Looking to buy a new laptop. GPU related question.

[Deleted member 41019]

Ok it's been years since I last looked into buying a laptop and the time has come to buy something nice.

I'm looking for a laptop that will play primarily World of Warcraft with a good amount of detail and FPS nothing super high as I know we are dealing with power saving cheapo cards here. This is not a desktop replacement as I have a 3 month old system running some nice hardware that was built for the job but it would be nice when stuck visiting family or whatever that I can take a system with me that will do the job nicely.

Again I am not silly enough to expect this to be as good as my desktop, I just need help in getting the best bang for my buck so to speak. RAM is not important as I have already got 8GB of 1866Mhz Corsair Vengance memory that has yet to be taken out the packet. I would like a large hard drive and I care not for SSD's so don't worry.

Budget is up to £400 (around $650 so says almighty Google atm) as that is all I can scrape together. Any more and the other half is going to chop something off....

Here is the list so far:

Quite like this - http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOVO-G505-59386031_1492692.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOVO-G505-59386031_1492692.html
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...6-touchscreen-laptop-silver-21414700-pdt.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOVO-U410-59399417_1492693.html
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOVO-U410-59399417_1492693.html

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...e-te69kb-15-6-laptop-silver-21704909-pdt.html

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/lenovo-g505s-15-6-laptop-21707558-pdt.html

Those are all I have found as of now.

Please keep in mind I am in the UK so UK prices and stock would be great if you want to link me something back. No point in me trying to buy something from the U.S as they may not ship it to me. So UK stock only please.


If this has been posted in the wrong section then please feel free to move it. I thought it would be best here as this is a video card related issue.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

Anyone?

 

[Snipe343]

I had tried out a G505 about a month ago. The case is kinda flimsy and made cracking noises when you opened it. Also Lenovo put a lot of unnecessary software that was annoying to take off. It ran WoW around 30fps on medium(dipped to low 20s a lot), I installed BF4 on it for fun to see what it could do, about 10fps on low. I personally recommend against that laptop just because of the build quality, but if you're really careful with things then it might be okay.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

I had tried out a G505 about a month ago. The case is kinda flimsy and made cracking noises when you opened it. Also Lenovo put a lot of unnecessary software that was annoying to take off. It ran WoW around 30fps on medium(dipped to low 20s a lot), I installed BF4 on it for fun to see what it could do, about 10fps on low. I personally recommend against that laptop just because of the build quality, but if you're really careful with things then it might be okay.

I'll leave it then as 30 FPS is not quite enough and if it's that flimsy then just that alone is enough for me to walk away.

 

[RCoon]

Mind going refurbished? It's a lot easier to get a good i5 (WoW uses lots of processor) refurbed.
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...furbished-15-5-laptop-white-21302170-pdt.html

 

[Kaynar]

I'll leave it then as 30 FPS is not quite enough and if it's that flimsy then just that alone is enough for me to walk away.

If you are looking to run WOW on low settings with more than 20-25fps you will have to look at least at a HD4000 integrated chip performance with a dual core at around 2.5Ghz.. in other words I couldn't find you something costing less than 500GBP for what you want.

if you are willing to save up abit you could buy something from pcspecialist http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/ which offer top quality Clevo laptops with custom stuff. Since you can save on the RAM and you have the option of not buying windows (you might have an extra copy around..!) you can manage 500GBP I think.

EDIT: I am stupid I had prices in Euro

you can have for 440GBP including DPD delivery in the UK a http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/ultraNoteII-15/ with 2.8Ghz i5 (decrease to reduce cost), leave ram at 2GB and replace it with yours, HD4600 integrated GPU will handle WoW at 1300x700 res, 500GB slow HDD and no windows. I have this laptop with a i7 quad core and it goes to 93c on prime95, so with 2 less cores you should be ok.

