Time for upgrade?

I got myself an external monitor, speakers, a keyboard and a webcam last week, to make myself comfortable at my new desk and my usb ports are now all used and I find the laptop heating much more with the lid closed even without stressing it (just playing old games) and that's something that scares me a little bit.

So like you see, I am converting it into a desktop for my home (but still going to move it arround to game at other places) I was asking if it was the time to build a desktop. This laptop did great for the past year but the recent games like The Witcher 2 showed me that maybe the next titles coming won't run on ultra settings with 60 fps. It's not a big deal for now, I could wait for those titles to come out and see if I need an upgrade, even if I'm pretty sure I won't play BF3, Rage, etc. on the best settings. But, this week there's deals on the hardware I would like to get and also it's only 6$ shipping for everything. I would save some money doing it right now instead of waiting a little bit.

I always wanted to build myself a good desktop and I have the money right now for it (my order is even done, I just need to click ok to pay) but I need to be realist. What do you think? Is it safe with the lid closed? And do you think the G73JH still outperforms in every games or yes an upgrade wouldn't hurt?

Thanks for your opinion

 

Never close the lid when the laptop is ON. Having the lid open helps dissipate the heat from the casing when the laptop is ON. If the lid is getting in your way consider removing the screen assembly from your laptop and thus turning it into a desktop tower

If you have the money and enough space I would say go for a gaming desktop. They can easily be upgraded. If your current graphics card can't keep up with next year games, you can add a second graphics card with SLI and CrossFire.

The other alternative is to keep the laptop and connect an external graphics card to it. Check this thread out for more info.

 

Yeah I'm scared about the heat damaging my lcd. I'm glad I repasted, it was 44C outside today, without my repasting the heat would have killed everything today haha (that's why I repasted before summer).

But yeah I would be getting a better PSU in case of SLI someday. If I buy a desktop I will be able to keep my case, HDD, PSU, dvd drive, etc. for many years, not like this laptop that I know will die someday and/or be way too outdated.

I could wait 2-3 months to upgrade but like I said it's really because I don't want to damage my screen with the lid closed all the time (not moving my laptop arround much this summer, will restart moving it A LOT in september) and because I would save some money right now (but in a way maybe I would save too if I buy in 2 months).

I wouldn't take off my screen, because this was all supposed to be a "simple" solution.. I wanted something ergonomic so I got my screen and stuff to just do a quick "plug n play" on my desk and ta-da! Playing like if it was a desktop. The laptop is good, really good, plays most games at high fps on ultra but it's really the current games and future ones, I know I will buy a desktop anyway in 2 months for those. I just need to know if I do it right now or in 2 months risking my little deal right now that I can have.

Is there a lot of people here with the g73 lid closed, on an external monitor?

 

You really, really need to move on to a PC!

Look here:

Newegg.ca - CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme 1320LQ Desktop PC Intel Core i7 2600K(3.40GHz) 8GB DDR3 2TB HDD Capacity NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I have a G73JH as a supplement to my i5 2500K / AMD 6970 2 Gb rig, don´t understand people can game on a notebook only...

 

I have always my lid closed when using an external monitor and so far I did not notice any temp increase. I have to admit that the temp is the same.

 

My temps are only a little it higher if not the same, but if I open the lid after 1-2 hours of gaming and see how it is, the keyboard and the screen are hot and there can be a burnt smell.

It's strange to see it doesn't really affect the temps that much, but I guess it's not y checking temps that you can know if you are damaging your screen or not.

I am reading lots of posts about people saying not to game with a lid closed and other saying it's fine. I also read some people saying that doing so, damaged their screen.

EDIT* I think I will make an other thread about the lid closed since this one is more about getting the desktop I "ordered" or not. I will get more replies I think with a new thread

 

Does anyone keep the cloth on their keyboard when it's closed to protect the lcd panel?

 

I ignore why we should do it, I found someone doing it but never dare to ask why... before now... so... why?

 

I'm not talking about the CPU or GPU temperature by the case temperature. If the CPU or GPU temperature increases the fan spins faster to cool it down. The case on the other hand relies only on the air vents below the case and on the surface below the keyboard to cool down.

