2 questions about the 970m, please help!

Hey guys.

1st question: is the 970m enough to run most current titles on high-ultra settings? Anyways, I play blizzard games mostly, would it be enough to run those on ultra? (heros of storm, sc2)

2nd question (2 parts): Im thinking about getting this comp: http://www.microcenter.com/product/...2_173_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Aluminum_Black

a. is that a solid gaming laptop?

b. Would 3gb gpu memory be enough? (am I right in thinking that GPU memory/GPU period cant be upgraded in a laptop?)

Like I said, I really just want to be able to run blizzard games super smoothly, but dont want to be pigeon holed out of being able to play other titles..

thanks!

 

1. Yeah, it should be as long as you only want 60 FPS.

2a. Sure but I'm biased towards Clevo laptops myself.
2b. Well, with 3GB vs 6GB, it's more that a 6GB 970m can be upgraded in the future because 6GB means that it is an MXM slot GPU and not a soldered on GPU. GPUs can be upgraded in laptops, fairly commonly in Clevos but also in some MSI laptops as well, but the GPU and laptop would both have to be MXM.

 

Thanks for the response.

Mainly though, is 3gb sufficient to play current titles high-ultra settings smoothly (i guess 60fps)?

Im somewhat of a newbie when it comes to understanding all this, but I know more memory the better. Just wondering if 3gb is really all that you need..

 

Not really, as in it's not always necessary to have a lot of VRAM, because some GPUs are not powerful enough to use it all anyway, which equals into a waste of money.
That being said, 970M is pretty powerful card, and those additional might come in handy, because some recent titles do require more than 3 GBs of VRAM, though I'm not sure if anything by Blizzard is on that list...

 

Nothing I've played uses 3GB on High/Ultra. The most I've seen recently is Fallout 4 but that only hits 2.5-2.6gb.

3GB is fine for 1080p, which is probably the best resolution for a 970M anyway. If you had a 1440p monitor or something similar, I'd probably suggest a 980M anyway.

 

GTAV, R6 Siege, AC Syndicate, probably something else. I ran them on 1920*1200 monitor, and with the settings I used, in-game it showed me VRAM usage above 3 GBs (something around tree fiddy). Didn't look what actual VRAM usage was like, but it looks plaucible. And it could get worse in the future titles.
On the other hand not sure if the price for those additional 3 GBs is worth it for just 500 MBs over the limit.
And that laptop does have 17" FHD screen, so it's not exactly "apples to apples comparison", so you might be right.

 

Aah well to be fair I didn't set everything in GTA 5 to Ultra, I used a mix of High/Ultra depending on what the Geforce guide said was ideal. Usage might go up over time but you get games like Witcher 3 that comfortably fit inside 2GB, so it seems it depends on the engine and such. At the very least, I don't think the 3GB will be an issue before the GPU simply isn't fast enough to not lower some settings anyway. High is usually a pretty good tradeoff of visuals and performance, very little noticeable effect but better performance and VRAM usage reduction.

 

I can personally attest that any recently released modern game can run fine at 1080p on a 970m with 3GB GDDR5 vRAM. No worries.

 

While playing Black Ops 3 I have seen 6GB vRAM usage on 1080p

 

If you have an option to get the 970M version with 6GB VRAM you should go for that. While most current games do not need more than 3GB VRAM, there are already exceptions to the rule and those games are bound to get more in the future. For example, the badly ported PC version of Batman Arkham Knight used to require about 6GB VRAM on 1080p and Ultra Settings. Two patches ago, the VRAM usage was reduced to about 4,5GB, which is still a lot.

 

man, BLOPS3 uses a crap-ton of VRAM and I am an 8gb GPU!

 

OH MY GOD, AIs/robots are taking over out planet!!! What is worse that it is made by nVidia!

 

WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!!

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

1) I do mostly play blizzard games so, with what Im hearing, I would be able to play blizz games on ultra w/ no problems yes? (with the 970m 3gb VRAM). And I would be able to play most current titles with maxed out settings?

2) The future is what concerns me a little, although I dont plan on this laptop lasting more than 4 years. If I decide to play a current or soon to be out title that needs that 6gb to run well, I would basically need to buy a new laptop yes? Because laptop GPUs are non upgradeable, yes?


The only 970m with 6gb VRAM I could find on the web was this, although Im rather unsure of gigabyte as a brand(just havent heard much about them and they are always available while others are sold out): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233114

Anyone know where I could get 970m w/ 6gb VRAM 1300$ or under? (from reputable brand).

Am I overthinking this? Is 970m 3gb VRAM really a very powerful and capable GPU?

