Can this laptop run WoW on ultra?

[tackaberry]

Looking for a new laptop for school reasons and I want to play wow on good settings with good longevity. I don't know a lot about computers, but through various recommendations and shopping, I seem to think this is the best bang for my buck. I am wondering if people here think the same, or can point me in a better direction.

http://www.amazon.com/N73JQ-A2-17-3-...6664444&sr=8-1

[Vashuna]

Generally looks decent, with the lack of shadows, you should be able to hit ultra settings!

Edit - you may be able to get shadows up, but most likely not on ultra.

[Dch48]

That would be a good choice. Asus makes the best gaming laptops when you figure in bang for the buck. I would prefer ATI graphics but that's just me. For the price shown , I don't think you can do better.

[mercutiouk]

Would do ok but you can get much better for your money.

There was something decent from newegg linked here yesterday (much stronger graphics card). Think it was an MSI that was $999 after a mail-in rebate.

[nwo]

Looking for a new laptop for school reasons and I want to play wow on good settings with good longevity. I don't know a lot about computers, but through various recommendations and shopping, I seem to think this is the best bang for my buck. I am wondering if people here think the same, or can point me in a better direction.

http://www.amazon.com/N73JQ-A2-17-3-...6664444&sr=8-1

Is there a reason why you are looking at that particular overpriced and outdated model? It has a budget graphics card and a first generation i7 CPU, neither of which are outstanding for gaming.

Would do ok but you can get much better for your money.

There was something decent from newegg linked here yesterday (much stronger graphics card). Think it was an MSI that was $999 after a mail-in rebate.

Here it is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=4109400&SID=

It's a great and powerful notebook and a great bang for the buck, only downside is that the graphics card lacks DX11 support which could hurt your WoW performance but since it has one of the fastest graphics cards for laptops, it would probably even itself out. That MSI laptop is really a steal considering how loaded it is and that you can get it for just a grand after MIR.

[Deleted]

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GX640-260-15-4-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B003QW14EU

Cheaper, faster, better, and on amazon

[Deleted]

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GX640-260-15-4-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B003QW14EU

Cheaper, faster, better, and on amazon

Surely you want to game on 15" screen?

[nwo]

Surely you want to game on 15" screen?

I do. I purposely went with a 15" screen for my gaming laptop because I want to be able to carry it around. I didn't want to have to purchase a special cooling pad/backpack/carrying case.

[Deleted]

Surely you want to game on 15" screen?

Works just fine. We used to game on 18 inch screens back in the day, hows 15 inch supposed to be a problem. Pixels per inch count is normally superior on laptops - so Anti-Aliasing is less needed.

Less risk for tunnel vision as well.

[Deleted]

Huh, wouldn't ever want to game with anything less than 1920x1080 and 22" :/

[nwo]

Huh, wouldn't ever want to game with anything less than 1920x1080 and 22" :/

That's probably because you are used to it. There are a bunch of people (like myself) who are not used to gaming on such a large resolution and screen and they won't mind gaming on a 15" laptop screen.

[tackaberry]

Any other feedback? Question on the msi from newegg - is that not the same processor with a worse graphics card? The asus also comes down to 1079.99 after a 200 dollar rebate, basically making them the same price.

The one at amazon would also be slightly more expensive, after the asus rebate.

In terms of portability, I can carry around my current 1440x900 17" laptop easily and I prefer the screen size.

[nwo]

Any other feedback? Question on the msi from newegg - is that not the same processor with a worse graphics card? The asus also comes down to 1079.99 after a 200 dollar rebate, basically making them the same price.

The one at amazon would also be slightly more expensive, after the asus rebate.

In terms of portability, I can carry around my current 1440x900 17" laptop easily and I prefer the screen size.

The MSI laptop on newegg does have the same processor as the Asus laptop you linked. However, the graphics card is much faster than the 425m that the Asus laptop has.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.23822.0.html
Find the 425m and compare it to the 285m if you are interested in more details.

[tackaberry]

The MSI laptop on newegg does have the same processor as the Asus laptop you linked. However, the graphics card is much faster than the 425m that the Asus laptop has.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.23822.0.html
Find the 425m and compare it to the 285m if you are interested in more details.

