Help me decide on a my final unsure upgrades (P150EM/NP9150)

I've almost made up on mind. I'm just torn right now on the Networking Card and Graphics Card as well as a small question on RAM.


Which Networking card do you recomend?
-Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (+$35)
-Bigfoot Wireless Killer 1103 (+60)

My understanding is they are both 3x3 A/B/G/N with 450Mbps max on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band.

What I'm looking for in performance? I want to be able to have the best range/signal and maximize as much as the network speed as possible (as in minimal bandwith loss if that makes any sense). I live on a campus right now and will for the next few years. So I use campus routers all the time on the go. As for my room, I'm always within 10ft of my personal router (it's an N600 dual band so I know I can't take advantage of the 450Mbps speed but will probably upgrade to an N900 gigabit dual band within a year)


Which Graphics Card do you recomend (I'm going green only)?
-GTX 675M 2GB [downclocked GTX 560 Ti]
-GTX 680M 4GB [downclocked GTX 670]

What I'm looking for? I want to be able to game on it for the next 5 years at least always at 1080p (even if that means low graphic settings). I pretty much only play StarCraft II right now (at 720p on lowest settings). I'd like to be able to play ArmA II (including DayZ), Battlefield Bad Company 2 (I own it and it is unplayable on my computer, I already own BF3 Premium on my Xbox so I'm not buying it again), DCS A-10C, and from there not sure. I'm more inclinded to buy multiplatform title usually on my xbox just because I'm better with a controller than a keyboard. I'm not sure if getting a 680M to me is wishful thinking. I know for sure the 675M should be more than enough but I don't know. Upgrading later is expensive. And I doubt the 800M series or something will still support MXM III Type b or if Clevo will even support it on the P1xxEM series.




Last is RAM. Below is the RAM I plan on purchasing. Do I need to get the one with a headspreader or not? Is it necessary?
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSQ - No Heat Spread ($45)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSK - Heat Spreader ($48)
or should I get this instead, the only differences seems to be the timings (9-9-9-24 vs 9-9-9-28):
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX8GX3M2A1600C9 - ($55)


Thanks for the help!!!

 

It's really disappointing that you're not going with the AMD 7970m. It runs right with the 680m and it's $300 cheaper. But if you want the comp to last you a long time, go with the 680. If I could somehow convince you to buy the AMD, I would EXTREMELY recommend that. Either way, your computer is going to be great! Enjoy!

 

Just be aware that future proofing is a myth. Hardware released next year will easily outpace what is around now. 5 years is a long time in technology.

 

the 680M should be fine, but I can not promise you that you will be able to play games 5 years from now with either the 7970M or the 680M as there are unknown variables.
For all we know, someone could make some ground breaking discovery that just mops the floor with current tech and graphics requirements could jump significantly due to that.

Regarding the memory choices, any one of those should be just fine but remember that lower numbers on latency are generally better. Any one of those should be fine and none of them seemed to be XMP, so again, they should work.

 

Another question. I was originally going to buy Windows 7 Pro OEM on Amazon for $140 (using gift card money). But, the offer from Microsoft is curious. I've messed around with the Developer, Consumer, and Release Previews of Windows 8. I can say, I like about 99% of the Desktop UI and new features added. But the new Start Screen and Metro UI, I only like about 10% of that. Spending $80 now on Home Premium and upgrading for $15 to Pro is enticing. The only thing is, I don't know if I'll regret using Windows 8 or not.

 

As of right now, the games you listed, the 675M will have absolutely no problem playing at 1080p. If you want to future proof, you should absolutely go for the 680M since it is 45%+ performance over 675M and it draw a lot less power than 675M plus it run much cooler. 680M actually runs 10 degree+ celsius cooler than 7970M which in itself is pretty cool.

1 year from now when there is a awesome mindblowing game coming out, you gonna regret that you didn`t buy the 680M.

