GT 630m vs GT 650m for School/Gaming

I'm looking at the HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Entertainment Notebook PC for school use and some gaming. I want this computer to last about 3-4 years and the hardware not become obsolete in that time. Im want to be able to play games like TF2, BF3, Borderlands 2, Minecraft, etc. on around 720p on med/high settings with around 25 fps (25 fps is more than enogh since i ussually play with a CQ62-219wm) . I want to know if its worth the 25USD upgrade from the GT-630m to the GT-650m. the 630m has 1gb VRAM while the 650m has 2gb. I've been told that VRAM doesn't matter much for these GPUs since they both have a 128-bit memory bus (which apparently is bad). i know that the 650m is better than the 630m but im wondering if the performance increase is like Skyrim on high will get 30 fps on the 630m but the 650m gets 80 fps on the same settings (theoretically). The other specs on the laptop are:

i5-3210m
6gb RAM
640gb 5400rpm HDD
768p 15.6in screen (i dont think the 150USD upgrade to 1080p is worth it)

Overall depending on specs, the price (w/o tax and shipping) is 655-750USD

P.S.
the amount of power the cards consume doesnt concern me since if im not plugged in im not gaming
im not trying to get 80 fps on the games listed at ultra settings; 40 fps med/high is more than enough
I dont want a recommendation to a different computer

 

25 usd? Totally worth it. Pretty sure the 650m is much more powerful than the 630m. Also, its one of the only components you CANT upgrade after you buy.

As for the backlit keyboard? How on earth do you expect us to analyze whether or not its worth it to you? Do you like backlit keyboards? Do you use your computer in the dark? Pretty simple questions to ask yourself.

 

Thanks for the answer. i'd like to know if the i5-2450m is worth the 20USD upgrade to the i5-3210m
EDIT: that was a bad question. HP doesnt allow you to put a 2nd gen processor with the GT 650m

 

I wouldnt go with anything lower than a 650m... except if you play 5years old games or 16bits emulator lol

 

The GT 650M is leagues faster than the 630M, which is a rebranded Fermi-based GT 540M.

 

Well the 650M is literally 2x the speed of the 630M, so a mere $25 for the upgrade is a no-brainer.

To spell out the difference:

GT 630M = Medium settings at 720p
GT 650M = Medium settings at 1080p

I would not spend a ton of money to go between one i5 to the next; just take the i5-3210M and be happy.

 

Not so much in the gaming forum, but many NBR users will suggest that the screen is one of the most important upgrades you can make. Generally, it looks something like this: if you've had a good, high-res screen, you won't want to go back to a cheap, low-res screen. Ergo, you'll thank yourself for spending the extra money to upgrade the screen. In other words, upgrade and you'll be happy you did, don't upgrade and you'll be blissfully ignorant.

And I'd say the newer i5 would be worth the $20 upgrade cost even if it weren't required for the 650m - it's newer tech so your on-battery graphics performance would be better and it should offer somewhat better performance and battery life than the Sandy Bridge (i5-2xxx) model.