Light gaming laptop help please

debo88

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
3
0
10,510
Sorry in advance for the long post...

I'm looking to purchase a laptop in the very near future and I'm really on the fence about what I should get. Really looking for best bang for my buck. I don't' play as many games as I used to but I'd like to be able to play some games. Most likely limited to Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Marvel Heroes, World of Tanks and probably some Civ 5. Other than that just normal everyday use of web browsing, video, social media, etc.

My budget is $400-500 so I know I'm not going to have a major gaming rig. I've always been more of an Intel processor fan but I've been looking heavily into AMD for this purchase. I've read a lot of different threads, benchmarks and reviews but it's almost more confusing. Plus most of the other forums don't exactly answer my concerns. It really seems that everything within my price range for Intel comes with the HD 4000. Would it actually work for my gaming needs? And does the CPU have a huge impact on the HD 4000 performance? Not too concerned about high/optimal settings just enough so I can play smoothly. There seems to be a lot more choices concerning AMD processors and cards. I think I've narrowed down my choices to the Radeon HD 7640g or HD 7670M 1gb.

To make it a little simpler this is what I've been looking at. Any recommendations would be great if you don't see something listed here.

HP g6t-2000 $499
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do#anchor-top
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2370M Processor (2.4 GHz)
1GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7670M Discrete-Class Graphics
4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
15.6-inch diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard w/ Numeric Keypad (black)

Inspiron 15z 15.6" Ultrabook - Moon Silver $399
http://www.microcenter.com/product/412561/Inspiron_15z_156_Ultrabook_-_Moon_Silver
Intel Core i3-3217U Processor 1.8GHz
Microsoft Windows 8
6GB DDR3-1600 RAM
500GB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
32GB Solid State Drive
Intel HD Graphics 4000
8x DVDRW Drive
3-in-1 Media Card Reader
10/100 Network
Intel Centrino Wireless 2230
Bluetooth
15.6" HD Widescreen Display

Aspire E1-572-6870 $479
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=650663
Intel Core i5-4200U Processor 1.6GHz
Microsoft Windows 8
4GB DDR3L RAM
500GB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
Intel HD Graphics 4400
Digital Media Card Reader
10/100/1000 Network
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Bluetooth 4.0+HS
15.6" HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit Display

HP Pavilion 17-e017cl $449
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/hp-17-3-notebook-amd-a6-5200/prod10450829.ip?navAction=push
AMD Elite A6-5350M Accelerated Processor
AMD Radeon™ HD 8450G graphics
17.3-inch diagonal HD+ BrightView LED-backlit display
4GB DDR3 SDRAM (1 DIMM)
640GB 5400RPM hard drive

HP Pavilion g7-2317cl $444
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/hp-17-3-notebook-hp-g7-2317cl-laptop/prod8800473.ip?navAction=push
A8-4500M Accelerated Processor
4GB DDR3 SDRAM (1 DIMM)
AMD Radeon™ HD 7640G Discrete-Class graphics
640GB 5400RPM hard drive

ASUS A55A-TS51 $489
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7708073&CatId=4935
i5-3230M 2.6ghz
4gb DDR3
500GB HDD
Intel HD 4400

OR FINALLY

Asus K55N-DB81 $449 (or DS81 $399)
A8-4500
6GB DDR3 (4gb DDR3)
750GB HDD (500gb)
Radeon HD 7640g

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
Of those the HP g6t-2000 for $499 is easily the best performer for games although the 5400rpm HDD will probably annoy you a little.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do#ancho...
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2370M Processor (2.4 GHz)
1GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7670M Discrete-Class Graphics
4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

Tabris DarkPeace

Honorable
Jul 3, 2013
56
0
10,610
Of those the HP g6t-2000 for $499 is easily the best performer for games although the 5400rpm HDD will probably annoy you a little.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do#ancho...
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2370M Processor (2.4 GHz)
1GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7670M Discrete-Class Graphics
4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
 
Solution

debo88

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
3
0
10,510


Thanks Tabris! I think I've narrowed it down to:
the Asus K55N-DS1 for $427 after taxes with A8-4500 and 7640G (in store)
the HP G7 (17") for $472 also with A8-4500 and 7640G (in store)
a HP Pavillion 15z-e000 with A6-5200 and 1GB Radeon HD 8670M for $504.07 (custom ordered)
or HP g6t-2000 for $510.54 after taxes with i3-2370m and 1GB Radeon 7670M (custom ordered)

So here is my question now...is the upgrade from 7640g to either the HD 8670M or 7670M worth the extra $30-80? Does one being 17' make the deal better? The nice thing about the Asus on one HP is that they are pre-built so no wait instead of the week or two (which isn't a big deal) for the custom HP's.
 

elrui

Distinguished
May 28, 2011
6
0
18,510
Any laptop with a 5400 rpm is basically guaranteed to not run d3 well at all. Due to the way the game loads levels(on demand instead of when you move into a new area) it requires a fairly low latency drive and the majority of 5400 drives and some 7200 drives cannot live up to that expectation. This results in a laggy game experience that looks like your video card is struggling but it's actually your HDD stuttering.
 

debo88

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
3
0
10,510
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I may be leaning towards the Asus k55n-db81 (or ds81) or the HP g6t-2000. I can get the Asus for 399. So even though I would rather have the 7670m I don't know if I want to spend and extra 100 bucks on it. It sounds stupid but if HP didn't make me pay sales tax for an online purchase I would probable shell out the extra 60 or 70.