Deathjam Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) Went to best buy to look at midrange laptops without intel ingrated and this is what I came back remotely in my price range: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-envy-sleekbook-15-6-laptop-black-amd-a6-4455m-500gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-6-1168ca/10225644.aspx It's $649 in store but $499 online. Comes with: Reviews say things such as: Like I should make it clear I don't want a kick ass gaming machine, for that I will still lean on consoles. I'd like to be able to play indie games, even "higher end" ones such as antichamber, amnesia, etc..... and maybe the likes of Old Republic other MMOS. Maybe Diablo 2. Or this: HP Pavilion Slightly confused are this radeon's intergrated worse than the regular of the same cards? Just in case you didn't see my earlier post: EDIT: When look at graphics cards, the numbers that come after the first one are more crucial indicators of quality. E.g. Radeon HD 7850 is better that Radeon HD 7830 but both are worse than an Radeon HD 6950. The first number denotes the generation, while the second denotes the power or class and the third will denote its place within that class. So when it comes to those cards you mentioned, the GT630M is better than the GT710M. The only gain in the 710 over the 630 is that the 710 has lower power consumption. Doing a google search, apparently an HD4000 integrated graphics solution is ok for gaming, but that is for light, or graphics set to low gaming. Out of the those two laptops, the 7640G is more powerful than a 7500G -> 7600 is a greater number than 7500 and 40 is a greater number than 0 just to make it clear. Thing is, the processor in these two laptops is an AMD instead of Intel and AMD also make or at least own and manufacture the Radeon Graphics card series so these particular graphics options you have outlined maybe integrated to the processor as well. EDIT: After a quick google search, I was correct and these graphic solutions are the same as the intel equivalent, being integrated to the processor and just slightly more powerful, but probably not satisfactory to your requirements. If I was you, I would go for a laptop with Intel Core i5, i3 at the very least but really i5, and a graphics solution of HD766XM for Radeon or GT 65XM for Nvidia with X being substitutes for numbers of what you can find. EDIT2: Based on my recommendations, prices are steep and I would really recommend getting yourself a desktop at this sorta money as you could get yourself something really beastly. Edited June 20, 2013 by Deathjam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) Actually, these AMD APUs (CPU and GPU on the same die) are quite a bit better than any Intel offering without a discreet GPU. The HP Pavilion (AMD A8) is a 4 core and quite capable at playing games. Specifically it should be able to play everything @flameboy mentioned with the possible (but unlikely) exception of The Old Republic. Hell, a simple google search turns this up Skyrim on high@1600x900 30-35fps While I'm loath to link to Tomshardware....it paints a similar picture. AMD last gen APU (Llano, A8 w/ 6550D) still trounces the Intel HD4000 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-5.html Get the Pavilion is what I recommend. Or slightly out of budget, http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310645&IsVirtualParent=1 It's a single bump up in the APU line is all. Sorry, but you get the shaft in Canada as far as Newegg, and Tigerdirect's stock goes. I don't know if you could order from the .com sites and ship to canada instead. I do suggest looking into it though as Newegg usually has great deals and a large selection. Edited June 21, 2013 by Nolan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Just finished updating the PSU and graphics card on my PC. Only a GTX 650 so nothing major but its nice to be able to play games on high settings for a change and actually be able to buy some of the newer more demanding games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) Just in case you didn't see my earlier post: Out of the those two laptops, the 7640G is more powerful than a 7500G -> 7600 is a greater number than 7500 and 40 is a greater number than 0 just to make it clear. Thing is, the processor in these two laptops is an AMD instead of Intel and AMD also make or at least own and manufacture the Radeon Graphics card series so these particular graphics options you have outlined maybe integrated to the processor as well. EDIT: After a quick google search, I was correct and these graphic solutions are the same as the intel equivalent, being integrated to the processor and just slightly more powerful, but probably not satisfactory to your requirements. If I was you, I would go for a laptop with Intel Core i5, i3 at the very least but really i5, and a graphics solution of HD766XM for Radeon or GT 65XM for Nvidia with X being substitutes for numbers of what you can find. EDIT2: Based on my recommendations, prices are steep and I would really recommend getting yourself a desktop at this sorta money as you could get yourself something really beastly. Thanks for the advice. I did read your other message and now you've explained a few other bits makes more sense. Hmmm be curious to know which laptops you found and the prices...just for arguements sake. I'm really swaying towards the laptop option just for sheer portability. Actually, these AMD APUs (CPU and GPU on the same die) are quite a bit better than any Intel offering without a discreet GPU. The HP Pavilion (AMD A8) is a 4 core and quite capable at playing games. Specifically it should be able to play everything @flameboy mentioned with the possible (but unlikely) exception of The Old Republic. Hell, a simple google search turns this up Skyrim on high@1600x900 30-35fps While I'm loath to link to Tomshardware....it paints a similar picture. AMD last gen APU (Llano, A8 w/ 6550D) still trounces the Intel HD4000 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-5.html Get the Pavilion is what I recommend. Or slightly out of budget, http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310645&IsVirtualParent=1 It's a single bump up in the APU line is all. Sorry, but you get the shaft in Canada