Question about G74 BestBuy model

Hello everyone

I purchased G74SX BBK9 (BestBuy version) a couple of days ago and I just found out that it comes with a weak 128 bit 560m. I'm thinking of returning it, but before I do that I'd like to know a few things.

Is the performance of 128 bit 560m noticeably slower than 192 bit version when gaming?

I overclocked it to 950/1900/1565 with MSI Afterburner and so far everything seems to run fine.

If I run games at these clocks, will it at least match the performance of a stock 192 bit GTX 560m?

And finally, does the $1250.00 price I paid for it justify the hardware that it comes with?

 

I would return and order from somewhere else. Is the screen 1080p as well? I know the G73's where only 900p. From what I have read the 128 bit 560m is slightly slower that my 460m 192 bit. that is with stock clocks. Plus the $1250 is about the same price as mine from Amazon, $1300.

Also depends on game. SC2 plays great with my 460, but newer games like BF3 run better on the 560m.

For me, i want a laptop with a better GPU now that I have played games with max settings. My next rig will have a 580m/680m and most likely be Sager/Clevo.

 

Yes, the screen is 1080p. I've tried Crysis and Metro 2033 on high settings in 1080p, but the frame rate was choppy. They run smooth in 720p.

I found a G73SW XR1 for a bit cheaper than my G74. Its got a 1.5gb 460m.
Would you recommend it?

 

you could, but if you are going with the 460m then you will see the same or very close to the same FPS as teh 128 bit 460m.

 

Agreed. I had a 128 bit 460m, and while it ran some games ok, it didn't really stand up to the 192 bit 560m I have now.

One other thing to consider is what games you're testing. Crysis 1 and Metro 2033 were bringing high end desktops to their knees for a good long time, so anything less than a 570m (maybe a 580m) isn't going to give you a solid standard to judge the majority of game performance by.

Here's Metro benchmarked on desktop hardware, which is a bit more potent than their mobile counterparts. Just food for thought when you factor in that 128 bit bus.....

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 580 SOC Review > Benchmarks: Metro 2033, StarCraft II - TechSpot Reviews

 

I guess I expected a little too much from this version of G74.

Anyway, I ordered an AH71 model which comes with 3GB 192bit GPU, plus it has some extras that my current one doesn't have. It's only $40.00 more than my BBK9.

I also ordered an m17x r3 with 6990m to replace my desktop. I hope it can at least run Crysis and Metro on decent settings in 1080p.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

I have a M17XR3 with 2720 and an ATI 6990. At the native resolution of 1080p all settings on high, I get between 30 and 50 fps.

 

I was thinking about the bbk-9, is there way to make it ungimped and make it into the stock 192 bit?

 

Short of changing the motherboard, nope. The bus width is actually physical wire connections so no amount of bios modding will change that.

 

Thanks. I guess I should order from Newegg then.

 

I have the g74 bbk8(best buy model) and I am currently more than happy with it. Yeah, I wouldn't buy it new. I bought a refurbished model and they actually gave me a discount on it. They sent me a bbk7 by mistake. They ended up only charging me 799.99 which saved me about 60 bucks. I had to send the bbk7 back and wait for my bbk8 in the mail. I was skeptical on buying a refurbished model though, but am more than pleased with it. They stopped selling the refurbished models atm. They ran out of stock. They will post them back up when they get more in. I have to say; this thing looks and runs like it is brand new. I was going to get a refurbished g53, but I was going to be playing bf3. I had to seriously debate the 460m with the 192 bit over this 128 bit 560m. I looked everywhere for answers. I went for the 560m though. My main reason for not going with the 460 was because of all the issues I have seen with that card. I saw more people returning g53 models than g74 models. I'm just basing that over constant forum reading though. I was more afraid of getting a dud with the g53, because I was shooting for a refurbished model.

Some Pros:

• I am also super impressed with the oc capabilities. I am running at a stable 900/1800/1600 atm. average 33c/max 58c.
• Witcher 2 is running nicely- Ultra preset with ubersampling/ssao/blur/aa disabled. I did turn shaders to medium, but didn't do much to fps. I'm averaging 35-50 fps. It is 35-40fps during combat usually.
  It is running bf3, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, TOR, WOW, etc without any issues what so ever. It can play my games on max to near max settings. If the 128 bit card can do this much....What can the 192 bit do. FAAAAAAP!!!!!

Cons:

• 128 bit card
• This bbk8 model is on 1600x900. The display is still very nice and haven't had any issues. I still would have loved 1920x1080 though.

If you have less than 900 bucks to deal with then refurbished can be a big winner or a dud.....rofl

 

The reason that also helps is the 900 resolution. I wonder if it was picked to have the 128 bit card and a 900 resolution so people would see the same fps as a full version.

 

Graphics cards with higher bit rates greatly improve performance of games at 1080p. The price tag is very alluring for the BBK model, but that 128bit was just a deal breaker for me. To have a 1080p screen and not be able to play most games at 1080p (smoothly) is a pretty unfortunate situation to be in, and it would only get worse as games become more demanding.

If you have a chance to return the laptop, I think you should. Look up the RH-71 model. That does not come with a mouse or backpack, but it has a superior processor, 192bit GPU, and isnt priced significantly higher. It can run Crysis 2 on high settings at 1080 with a clean 30-50fps.

 

That is the exact reason JayBGamer. The 128 bit version runs almost identical fps at lower resolutions. Plus lowering the screen resolution will let them drop the overall price. I found a review of the 128 bit version in a g53 model at 1920x1080. Keep in mind my numbers would actually be quite a bit higher at my resolution. 1080p is great, but I would more than willingly go for lower resolution if my fps was a huge increase. This depends on the person though. The final point being....don't buy a 128 bit version new. You can purchase the 192bit version for about the same price. If you get it used and oc then it becomes a truly interesting machine. Both 128 and 192 bit cards can oc at a very nice amount.

Link to the g53 review: ASUS G53SX Review (GeForce GTX 560M)

The 192 bit is about 25% faster than the 128 bit from what I hear. I have only seen 2 good reviews based on this. I am thinking about making a review of my 128 bit version of the bbk8. The stock and oc version. There just isn't that many solid reviews on it. Sure the 192 bit is still going to do more, but I want solid data comparisons, lol. Less talk more numbers. I will do it this week end if I get the time.

 

I finally received my AH71 model today. I installed a few games to see how they perform compared to the BBK9 that I still have.(Gonna return it soon)

I am not too good with the technical stuff, but after overclocking BBK9 to 900/1800/1450 with afterburner, the games performed very similar to stock 192 bit 560m in my new G74.

The highest stable clock I got with BestBuy version was 980/1960/1580.
Just thought I'd share the info with you guys, if you were interested.

Can't wait to see what my new 192 bit 560m is capable of when overclocked.