Is this laptop decent?

[babydragon]

Greetings escapists, I'm going to college in about 1 month.
Of course I'm in need of a decent (gaming) laptop.
I won't bother you with suggestions on the "ultimate" affordable gaming rig, since they normally lead to nowhere.
Instead I allready present you with a laptop I found, using my limited hardware knowledge.
My question is it worth it's money?

Laptop: Asus N61JQ-JX017V
cpu: Intel Core i7 720QM
motherboard: Intel Mobile HM55
graphics: Radeon Mobility HD5730
price: +/- 1000,- euro

ps: for the Dutch escapists: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/250637/asus-n61jq-jx017v.html#tab:info

 

[Motoko Minato]

Can not say much about laptops, as they differ to desktops, but I will say this; I find that, having 4 core processor and it only being clocked at 1,6GHz is pretty bad (from a desktop preceptive). Other than that, I'd get it, but you most likely aren't going to be playing Crysis maxed out with that video card.

 

[Delusibeta]

Since I've settled for a Core i5 and merely an ATi 5650 in my laptop, and its run every game I've thrown at it so far, I'd say that your set with that laptop (as long as you can afford it). Dunno how better your card is over the 5650, but a quick Google should find that out.

[Edit] Notebook Check seems to suggest that's its just a buffed 5650, so I guess it's a bit more comparable than I thought. Also, poster above me forgot about Turbo Boost, which I understand is turned up to 11 for the i7 series.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

The CPU is great for a laptop, the 5730 isn't the best GPU in the world, but in laptop terms it'll be just fine for almost anything you throw it up against in the next few years. The price point is very good for an i7 laptop, as most will inch higher.

As for Asus, I've only heard good things about them, and as such, I like what I see.

but you most likely aren't going to be playing Crysis maxed out with that video card.

Actually, That machine is better than mine, a 2.0 ghz quad core with a Radeon 4650, and I can run Crysis on very high.... just not for long before it gets REALLY hot haha. That Asus should do pretty good, though.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

Asus rocks - been using their stuff for almost 10 years now and it's always been great stuff.

 

[Motoko Minato]

but you most likely aren't going to be playing Crysis maxed out with that video card.

Actually, That machine is better than mine, a 2.0 ghz quad core with a Radeon 4650, and I can run Crysis on very high.... just not for long before it gets REALLY hot haha. That Asus should do pretty good, though.

With, or without mods? I'm not quite fond of, nor do I care, specifications of mobile video cards. I'm used to seeing i7s clockec at 2.3+GHz.

 

[Woodsey]

Looks good to me - you didn't say but I'm assuming there's at least 4GB RAM?

 

[Johnnyallstar]

but you most likely aren't going to be playing Crysis maxed out with that video card.

Actually, That machine is better than mine, a 2.0 ghz quad core with a Radeon 4650, and I can run Crysis on very high.... just not for long before it gets REALLY hot haha. That Asus should do pretty good, though.

With, or without mods? I'm not quite fond of, nor do I care, specifications of mobile video cards. I'm used to seeing i7s clockec at 2.3+GHz.

I haven't overclocked it at all. It's an HP DV-7 2040, and it came with the CPU already clocked to 2.0ghz, and I don't like to mod up laptops much, because there's always that nagging room issue. RAM and HDDs are about all I switch in and out.

 

[babydragon]

yeah, there's 4 GD Ram. Maybe I'm going to upgrade it to 6.

 

[Wolfram23]

You don't really need more than an i3 or i5 core, an i7 is going to cost more for no real benefits to doing homework and gaming. If you can find, say, an i5 540M it'll perform very close but cost less.

On the other hand a 5750 is a mid range card. It's ok. Really depends on your monitor's resolution. Anyway could max out Crysis if they want to play at 800x600 lol. But seriously, I really doubt johnnyallstar plays it at very high... unless the resolution is uber low and no AA/AF. A single overclocked 5850 at 1080p could run the game at High with 4xAA, and two overclocked 5850s run it at Very High 2xAA (Crysis: Warhead runs Enthusiast at 4xAA better than original Crysis at 2xAA lol). If your laptop is under 1080p then the 5750 is going to be ok, IMO get a 5770 if you can.

...Anyway... it'll be an alright laptop.

About the RAM... you can't really do 6gb upgrade from 4gb. This system supports dual channel memory which means you need 2 or 4 RAM sticks to take advantage of it. Running 3 2gb sticks will cause single channel RAM, which is going to be slower. So unless you can get 2 3gb sticks, just stay with 4gb or make the jump to 8gb. I've had 4gb for a long time and it's been great, but just last night I upgraded to 8gb because STALKER with some high res mods was using more memory than I had causing file paging which gave me lots of lag. Now it plays great (my mem usage total is like 5-6gb when playing)

 

[migo]

I'd always go for lower specs for a laptop. No way you can run the newest games at highest specs anyway, and the durability is lower. There's the hinge that can go wrong, simply dropping it could screw things up for you, and eventually the battery will lose charge and replacing it will cost close to the cost of a new laptop with similar specs. Get a cheaper one and just upgrade regularly rather than going for something ultra expensive with high end specs and not having money left to upgrade when it craps out on you.