EDIT2: or even 430GBP 17" http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/cosmosII-17/ same principles.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

Mind going refurbished? It's a lot easier to get a good i5 (WoW uses lots of processor) refurbed.
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...furbished-15-5-laptop-white-21302170-pdt.html

That looks good but what's the HD4000 going to be like? And a refurb is fine as long as it's still got a warranty on it.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

If you are looking to run WOW on low settings with more than 20-25fps you will have to look at least at a HD4000 integrated chip performance with a dual core at around 2.5Ghz.. in other words I couldn't find you something costing less than 500GBP for what you want.

if you are willing to save up abit you could buy something from pcspecialist http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/ which offer top quality Clevo laptops with custom stuff. Since you can save on the RAM and you have the option of not buying windows (you might have an extra copy around..!) you can manage 500GBP I think.

EDIT: I am stupid I had prices in Euro

you can have for 440GBP including DPD delivery in the UK a http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/ultraNoteII-15/ with 2.8Ghz i5 (decrease to reduce cost), leave ram at 2GB and replace it with yours, HD4600 integrated GPU will handle WoW at 1300x700 res, 500GB slow HDD and no windows. I have this laptop with a i7 quad core and it goes to 93c on prime95, so with 2 less cores you should be ok.

EDIT2: or even 430GBP 17" http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/cosmosII-17/ same principles.

Not bad options there at all but again we are talking Intel integrated video. I knew WoW was more CPU heavy (has been since day one really for a number of reasons) hence I was looking at the AMD A6-8 series of CPU's as they seem to have a little more power over their Intel counterparts. To be honest I am very much an Intel and Nvidia man but I was thinking for the price range the AMD APU may be the way forward.

Thinking about it I could add another £50 onto the budget but £400 is about the mark I want to be at.

 

[Snipe343]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

Down the page there are some benchmarks

 

[Deleted member 41019]

This is a screen shot of my mom's video card from GPUZ. This on medium settings get around 40 fps on WoW as we tested it today. The laptop she has is a Samsung NP355V5C-A06UK.

Link to the laptop here.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

Down the page there are some benchmarks

Thank you for the link bud. I'm amazed! Last Intel GPU I used was a GMA 950 and I think we all know that was built for basic tasks. Yes you could play some games on them and overclocking them was fun with a little tool you can find on the web but it was limited to playing titles from 1998-2004.

 

[Kaynar]

The intel HD4600 for sure can handle WOW on low res screen such as 1300x700. I've tried LoL, WoW and PoE with my HD4000 which run quite fine (only PoE didnt go over 20fps)

 

[silentbogo]

With that lenovo the downfall is a CPU. You'll be better off buying something i5 or i7-based. Refurbished is probably a good idea.
My ASUS k55vm is refurbished and works just fine 10-12 hours a day for the past 5 months. Got it for around $600 @ newegg.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

What do you guys reckon to this?

http://shop.amd.com/uk/All/Detail/Notebook/ecx-PC -UK-21707558#Details

I am thinking about putting this in that system

 

[Deleted member 41019]

Just brought myself this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331102353422?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 as I am not going for the Lenovo G505s.

Can't argue with the price and with a hyperthreaded Ivy bridge I3 it should be fast enough for WoW. Looking up the Intel HD 4000 it seems to be a really good mobile card with people saying that they are getting between 60-85fps.

Review here for the CPU's:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-3110M-vs-AMD-A8-4500M

Video cards:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7640G.69836.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

Big thanks to all who have commented!

 

[brandonwh64]

I would have honestly bought something like this cause that HD4000 is a turd especially in the mobile platform.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231455

 

[Deleted member 41019]

I would have honestly bought something like this cause that HD4000 is a turd especially in the mobile platform.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231455

See I was told the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M was under performing hard and should be avoided

Quite disappointed with the range of laptops in the UK atm. Seems all the good deals and bigger range are over in the US

 

[RCoon]

See I was told the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M was under performing hard and should be avoided

Quite disappointed with the range of laptops in the UK atm. Seems all the good deals and bigger range are over in the US

In fairness gaming laptops at the £400 mark are literally non-existant, it's simply impossible to get a solid gaming platform for that cost in a laptop form factor. The last gaming laptop I had was a PB LJ-90 with a dedicated 5870m and an i5, and that was £750 as a refurb.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

In fairness gaming laptops at the £400 mark are literally non-existant, it's simply impossible to get a solid gaming platform for that cost in a laptop form factor. The last gaming laptop I had was a PB LJ-90 with a dedicated 5870m and an i5, and that was £750 as a refurb.