as far as Newegg, and Tigerdirect's stock goes. I don't know if you could order from the .com sites and ship to canada instead. I do suggest looking into it though as Newegg usually has great deals and a large selection. It's sometimes hit and miss with Canadian cards on US sites...some outright refuse to accept cards, others don't ship, sometimes you can hit with import tax. People often cross over to go shopping and then don't declare it on the way back. I checked out tigerdirect canadian: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7787087&SRCCODE=CANWSHOPBOT&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjCmtB5_BfCjCVqHCjCdwwp&cpncode=31-169138235-2&MobileOptOut=1 When I was looking last night I'm almost certain it said it was $599.99 now it doesn't have a price. Apparently they have one in stock in a store about an hour from here. It is $598 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca/Lenovo-15-6-Inch-Notebook-A10-4600M-6GB-DDR3/dp/B009AEPS4K/ref=dp_ob_title_ce A few youtube vids do show this as a good option for gaming. I think this might be one. However I have some concerns there appears to be multiple versions of it...dual core and quad core. SO I guess my question to you which version are you talking about the quad core with 6GB of RAM? Some spec sheets make out that it's actually 4GB of RAM with 2GB of video memory. Are there two different versions of the RAM/graphics card set up This is what the Amazon one says: Lenovo IdeaPad Z585KEY SPECIFICATIONS AMD A10-4600M Accelerated Processor Windows® 8 15.6” backlit LED HD display (1366x768), 16:9 widescreen Integrated AMD Radeon™ HD 7660G graphics 6GB DDR3 memory, 1TB HDD storage Bluetooth 4.0 & integrated high-speed 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Integrated DVD reader/writer USB 2.0, USB 3.0 connectors & 5-in-1 card-reader Integrated 720p HD webcam Integrated stereo speakers supporting Dolby Home Theatre v4 audio enhancement HD graphics support & HDMI output My girlfriend's brother has a Lenovo and it's really nice so I'd definitely consider this as an option. This is the new egg spec sheet. Are they the same computer? LenovoSeries IdeaPad Model Z585 (59345759) Part# 59345759 General Color Metal - Gray Operating System Windows 8 CPU Type AMD A10-4600M 2.3GHz Screen 15.6" Memory Size 6GB DDR3 Hard Disk 1TB Optical Drive DVD±R/RW Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 7660G Video Memory Shared memory CPU CPU Type AMD A-Series CPU Speed A10-4600M(2.30GHz) CPU L2 Cache 4MB Display Screen Size 15.6" Wide Screen Support Yes Operating Systems Operating System Windows 8 Graphics GPU/VPU AMD Radeon HD 7660G Video Memory Shared system memory Graphic Type Integrated Card Edited June 21, 2013 by flameboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathjam Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 (edited) @flameboy I was looking here: Ebuyer Gaming Laptops just to see what the cheapest option was and it wasn't pretty. This is in pounds though so I am not sure how helpful that will be to you but generally this website has very competitive prices for europe and it's where I do almost all of my component shopping. EDIT: According to that spec sheet, they are one and the same. A few youtube vids do show this as a good option for gaming. I think this might be one. However I have some concerns there appears to be multiple versions of it...dual core and quad core. SO I guess my question to you which version are you talking about the quad core with 6GB of RAM? Some spec sheets make out that it's actually 4GB of RAM with 2GB of video memory. Are there two different versions of the RAM/graphics If you notice, in the spec sheet, when it refers to ram for the graphics, it says "Shared system Memory". I believe this effectively means that when you are running graphics intensive programs, your 6GB ram will become 4GB for applications and such, while 2GB is reserved for the graphics application for storing things such as textures, and for your needs that is sufficient. Edited June 21, 2013 by Deathjam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 @Deathjam is correct, on an APU the GPU doesn't have dedicated VRAM. @flameboy, the Newegg and Amazon laptops are the same, but the Tigerdirect is actually different. It has the A8/7640G APU instead of the faster A10/7660G. The difference isn't huge, but it is there. And I'll say also, that I quite like the quality of my Lenovo, with an A8 I believe. I don't play much on it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hmmm thanks guys. I think I may plump for that Lenovo. I got an unexpected tax return from home so am pretty happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Bought and played Serious Sam 3 yesterday. It felt so good to play a mindless shmup for a change. I've mainly been playing Borderlands 2, which is good, but sometimes it takes a good few minutes to kill one enemy in that game, so SS3 feels great to just run backwards pumping shells into hordes of headless men with bombs for arms watching them all explode gratifyingly as you do so. Aaaaaah, an awesome game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I cannot believe how cheap PC games go Scribblenauts Unlimited $7.50 . Imagine how loooooooong it will take before its that cheap on Wii U. Sent from my Novo7Aurora using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Gibbs Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I cannot believe how cheap PC games go Scribblenauts Unlimited $7.50 . Imagine how loooooooong it will take before its that cheap on Wii U. Sent from my Novo7Aurora using Tapatalk 2 Scriblenauts will be the WiiU's duke nukem forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I cannot believe how cheap PC games go Scribblenauts Unlimited $7.50 . Imagine how loooooooong it will take before its that cheap on Wii U. Sent from my Novo7Aurora using Tapatalk 2 I've been enjoying playing the PC version of Scribblenauts this weekend, seem to be enjoying it a lot more than I did with the DS versions. Im just looking forward to the Steam Summer sale. Now that ive upgraded my PC I can get a load more games that I held off on before because they might not have run. Been messing around on Skyrim this weekend with a load of graphical mods