Gaming Laptop question.

I'm looking at a few different laptops and was wondering what one would be the best bang for the buck. I'm hoping whatever I end up getting would be able to play Witcher 3 and Watch Dogs at 1080p smoothly, doesn't have to be at max settings either, just as long as it's around medium.
Right now I'm using a laptop that has a i7 2720QM and a 6750M, which is nice enough, but it's a Macbook Pro and I'm tired of having to reboot into Windows whenever I fill like gaming.

All the prices are from Xotic PC, if there's a better site to buy from let me know please.
The cheapest laptop on my list is the MSI GX60 for $1300. It has a 8970M which seems like it's a good enough card, but the A10 5750M seems like it might be too weak.

Next is the Sager NP8265 for $1554. It again has a 8970M, but for the CPU it has a i7 4700MQ. I'm sure the i7 runs circles around the A10, but will it make a big difference in games?

Last one I'm looking at is the Sager NP8265 again, only this time with a 780M for $1804. I know the 780M is a beast, but is it worth the extra $350?

 

What about buying used? Any used AW M17x R3 or R4 with 28XXQM or 37xxQM should be fine if paired with a GTX 680M.

Also check Dell outlet for refurbished laptops that go for cheap.

AMD 8970M definitely seems like better value but no doubting the GTX 780M's superiority in performance.

 

I'd rather buy new, but I guess used/refurbished isn't totally out of question if it's a good deal.

 

Get the laptop with the 780m, it is an absolute monster for a mobile card. Given the right PSU, you can overclock it higher than a desktop 680GTX.

 

Yeah, the 780m is almost 40% over the 7970m, so go for it if you can:
Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - NotebookCheck.net Tech

 

This is actually a good idea. If you see a refurb deal, get that. I'd suggest posting in this subsection. It is meant to help people out with their laptop purchases.

The PSU doesn't matter beyond a point. The MXM specifiation only allows for a maximum of 100W of power. The GTX 680 consumes almost 200W under load. You are going to get nowhere near those clock speeds.

The 7970m numbers are with older drivers and a weaker CPU. Also, I have no idea where you get the 40% number from because nowhere in the link you posted does it say that.

OP, compare the 8970m to the 780m. Open two windows side by side and look at the numbers. The 8970m review comes with two numbers for most games. One is significantly lower because it is on a laptop with a A10 CPU paired with the 8970m. You do not want that. Pairing the A10 is kind of pointless in my opinion (I think that also answers your question regarding whether it makes a big difference in games). You want to look at the numbers for the 8970m paired with a Haswell CPU. You can click on the numbers to see what laptop config was used.

Now you can decide for yourself if the premium over the 8970m is worth it. By the way, it is $250 over the 8970m with the other configs remaining the same, not $350 (It is a $350 upgrade from stock). I purchased a 7970m last year (the 680m upgrade was $250 extra). I didn't purchase the 680m because I didn't think the difference warranted that large of a premium. If I had the money though, I would definitely go for it. I would suggest you also get a 3 year warranty upgrade and a 128GB SSD. With these upgrades, you are looking at a little under $2000 on the NP8265 ($1950 if you get the cash discount) with the 780m. If you can afford that, go for it. You can even get the SSD (~$120) later when you have some cash available. It is much better to get the 780m (a much more difficult and expensive upgrade later) now and upgrade to a SSD later. However, if you have a strict cut off at $1800, then don't sacrifice the warranty upgrades and the SSD for the 780m. It is not infrequent for laptops to break and fixing them is very expensive.

 

3dmark11:
7891,5/5645=1,397962798937112

But yes, I have seen much better results in further 3dmark11 7970m tests.
Not sure if might happen the same with the 780m

 

I would also say go with a 4700mq and 780m if you can afford it.

The A10 is substantially weaker than the i7 as well as having a much higher tdp. Although the 8970M might have some of the bugs worked out, it's mostly just a re-named 7970M with higher clocks. Many of the people that went with the 7970M seemed to have problems.

It really depends on your budget though. The 7970M/8970M is a very fast card and can be had at a good price especially a used laptop.

 

If I bumped my budget up to $2000, would the MSI GT60 2OD be a better buy over the Sager? Double the RAM would be nice, don't know any games that would need it, but still it would be nice. The 128GB mSATA has me curious, never had a SSD before, I could fit a couple games along with the OS on one that size right?

 

An i7 with 8970 should be a nice powerful combo for 1500dlrs.

780m machines altho very powerful, can be expensive. I love mine and recommend it! Most like my GT60 are in the 1999dlrs ballkpark but come full featured with a lot of performance.

 

Try to invest as much as u can in the gpu, Imo, the processor isnt that essential if you only want to play.

 

It's essential to have a quad core, beyond that, clock speeds don't matter a whole lot.

 

My advice would be to make sure the laptop GPU uses MXM so you have the option to upgrade down the road.
7970m is a great card but doesn't OC much.
680m is similar at stock but OCs like a madman.
780m is a even better choice but you must make sure the laptop has a large PSU otherwise you won't be overclocking it much and it won't truly shine next to an OCed 680m. If you get this card with a small PSU you're not getting your money's worth.
Personally I'd recommend the 680m for someone on a budget.

 

Stop saying the bolded. It isn't true.