Is the 460m powerful enough in the 8130? Need Advice

I am considering the 8130 after a few recent issues with a lenovo seller. I primarily play most of my games on the PS3 but would love to get back into pc gaming a bit. I would primarily be playing source games (huge Valve/Steam fan) and possibly a few others (Amnesia comes to mind along with a few other FPS games, no MMO's though).

I would also like to keep the cost down which is why I was looking at the 8130. I would like to get the 8150 but after I add the ATI card, I simply can't justify that kind of money. This would also be my main computer. Is the 460m powerful enough to run most games? I know I probably won't be able to run Crysis 2 (not a huge fan of the series to be honest) on ultra but as long as I can get up to high on most games, I would be pretty happy. Honestly though I am sure even medium on pc games would look way better than the PS3 (thinking of Portal or Half Life on this one).

What is everyone's experience with the 460m in the 8130? Enough power for games? Should I just bite the bullet and save up for the 8150? There is a pretty big price difference between the 8130 (which already has a matte screen) and a 8150 with the ati card (after I switch from a glossy to matte lcd). I guess I could just deal with the glossy on the 8150 but it is still a good $400 more on the configuration I made compared to the 8130. I am definitely taking into count that I would have a more powerful video card but I don't know if that justifies $400 + difference. If I add a matte screen and ati card on the 8150 the price difference climbs to over $600.

It has been a long time since I had any type of pc that could run games well so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

I've got a couple of links for you to check out:

Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Might help answer some of the questions you have.

 

The stock 6970M is around 10% slower than 460M in SLI. Whether that gulf justifies your money, only you can say.

The NP8130 can hold the 6970M, so buying one further down the line is also a possibility.

 

Thanks! It looks like the 460m can pretty much run anything as of right now on high or close to it. It does seem like the 6970 would buy me some time though as it could run pretty much anything on the highest settings (or close to it) right now.

I guess I have to decide if the extra money is worth it. I really wanted to stay around $1500. I just wish it wasn't so expensive adding the ATI card. That's the price for technology though .

 

Thanks! I doubt I would be upgrading the laptop though. Every time I look at the price with the 6970 added, I have to do a double take, lol. It's a great deal but that is quite a bit of money. The 460m 8130 is no slouch either though. Most likely I would be buying another laptop in 2-3 years.

Decisions, decisions .

 

If you do desire an upgrade in a year or two, you could essentially double your gaming performance for $500, which is the cost of the 6970M aftermarket.

 

Good point. Would the glossy screen be a bad choice? I see so many people recommending the matte screen option even if the glossy is available. I could save a couple of hundred and use that toward the 6970m 8150 laptop. I have used one in the past (on a 2010 macbook pro )and honestly didn't have a big issue with glare. I do prefer a matte screen to be honest though. It would bring me closer to the 8150 if I comprised though screen wise.

 

I got my laptop from Eurocom. They have the Eurocom Racer which is the NP8150 at a great price.

Standard config comes with a stock matte screen already.
Upgrade to AMD 6970M
Downgrade to Core i7-2630QM
Downgrade Wireless card

After doing the steps mentioned above, you will get a price of $1468 not including shipping. If you are a student, you get 5% discount off of that $1468. Then add the $58 shipping you should be around $1453.

Note: Be careful with some payments that they will incur a fee due to international purchase. They are located in Canada.

 

Best bet would be to ask in the NP8150 Owner's Lounge.

A few people have gone glossy, to then add a high quality matte screen protector afterwards. One of these threads has a tutorial.

 

I didn't know that you can use the 6970m in the np8130. Wouldn't you also have to get a new charger if you do upgrade from 460m to 6970m?

 

I'm pretty sure you would need a bigger AC adapter, yes....seeing how the 6970M draws about 100W.

Mr. Mysterious