Laptop For World of Warcraft Gameplay Recording - Help And Advice Please!

M

mayomason

Member
I play a lot of World of Warcraft, and move around quite a lot, so a desktop isn't a possibility for me. I am looking for a laptop that will run WoW on maximum/ultra settings and allow me to record my gameplay using FRAPS, or the like. It would also be a huge bonus if I could do the same when playing Starcraft II and Diablo III. I have been looking at various possibilities, but prices vary wildly since the main two contenders are the 17 inch Optimus and the 17 inch Vortex III.

In essence, I am looking for the best 'bang for my buck', meaning I can fork out the £1200+ for a Vortex III if recommended highly enough, but if a ~£900 Optimus would be a more sensible option and be plenty powerful enough for my needs, I may be swayed.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated, preferably 'real world' advice as opposed to what benchmarks say.
 
wowcraftify

wowcraftify

Gold Level Poster
I don't know much about laptops or WoW but I'll have a crack at it anyway. I think either should be ok (I think), I'll try to go through each bit step by step if I can.

CPU: Mobile processors aren't very powerful (mobile i3 = pentium... Roughly) WoW was a 2004/5 release so I assume a dual core CPU should be ok unless expansions have changed things too drastically but a mobile dual core with HT or one of the quad core i7s is a good idea if you plan on editing your videos and might help lower CPU usage when using other program's (FRAPS) on the side.

RAM: 8gb is pretty standard for gaming rigs but editing software benefits from more but if it's pretty casual editing you should be gold.

GPU: the 660m in the Optimus is pretty basic seeing as they're underclocked quite a bit compared to desktop equivalents, I'm guessing a 660m might be similar to a gt640/gtx650 ( I don't really know). The 670/675s in the vortex are probably a good bet and should be similar to a 650ti boost/gtx 660.

HDD: An SSD might be a good idea if you can afford it for fast boot times but it's not a necessity, but I'd highly recommend a fast HDD to help with load times in wow & a large HDD because Fraps eats away at available hard drive space, you won't believe!

This is my opinion but bear in mind I'm not sure if this is 100% correct, this should be everything you need to know in a nutshell though. Good luck
 
M

mayomason

Member
TomD said:
Whats your exact budget for the optimus or vortex?
Click to expand...

This is the thing. My budget is quite broad. The Optimus spec I have been considering is ~£950, whilst the Vortex is ~£1250. I want something that will last be a few years and provide me the best 'bang for my buck'. I know it's vague...
 
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