GT555M Future Relevance

Hi,

Im looking into getting a new m14x 1600 by 900.
Just slightly worried by the GT 555M graphics card in it. I realise its not amazing as GPU's g but wanted advice for how long it's going to be 'relevant' in the coming years for games.

Rough estimates for:
1600 by 900p high graphics?
1600 by 900p medium graphics?
" " low " ?

Thanks for your help and btw hating on the specs isnt helpful unless you give me better recommendations.

 

one year with med-high settings two year med-low, give or take

 

unless you just do what i do and play games at 720p, then you can play one step higher

 

Or you can tweak the setting to suit yourself, like me, I play BF3 at custom, 900p @ medium setting for all, texture is ultra, effect is high, AA and motion blur is off, and the average framerate is 30-45, which is acceptable for me. Because the GT555M is not a high end card, but it's the highest end card for the mainstream/medium level GPU, the lowest end of the high end card is the GTX560M, IMO the reason Dell wouldnt put the GTX560M in the M14x is because of the heat issue.

 

Well the new gt6xxm cards already came out. I think the gt630m replaces the 128 bit and the gt635 replaces the 192 bit gt555m. But its just a rebranded gpu. You really couldn't tell the difference side by side. The gt555m should last a few years. Current titles on high or close to high. Future titles on medium.

 

yup looks like the only difference is gonna be a slight up-clock between the gt 555m and the gt 635m

 

Id say everything completely on low won't be neccassary till 2014 ish? The biggest titles (BF3, Crysis 2, Skyrim) all play pretty much on ultra with a little tweaking, so if High stays about the same through 2012 then by 2013 itll be medium with a few things on High like textures and completely low in like 2014

 

Thanks for all the replies so far.
What are your opinions on 1.5gb vs 3gb?

Also is it worth buying a different laptop with the nVidia GeForce GTX 570M?
How long would this last?

Finally can anybody give me an idea of how RAM/CPU would affect the performance?

 

570m would definetly be more powerfull, but the m14x is compact and light, more compact than that MSI I bet you were looking at

with the m14x, the ram and CPU won't bottleneck before the GPU does I assure you 2630QM plays games no problem right now. also 4 gigs of ram is more than enough for gaming

 

The 570M will be loads better, probably still playing on High in 2013. Any machine with it will have bad battery and will be pretty huge though. If you plan to keep the machine till like 2014 (Im keeping mine till 2015) then Id go for the 3gb

 

OK all,
Probably going to go with m14x as Dell seems to be the best bet for international warranty.

HOw long would you estimate the gt555m will last for 720p?
Ill buy the higher res screen but if I reduce it for games how long should the card last for high, med and low?

Also anyone know where I can get refurbished etc Alienware with warranty?
Thanks for your help so far.

 

At 720p you could still be playing on highish in 2013