 

Just because vRAM is showing as being *used* it isn't necessarily being *utilized*. It's storing textures there because it can, but bandwidth is not sufficient to fully utilize more than the 3GB. I did show in a couple benchmarks somewhere, will see if I can dig them up, the difference between the 3GB and 6GB 970m were negligible, even in vRAM heavy games. If I could get ahold of a system with 6GB vRAM I'd do a full comparison.

 

So a 3gb VRAM 970m is very capable and a good choice at the end of the day yes?

Should I go with this 3gb vram MSI ?: http://www.microcenter.com/product/...2_173_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Aluminum_Black

Or this 6gb VRAM gigabyte?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233114

Or are there some better deals out there?

Thanks much guys for all your feedback so far!

 

It depends if you want to upgrade your laptop in the future or not. If you want to, you should get a Clevo with a 970m 6GB so you can just upgrade your GPU in the future so you can keep playing games 4, 5, 6 years or more down the line. That's what I did.

 

Is it that 6gb vram GPU can be upgraded regardless of brand? Or is it that only clevo laptops are upgradeable?

Also, anyone know of where I could get 6gb 970m for $1300 or under?

Much thanks!

 

Only some Clevo models come with MXM slots for upgrades.
Clevo sells a barebones that's cheaper, but it's soldered and only 3gb. Plus you'd have to get your own RAM, HDD, OS, etc. so in the end, 1300 is probably a better price.

Stop worrying about the vRAM, especially if you focus on Blizzard games.

 

Or, if you can stomach open box / refurb units:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233094R

 

What about this gigabyte for 1300$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233114

Its 6gb 970m i7 5600hq

Is gigabyte a reliable brand? As reliable as MSI?

 

If you are willing to go to 3GB instead you can save around 100$ from the looks of it;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233096

Gigabyte is fine in my opinion. There's a horror story about every single brand, and I don't find any better or worse. Read reviews, make sure it's what you want, and that you checked out the competition.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315186&ignorebbr=1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834298727&ignorebbr=1
Personally, if you can find it for around your price or only slightly more, I'd get the Skylake version. DDR4, many models have USB-C, newer iGPU / CPU, etc.

 

Well Im thinking on going with my original decision: http://www.microcenter.com/product/...2_173_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Aluminum_Black

Does that look like a solid one?

Also, I saw battlefront reccomended requirements to be 970m with 4gb of VRAM but it was an i5 core requirement.

Would a 3gb VRAM 970m be able to run it with an i7 5700 hq?

Battlefront requirments
OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or later
Processor (Intel): Intel i5 6600 or equivalent
Memory: 16GB RAM
Hard Drive: At least 40 GB of free space
Graphics card (NVIDIA): nVidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB
DirectX: 11.1 Compatible video card or equivalent
Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

 

Im on the verge of purchasing this comp: http://www.microcenter.com/product/...2_173_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Aluminum_Black

i7 5700hq, 970m 3gb vram.

I see that the reqs say "4gb vram".

So if I was to buy the above laptop I wouldnt be able to play it @ recomended settings? Or does the i7 make up for it??

Sorry, bit of a comp newbie..


Here are the reccomended requirements:
OS: 64-bit Windows 10 or later
Processor (Intel): Intel i5 6600 or equivalent
Memory: 16GB RAM
Hard Drive: At least 40 GB of free space
Graphics card (NVIDIA): nVidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB
DirectX: 11.1 Compatible video card or equivalent
Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

 

I believe the Alienware version was only sold with 3GB, but as you can see it doesn't really go over 2.3GB usage in his video anyway... Seriously. If HT told you not to worry... don't.

 

If you are worried, do some Googling to see people's benchmarks and FPS and Youtube videos' to see what you can expect with the hardware you plan to purchase. Read reviews. Searching on here would probably yield some great results.
See my response in your other thread.

 

That laptop will have no trouble with Battlefront or any other recent AAA title releases.

For reference my laptop has an i5 6300HQ quad-core (no hyperthreading like i7) and a gtx 960m 4gb and I can play 1080p medium with 60fps. You will have no trouble at all with an i7 and 970m. The 3gb limitation shouldn't be any issue in most games and at 1080p resolution. I would guess you can play Battlefront around 50-60fps on max settings 1080p with that setup. Maybe maintain 60fps with some overclocking.

 

Thanks.

Out of curiosity, do you know if laptop 970m's ever come with 4gb? Or is it only 3 and 6?

 

The 970M comes with 3GB and 6GB, the 980M with 4GB and 8GB.

