WhatS Better for Gaming? 8GB or 16GB?

For gaming, is 8GB good enough to play games for the next 2 years? Or should I get 16GB?

 

MoH WF complaints about RAM usage a lot on my old 8GB system. Crysis 3 also caused system-wide slow down by pushing too much data into swap.

 

So in other words you'd suggest 16GB ram.

Also, I'm thinking of getting a laptop with Nvidia GTX 960m. I wanted to get one with 970m, but its too pricey for me now. Do you think a 960m is enough to play games coming out for the next 2 years?

Btw, what graphics card do you use?

 

I would get the 970M.. The 960M is obsolete and will really struggle with new games later this year.. The 970M on the other hand is almost 2 times as powerful at stock and can even be OCed to 980M levels.. Save the extra and get the 970M!

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

Appreciate that. Can you recommend a few laptops with the 970 for a budget of $1300?

 

How about the 965M Tom? Where does it stand? I can see some laptops in his budget range with a 965M but not a 970M certainly.

 

Avoid the 965M, too. It's still far less powerful than the 970M.

If you must purchase something now and can't wait for Pascal, then I'd recommend this system: http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8657-clevo-p650re3-p-8677.html

 

Sadly, that notebook in the link suffers from a very weak screen cover.

Can you suggest something else?

 

I'd suggest you go through the entire list of notebooks on XoticPC.com until you find one.

There are at least 6 I can choose for you, but only you know what you want.

 

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8657-special-clevo-p650re3/

http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-p55w-sl1.html

http://www.xoticpc.com/force-msi-1781-22-429-970m-msi-gt72-barebones.html?

 

Appreciate that. But that Sager NP8657 has a very weak screen cover that can be twisted very easily. Not a solid build. And it doesnt support the special Win 10 trackpad gestures.

That Gigabyte model doesnt come in IPS screen, unfortunately.

The MSI model comes in 17 inch, not 15 inch screen. So its too big. I need 15 inch.

 

You won't find what you're looking for with $1300 that has a 970M. You may have to sacrifice the GPU for features, which seem to be more important to you. Everything you want is possible to have at $1600-$2000.

 

If I may suggest you wait with a laptop purchase until Polaris mobile GPU's come out?
AMD has a track record of providing cheaper mobile gaming GPU's (even high-end ones) at a much lower price tag than Nvidia.
And considering how powerful Polaris is turning out to be, along with 14nm manuf. process and 2.5x performance per watt enhancements when compared to Fury line GPU's... I think from a price/performance point of view, you might actually get a more powerful GPU than 960m of 970m for same if not slightly lower price?

It's up to you.
But for the next 2 years... I don't think 960m would be sufficient.
970m at least... or wait for Polaris (which should be out in a few months time).

As for RAM... 16GB would be better (obviously), but it really depends on how you decided to use the system RAM.
If its used as a swap file, then 16GB or more would obviously be a lot better.

 

Get 16GB.

 

There is nothing weak about the screen (it isn't that rigid but not like it will break!).. As for the touchpad gestures, they are gimmicks.. With your budget, you are in a beggars can't be chooser situation... I would suggest the 8657S too..

 

Can you tell me if that Gigabyte in the link has IPS screen? Someone said it has it. But it doesnt say so in the description.

 

According to this, yes it does.

 

Some people do find them useful.

 

Thanks man. Now all I need to know about this laptop is if it utilizes all of the special Win 10 trackpad gestures.

 

What you have right here is a case of "I don't have money, but I want everything".

Make your sacrifice and live with it. Either you:
- Save up now, buy stronger later
- Buy weak now, buy another machine in under 2 years or deal with bad performance/resolution in AAA titles near the end of 2016 and onward
- Buy strong now, bite your belly on your quirks like "I need IPS screen" or "I think this laptop will fall apart easily" (the P650RE3 won't... and it's under 2 year warranty anyway by default from Sager), or "I need 15" screen size" and enjoy what you get even if it's not perfect

It's like you have 10 points to put into four properties, and each property takes up to 3 points to get what you want out of it, and your budget supplies the points. Either more budget for more points and the perfect machine, or you sacrifice one or more of: Performance. Stability. Size. Screen choice. Features.

 

I did imply that I was getting the Gigabyte laptop. All I need to know now is if it uses all the Win 10 trackpad gestures.

 

Technically if trackpad is multitouch, it should work. Just need an appropriate driver/software.

 

Didn't see that when I was typing it. But you did one of what I said anyway.

 

Tom's says that IPS screen on Gigabyte is good, however no mentioning about touchpad. You could try asking that question in the comments, article author might answer you.