It's that Time of Year Again: Recco on a Gaming Laptop (Max Budget £900)

[Residual]

Dear All,
I post here to humbly ask for your reccos on what laptop to purchase. The one I currently have (which is on its last legs as I type this post) is literally held together with electric tape. I currently am befuddled as to whether I should purchase now or to wait for the Christmas/New year sales. I will be grateful if you could inform as to whether I should or shouldn’t make the purchase now. Asking as Win 8 is just about to be released around the corner and the recent introduction of the Ivy bridge laptops.

That aside, I have near enough spent a good 5-6 hours scouring various forums on the net - as to what laptop to get for my budget, but unfortunately I’m none the wiser. I therefore am making this post for your recommendations. I have endeavoured to highlight below the specs I’m ideally rooting for along with a few laptops I have found. I will be grateful for your views/opinions/reccos.

The Specifics:

What is your budget?

The absolute maximum I am willing to fork out is £900. Ideally I’d like something around the £600-800 mark.

What size laptop do you want?
A minimum viewing screen size of 15”

Do you have resolution requirements?
Great to have 1080 as I will be using the laptop to create artwork for the majority of the time and gaming.

Do you prefer a matte or glossy (reflective) screen?
Not fussed about whether the screen is matte or glossy.

What will you be using the laptop for?
Web/Graphic Design: Extensive use of programs such as Corel Painter and Photoshop.
Gaming – avid gamer.
Word processing.

If you will be gaming, what games do you need to play?
Games: BF3, SC2, Skyrim, Diablo3, Shogun TW2 – the latest games! Not sure as to how long this hobby will last as I’m already 34!

How long does the battery need to last?
Not bothered as I intend to use the laptop in bed and around the house, where a powers socket will never be a stone’s throw away.

Does it need to be portable?
No need for portability. The thing can be a weighty beast as far as I’m concerned.
Do you require Blu-Ray?
Not really, will be happy to have a standard DVD.

Do you require HDMI output?
Not necessary, but would be nice.

Do you have a preferred brand?
The laptop I currently have is a Samsung (which is on its last legs).I loved the build quality. But not really fussed.

Are there brands you would prefer to avoid?
As long as it’s a reputable brand, I’m not fussed.

Would you be happy with a refurbished laptop?
No

Other preferable specs:

Good sound quality and speakers.

RAM: At least 8 GB minimum.
HDD: 500GB minimum.
OS: Windows 8 would be good but not fussed if no OS present.
CPU: Glad to have i5 or equivalent.
Webcam: Not fussed.
Future Proofing: Prefer to have the laptop rig last for at least 3-4 years.
I think that about covers everything.

Now for the laptops I’ve come across:

• MSI GX60 Gaming Laptop (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...pping&pup_c=gs ) –currently available for £900 @ OC’s. Seems like a fantastic laptop; however, I really am not sure as a lot of people are saying that the CPU is the bottleneck for performance whereas the GPU is top notch. Will be grateful as to know what the techies here make of this.
• MSI GT683
• Asus K55VD
• Lenovo Y580
• Acer Aspire Timeline U M3-581TG

I think that about covers it. My ardent thanks in advance.

[Residual]

Dear fellow Peeps,

I know I may come across as overzealous, but has anyone here got nothing but naught to say in regards to my post?

The reason for my zeal is that the offer on the £900 laptop ends by the end of the week. And thus I will be most appreciative of any replies.

R

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The MSI GX60 does not look a bad option TBH,and as time progresses game engines will support more threads,so the CPU performance should become less of an issue. Also,AMD has released much better drivers for the HD7970M recently,which has improved performance a decent amount.

The HD7970M is a great card and is second only to the GTX680M,although with the latest drivers I suspect the gap has closed.

There is also this laptop too:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...pping&pup_c=gs

However,it will be above your budget.

[Residual]

Many thanks CAT - I believe you've helped me out before - a few years back when I made the same plea!

I have a concern with the GX60 is regarding the 'bottleneck' issue that a few people are raving about. Other than that I was game for buying that laptop.

As for the laptop you recommended, I really did not want to go onto spending a grand. In your opinion should I hold out until the Christmas sales before I make a purchase?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You might get a better deal. The thing is that for the same price range,if you want an HD7970M,you will need to pay more and get a Core i5 dual core which costs more. That OcUK laptop would cost over a £1000 with the same specification as the AMD based MSI GX60. IMHO,even if you could get a Core i3 with an HD7970M,I am not sure how much better it would be,as Intel deactivates Turbo Boost with the Core i3 CPUs.

[Smudger]

How about the Asus N56?

http://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_N56VM...V_1218891.html

I got the N55 last year, and I'm very pleased with it...

[Residual]

How about the Asus N56?

http://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_N56VM...V_1218891.html

I got the N55 last year, and I'm very pleased with it...

Thank you! This too looks enticing. May I kindly ask as to how the dedicated graphics holds up with current gaming?

[Smudger]

It's handled everything I've thrown at it, but I tend to use my 'grown-up' PC for gaming, the laptop is for downstairs surfing, because walking up a flight of stairs is a real effort...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The GT630M is around desktop GT440 level performance which is lower than an HD5670 GDDR5. The HD7970M is at least around desktop HD7850 level performance. The GX60 has a much less powerful CPU,but the HD7970M is the second most powerful(maybe even the most powerful) mobile graphics card ATM. The GTX675M laptops I can find are over a £1000 - I suspect that OcUK laptop is probably the cheapest Intel Core i3 or Core i5 laptop with an HD7970M I can find ATM.

[Residual]

Many thanks CAT-THE-FIFTH. I am so tempted to buy this laptop, but the CPU is holding me back...!
I'll scope around for a few more reviews, after which, if positive, I'll take the plunge and buy. Many thanks for everyone's input. Much obliged

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I just saw this over on OcUK:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/LP/msi..._medium=banner

The thing is though,the GTX570M is not as fast as an HD7970M, and recent driver updates have improved performance with the latter.

It depends on the games I play I suppose!! FPS games will be fine,although I suppose an RTS probably will run better on a Core i7.