EPTComputer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread - Page 293
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Incognoto
France10239 Posts
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ECVNano
Netherlands3 Posts
I am looking for a laptop for gaming since I am going to travel a lot for my job, including Korea in July. Since I do not have a private laptop right now I do need one to even stay in contact with the home front during my travels but I also want it to be able to handle SCII on medium. I have chosen a 15" screen to be enough since the laptop cannot be too heavy. I am currently looking at XMG A504 which has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 2048MB GDDR5. The product can be found at: http://www.mysn.eu/shop/xmg-a504.html?___store=default&___from_store=default Now what I would like to know is where should I upgrade to make the laptop more cost efficient? I am looking at upgrading the CPU to a better dual core and putting an SSD in it. With a budget of around 1200euros, what should be the upgrades I should get? Also if you have other brands or products to suggest please do so! ^^ Hope you guys have some input on laptops! | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Which of these are higher priorities? Budget (i.e. sacrifice other things to go under 1200 euros or not) Build quality Battery life Weight (the one selected is 2.83 kg, which is okay?) Noise Performance for workstation applications Performance in games (beyond the stated requirement of SC2 on medium) | ||
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ECVNano
Netherlands3 Posts
Which of these are higher priorities? Budget (i.e. sacrifice other things to go under 1200 euros or not) Build quality Battery life I think a mix of budget and quality, but 1200 euro is the max I want to spend. Weight (the one selected is 2.83 kg, which is okay?) Weight max 3 kg I think Noise; not a big problem Performance for workstation applications; Not applicable I think since I won't use it for much else besides applications like skyping or web browsing Performance in games (beyond the stated requirement of SC2 on medium); Just SCII, anything more depends on if the cost is within budget. | ||
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Thalandros
Netherlands1151 Posts
Just look through the laptops. Theyve got all kinds of sizes and specs. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
This has an overkill GPU (but a little worse) for SC2 medium and upgrades to a quad core for 1000 euros, fits the requirements: http://www.alternate.nl/ALTERNATE/15CL58-GTX765-SSD HDD-15-6-notebook/html/product/1136751?tk=6044&lk=7162 I think you'll notice the above is the same laptop design as the XMG A504 (Clevo W355SS) originally linked. A review of this design with not quite all the same hardware specs: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Clevo-W355SS-Schenker-XMG-A504-Barebones-Notebook.113909.0.html I'm thinking that something with around GT 840M should be enough. There could be some multimedia or business laptops you could throw an SSD into that may be better overall. edit: also, I should have asked if the 1080p resolution was an important thing and maybe some other attributes. edit2: a couple more options here + Show Spoiler [Schenker M504] + take Core i5-4310M or whatever you can afford, 2x4 GB RAM upgrade, no hard drives, upgrade wireless if you're using it http://mysn.eu/shop/schenker-m504.html?___store=default&___from_store=default drives to go with it: http://www.alternate.nl/Crucial/M500-Serie-CT240M500SSD3-240-GB-SSD/html/product/1061751?tk=7&lk=9515 http://www.alternate.nl/HGST/Travelstar-Z5K500-500-GB-harde-schijf/html/product/797154?tk=7&lk=9564 or other mechanical drive or skip it if 240 GB SSD is all you need. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Clevo-W650SJ-Schenker-M504-Barebones-Notebook.114329.0.html + Show Spoiler [Asus N56JN] + as is here: http://www.alternate.nl/ASUS/N56JN-CN035H-15-6-notebook/html/product/1125183?tk=6044&lk=7162 and add an SSD, removing the HDD it comes with (and crying at its cost and that of the Windows license you're not using, also the fact that it has no mSATA or second 2.5" slot) and/or say buying an external enclosure for it to use. http://www.alternate.nl/Crucial/M500-Serie-CT240M500SSD1-240-GB-SSD/html/product/1061749?tk=7&lk=9585 This model reviewed here is similar but has a better but more power hungry graphics card: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Update-Asus-N56JR-S4080H-Notebook.109631.0.html GT 840M is this: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-840M.105681.0.html definitely a step down from GTX 850M: 384 higher-clocked Maxwell shader cores compared to 640 lower-clocked ones. but still enough for SC2 medium | ||
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domane
Canada1606 Posts
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Kotreb
Croatia1392 Posts
Amd one more question,i did some research and from what i can tell there doesn't seem to be much difference between gtx 750 and 660 OC? Am i wrong or what? because the price indicates that the difference should be much bigger. edit: is msi decent MB manufacturer? | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20341 Posts
On May 23 2014 04:35 Kotreb wrote: Hola. So can anyone explain how much would be the difference between 16 gb ram of 1600 mhz and 2100 mhz. Obviously the latter is faster, but where would it manifest itself more? Amd one more question,i did some research and from what i can tell there doesn't seem to be much difference between gtx 750 and 660 OC? Am i wrong or what? because the price indicates that the difference should be much bigger. edit: is msi decent MB manufacturer? RAM speed won't make any obvious differences for most stuff, it can make a little dent if you are an enthusiast RAM overclocker but most stock kits at a decent price are not really that fast and even if they were, it doesn't make a ton of difference 660 seems a little faster than 750ti, maybe around the same, but more power usage (heat generation, etc) msi makes some decent mobo's, mobo choice doesn't really matter for stock and it doesn't really matter for z87 unless you are pushing overclocks really hard | ||
