Gaming laptop help (video card??)

Rratcliffe57

Honorable
Dec 1, 2013
6
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10,510
Hello, i am trying to build a great gaming laptop for HD gaming with games like Skyrim.
This computer is the Sager NP8295, My hardest decision is which video card I should get.
The three options are:
1. NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 770M (comes with it)
2. AMD® Radeon™ HD 8970M 100 dollars more
3.NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M 350 dollars more
Right now I think i plan on the HD 8970m, can you persuade me otherwise? 250 more is a lot to spend if there won't be a noticeable difference.



This is everything i chose for my laptop.

- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - S1X506)
- Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – SPU201)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- SPECIAL! - AMD® Radeon™ HD 8970M (4.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 [User Upgradeable] (SKU – GPU003)
- SAVE! RAM Upgrade [ADD 2x4GB SODIMMS (16GB 1600MHz Ram)]
- 120GB Crucial M5 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive ( Operating System – Drive C: )
- NO mSATA Solid State Drive
- 1TB 7200RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s] (SKU - HDD097)
- 8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Sager) (Dual Layer w/ Software) (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - ODD099)
- Bluetooth Included *With select wireless cards only* (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI98)
- No Network Accessory
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- Integrated Digital Video Camera
- No TV Tuner
- ~Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial


thanks!!
 

Beezy

Honorable
Nov 4, 2013
126
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10,660
Only thing I can really say is the RAM is overpriced. You will be fine with 1600Mhz ram, and can find some for around 60 or 70$.
 

DonQuixoteMC

Distinguished
Sep 19, 2011
15
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18,570
For gaming, go with an i5 for the processor and only 8 GB of RAM. It will save you money at no real cost to performance. If it saves you enough, go for the better GPU. Otherwise, the upgrade to the GTX 780 isn't worth the price they're asking. It looks like there's only a 5% performance difference between the two GPUs.

So, the bottom line is: Save some money on the Processor and RAM and upgrade the GPU only if it fits the budget. The GTX 780M is an improvement, just not a significant one.

DonQuixoteMC
 

DonQuixoteMC

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Sep 19, 2011
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8GB of RAM is plenty for gaming, you won't get any extra performance from 16GB.

You'll be fine running Skyrim with the 8970M GPU, but if you really want to future proof your Laptop, try to get the GTX 780M.

DonQuixoteMC
 

Rratcliffe57

Honorable
Dec 1, 2013
6
0
10,510
okay, i think i will get the 8gb

does anyone else have an opinion, Should i get the Radeon™ HD 8970M or pay $250 more for the GeForce™ GTX 780M??
i am planning on keeping this laptop for several years.
 

DonQuixoteMC

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Sep 19, 2011
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18,570


Well, you saw the benchmarks. From around the web it sounds like the Nvidia GTX 780M performs 5-16% better in games than the Radeon HD 8970M.

It's up to you to decide if that performance increase is worth the extra $150. If you can get it, then great! It will serve you better, longer than the HD 8970M. But if the $150 is too much, then the HD 8970M will be fine.

Personally, I would go with the HD 8970M, just because I'm a cheapskate and couldn't justify getting the GTX 780M for $150 more. :p
Although, I would always choose the 780M over the 8970M if price wasn't a factor.

This isn't a decision to lose sleep over, it's mainly a matter of personal preference. The bottom line is: If you really value future proofing, the 780M is the better choice.

DonQuixoteMC