In some laptops/nettops such as the first generation of asus eee, the metal plate below the keyboard was used to cool down some of the components attached to the motherboard.

Closing the lid will not increase necessarely the CPU/GPU temperature, but the case temperature will increase for sure

 

So that oil from the keys don't make pretty square patterns on the panel.

 

Well that's what I'm saying. The gpu/cpu temps are not much higher but the case itself get's hot. The keyboard isn't usually that hot, but since there's no air on it because of the closed lid, it gets hotter and heats the lcd up too I would say.

The question is does that heat damage the lcd? I'm pretty sure heat does damage screens but in this case I'm not sure and that's what I want to know.

And to be on the real topic on this thread, should I wait for my desktop? I'm not sure if prices will really drop in 1-2 months and/or will get deals again that makes me save about 200-250$. If yes, I'll wait except if you all think Rage, Serious Sam 3, BF3, Skyrim, etc. will run great on the g73jh.

 

It is impossible to wait for the right time to choose a new model or upgrade because as soon as you get it something new will come out and it will be out of date especially the speed INTEL vs AMD and Nvidia vs ATI are competing at the moment.

I still stand by what I said before though because im a notebook worshipper that the new cards being pushed out the door for mobile setups most recently the 6990/580 things are looking up for us and you might as well enjoy the JH until next year when it starts to lag and put your money towards a really nice mobile setup. Looks are so important when gaming and desktops are fugly!

 

Actually the more I read from you, the more I want a desktop

I was pro laptop since a few years but I must say I love as much laptops as desktops. Like I said to you before, there's no way I'll get rid of my g73 even if in 1-2 years it doesn't play games well anymore. When I got it it was to do everything I want to do (my music stuff, working, gaming, etc) with mobility. In a year it will still be mobile and I will still be able to work on it and that's the main thing I need from mobility. Like I told you, the desktop is for home only. I would be able to game at other places but will be gaming with a better experience at home.

 

If it lasts that long ^^ the JH is getting old and the mobo's are made of paper and clay im pretty sure the heat im pumping through mine wont survive 2013

Seriously though Desktops Suck! ahahahahaha. But I wouldn't mind a bit of Witcher 2 Ubersampled

 

Desktop are outperforming gaming laptops without any problems for a decent price I got my JH for 1800$ + taxes + warranty -> 2400$ last summer

A SW is about 1600$ ? I would get way better with my order right now for 1100$

Yeah yeah.. I'm all about "wouah buying a desktop! " since 2 days here but still I can't take the decision XD

 

Always, especially on my mac laptops. It doesn't stay so well on the g73 but I put it on there just in case.

Cheers,

 

For Chastity's reason?

 

Yes, the key marking bit happens on the MacBook pro all the time especially in tight quarters like laptop bags. My g73 lid doesn't seem to have an issue but I try to use it most of the time anyway.

Cheers,

 

Now I got it Chastity, anyway

I do not have that finger print issue, pretty much like Panzer I guess!


ALSO,
I am grabbing a desktop too, going for Ivy Bridge, 22 NM FTW!


Anyway won't do it until my iMac core duo 2 dies...

( it, got it in 2006, 1500 hours of cod4, at least 500 hours of video editing/processing, burnt out an hard drive because I left it RUNNING for two weeks while leaving for summer holidays... GPU always reached 95/105 C while gaming and the thing is still in tip top shape...


how do I kill it? xD

 

Hi.. I just joined this forum. I have a G53 and I have it connected to two monitors. Most of the time I have the screen closed but I use a pen or pencil to open without activating the laptop display. When I play games the keyboard and the lower part of the monitor get really hot but performance is still good. Often my machine will shut down when im playing on an external screen but i dont think its related to the temps, perhaps some other problem. I was also thinking of upgrading to a desktop when I played TW2 but after some noob oc'ing and help from the Nvidia optimization guides I was able to play avg 32fps @1280x720 with most settings on high.

 

Could you compare your temps open and lid closed?