Ok, I see what you are saying. If I were to look into laptops beyond that MSI, would there be better options available to me if I chose to go with an i5 processor rather than an i7?

[Badpaladin]

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GX640-260-15-4-Inch-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B003QW14EU

Cheaper, faster, better, and on amazon

Processor isn't as strong, overall the ASUS is better than this for WoW. However, the previously linked MSI off Newegg is better overall so get that one if you're willing to size down to 15 inches. 17 -> 15 is a big jump though, especially because the screen on the MSI can only handle 1366 x 768.

[mercutiouk]

When looking at a notebook ALWAYS compare the graphics card to other mobile cards.

Go to google type "notebookcheck graphicscardname" eg: "notebookcheck 285m" it will show you the card and where it sits ranked against others.

Also bigger numbers dont mean better graphics cards.

An ATI HD4870 will wipe the floor with an ATI HD5450.

When comparing graphics cards the first number is merely the "generation" the rest is the relative power of the card.

[nwo]

Ok, I see what you are saying. If I were to look into laptops beyond that MSI, would there be better options available to me if I chose to go with an i5 processor rather than an i7?

I found a few laptops on newegg with a 5870 which supports DX11 and is faster than a 285. Unfortunately, the 17" version is currently out of stock, but I am sure you can find it in stock somewhere if it interests you.
MSI GX740-235US NoteBook Intel Core i5 450M(2.40GHz) 17.0" Wide SXGA+ 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Broadway XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152206

MSI GX660-260US NoteBook Intel Core i5 460M(2.53GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152231

Processor isn't as strong, overall the ASUS is better than this for WoW. However, the previously linked MSI off Newegg is better overall so get that one if you're willing to size down to 15 inches. 17 -> 15 is a big jump though, especially because the screen on the MSI can only handle 1366 x 768.

Asus is a 1.7GHz quad core, with turbo boost up to 2.9GHz. So with turbo boost in WoW, it would probably run at 2.4GHz which is the same clock speed as an i5. So it would perform the same, if it was a sandy quad core, then it would outperform the i5 at the same clock speed, but that is not the case. Considering that the MSI laptop has a much better video card, it would definitely perform better in WoW since 425m is one of the slower mid range cards.

Also, the MSI laptop on newegg with a 285m has a 16" screen, so it's hardly going to be noticeable if you are going from 17".

[Badpaladin]

Asus is a 1.7GHz quad core, with turbo boost up to 2.9GHz. So with turbo boost in WoW, it would probably run at 2.4GHz which is the same clock speed as an i5. So it would perform the same, if it was a sandy quad core, then it would outperform the i5 at the same clock speed, but that is not the case. Considering that the MSI laptop has a much better video card, it would definitely perform better in WoW since 425m is one of the slower mid range cards.

WoW utilizes more than two cores, so yes the ASUS's CPU is better for the game. Upon reflection I'd say the Amazon MSI is slightly better for overall WoW play, but not raiding because raiding is the more CPU-intensive aspect of the game. ASUS will give a higher minimum framerate.

As for the 16 in MSI laptop, 16 inches at 1366x768 is rather poor resolution compared to 1600x900 at 17 inches. The difference is quite noticeable. I'd still recommend the MSI over the ASUS, but it's not better in all categories. The OP is going to have to decide what he wants based on weighing options. The 1000 dollar range in particular is pretty crazy for laptops because you never have the perfect combination of best CPU/GPU/Screen, you always have to choose which you would prefer.

Another factor is reliability, and I can't speak for MSI but I know that ASUS makes very high quality laptops that won't burn out or fail at random. I imagine MSI makes similar-quality laptops, but that's another aspect to consider.

[tackaberry]

Wow, I appreciate all of the posts trying to help me. I guess I should elaborate a bit more. I am a raider, and I prefer to use custom UI packages (currently looking to TukUI). I am personally responsible for solo kicking Heroic Halfus and during last night's raid I was having serious framerate issues early on. I recovered, but I don't want to risk things like that in the future. I could probably raise my limit to about 1200-1300, but that is about it. Would that change anything?

[Alan1187]

Huh, wouldn't ever want to game with anything less than 1920x1080 and 22" :/

I mobile game on a 15" and home game on a 32 lol...