Windows: Personally I don`t enjoy Windows 8 at all. I think they try to make the PCs to a freaking touchpad. I will skip it. Windows 7 will have all the features you need for years to come.
There is a general opinion that you should avoid every 2nd release from them. Vista was the previous, now Windows 8

 

Have to agree, 8 is a weird interface for PCs, although i can see the point. As for future proofing, I refer you to my previous post.

 

I'm starting to lean toward the 675M. Mainly because I just feel I can spend $400 better somewhere else (especially as a college student). But also, the 675M handles today's games just fine. I assume it should handle games fine for at least 3-4 years, even if I have to go low/med settings. I use my laptop as a comparision which has a 3450M in it. I've survived 4 years now with it. But, the end of its reign was probably about a year ago (and this gpu was never meant for gaming really to begin with). But, a friend did make a good point to me, what if by going big, I get an extra 2 years. $200 per a year is a great investment to me.

I'm almost tempted to just try a wait a little bit longer than mid june just to see if anything else comes out on the horizon. I'd like to see if they come out with a Kepler version of the GTX 670M and 675M. Then I'd definitely jump on one of those. There are a couple cards with a Kepler and Fermi verion albeit the low tier ones.

The reason I don't want to go red even though the price is hard to argue with is because of the issues right now. Yes, I know it may be a minority compared to actual users but it is large enough to be a problem that shouldn't exist to begin with. And when the 680M starts coming into homes in the following days, if people have issues with that, I'll back down from that as well. It has come to light though that MATLAB takes advantage of CUDA and I'll be using more MATLAB than I can dream of so I would like to take advantage of it. And considering I've been going red the last 4 years, I want to try the side of green.

Anyone have any recomendations as regarding the Wifi Cards? I've read mixed things online. Supposedly the 1103 gets better bandwidth but I've also read the 6300 gets better range. What do others recomend?

 

The 660m is Kepler and close to the 670m in performance if that's what you're looking for.

 

Hey guys since your all talking about the p150em can i ask do any of you have any recommendation for 8GB modules? in case one wanted to make the laptop 32GB XD ive asked around but get different answers from ton of people and well i got my laptop without ram staring at me jejeje

Also to the OP im personally going with AMD because of well budget and time I cant wait for Nvidia to launch anyways yes your Laptop will be awesome and yes it will play most if not all games at above great frames so yes its as future proof as you can get right now but like always keep in mind at minimum most components have improve 10-15% per year so in 2 years alone your card could be 20-30% slower than the new models. about the antennas well Killer is better for MMO's since it will have less lag spikes and works way better in 5Ghz frequencies but the 6300 beats it in terms of distance and is like 2 to 3% better in 2.4Ghz in than the Killer one you can check out all of the reviews and mix and match the details they have and the different test they have done to both cards to see for yourself

 

It's actually a toss up for the wifi adapters, but I would recommend the 6300 if you are on a bit of a budget (college can chew up money fast).

A lot of the Killer N-1103 stuff you will find in reviews is hype and in real world, at the end of a week if you had 2 identical laptops with the only difference being the wifi card, you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference.

 

Never spare any expense when it comes to the graphics card if you're a gamer. That's one of the only things on a laptop you can't upgrade later. If it were me I'd get the 7970m because it's top notch and $300 less than the 680. But of the two you mentioned, definitely the 680.

7970m. If not then 680.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4590/bigfoots-killern-1102-wireless-networking-vs-the-world/

This might help you decide between the wireless card

 

That was a really great article. Thanks. The only problem is it still doesn't help my decision unfortunately. Seeing that performance out of the 1102 makes me only assume the 1103 will be the same or better than all other choices. However, the range test showed some serious range out of the 6300 which being on a college campus is a huge factor. I know part of that is due to the 3x3 vs the 2x2. If I can find a range test of the 6300 vs 1103 then I think it'd solidify my decision.

 

Agree, 7970 is the best bang for the buck