wont make much difference in reality, however if you get the Optimus then it only has 2 RAM slots and therefore if you later decide to upgrade to 8GB then it will be cheaper and easier if you already have 1x4GB.

3. For an average user there will be no difference.

4. You will want 64bit windows otherwise the operating system will not be able to use more than ~3.25GB of RAM.


Hope this helps

 

[AndyL]

I would consider the following spec because it is the best gaming laptop you could get with £1000:

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2450M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
1.5GB nVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M - DirectX® 11 (15.6" Vortex II)
Memory - Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, 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
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N130 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,001.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/vortexII-15/

 

[Hawke1]

Thanks for the tips, but that really does push my budget. Is that really true about the 555M? Because Passmark only puts 200 'G3D Mark's between them, and the processor on the Optimus is so much better. Is it really as much as 50% better FPS?

 

[Hawke1]

Can anyone confirm the whole 50% FPS difference thing please? It's not that I don't trust you, Andy, it's just that Passmark, which many people have told me is really reliable, doesn't seem to put much difference between them.