Laptop Configuration Help

Looking to buy a laptop for university. Mostly for work, but some gaming would be nice. Preferably looking for portability. As for screen size I've decided on the 15.6".

Budget: $1500

Mostly programming and web design. May include some photoshop and flash.

Not a hardcore gamer, but do wish to play some of the current and upcoming games in high or ultrahigh settings.

Note: not a fan of FPS games, mostly games like assassins creed.

Any suggestions? Thanks.




Edited by cyberzs40 - 19 Dec 2010 at 6:49pm

ok, sorry for lack of information, I've edited the post with a bit more info. Hope that'll get some more replies and suggestions. Will be glad to provide more details if needed.

about the processor, what processor would you recommend will be sufficient for what I'm doing, and still be able to play some games.


Edited by cyberzs40 - 19 Dec 2010 at 1:49am

I'm at checkout and I notice the subtotal is the same price as my laptop config. Is the tax included in the subtotal?

Correct, California only.

I appologize, I forgot that i7 quad has not comeout yet.

if its in the budget ssd would be good to have in a laptop specially. 80GB intel is the one, if you think you can get away with 40GB go ahead but be sure that is enough, or you gonna end up getting this 40GB then later you gonna pay for a bigger ssd.

you want the 80GB ssd, that is one drive with 80GB of space the 2 x 40GB is exactly that, 2 40GB ssd in raid.

so yes if you have teh budget, get the ssd instead of the 500GB.

For a laptop I would recommend the 80gb.  The 2x40s would probably be a little faster, though I generally recommend to not get RAID0 due to a drive failure or for some reason the RAID array glitching (this is a software raid versus a true hardware raid), all of your data is lost.

One other recommendation would be to stay away from that Optimus crap.  I had nothing but issues trying to get the games to actually use the NVIDIA GPU versus the on-board Intel one (the battery saving one).


Edited by venom - 19 Dec 2010 at 11:25pm

Originally posted by venom One other recommendation would be to stay away from that Optimus crap.  I had nothing but issues trying to get the games to actually use the NVIDIA GPU versus the on-board Intel one (the battery saving one).

Okay then, how about I switch to the Nvidia Geforce GTX 460M? Would this be recommended over the Optimus one?

Just trying to finalize my configuration. Is my configuration all right for what I'm trying to accomplish or is it overkill or perhaps I'm underpowered? Mostly programming, web design, photoshop and flash and the occasional game or two.

Also feel free to make and suggestions and/or changes to my configuration as you see fit.

My preferred budget would be $1500 but I do not mind going over as seen below. However, I would like to keep it under $2000. Thank you in advance for your time.

Ticket Number: 470674
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,891.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=470674

Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm x15 8690T-8 (Weight: 7.38 LBS)
Display: 15.6 inch HD+ LED Display with Enhanced Super Glossy Surface (Resolution: 1920 x 1080)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHz (6MB Cache) (Quad Core)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 at 1066MHz (High-Performance)
Inputs: Gigabit Ethernet LAN / Card Reader / eSATA
Main Storage: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Extra Storage: - No Thanks
Raid Options: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Wireless Access: 802.11 A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Features: Integrated Video Camera / Bluetooth
Outputs: HDMI 1080P / DVI Port / SPDIF Audio / Headphone / Microphone
Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB
External TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office Suite: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Carry Bag: Standard Carrying Bag
External Cooling: - No Thanks
External Keyboard: - No Thanks
External Mouse: - No Thanks
External Speakers: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Full Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Labor & 1 Year Parts Warranty

Looks good to me, or maybe we should tell him to put sli 570 in there

Alright, one last question before ordering.
The i7 1.6GHz clock speed bothers me abit.

Assassin's Creed requires a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo.

As I understand it all 4 of the i7's cores added up would be 6.4GHz. However most games only use up 2.  That leaves the i7 at 3.2GHz. So if Assassin's Creed uses up 2 cores and the recommended specs is a 2.2GHz dualcore, totaling 4.4GHz. Then wouldn't that mean the i7 wouldn't be able to handle Assassin's Creed?

On a sidenote, how well would the i7 1.6GHz handle most games?

Thank you for your input.

Something are not a matter of opinion, there is a right and wrong answer, and when the wrong answer wastes people's money then thats just wrong. I'm not gonna go over it again, but telling people to get sli when the game they play does not even use it and their res does not even need it, is not a matter of opinion, its just wrong, you won't find one dignified person disagree with that statement.

@cyberzs40, as pointed out, you don't add up the core's speed, it does not work like that.

Edited by DST4ME - 21 Dec 2010 at 3:36am

Originally posted by Qwann @DST & Venom- I recently purchased a rig through DSO with !ender's advice and I appreciated his input, and although he has a different line of thinking than you guys, I think that simply agreeing to disagree would show a lot more maturity and wisdom then continuing to make snide comments.

I see, thanks for clearing up my doubts.
I have a bit more cash leftover so....
Just wondering, performance wise, would the i7 1.73GHz be worth the extra $41? Or should I bump up the ram to an 8GB(though I probably shouldn't bother as I don't need that much ram for work or play)





Edited by cyberzs40 - 21 Dec 2010 at 12:34pm

Originally posted by DST4ME If you don't need the ram, then don't waste money on it, you get 2MB of extra cache on the 740qm and above, not sure if the difference is worth the performance.

I'm confused, last I checked the 740QM only had 6mb of cache which is equivalent to the 720QM. Only difference was that the 740QM had 1.73GHz while the 720QM had 1.6GHz. Where did you get the extra 2mb of cache for the 740QM?

Now that you know the cache is the same and the only difference is the clock speed. Do you think the i7 1.73GHz is worth the xtra $41? Or are you still not sure?

Just asking for your opinion.

PS. I may have a couple more questions later. thank you for your patience.


Edited by cyberzs40 - 21 Dec 2010 at 4:40pm

Hi, I notice that the ram has different speeds. What advantage would faster ram have over a slower one of the same GB and when would you use one or the other?