To be honest all I want to do on WoW is do my auctions, level up low level toons and maybe do the odd instance. When it comes to raiding and such I'll use my new desktop. I needed a laptop regardless of the gaming aspect but it would be nice to sit at the kitchen table and be able to play a little warcraft.

Just going to have too see how it performs with the HD 4000 and 8GB's of Corsair Vengeance.

 

[RCoon]

To be honest all I want to do on WoW is do my auctions, level up low level toons and maybe do the odd instance. When it comes to raiding and such I'll use my new desktop. I needed a laptop regardless of the gaming aspect but it would be nice to sit at the kitchen table and be able to play a little warcraft.

Just going to have too see how it performs with the HD 4000 and 8GB's of Corsair Vengeance.

It should be OK, WoW is more CPU bound than GPU, just turn particle effects and shadows off, as well as SSAO and it will run perfectly fine. It's an old game and an old engine, not particularly demanding. I still managed to play WoW on medium settings on the laptop I had back when I was in 6th form, and that was an AMD Turion X2 with some terrible 128mb mobile GPU.

 

[THE_EGG]

Wow I must have scored well on my refurb G53 Asus which I got 2.5 years ago. Probably helped that it was a refurb AND previous model AND base model. i7-740QM, GTX 460M etc. Got it for a bargain at $770AUD which is crazy cheap especially considering 'Australia' tax. Keep your eye out for these sorts of laptops - ie refurb and previous gen hardware.

A HD4000 should be able to run WoW I would think though. But I would try and get something with a dedicated card. The Asus that Brandon put up seems like a good deal.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

Wow I must have scored well on my refurb G53 Asus which I got 2.5 years ago. Probably helped that it was a refurb AND previous model AND base model. i7-740QM, GTX 460M etc. Got it for a bargain at $770AUD which is crazy cheap especially considering 'Australia' tax. Keep your eye out for these sorts of laptops - ie refurb and previous gen hardware.

A HD4000 should be able to run WoW I would think though. But I would try and get something with a dedicated card. The Asus that Brandon put up seems like a good deal.

Yeah It's a lovely deal but you can't get it over here by the look of it. Been googleing quite a bit and only a cupple of places had it but it's out of stock.

 

[Deleted member 41019]

It should be OK, WoW is more CPU bound than GPU, just turn particle effects and shadows off, as well as SSAO and it will run perfectly fine. It's an old game and an old engine, not particularly demanding. I still managed to play WoW on medium settings on the laptop I had back when I was in 6th form, and that was an AMD Turion X2 with some terrible 128mb mobile GPU.

I have an Acer Aspire 3050 here that I stripped apart and upgraded from a 1.8Ghz Sempron to a Turion X2 TL-60 @ 2.0Ghz, Also banged in 4GB of DDR2 PC6400 it's also running the ATI radeon xpress 200m and it plays more games than I ever thought it would. Again it's one of those that's 'alright' for what it is much like the Intel HD4000 will be in the future.

I will ofc turn off anything that's going to drop the fps so as you said shadows etc will be turned off. I'll have too sit and tweek the WoW client and do my usual Windows performance tweeks. If it turns out to be all out rubbish then I'll send it back.

 

[THE_EGG]

Did a search on amazon.co.uk and found this
http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B00FC5KP9O/?tag=tec053-21

About as good as I could find for around £400. Not bad specs I think for the price but I have no idea how good a laptop it is.

Similar laptop reviewed here with same specs;
http://www.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-touchsmart-15z/4505-3121_7-35616239-2.html

 

[Arjai]

My personal preference, of the ones you found? This one:
LENOVO U410

The reasons are, Intel CPU's run a lot cooler in laptops. The i3 and the dedicated GT610 will DEFINITELY do the job, nicely for you. I have toyed with WoW on my HD4000, just to see if it could do it. It could, not great but, it could.

I have an i5 3317U and it constantly surprises me with how well it does with only 17W max. This one is a 17W that runs at 1.9, mine is 1.7 w a turbo up to 2.4-2.6GHz. Yours does not look to have Turbo but it does have Hyper Threading for 4 logical cores, as does mine.

All in all, I would buy this, in your situation. My 2 cents.