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Kotreb
Croatia1392 Posts
On May 23 2014 06:12 Cyro wrote: RAM speed won't make any obvious differences for most stuff, it can make a little dent if you are an enthusiast RAM overclocker but most stock kits at a decent price are not really that fast and even if they were, it doesn't make a ton of difference 660 seems a little faster than 750ti, maybe around the same, but more power usage (heat generation, etc) msi makes some decent mobo's, mobo choice doesn't really matter for stock and it doesn't really matter for z87 unless you are pushing overclocks really hard Thank you for the response. What do you think about this setup: Zalman Z5 Plus mid tower case Patriot Viper3, 2133Mhz ,8GB (2x4GB) Red x2 INTEL Core i5-4670 (3.40GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84W, 1150) Box PSU 620W Seasonic SS-620GB MB MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate haven't really decided on graphic card yet. Would like to get one decent enough to hold for a few years, but not some crap (i don't play new games on every setting as high as possible, i prefer more SC 2, cs and dota) Also, in terms of color quality, are IPS monitors that better than the ones without? (my current one is samsung syncmaster crt, so yeah :D ) | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
While Seasonic is excellent, 620w is not necessary. Such a setup will not even approach 50% of 620w. GTX 750 Ti is not worth it unless you are OCD on power consumption or cable clutter. Yes IPS is better but you may also want to consider 120Hz. | ||
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Kotreb
Croatia1392 Posts
On May 23 2014 06:48 skyR wrote: You don't need a Z87 if you are not overclocking, there are probably cheaper B85, H81, or H87 boards available to purchase. Keep in mind that B and H series boards only runs memory at 1600MHz. While Seasonic is excellent, 620w is not necessary. Such a setup will not even approach 50% of 620w. GTX 750 Ti is not worth it unless you are OCD on power consumption or cable clutter. Yes IPS is better but you may also want to consider 120Hz. I picked this one because it's the only one they have which can support 2100, otherwise i would go for B or H. Is this (Seasonic SS-520GM2 EVO, 520W ) then more suitable? The price difference is barely 10$ between this and the 620w so idk what to do honestly. Maybe keep the 620 just for the sake of it? Yeah, with graphic card i aim more to be "durable" than "omfg i can run games from future on 3214AA". I currently have 9800 and i love this card. Can still run almost all games (havent tried bf4) without noticable hiccups or anything. It served me for 6 years so i plan on getting something similar if i can. What is the advantage of having 120hz one? Besides obvious ofc. | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20341 Posts
The 144hz monitors are also about to be gsnyc/ULMB monitors - which are two important tech's (gsync and strobing - www.blurbusters.com - look at the lightboost stuff, ULMB is better) | ||
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Brettatron
Canada159 Posts
So the reason I want to get a laptop is because I work in remote locations for 2-3 weeks at a time, and all I have is a REALLY crumby work laptop. It works for my work, but I want to be able to do some light gaming during my down time. Think hearthstone, indy steam games, maybe Archeage when it comes out. I'd like to play on medium to high settings. In order of priority: Performance in games: light gaming on medium to high settings, as mentioned above. I don't wanna play anything graphics intensive, although if the mood strikes me I'd like the option to, even on low settings. I'm not a Crysis/BF/CoD gaming. Right now I play hearthstones, diablo 3, a few indy games from humble bundles. I plan to pick up an MMO of some sort, likely archeage, although maybe FFXIV. Performance for workstation applications: Fast. Like... I hate waiting for my work laptop to open up applications. For reference, I will only really be using Microsoft Office, Adobe acrobat and... thats about it for work. But I want it to work well and quickly. Budget: ~$1000 CAD with a little flexibility, say 20%. Build quality: It doesn't need to be terribly robust. It will, travel in the laptop pouch of my bag, and while on-site, sit on my desk. While at home it will likely be put away. Battery life: Again, doesn't need to be terribly long. I am always near a plug in. Weight: heavy is annoying, no doubt. Noise: Ehhh, I'm not sure that it will bother me. ----------------------------------------------- A few other details. I would like a 1920x1080 screen. I would need windows on it. Preferably 7, but meh, I guess I need to join the future of 8.1 eventually. An SSD would be nice but honestly, its not a deal breaker if it doesn't have one. I live in Canada so... yeah. If you want to know any other details, I can provide them. I really appreciate the help. I've been trying to figure out what to get for a long long time now. | ||
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ElvisWayCool
United States437 Posts
I'm about to move and my laptop is dying so I figure I'll get a new computer with my new place. The actual purchase of the materials and putting them together will take place in 2-3 weeks. I've been looking at the Typical Gamer build, but I want to see if there might be any changes right for me. What is your budget? ~$1,000 for the computer. I also need to buy a monitor or two, but that will be a separate cost. What is your monitor's native resolution? TBD What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings? Mostly DOTA on the highest settings if possible. Civ5 and Battlefield also are possibilities. What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming? Microsoft Office, basic internet use, and that's about it. I'd really just like to be able to be on DOTA, Alt + Tab, and be able to browse Imgur, google random stuff, or watch a video without lag issues. Do you intend to overclock? No Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire? No Do you need an operating system? Yes. I'm on a Mac now, but I expect to get Windows. I'm not familiar with anything else. Would like a recommendation on this too if possible. Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget? Will need a monitor (probably 2, looking for recommendations here), and speakers. I have a mouse and keyboard. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify. From what I've seen, Intel seems to be what I want. What country will you be buying your parts in? United States If you have any retailer preferences, please specify. I like how Amazon shows its products so I can really see them before I make any purchases, but that's about it. Newegg does this really well too. I also noticed none of the premade builds have any optical or CD drives (are those the same thing?). To install windows, wouldn't I need one of those? Or can that be done with flash drives now? It's been a while since I've even thought about this kind of stuff. Thanks! | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
On May 23 2014 15:13 ElvisWayCool wrote:+ Show Spoiler + Hey guys, I'm about to move and my laptop is dying so I figure I'll get a new computer with my new place. The actual purchase of the materials and putting them together will take place in 2-3 weeks. I've been looking at the Typical Gamer build, but I want to see if there might be any changes right for me. What is your budget? ~$1,000 for the computer. I also need to buy a monitor or two, but that will be a separate cost. What is your monitor's native resolution? TBD What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings? Mostly DOTA on the highest settings if possible. Civ5 and Battlefield also are possibilities. What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming? Microsoft Office, basic internet use, and that's about it. I'd really just like to be able to be on DOTA, Alt + Tab, and be able to browse Imgur, google random stuff, or watch a video without lag issues. Do you intend to overclock? No Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire? No Do you need an operating system? Yes. I'm on a Mac now, but I expect to get Windows. I'm not familiar with anything else. Would like a recommendation on this too if possible. Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget? Will need a monitor (probably 2, looking for recommendations here), and speakers. I have a mouse and keyboard. If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify. From what I've seen, Intel seems to be what I want. What country will you be buying your parts in? United States If you have any retailer preferences, please specify. I like how Amazon shows its products so I can really see them before I make any purchases, but that's about it. Newegg does this really well too. I also noticed none of the premade builds have any optical or CD drives (are those the same thing?). To install windows, wouldn't I need one of those? Or can that be done with flash drives now? It's been a while since I've even thought about this kind of stuff. Thanks! Pricing has somewhat changed but there would be no major changes to be recommended for that build. You may change the case to suit your taste buds. Also, the Fourth Generation Core processors have received a minor refresh so you may want to get that instead (Core i5 4690 & H97 motherboard) if you don't mind spending a few extra dollars for 100MHz. Windows can be installed via DVD or USB drive. You may also have an older DVD drive laying around somewhere you can use. Not sure what your monitor budget is but you can take a look at getting two Dell P2314H, or the older U2312HM if less expensive at time of decision. | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
On May 23 2014 07:32 Kotreb wrote:+ Show Spoiler + On May 23 2014 06:48 skyR wrote: You don't need a Z87 if you are not overclocking, there are probably cheaper B85, H81, or H87 boards available to purchase. Keep in mind that B and H series boards only runs memory at 1600MHz. While Seasonic is excellent, 620w is not necessary. Such a setup will not even approach 50% of 620w. GTX 750 Ti is not worth it unless you are OCD on power consumption or cable clutter. Yes IPS is better but you may also want to consider 120Hz. I picked this one because it's the only one they have which can support 2100, otherwise i would go for B or H. Is this (Seasonic SS-520GM2 EVO, 520W ) then more suitable? The price difference is barely 10$ between this and the 620w so idk what to do honestly. Maybe keep the 620 just for the sake of it? Yeah, with graphic card i aim more to be "durable" than "omfg i can run games from future on 3214AA". I currently have 9800 and i love this card. Can still run almost all games (havent tried bf4) without noticable hiccups or anything. It served me for 6 years so i plan on getting something similar if i can. What is the advantage of having 120hz one? Besides obvious ofc. There's really no such thing as "durable" when it comes to video cards. It's just a stroke of luck that your 9800 lasted as long as it did, I mean a 8800 GTX or any other card has just as good of a chance as lasting as long as your whatever 9800 you have. Seasonic M12II EVO is fully modular while the S12II 620 is non-modular so that is why the price difference is not that huge. I'd get the M12II EVO since you'll not even going to approach 520w either so... no point in wasting extra money or being less efficient. | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
What the hell Intel? G3258... but at least the price is good. | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20341 Posts
The sources also state that all three processors should be valid on both the 8-series and 9-series motherboards, which makes sense given that they are LGA1150 CPUs. Intel has not officially commented on any of these details. We're still just dancing between rumors here if the devil's canyon cpu's will work on z87 or not. Anyone buying new would probably want z97 anyway, but then again a ton of people already have z87 boards | ||
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Alabasern
United States4005 Posts
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