Hey. I'm looking for help from someone with experience! :)

F

Fifty

New Member
My name's Anthony. I recently joined here. The reason being is I'm looking to buy a new laptop. But I wouldn't go as far as register to a forum unless I actually wanted to learn about computers. In other words, I'm using my future purchase as an excuse (for lack of a late-night thinking capacity) to learn more about computers.

Anyways, this is about a new laptop, so let me revert back to the topic.

I'm looking for a laptop, absolutely no higher than $900. There is just so much to consider when looking for computers. There are so many models of different parts and such. I'm two weeks into my search and I have only bothered to look at graphics cards. I figure if I get an i7 I'll be good.

So common video cards I have noticed through searching in my price range include:

NVIDIA GT 525M
NVIDIA GT 540M
NVIDIA GT 550M
NVIDIA GT 610M
NVIDIA GT 630M
NVIDIA GT 640M

ATI Radeon HD7670M
ATI Radeon HD7790M

Note: most, if not all of these computers have 750GB HDD, i7 processors, and 8 GB DDR3, 1333 -or- 1600 MHz RAM. After implying the apparent "need" for an i7 processor, I probably seem like an ignorant, wannabe computer nerd. I'm not. I'm just using that as the standard while searching for video cards. A newbie might assume that the higher a model number is, the better a product must be. Not so apparently, which just adds to the confusion.

After a little bit of research, I think the 7670M is the best (most of the laptops with 7790Ms are a bit out of my price range. Firstly, is that true? Which of the above mentioned video cards is the best? I tried reading information from another website, but all I got was tech-talk, which isn't necessarily bad --it's just that I don't understand it.

Also apparently worth noting, is that some of the above video cards have GDDR5 RAM and some have DDR3 RAM. Not only do I not understand the difference, but apparently GDDR5 RAM is 19% faster on some GPUs. The problem is, not all of the above GPUs offer both GDDR5 and DDR3 RAM, so looking at reviews and such is practically useless in this matter.

This laptop needs to stay on budget and last me several years (at least until university) so I want to get the absolutely highest bang-for-my-buck.

Sorry for the long post. I appreciate the fact that you have read this far, even if you can't or don't want to offer any information.

Thanks for the help everybody :)
 
of the ones you listed, I am pretty sure that the Gt640m is the fastest. It is between the GT555m and GTX 460m both of which are great cards.
There is no real need for a i7 unless you need 8 threads. Most things will run perfectly fine on a i5 which is dual core with HT.
 
And 7790m is the winner by far. GDDR5 is a lot faster than GDDR3, go with a GDDR5. Also, if it says shared memory ddr3, DO NOT go with that. A 520M is AWFUL for gaming, so DO NOT. A 550m should be fine, a 650m is pretty good, (not 640m, a 640m is not very good) look at AVAdirect for some good lappys.
 
Wolfe, I researched, maybe not well enough. Oh, I did not know the 650 and 640 were the same chip, so does that mean no 650 desktop? Anyways, look at AVAdirect laptops.
 
The 650 will be a GTX or GTS, so quite a bit above the GT640 desktop cards.

And yes, the laptops 640 and 650 are the same chips. The 650 is just a hundred or so MHz above the 640, which MSI afterburner can take care of anyway.

I would take the GT640 over the HD7790m, because I am not seeing anything on the 7790m on google, and that generally means it is either not released, or just released, meaning drivers need to mature, and it will be a while before full effect of the card.
 
wolfeking said:
of the ones you listed, I am pretty sure that the Gt640m is the fastest. It is between the GT555m and GTX 460m both of which are great cards.
There is no real need for a i7 unless you need 8 threads. Most things will run perfectly fine on a i5 which is dual core with HT.
Click to expand...

Wolfe, it is not all i7 notebook processors are 4 cores 8 threads. Only those with the QM on the end are 4 Core 8 Thread. The M and U without the Q are only 2 cores 4 threads

Cheers.
 
wolfeking said:
In the case of the dual core ones, there is no use wasting the money as your getting nothing over an i5.
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that, which is why I am going with the i7. I couldn't find any laptops with a quad-core i5 (if such a device exists). I will be using it for gaming, but I mainly need it for school. (Things like photoshop and modelling)

I couldn't find many with the 7790M, I probably should have left that out. The ones I did find were a bit out of my price range. So how is the 7670M? How does it compare to the 640M? And which is the best of the Nvidia cards? I would think the higher the number, the better, but apparently not. I get the idea that the best two are between the 640M and 550M

EDIT: How is the 7730M?
 
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Fifty said:
And which is the best of the Nvidia cards? I would think the higher the number, the better, but apparently not. I get the idea that the best two are between the 640M and 550M

EDIT: How is the 7730M?
Click to expand...

This is one of the best for now. the gtx 670m. gtx 580m and gtx 680m but the latter two is not seen that much.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152336

and the AMD Radeon HD 7970m is the fastest one for now.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970M.72675.0.html
 
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wolfeking said:
of the ones you listed, I am pretty sure that the Gt640m is the fastest. It is between the GT555m and GTX 460m both of which are great cards.
There is no real need for a i7 unless you need 8 threads. Most things will run perfectly fine on a i5 which is dual core with HT.
Click to expand...

I just saw (as in, "am looking at right now") a laptop with a quad-core i7 (2nd gen) and a GT555M, for $830. The GT40M, is the fastest you said? I am assuming slightly above the 555?
 
it is half way in between the 555m and the 460m. The 555m is a good card, but if you are gaming, go for the GT640m, it will run better than the 555m.
 
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