TW2 in 720p at 32 fps is a bit sad IMO, I'm not going under 1080p The screen gets ugly when it's not on its native resolution. ButI can get 18 fps on medium-ish settings in 1080p -_-

 

sry, dont kno what imo means.. i have no tool to measure the laptop temp but the gpu temp is same as far as i can see. when playing fallout 3 in the desert at near ultimate settings gpu temp hovers around 84-85(opened and closed) degrees with 735/1470..( i didn't overclock by increments i simply used these values because it seemed to be far from other's max clocks around 820/1640)... and indoors around 81-82 degrees... same with TW2, Grid, Dirt2, and all other games I have

 

It's the same temps but your laptop gets shutdowns when closed sometimes?

It's pretty much the same thing for me. I had 4 shutdowns in a night playing TF2 on my external monitor without having the 110C gpu temp cap on the JH

 

i dont kno whats the cap on my gpu.. do u have any idea why it shuts down when connected to an external display? Its really annoying and i cant seem to fix it.. its been happening to me ever since summer. Now that think about it was after i first clean installed windows

 

I don't think the heat will damage the screen. Some screen assembly are quite hot actually because of the heat generated by the inverter. In some models you can feel the heat when touching the bottom of the lid. I think screens have a certain degree of tolerance for moderate and possibly hot temperatures.

There is a gap between the screen an the keyboard when the lid is closed. The gap should prevent most of the heat going up from the case to the screen.

 

If you have the money to burn go for it man. My JH has only left my desk 4 times since i got it last fall. Hooked up to a external monitor and i use the JH screen as a 2nd screen. I havent found a game that i cant run and that doesnt look sweet and play well on the JH. If BF3 cant run decently on year old hardware i predict EA wont be selling that many copies with the way the economy is.

 

I'm not quite sure with what you said. When BF3 will be out, the JH will almost be a 2 years old laptop (if I'm correct it's out since Jan 2010) and still it's a laptop and not a good desktop.

I heard we need about a gtx 560 ti to max it on 1080p with a good fps. Just looking at TW2 that was a game I was really waiting for, well I was disapointed of not having my JH running it over 30 fps. But yeah it still runs great on most games right now... I just don't know for the next batch of PC games.

Like I said there nice specials this week and also there's 15 000$ of sweepstakes right now where I would buy my stuff and we get a ticket for every 10$ we buy. Building a 1000$ rig means 100 chances of winning awesome stuff. But still, I'm not sure about it yet... But I'll probably do it.

 

Were you not running with an OC'ed gpu and ubersampling off, SSAO off, AA off, vsync off, Bloom off (I hate bloom) .. With a 1080p it would look good still even at medium with good fps around 30-55.

Can you post a screenshot at 1080p with fps if you don't mind.

 

yup i get those fps with ssao, bloom and AA on when playing @ 720p with overclocked GPU (around 30-40)

 

I can't really OC my gpu, I get GSODs/BSODs and other crashes with almost no OCing. I play with what you said OFF except AA since I do not like it without (without it will increase my fps a little bit but not much). I also have motion blur on because I like that option, but still it's mediumish settings. At some places I guess I get 35 fps and/or a bit more but most of the time I'm at 22-28 fps and with action it can go down to 15-18 fps. What's strange is that if I try low or high settings I get almost the same fps.

Here's a screenshot I just took.



When the game lauched I played it OK and had lots of fun but I would enjoy it a lot more with at least 20 fps more, on high settings

 

For me the key is to OC. I was able to get up to +10 FPS by OC'ing to 825-830 from 675 Mhz, ..I know that's alot. But to my surprise my max GPU temp was 76*C even after 2-4 hrs. of playing.

I tried following your map there. Here's a shot of mine starting from Ultra setting, then I started disabling everything leaving Vignette enabled. This still has High decals, Very large texture memory size with no Texture downscaling. This particular map has lots of vegetation so fps is lower.. All 1080p also.





Some shots from Metro 2033 just lately. I finished it in 3 days :-/ It's short but nice.. It's only OC to 800 cc / 1500 mem. Max GPU temp was 76*C also after 5 hrs. of straight playing. I usually play with fraps on and gpu-z enabled for temp monitoring.. This is normal setting, not low, DirectX 11, tesselation on, 1080p. It's blurry on the sides due to the gas mask and cold temp of the environment. A G74SX will do much more I think once OC'ed.