Quick mid-high end notebook advice

[sinsa]

hi guys/girls

just about to place an order for a new laptop

im in korea at the moment and have found the local clevo reseller 'hansung' and am trying to decide between the following laptops:

all are 15" 1080p intel ivy bridge:


$555
http/blog.danawa.com/prod/?section_m=NOTEBOOK&prod_c=1863946
i5-3210m - onboard gpu - 4gb ram - 500gb hdd


$657
http/blog.danawa.com/prod/?section_m=NOTEBOOK&prod_c=1820721
i5-3210m - gt645m - 4gb ram - 500gb hdd


$703
http/blog.danawa.com/prod/?section_m=NOTEBOOK&prod_c=1760679
i5-3210m - gt650m 1gb - 4gb ram - 500gb hdd


$777
http/blog.danawa.com/prod/?section_m=NOTEBOOK&prod_c=1820785
i7-3630qm - gt645m - 4gb ram - 500gb hdd


$807
http/blog.danawa.com/prod/?section_m=NOTEBOOK&prod_c=1760710
i7-3630qm - 650m 1gb - 4gb ram - 500gb hdd



my uses are say 80% recreational (internet and movie watching), 10% photoshop, 10% battlefield3 (but gaming is not really that important unless the extra money spent on the gpu is a deal not to be missed).

i am wondering which laptop other people feels really stands out of the bunch for VALUE. i dont mind paying a little extra for performance, but this is to be mostly a home/travel notebook and i dont mind forgoing the ability to play battlefield3 if the basic notebook is a much better buy.

i will not be plugging in any huge displays, and even if i do occasionally play battlefield (again, ill only pay extra for the card if a bargain is really standing out of the bunch) - i dont mind playing on low settings with everything turned down (apart from mesh - gotta spot them nubz in the distance now!~



let me know what you guys think!

is the 650m really worth an extra $150?
is the 1gb version really that much lesser than the 2gb (gathering i wont be plugging in external displays)?
is it better to just bite the bullet and spend the extra $220 (50%) on the i7-3630qm and 650m 1gb?


many thanks!

 

[talltm]

Man Korean language is so... unique! I didn't understand anything from the links

Anyway, the truth is neither GT 645m nor 650m are for hardcore gaming and there are some games that will easily bring them to their knees specially in your FHD native resolution. If gaming is just recreational, then buy the second gear. I have a MSI with a GT 640m and an i5 3210m and it's just butter smooth and more than capable when it comes to casual gaming. You can then spend what is left on buying an SSD which will have a huge impact on your overall performance.
i7 is of course better but for your needs an i5 is just enough. Keep in mind that an i7 doesn't matter when your graphic card isn't fast enough.
That one gig on 650m is gddr5 which makes it hell of a lot more faster than the 2 gig gddr3 on gt 645. Again even 1 gb of ram is enough for graphics.
Finally, the difference between gt645 and gt650 is a few (5-6 fps) at the same settings. So no, don't spend an extra $150 on the 650.

 

[sinsa]

many thanks for the reply talltm!

ive been trying to find bf3 1080p benchmarks with the gt645m and 650m but cant really find anything super conclusive. does anyone know of any?


just to make the questions simpler - if the 'base model' i5-3210m onboard gpu is $555...

...is it worth $102 (+18%) for the i5-3210m + 645m?
...is it worth $148 (+27%) for the i5-3210m + 650m?
...is it worth $222 (+40%) for the i7-3630qm + 645m?
...is it worth $252 (+45%) for the i7-3630qm + 650m?

i am kind of taking the other systems out of the list as i dont think they dont really stand out from the bunch (imo, but correct me if im wrong here!)

my main focus here is the point where i am getting 'diminishing returns' for my investment. i am a real 'bang for the bucker' and to put things in perspective, i am more than happy with my i3-3220 + hd5770 (OC'd) at 720p when playing bf3 on medium settings.

if the point of 'diminishing returns' means i should go with the base model (and not be able to play bf3) that is O.K. i guess. not ideal for me, but it will keep the girlfriend happy

 

[computernewb]

i have i7-3610QM with a gt 650m and play bf3 on 1920 x 1080 on medium to high settings easily. havent checked the fps but it is just fine