Clevo W110ER configuration help

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Clevo W110ER. It will be used only for gaming. Options I'm looking at are:

Processor: Intel Core i3-3110M
RAM: 4GB
HDD: 128 GB SSD

Price: 734 €

Now, I know I could get an i5 or maybe even an i7, but will it really make a difference in gaming? I don't play online FPS's like BF3 and such. Also, I _think_ 4GB should be enough for my needs.

What do you think, would this be enough for my needs? I'm on a really tight budget.

 

what games are you looking to play? you'll probably want to up your memory to 8GB, but you can definitely get a matching stick cheaper aftermarket (so long as the machine ships 1 x 4GB). and if i'm not mistaken, the 650m will bottleneck the i3...? so no, upgrading the CPU will not yield better gaming performance.

 

- Just Cause 2
- Borderlands 2
- Crysis 2
- Far Cry 3
- Witcher 2
- Resident Evil 6 (when it's out on PC)

Stuff like that...also some strategy games but they usually aren't that demanding (CIV5, Europa Universalis 3) Only times I play online is when I co-op with my buddies.

 

Upgrade the i3 to an i5. Turbo boost is just too nice to pass up. Thrust me, its worth it.

 

i5-3210M is 52 € more. You think it'd give me a significant performance boost in gaming?

 

Of course it would. We are comparing 2.4Ghz vs something that has 2.9Ghz Turbo in dual core and 3.1Ghz Turbo on 1-core mode.

So basically, for the same consumption, you get up to 700mhz more power. Even in dual core, you get 500mhz more power. And even at normal load, there are still 100mhz more power.
I'd jump on an i5 if I were you.

 

Thanks for your input. Can you link me some benchmark comparisons for gaming?

 

Let me dig up the Notebookcheck benchmarks on these CPUs.

The i3: Intel Core i3 3110M Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech
The i5: Intel Core i5 3210M Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Scroll down and compare all the benchmarks. The i5 has a solid 20% lead over the i3, so chose wisely! A 20% boost is very, very good for 50EUR more.

 

I bought an m17x r1 with a core 2 duo instead of the quad and it was the biggest mistake i ever made. Always go for the quad if you ever plan on gaming now.

 

Ive only had one i5 in my life. And two i7's.
The difference is just huge.

Its always a good idea to go for the i7 3630QM, since its just a good bang-per-buck CPU.
But, an i5 is good too.
Dont buy the i3's if you wanna game.

A good example of a game that wants a good CPU is Planetside 2.
A turbo boost capable processor would be a very good idea for you.

 

so it's probably imprecise to say that upgrading the cpu wouldn't make for better gaming performance flat out, but what about taken together with the GPU here? i mean of course it's always going to be faster to go turbo boost over non, quad over dual, i7 over i5 over i3, but what about the scope of the question? don't get me wrong, i agree with you bob1man, but should OP consider a machine with a better GPU before looking at CPU upgrades? or do you think i5/turbo over i3 regardless?

Sent from my PI39100 using Board Express

 

The GPU is non-upgradeable on the W110ER, so it essentially falls out of the question.
I dont know why the OP has decided on the W110ER, maybe he wants a small and portable gaming laptop. If thats the case, this is the best option on the market.
If he is willing, he may opt for the W350ET, with a gtx660m. A bit bigger and heavier, though...


So the only thing we may hope to improve in this machine is the CPU.
I can vouch for i5's and i7's, since there are some CPU intensive games out there that could benefit from it.
I think the GPU is actually PERFECT for the resolution of 1366x768 that the 11" screen offers. If you dont use AA and AF, all games will be pefectly playable on it.

Well, it now falls to the OP to decide what to shoot for. But seriously....the i3's, Pentiums and Celerons are just as far away from the gaming class as you can get.
Anything from the i5 and i7 series is just gonna demolish those low-end processors with both hands crossed.

 

I agree the i5 will be sufficient for the gaming the 650m is capable of. The upgrade cost to the i7 is completely worth the performance difference in my opinion but the i5 will be able to handle the task fairly well.

 

Thanks a lot for your help. I want this laptop because it's easily carried and I like the "feel" of smaller machines. So the GPU is non-upgradeable.

I think I'm gonna go with the i5-3210M given nobody recommended the i3. Thanks again!

 

No problem!

 

If your jump to i5, consider the i7 if your buget allows. Funny how you end up spending more than you wanted?

The i7 will make a difference over the i5 for games that are not GPU limited as already mentioned. If you get into video encoding then my i7 kills my i5. The 650m works well with the W110ER due to the 720P screen. The screen, GPU, and faster i7 allows me smoother game play with one ornery running game, Divinity 2, over my 560m(20% faster) with an i5. With Crysis, i get higher frame rates (6-10FPS) with the 560M, at same rez over the 650M. So, my i5 will be getting shelved when the right i7 price comes along.

For portable gaming, you will like the 11" beast with the i5!

 

An i7 would definetely make a huge boost.

The problem is, I dont see i7 3630QM to be available for W110ER at all. Checked at MySN.
Probably because the max TDP is 35W.
That means, the only two i7's he can choose are quad 3632QM and 3520M (which is dual core).

And the upgrade is 110EUR more than the i5.

 

We can verify that Sager has shipped many units with the 3630QM. System supports it no problem.

 

Actually, Eurocom offers it with a 3940XM, although how it handles the heat, I don't know.
Seems a bit of overkill, unless you really need that much power.