Which is better for gaming? A Gateway 8510GZ or a MX7515 Gateway Laptop?

Question for those who can help me.

Recently I bought an 8510GZ laptop from Best Buy for $1250.00 It was an open box item, had some surface scratches on it but otherwise was okay. However, come to find out when I got home that the Recovery disc had already been burnt and much to my Chagrin, I could not make another since it is a one time only thing. I do believe the BB crew used the one time chance to restore the machine, but never gave me said CD.


Now mind you, the notebook does okay on Gaming, but...it could be better. So my Dilemma is this. Recently I saw the MX7515 for a little more then what I paid for the 8510GZ. Lower graphics card via the X600...but more memory on the card. Faster Processor too. Not sure whether the Memory is dual channel or not, but it is 1 gig of it. Makes a bit of a difference.

So...basically it boils down to, which is better for gaming? And by that, I initially mean STOCK, right out of the box. Which one will perform better for running games?

I realize that the 8510GZ can be upgraded, but I am not sure how much of a difference more Ram will make in the longrun performance of the games, nor am I certain how or where I could find an MXM card to put in the Video Card slot if I wanted to upgrade it.

It just seems that the MX7515 is better on paper, but I could be wrong here, which is why I am asking the question. If anyone could post benchmarks also on the two machines in games, that would also be helpful.


Basically, if the MX7515 turns out to be better, I will return the 8510GZ for it. If the 8510 is better, then I will keep it and upgrade it.

Also, how much of a difference does the upgrading make, or rather, how much of a difference WILL it make in the performance of games? WOuld it be wiser to keep the 8510 and just upgrade it? These are the kinds of things I am mulling around in my mind.

Any and all help would be immensley appreciated. It truly would be, as I am admittedly a bit confused on the topic, and MX7515 Reviews and Benchmarks after about...an hour of searching, are pretty much non existant.

All help is greatley appreciated.

My Eternal Thanks,

Draconis

 

Out of the box...depends on the game.

My 8510GZ plays BF2 fine. I only played at like 800x600 with mediume res, stock. When I upgraded to 2GB of RAM($154) and the 2.6.83 Omega drivers, I can run at 1024x768 pretty fluidly online with AA x2 on. I haven't pushed it higher than that yet to see how high it'll go.

I'd guess the 7515 would be faster stock, slightly on some games. But the 8510GZ has more potential in my opinion. You'll get better battery life and you get the larger screen. Just depends on what you want. Also, the vide upgradeability on the 8510 is nice.

For the restore software, if you decide to keep the 8510, I'd just go into best buy and tell them how it won't let you burn it again. The techs at the bench should be able to order restore software from Gateway...or you could get someone on the boards to send you a disc. You need the system restore and the drivers/application restore as well.

 

Out of the box the 7515 will be faster due to more RAM, the extra 512MB of ram makes a world of difference, but at the same RAM level 8510GZ will be much better, the x700 and 5400rpm harddrive (dunno about the 7515 harddrive specs) will give you the edge.

I have the 8510 and loved it!

 

The MX7515 actually has the same amount of physical video memory as the 8510GZ, it just takes an extra 64MB from system memory to bring it up to 128MB.

The MX7515 isn't worth talking about anymore, though, as the MX7525 is out (or at least, coming out VERY soon). It has a full 128MB of dedicated video memory on the X600, and that plus its vastly more powerful processor (and 1GB of RAM standard) bring its gaming performance about on par with the 8510GZ.

The crucial difference is that an MXM upgrade part can be bought for the 8510GZ online (usually on eBay), and that'll allow its graphics prowess to blow by the MX7525.

 

Well, part of the issue currently at hand is that I don't have the option to attain the 7525 model. I am heading out of state to a university for my work very shortly. ( I am a field service Technician). This means that my choice is either the 8510, or the 7515. Money is also an issue, and is the primary factor in this matter since time is the limiting modicum of capability.

But basically, what everyone is saying, is that basically keep my 8510GZ because it is better then the 7515? Am I correct in assuming that the main factors in this are the dual channel ram, higher RPM on the HDD, and X700 compared to the X600? Even though the X600 has more ram?

Also, if I DO decide to upgrade the 8510, what is the best Ram and Video card and Processor that I can get for it? And moreso, where can I find it? The Video card and Mobile Processor especially. I am going to assume Ebay of course as it was mentioned, but are there any vendors I can order these parts through?

Let me know, the more detailed the matter is, the better. As it stands I don't have much time to peruse the forums because my work barely gives me time to eat and sleep when I get home. So searching through the forums for answers over the hours I am supposed to be working is kind of out of the question.



Thanks,

Draconis

 

I have the 7515 and I would basically say that this is a tossup. In my opinion the only reason to go with the 8510 is because of it's ability to be upgraded. That being said, if you upgraded the processor you would hardly be able to get anything better than the AMD 4000+ so really the issue is the graphics card. The X700, though I have never had one, looks to be a significant improvement.

I really like the 7515 so far but for you you may want to just spend the money that you would have saved on the 7515 and just buy a little more RAM and put it in the 8510 and you should be in pretty good shape.

If it were not for the processor I would probably go with the 8510 myself but I want to do some recording with it and so the processor should help to reduce any stalls and hangups.

Hope some of this helped. Let me know if I can answer anything more.

 

Just get 2 1GB sticks of DDR2 PC4200 compliant RAM for the 8510. I ordered the Transcend sticks from newegg.com(the samsung chips...not the other ones...they're both listed). They work fine. "Best" for ram is a misnomer for laptops. You buy what is known to be compatible. Most have a lifetime warranty now anyways. Buying a nicer brand that is able to be clocked higher does you no good, like in desktops, cause you can't clock it higher in your laptop.

As for processor...a Pentium M 2.26Ghz is the fastest available now and probably ever. Frankly...it's too expensive to bother with. Just leave it be. In a year or two, if you want to upgrade it, get it then. Right now it won't make a big difference for the stuff you listed anyways.

As for the video card...I'd also hold off. You said the 8510 seems basically fast enough...with the 2GB of RAM it'll be noticeably faster. Later on, when there are more MXM3 compliant offerings out there(the new 7800's are in that form factor...just expensive now) and the prices drop, you'll be able to pick something up fairly cheap probably.

No point in replacing all that stuff right off the bat. If you're gonna do that...custom ordering it would be much cheaper to get it with all the parts you want now. You're talking about spending tons of money.