Suggestion for a new laptop
by Andy Rollins · in Torque 3D Professional · 02/01/2011 (4:19 am) · 9 replies
I've got an ok understanding of desktop graphics cards but I won't pretend to understand the mobile (laptop) counterparts with all of the various models, makes and variants of mobile graphics cards on the market, so I thought I'd ask you guys what you're using?
I develop the vast majority of my stuff on the move so am looking at laptops, currently mine is an old Dell D630 with an NVidia Quadro 135M which was great for TGEA (50-60fps) but hopeless for Torque3D (6-9fps) so I'm looking to upgrade right now.
Any suggestions on what mobile graphics cards are suitable or what a good base level is (not interested in minimum spec as ideally I'd like something I can run with quality settings up at medium/high)..
If anyone knows of laptops that:
- Will run Torque 3D in Advanced Lighting with med/high quality settings
- Is 15.6" in size or thereabouts (I'm on the move a lot so anything larger gets cumbersome to sit on your lap / carry around)
- Ideally Nvidia based as I'd like to use nvPerfhud for performance tuning as I think it will hook up for T3D.
Any suggestions please?
I develop the vast majority of my stuff on the move so am looking at laptops, currently mine is an old Dell D630 with an NVidia Quadro 135M which was great for TGEA (50-60fps) but hopeless for Torque3D (6-9fps) so I'm looking to upgrade right now.
Any suggestions on what mobile graphics cards are suitable or what a good base level is (not interested in minimum spec as ideally I'd like something I can run with quality settings up at medium/high)..
If anyone knows of laptops that:
- Will run Torque 3D in Advanced Lighting with med/high quality settings
- Is 15.6" in size or thereabouts (I'm on the move a lot so anything larger gets cumbersome to sit on your lap / carry around)
- Ideally Nvidia based as I'd like to use nvPerfhud for performance tuning as I think it will hook up for T3D.
Any suggestions please?
#2
02/01/2011 (5:47 pm)
If you're going 64-bit, might as well get more than 4 GB RAM. RAM is cheap these days. I'd also go Win7 Ultimate instead of Home Premium. 
#3
lol, not in the UK. That's billed as 1500 quid or around $2400.
Welcome to rip-off Britain!
02/01/2011 (6:20 pm)
Quote:
This G53 would cost $3k if Alienware was stamped on it but Asus sells them for $1200 us @ Newegg.
lol, not in the UK. That's billed as 1500 quid or around $2400.
Welcome to rip-off Britain!
#4
02/02/2011 (12:48 am)
yikes. Well, at least your money goes to buying the queen her daily caviar bath.
#5
Hmmm lets pay twice as much for a lower spec model, Thanks ASUS!!!
Guess that's what we get for toasting their UK head office in the Buncefield fuel depot fire!
02/02/2011 (3:57 am)
Yeah its always good to rip off us Brits, just to twist the knife further though the UK version of the G53 has a lower spec screen and only supports 1366x768 resolution instead of 1080p of it's US counterpart.Hmmm lets pay twice as much for a lower spec model, Thanks ASUS!!!
Guess that's what we get for toasting their UK head office in the Buncefield fuel depot fire!
#6
02/02/2011 (8:10 am)
Is that right? So, that's why they need the money ... 
#7
They're just not made for games though. Nvidia created it as an AutoCAD centric card and I have gotten into several arguments with Dell reps who keep pushing it as a gaming card.
02/02/2011 (10:37 am)
Definitely stay away from Quadro cards. They handle older game tech pretty well and can handle some current games with mid to low settings depending on the rest of your rig. They're just not made for games though. Nvidia created it as an AutoCAD centric card and I have gotten into several arguments with Dell reps who keep pushing it as a gaming card.
#8
02/03/2011 (12:07 am)
While the Quadro is certainly not a gaming card, I have had no trouble running recent games with high settings on my Quadro FX 4600.
#9
Thats like saying that my 16-raid SSD database-nas can do random access just as fast as a 2.5" 5000rpm mobile hd :p :)
Quadro NVS 140M supplies ~2 FPS in Torque3D Advanced Lighting in the desert level - but that wasn't bought for gaming either.
Also, I'd be partial to using a card that was as close to the mainstream as possible - if beefier. And utilizing a different architecture and driver stack would not get me closer to that.
02/04/2011 (1:49 am)
Quadro FX4600 is a $2000 desktop card afaik ?- Thats like saying that my 16-raid SSD database-nas can do random access just as fast as a 2.5" 5000rpm mobile hd :p :)
Quadro NVS 140M supplies ~2 FPS in Torque3D Advanced Lighting in the desert level - but that wasn't bought for gaming either.
Also, I'd be partial to using a card that was as close to the mainstream as possible - if beefier. And utilizing a different architecture and driver stack would not get me closer to that.
Torque Owner TheGasMan
G.A.S. [+others]
I am buying this laptop, or the 17" model, in the next few days;
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220921
This G53 would cost $3k if Alienware was stamped on it but Asus sells them for $1200 us @ Newegg.
ASUS G Series
Model G53JW-XN1
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU Type
Intel Core i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
Screen
15.6"
Memory Size
4GB DDR3 (up to 16gb iirc)
Hard Disk
500GB
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M
Video Memory
1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
CPU Speed
740QM(1.73GHz)
CPU Support
Quad Core Processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
6MB L3 Cache
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Parts 2 years limited
Labor 2 years limited