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Just bought a new laptop for gaming, disappointed. Alternative or upgrade?

2K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  Shion314 
#1 ·
I just bought a new laptop. I was really in a hurry 'cause I've been laptop-less for 3 months so I only did a few research

I went ahead and bought an Acer 5750

Key Features
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM Processor 2.0GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.9GHz
15.6" HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display
Windows® 7 Home Premium
Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
4GB DDR3 Dual-Channel Memory
640GB SATA Hard Drive
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Built-in 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
Dolby® Advanced Audio® v2 audio enhancement
High-Definition Audio Support
3- USB 2.0 Ports
1- HDMI™ Port with HDCP Support
Multi-Gesture Touchpad
Dedicated Numeric Keypad
Media Control Function Keys
6-cell Li-ion Battery
5.74 lbs. | 2.6 kg (system unit only)

hoping to get a possible upgrade from my old laptop which was an HP dv7 4285dx with an i5 2.4ghz and 2.8 turbo boost.

Sadly I was disappointed my older laptop performed better than this, thinking that this was an i7, that it would be at least be a slight upgrade, but running Starcraft 2 on low without other programs was still laggy. And multi tasking was so so much slower. Did I make a mistake or do I just need to upgrade the ram to 8gigs?
 
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#10 ·
Quote:
Both look pretty mediocre for gaming. A6 integrated is decent. Nvidia 610M is maybe as fast, maybe slower than A6 integrated; really nothing special. Around $800 you could get a Lenovo Y470p/Y570 with 7690M or 555M respectively. Or you could get an Acer 3830TG for around $700.

Refurb, $630, much faster than the options you're considering. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2022102&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE
 
#13 ·
I have the 5750G personally which has an inbuilt Nvidia GT 540M graphics chip, making it better for gaming than the standard 5750, however since I've started university I don't really use it and am probably going to sell it, I much prefer my desktop for gaming.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghostrider85 View Post

I don't know why people still insist on gaming with laptop, its so effin expensive and doesn't give the power that you need. If you really want to game on the go, just buy a ps vita, otherwise just build desktop pc
It's not because I want gaming on the go, it's because I live in different places and move around too much, I don't want the hassle of setting up and bringing a big 'ol desktop with me. I just want a laptop that I can use whenever and get to game when I'm in my friends' house, at a LAN, or a cafe.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrbroad77 View Post

Asus K53TA, A6 integrated Crossfire'd with 6650M ( roughly 20% faster than 6650M alone). I don't think you'll find better for ~$600. http://www.amazon.com/K53TA-A1-15-6-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Laptop/dp/B005OCBPX0
how does this compare to this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrbroad77 View Post

Both look pretty mediocre for gaming. A6 integrated is decent. Nvidia 610M is maybe as fast, maybe slower than A6 integrated; really nothing special. Around $800 you could get a Lenovo Y470p/Y570 with 7690M or 555M respectively. Or you could get an Acer 3830TG for around $700.
Refurb, $630, much faster than the options you're considering. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2022102&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ValSic View Post

It's not because I want gaming on the go, it's because I live in different places and move around too much, I don't want the hassle of setting up and bringing a big 'ol desktop with me. I just want a laptop that I can use whenever and get to game when I'm in my friends' house, at a LAN, or a cafe.
I was gunna say, if that's all the problem was, you could build a pretty decent computer using an ITX board that'll perform about 5 times better for $750
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ValSic View Post

how does this compare to this?
Graphics should be similar between the 2. The A6 has much slower single-threaded performance than an i5/i7, but it's roughly as fast, maybe a little faster than i5 in multi-threaded. Also consider that people have OC'd the A6's quite a bit, I've seen like 2.5ghz on all 4 cores, up from ~1.6ghz max quad turbo at stock. At those speeds, easily beats an i5. Heat shouldn't be too bad with a mild OC as the A6 is a 35W CPU, vs. Intel's quads which are 45W. As for build, I'd personally take Asus over Acer any day.

