Rate/slate potential gaming laptop

M

matmcc

Member
Hello friendly forum types.

I am considering pulling the trigger on the following Vortex IV laptop. I will be using it for gaming, mainly - it's going to replace a 2008 MacBook Pro, so it's likely to blow me away but I need this to be a good laptop for the next 5 or 6 years.

What are your thoughts? Is 4Gb RAM a weak link? I get the impression the benefit of more than that is pretty small.

Also - do I need a DVD drive in 2014? Or should I go for 2 HDDs? I can't actually remember the last time I used a DVD drive.

One more question - is this going to sound like an aircraft taking off and give me 3rd degree burns on my lap? I genuinely use this for sofa/lap gaming...

Thanks!

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Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4800MQ (2.70GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st 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
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad
SteelSeries QcK Mini Gaming Mouse Pad
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
Your going to want to give that 4Gb ram a rethink, 8 is what your looking for if at all possible.

You can get away without a dvd drive, I am of the same opinion as you. I hardly use mine. The only real reason I go for one (on my desktop) is because it can be handy if I just want to ram a DVD in. Otherwise everything else can be done via USB/downloads. I'm still a fan of the DVD for reinstalling windows, without the drive its a tiny bit more of a pain to do it. Do you want a SSD? or just 2 larger dives for storage?

As for temps, not sure. you do have some hardcore components in that machine. Runnintg them full speed is going to create heat, I doubt it will be enough to cause you harm though :p

Now the one bit of 'good' news is you can drop the CPU to the 2.4Ghz version for no gaming performance hit, unless your really needing the power for something else the 2.4 version will handle gaming fine.
 
M

matmcc

Member
mantadog said:
Your going to want to give that 4Gb ram a rethink, 8 is what your looking for if at all possible.

You can get away without a dvd drive, I am of the same opinion as you. I hardly use mine. The only real reason I go for one (on my desktop) is because it can be handy if I just want to ram a DVD in. Otherwise everything else can be done via USB/downloads. I'm still a fan of the DVD for reinstalling windows, without the drive its a tiny bit more of a pain to do it. Do you want a SSD? or just 2 larger dives for storage?

As for temps, not sure. you do have some hardcore components in that machine. Runnintg them full speed is going to create heat, I doubt it will be enough to cause you harm though :p

Now the one bit of 'good' news is you can drop the CPU to the 2.4Ghz version for no gaming performance hit, unless your really needing the power for something else the 2.4 version will handle gaming fine.
Click to expand...

Good and fast feedback - thank you. The heat is a slight worry as I would rather not have a laptop cooler running as well. This is going to be used in the living room so every extra fan is just a bit of extra droney noise. I don;t think this heat is going to be specific to this machine though, is it? I guess it would be similar with any manufacturer?

I might downgrade CPU and up the RAM, then spec a 160gb SSD instead of a DVD drive. I assume that would mean Windows would be installed on the SSD for fast booting and a quick OS, and I could install games etc on the proper HDD?
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
For any gaming laptop you would need a laptop cooler if you are using it in your lap, you will cover the fans and create more heat with your clothes if you put it in your lap. Noise wise it is quite when not gaming and noisy at full load as expected for a gaming laptop. 5 or 6 years is pretty optimistic for a gaming laptop, depends on the type of games you play and settings you expect.
 
M

matmcc

Member
keynes said:
For any gaming laptop you would need a laptop cooler if you are using it in your lap, you will cover the fans and create more heat with your clothes if you put it in your lap. Noise wise it is quite when not gaming and noisy at full load as expected for a gaming laptop. 5 or 6 years is pretty optimistic for a gaming laptop, depends on the type of games you play and settings you expect.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll add a laptop cooler then.

I see you have a very similar machine - Vortex IV i7-4700MQ - GTX 780M 4gb. Happy with it? How did you get the 780M - it's not an option on my configuration.

The thing with all this is that I'm not going to be playing Crysis or anything. I'm not a hardcore FPS fan. I like strategy games and MOBAs mainly, although I do want to try DayZ.

My mac is currently able to run League of Legends on minimum graphics and that's about it! DOTA2 was unplayable on the lowest graphics. I've never dared to say yes to such questions as "Antialiasing?" or "Bloom lighting?" :D

I could buy a less powerful machine, but I just think in the long term I would regret saving the... what... £200? I'd rather overspec and not need the power than underspec.
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
Yes the heat output will not be any different in a similarly specced laptop from any manufacturer. Its just a product of cramming so much power into a small space. The cooler will help to just keep all the vents free from blockages from fabric etc. You could in theory do the same with a TV tray or something, but a cooler is better.

Also the fans on the cooler are much quieter than your laptops fan on full whack trying to keep the system cool.
 
M

matmcc

Member
SlimCini said:
You need to pick the non-LE version to get a 780M in there.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Don't really understand the difference between the LE and the non-LE machines... but now I see you can spec the non-LE higher.

Wow - adding the 780M instead of the 770M would push the price up by £225. The comparisons seem to suggest it makes a big difference though

"Around 60% higher BioShock infinite framerate 46.6 fps vs 29.43 fps"
"Overall, the GeForce GTX 780M is a good 40% faster than the GTX 770M and even 90% faster than the GTX 765M"

That's a big difference.
 
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