as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Gibbs Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I've been enjoying playing the PC version of Scribblenauts this weekend, seem to be enjoying it a lot more than I did with the DS versions. Im just looking forward to the Steam Summer sale. Now that ive upgraded my PC I can get a load more games that I held off on before because they might not have run. Been messing around on Skyrim this weekend with a load of graphical mods as well. Any you'd recomend? i've got loads installed now my "issues" with skyrim have been worked around, but some textures are glaringly bad now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Any you'd recomend? i've got loads installed now my "issues" with skyrim have been worked around, but some textures are glaringly bad now At the moment I am running all from the "Graphical Essentials" collection in Skyrim's Steam workshop. There were some others in "Graphics and Sounds +++" that I liked but they started to drop my fps so I uninstalled them. Heres some comparison shots when I was testing stuff out. Before: After: Still not brilliant but im working on it. This is what I'd like to see it end up like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Gibbs Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 i'm going to have to look in the in the steam workshop, i've been using the skyrim Nexus for my mods, since i've used them for every bethsada game since morrowind. I did install loads of graphics mods and had it looking close to the above screen shot, but i had random frame rate issues, which in the end turned out to be a bug with "normal" full screen, so i had to work around that, but by which point i'd removed the game so many times and deleted all the mods, so i'm a little lost now I have the grass on steroids mods, some of the enhanced fire effects, all the official HD texture packs, several body and armour replacers, hair texture packs, skin texture packs, static object frame enhancers, enhanced flame and lighting effects. but now some standard stone and water effects are really poor saying that the standard water effects are a huge improvement on the 360 version, where there was no waves at all. I'll take some screen shots later and see what i can produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathjam Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 AH skyrim and mods. Spent more time modding it that playing the damn game, still completed it though which is better than what i managed with oblivion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Skyrim was the only Elder Scrolls game I managed to complete. Tried Morrowind on the original Xbox and Oblivion on 360 but I could barely get into either. I think when I played Skyrim it just felt like more of an actual living world and I got sucked in. That was the PS3 version so its nice to go back to it on PC and mess around with all the mods while playing it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 OOOOH I'd forgotten the joy of mods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathjam Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Modding is like a game of it's own. How many can you fit into the game before you break said game. It's a massive juggling act. And @Happenstance totally understand what you mean about skyrim. I would probably be playing it now if I didn't have to start over with the mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) I'd love to be able to run Skyrim like that - alas I think my graphics card needs an upgrade before I can do that (I'm on the 560 Ti). I finally upgraded my keyboard and mouse: and I was originally set on getting a razer mouse, no, determined. But a few friends had some of the mice suggested in the tech forums and I ended up really preferring the r.a.t 5. This is going from a Microsoft generic keyboard and a mouse that barely fit my hand. It is heavenly, it makes playing anything so much easier! Edited June 25, 2013 by nightwolf derp...hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drahkon Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 What the fuck? Is that a mouse or a Transformer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 What the fuck? Is that a mouse or a Transformer? Haha, given I work on Transformers, it has been the butt of many a joke. It's a madcatz mouse, the brand is r.a.t. Its a really cool mouse in reality and allows you to adjust the weight and the length of it. Which is ideal for me as I'm very picky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drahkon Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 adjust the weight and the length of it. Which is ideal for me as I'm very picky. Yes, second time I used that image today Seriously, though, that mouse looks uncomfortable and expensive. Don't think I'd be happy with it, but suit yourself :p I think I need a new PSU (?). My PC randomly freezes and shuts down. Then it won't start properly. The fans will run (two of them) but windows won't start up. I need to kind of 'jump-start' the PC. I'm serious. Have to switch it on and off with the switch on the PSU so it 'gains momentum' (well, don't know how to describe that ). Shame that I'll be out of a job come Friday and need money for university Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sméagol Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 The whole point of that mouse is to be comfortable. You can adjust everything. You can basically shape the mouse to fit your hand precisely. I don’t have experience with them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Just finally got around to completing To The Moon. Such a great game which manages to be a nice journey through a man's memories, quite touching at time along with being funny as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I'd love to be able to run Skyrim like that - alas I think my graphics card needs an upgrade before I can do that (I'm on the 560 Ti). I finally upgraded my keyboard and mouse: http://www.mwave.com.au/images/400/AB47485.jpg Smexy. If you're looking to upgrade the GPU, the Nvidia GTX760 just hit, and delivers great performance at a pretty good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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