Enough blabbing, have some benches:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6720G2.57274.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html

And my fave for head-to-head comparisons (just check boxes next to cards, and hit restrict near the top of the page): http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

There's also a CPU bench that's easy enough to find.

OT but all you laptop haters are missing out. I literally press Fn-F3 (sleep mode), slam my lid closed, unplug the AC jack and speakers and it's in my bag in all of 5 seconds, and I'm out the door. Some people don't have the time to waste with the nonsense of a desktop. Not that desktops are bad but some people spend a decent amount of time (outside of work) away from home.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrbroad77 View Post

Asus K53TA, A6 integrated Crossfire'd with 6650M ( roughly 20% faster than 6650M alone). I don't think you'll find better for ~$600. http://www.amazon.com/K53TA-A1-15-6-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Laptop/dp/B005OCBPX0
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrbroad77 View Post

Graphics should be similar between the 2. The A6 has much slower single-threaded performance than an i5/i7, but it's roughly as fast, maybe a little faster than i5 in multi-threaded. Also consider that people have OC'd the A6's quite a bit, I've seen like 2.5ghz on all 4 cores, up from ~1.6ghz max quad turbo at stock. At those speeds, easily beats an i5. Heat shouldn't be too bad with a mild OC as the A6 is a 35W CPU, vs. Intel's quads which are 45W. As for build, I'd personally take Asus over Acer any day.
Enough blabbing, have some benches:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6720G2.57274.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html
And my fave for head-to-head comparisons (just check boxes next to cards, and hit restrict near the top of the page): http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
There's also a CPU bench that's easy enough to find.
OT but all you laptop haters are missing out. I literally press Fn-F3 (sleep mode), slam my lid closed, unplug the AC jack and speakers and it's in my bag in all of 5 seconds, and I'm out the door. Some people don't have the time to waste with the nonsense of a desktop. Not that desktops are bad but some people spend a decent amount of time (outside of work) away from home.
Thanks, was really helpful and informative. I guess i'm getting the ASUS K53TA, but I'm wondering if there's a 17' version?
and, yeah jrbroad probably summed up why I chose laptops
 
#23 ·
If you can afford it get this: http://www.xoticpc.com/force-1761-msi-1761-p-3152.html

Sure, it's $250 more, but you get extremely reliable service from XoticPC and a graphics card that is probably 20-30x faster than that intel IGP on the laptop you posted.

If you cannot afford it this is also a great option: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-k53svdh51-p-3348.html

The second one is also much, much faster than the laptop you posted due to it's dedicated GPU. The 540M is no slouch, it can run most modern games at medium to high settings without lag.
 
#24 ·
^Decent suggestion but I have to point out that any laptop with high-end discrete graphics will have terrible battery life, and any gaming you do on battery will be at best, similar to low-end graphics since they automatically go to 2D clocks on battery. Perhaps this is obvious to some, but I've seen a lot of people raging that their $2,000 gaming laptop literally can't get playable framerates on battery power! Basically it's a waste if you occasionally game on battery power or need >2-3 hours of battery life. And the 2nd laptop you linked is a little slower for gaming than the $610 Asus K53TA I linked.

I'm personally not aware of any Asus 17" laptops with discrete graphics at a reasonable price. There's this HP dv7 with an A6 and 6750M graphics for $754. The graphics are a decent amount faster than the 6650M/6720G2. http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-dv7-6165us-Entertainment-Notebook/dp/B0055N8HC0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331697591&sr=1-1

There are definitely more AMD A6 17" laptops, probably one from Asus (if not, Toshiba is pretty reliable and they have some). But most with discrete graphics are over $700 from what I'm seeing; mainly since 17" laptops have a slight price premium over 15".
 
#25 ·
If you're going to be using this more of a desktop replacement why not make a LAN-box instead? It'll give you much better performance.
 
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