The 3GB version of the 970M will currently serve you just fine if you are willing to reduce settings like texture quality in certain (few) games. So, your original choice (MSI) is a solid one. That said, if you can get the 970M with 6GB do that, as future games are very likely to demand more VRAM.

 

Again, this is only if the GPU has enough power to utilize the extra 3GB. The 970M works flawlessly with the 3GB variant.

 

Correct, the GPU needs to be powerful enough to use the additional VRAM. However, I would argue that the 970M is that capable.

The problem that I see down the road are sloppy PC ports (like Batman Arkham Knight, at least before the various patches), that simply do not care about finding PC specific solutions for the console's unified RAM. To a certain degree that is even somewhat understandable from a developer's point of view. If you do have 8GB of unified RAM at your disposal and are bound the sell (much) more copies of your game for the consoles anyway, why bother with optimizing the game for the PC with sometimes significantly less VRAM.

Anyway, I will not argue with the 970M being a good price/performance choice in either the 3GB or 6GB version.

 

Oh, no argument friend, just making sure that he knew either variant he gets will perform well!

 

If you bought a Clevo laptop, you would have to upgrade it with a Clevo MXM GPU, which is why I recommend Clevo - there's simply more of their MXM cards out there than any other brand of laptops.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

So I think Im going to go with the MSI. The clevo is out of my price range i_pk.

I spoke to MSI and they said, technically, the GPU can be taken out manually and a new one be put in. They said of course though that they would not be able to advise as they send out all their laptop units as is, everything adjusted specifically.

So down the line, in the rare case I might want to upgrade my GPU, it would be possible techinically yes?

 

If MSI says it's possible it's better than any reason or answer we could give you! Enjoy your new machine!

 

The GE72 has a soldered CPU+GPU... You cannot upgrade it.. You need to get the GT72 model to be able to upgrade the GPU...

 

Uhg. I guess I will call MSI back to confirm.

Anyways, I was at micro center and saw this laptop for only 100 more. The main difference being the ddr4 RAM instead of ddr3. Is ddr4 worth 100$ more?

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-G752VT-RH71-17-3in-i7-6700HQ-2-6GHz/dp/B018OFWNG6

what do you guys think of that asus option? (for $1299 @ micro center)


*edit: uhg @ microcenter now, not sure which to buy.. The asus or the MSI... Man, decisions decisions... Besides the ddr4, the asus is bulkier but looks like it would stay cooler... Really not sure what to go with...

 

No, that is NOT true. If it is a 3GB 970m, it is soldered on and CANNOT be upgraded.

Companies can lie to you and claim stupidity - I would not to that, I do not want to make myself look like a fool on the internet, I only want to be helpful. ALL 3GB 970m GPUs are soldered on, and CANNOT be upgraded.

If you care about being able to upgrade your GPU in the future and not having to buy a brand new laptop, you should save up money and get a Clevo that has an MXM GPU slot.

 

+100000... Can't say it better myself! I always believe in doing something to the best if I'm going to do it and when it comes to buying, buying the best if possible!

 

3GB vRAM does not necessarily mean it is soldered. There are some 3GB 970m MXM boards in the wild as well. Best to just check reviews for unit or ask reseller or check specs if they're accurate or detailed enough. If you can go MXM, it's a good choice, but if you find a laptop you really like and it's not MXM, not the end of the world either. Just you can't really upgrade down the road, which personally I don't see as a huge detriment, but the bigger issue is if there is a problem with GPU or even something on the mainboard then you have to replace the entire motherboard. That particular Asus laptop does have a soldered GPU though.

If you want thin and light then you can't avoid soldered. If you want more expansion options, then go with a thicker/heavier model, namely a Clevo based laptop.

 

Ooh, I didn't know that. ALL of the 3GB 970ms I have seen are soldered. I'm willing to bet over 90% of 3GB 970ms are soldered. My reasoning for this is just look at this: http://www.eurocom.com/ec/vgas(1)ec Both Alienware and Clevo 970m MXM GPUs on that are all 6GB, and I wasn't even able to find one 970m 3GB MXM online.

To me, upgrading is an absolute necessity which is why I only go with laptops that have MXM GPU slots.

 

i have yet to see any mxm variants of the 3gb 970m and the 4gb 980m....would be coold if they could take a GTX 980 and stick it on an MXM and get it to work with reasonable temps...i would be so into that!

EDIT: I would be ok if it was downclocked to 1ghz on the core and the vram 3000MHz as is and it would still be a beast over the 980M by the shear number of extra shaders it has over the 980M.

 

They have put it on MXM, well variation of it for full GTX 980 200W TDP in the Clevo P870DM-G. There is supposedly one that is available or soon to be available at 180W that fits MXM.