Help with a mid-high class laptop graphics card

Hello all, looking to pick up a laptop soon and need a little help. I'm a college student and like to game on side, I only require medium-high settings in my games but I'm looking to be able to stick with this laptop for the next 2-3 years.

Would the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 or 5650 be good enough for these purposes? Or should I be looking at a 5870/50 in order to last a few years?

Also how big is the power consumption difference between the 5800s and 57/5600s?

Thanks in advance

 

performance wise if you want it to last 2/3 years get the best u can afford

ie : either 285 sli or single 5870

failing that 5770

 

Alright, I'm looking at the MSI GX640 or MSI GX740. I know they're not out yet but according to the specs if I get an i7-620M or i7-720QM with 8GB of 1333MHz RAM that should be solid for a couple years right?

Also what are your opinions on the 620m vs 720qm for gaming? Although battery life is a concern of mine, doesn't need to last forever, just enough to last a 3 hours lecture on power saver.

 

I highly doubt you will find your 3 hour battery life from a laptop that can provide you with 2 years of gaming on the latest games. G73 here lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes.

I don't think the difference between 720 and 620 shouldn't be that huge.

Remember, high end mobile is mid-range desktop.

 

Well that's why I was thinking of 5770 or little lower. I play games but don't need to max out settings. I'm perfectly happy with medium settings.

Really the G73 can get 2 hrs and a 1/2??? I heard it got around an hour which is why I got really turned off of it.

 

If you want it to game for 2+ years, go no less than the GTX 260M. Even the 5850 of the GX640, if it is indeed GDDR3, is less than ideal. The 5770 isn't a bad alternative to the 260M.

I'm also waiting on the GX740, but I need to see some reviews before I'll bite.

5650/5730 have a year left, then it's all low settings.

 

Yes I read those posts also. They were from people who did not own the G73 and were purely speculating at the time. I know Ken from GenTech got similar times as I do. I use my G73 on the train everyday which is a 50 minute ride and the battery doesn't reach 50% during that time. This is browsing the web etc. not gaming.

I haven't seen any, but maybe you can find a high end graphics notebook with hybrid technology.

 

Oh alright, might need to reconsider the G73 now. Naturally I will never be gaming when not plugged in (just for note taking/web browsing during lectures) with the brightness turned down.

I'm also considering the m15x for the switchable graphics but it's really overpriced compared to asus or msi.

Hmmm can anyone enlighten me as to how much a downgrade we expect between the 5870 and the 5850?

 

5870 is faster and more likely to have GDDR5... Asus G73 is great for the price... u should really get that... also has RAM expandible to 16GB for future proofing...

 

I think the MSI GX740 is the best bang for the buck, unless you need two drive bays.

Similar specs for a little less cost and smaller dimensions overall. Granted you get 1680x1050 screen and not 1920x1080, but that's up to you.

I don't think anyone will need 16GB RAM , let alone 8GB any time in the near future (i.e. 2-3 years).