Buying new laptop, need advice!

[Thermor]

As the title suggests, I'm buying a new laptop next week. I've found one that I think I'm pretty happy with but I need a second opinion on it. Specs are as follows.

CPU: i7 3610-QM
GPU: nvidia geforce gt 640m
RAM: 8gb
HDD: 750gb

The model is Toshiba Satellite P850-30P 15.6". The price is €870.

Link to full description (its in Finnish) --------> http://www.gigantti.fi/product/tieto...llite-p850-30p


I've been doing a lot of reading on teh interwebs over the last few days. As far as I can tell, that i7 is a beast but the gpu isnt the greatest. My uses for the laptop will be mainly for gaming. I'm completely happy playing any game on the lowest settings as long as it produces a stable framerate. Can anyone tell me how strong or weak that gpu is?

Does anyone have an opinion on Toshiba laptops in general? I've never had one before and I've never had or heard of a bad experience with one, but for some reason I think of low quality and cheap whenever I hear Toshiba. Is there any substance to this?

[jmacphee9]

toshiba laptops are very good for general use laptops, that is by no means a gaming laptop though. the gpu is weak, you will be playing wow in low-med at least though, if not higher if you are just playing wow. laptops in general arent good for gaming, desktop is much much better if you want to game. in general, a entry gaming laptop will have at least a 560m or 660m for nvidia.

i find msi has good offerings for budget gaming laptops.

[Deleted]

As for a gaming laptop, I think that you do not have to pay that much attention to the CPU but a bit more to the GPU.
As for myself, I bought a new laptop 3 weeks ago, Lenovo 15,6" Y580-M772LMH. (Cannot post links yet, sorry)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3210M
GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX660M GDDR5 2GB
RAM: 8 GB DDR3-1600
HDD: 750GB - 5400rpm

Pretty much one step lower for the CPU, but a few higher for the GPU. the GTX660m also has GDDR5 memory instead of GDDR3.
Other then that it's pretty much the same laptop. Both having the same screen size, but the Lenovo has a full HD resolution(1920x1080) while the Toshiba has a 1366x768.

I am mostly using the laptops in the weekends, it will be turned on from like 10am to 2 am, mostly running WoW, on great settings, it can handle ultra(32+ fps in orgrimmar) as well, but I rather turn it down a bit to reduce any possibility for a lagspike.
I am using a laptop cooler with this one, have no idea if it even helps that much, but the laptop does not overheat.
I bought the Lenovo for 899,- and I think it will be the same in your region. Just a few bucks more, with an amazing screen, and a better GPU.

[Thermor]

I cant seem to find your specific laptop anywhere. Im using game-debate.com to compare the two laptops, take a look.

Toshiba ----->http://www.game-debate.com/games/ind...emRequirements

Lenovo------>http://www.game-debate.com/games/ind...emRequirements

Ignore the fact that its comparing for CS: GO. Just look at the "System Results" part at the bottom. The i7 seems to be a huge step up from that i5 and the GTX660m seems to be only a minor improvement on the GT660m. Is this inaccurate?

[Deleted]

The GPU will go from GT640m 2gig GDDR3 to a GTX660M 2gig GDDR5.
I do not have that much knowledge about the differences, butfrom what I have read is that GDDR5 memory is quite a lot better then GDDR3.
As for the CPU, i5 is a dual core and i7 is a quad core, ofcourse it will be better to have an i7, but most games will require a better GPU rather then a CPU.

[Thermor]

Ok so after a lot of browsing I havent been able to find any better laptops close in price to that Toshiba.

I cant find anything in my price range with a GTX 660, or even a card much better than the GT640. Anything with a GT650 is €1100+. Bear in mind that electronics prices and tax are absolutely ridiculous here in finland.

Looking at these benchmarks the GTX660 is rank 50, which falls into the highclass graphics range.
The GT640 is rank 76 which falls into the midclass graphics range, but it is VERY close to being high end, (highend starts at 71).

benchmarks------>http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html

As I said in my OP I'm happy playing games at minimum graphics. Im currently using a 310m which is rank 274 so pretty much anything is a massive upgrade.

[Thermor]

Ok so I think I've found the laptop I want. Any advice is appreciated. I plan on buying it tomorow so please someone reply!

http://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-GE6...H.76656.0.html

Is the i5 3210m going to be ok for general gaming purposes?