NP8150 - Some questions before I buy

I've read that the i7-2720QM is a much better choice than the i7-2820QM because its a lot cheaper and the difference in performance is small. Should I stay with the 2720QM and focus on the GPU instead?

Does getting the IC Diamond Thermal Compound over stock really make a difference?

Is the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 good enough for casual gaming? I am interested in picking up Diablo 3 and maybe SWTOR in the future. Or should I just go with the GTX 485M?

I was thinking about going with the 2720QM, GTX 485M, and 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM. The 485M just seems more future proof than the HD6970. Any input would be great!

 

price/performance ratio doesn't justify the price jump between 2720 and 2820. Stick with the 2720.

yes

the 6970M is more than enough for casual gaming. The 485M is only about 10% faster than the 6970M...hardly worth paying an additional $250.

 

Regrading the CPU this really comes down to how you will be using your comptuer. There is no doubt the 2820QM is a better cpu but the questions is will you really take advantage of the extra power. If you're doing alot of cpu intensive things then it could be worth the extra to get the increase in speed. The 2720QM in my opinion is the best bang for your buck, even with the more more power the 2820QM has it will be tough to see the extra gains.

IC Diamond does help underload. If you plan on alot of gaming or long periods of time where the cpu/gpu is under load then it helps. There's not much you can do to help cooling in a notebook, better thermal compound is one of those things.

The ATI 6970 is considered by alot to be the best bang for your buck gpu right now. This goes back to the same idea and the cpu. The 485M card does show to be the best performer but again you might not notice it in actual game play. For example if the 485M is running a game at 90fps while the 6970 is doing 80fps you'd never be able to tell that while playing. But if you want to go top of the line go the GTX 485M.

Personally I'd save some money on the cpu and go with the 2720QM w GTX 485M card.

 

$40 for Thermal Compound is a ripoff. Skip that and what lazard said.

 

Ripoff is a relative term - it depends on what your time is worth and you comfort level is with doing it yourself.

 

indeed, some people are unfamiliar/uncomfortable with opening up their laptop, unscrewing and ripping off the heatsinks, and cleaning + reapplying thermal compound.

 

TBH, I've read that the 2720 isn't even that much of a bigger step from the 2630. If gaming and simple tasks are your main uses then the difference won't be noticeable.

 

Mostly good advice... the 2720 is the sweet spot for price/performance. Gives you a bit more speed and virtual capabilities over the lower processor and much less cost than the higher.

Though I prefer Nvidia, ATI always beats Nvida on the price vs performance scale. If you are indeed causal with your gaming go the ATI route and save the money.

I'd go with the better thermal compound. The kind of money you are spending on the 8150 a few extra bucks for an even just slightly cooler machine will add to the life and be a good investment in the long run.

Consider the 8150-S1 as it comes with the upgraded thermal and a few other upgraded bits standard.

 

Would a laptop cooling fan be a nice external replacement instead of the IC Thermal Compound to cool down the system?

 

The difference between thermal compounds is not large, so people might assume paying for better repaste is a waste of money.

This is incorrect because

* The difference between a good paste job and a bad paste job really is huge.

* The odds of getting a bad CPU/GPU paste job from the factory is sadly not small.

There's a big thread on the asus forum where people are repasting their CPU/GPU, finding shocking factory results, and getting huge gains from repasting.
ASUS is known for good quality, I think this problem is across whole industry.

If you repaste yourself make sure not to make the common mistake of using too much paste.

 

If all it was was a $40 packet of compound, sure.

It's also someone's TIME to put it on for you.
Better yet, its someone who has done it for that model umpteen times and knows it like the back of the their hand.

While I advise knowing the inside of your laptop, and being ABLE to do it yourself... paying someone else to do it if your time is more valuable is a GAIN.

If taking apart a laptop and applying the compound takes 30 minutes (especially your first time with the unit in question), and your free time is worth more than $80/hour then paying someone $40 to do this is a net gain.

Furthurmore, if a reseller does it for you and screws it up, it won't be hard to get them to either fix or replace the laptop.

 

^ If your free time worth $80/hour you wouldn't even bother asking that question.

 

And if something goes wrong and parts get ruined, what's that going to be worth? Bigger picture. Think about it.

 

Going back to the 2820 vs 2720 question - everything I have read says you need to be doing some serious CPU work for it to even matter. The more and more I look I am leaning toward the 2630qm myself and saving that money for a nice SSD. I was using a 2820 on an m17x and didn't see any practical difference from a 2720 on an XPS 15. Makes me think the 2630qm is the way to go.

The only practical difference in the 2630qm vs 2720qm was the virtualization tech only in the 2720qm - I am just not sure I will ever have the need for a bunch of VMs on my laptop...

 

Actually, it's not even that big a difference. Both the 2630 and 2720 support Vt-x , which allows virtualization. The 2720qm just supports Vt-d which is some additional features (and really only useful when you're running tons of VM's and need direct hardware IO). If you're gaming on it, and not running tons of VM's or encoding- you'll never be bottlenecked with the 2630qm. An SSD will give you more immediate and long lasting performance benefits versus a CPU bump.

 

Your free time isn't worth $80/hour to you?

The average computer tech is $70-80/hr in the shop... $125 or more for out-of-shop scheduled.

I hire out at $300/hour for consulting. (scheduled)


Perhaps you are selling yourself short?

 

It was mentioned earlier the 8150-S... what is the real difference? Anyone?

 

Compared to the stock P150HM, it's just a special combo deal that comes stock with higher base components and offers (some) cheaper upgrades. It's the same base model though.

Think of it as just the current special. For example, the S1 currently ships with the 6970m, 500GB HDD, Intel 6230 Wifi, IC Diamond, and 8GB RAM as included upgrades compared to the stock version. It can change over time though, so the S1 isn't always the same configuration.

 

Can I work for you for $80/hour?.......

 

Thank you Malibal (#2 even!)

4st3risk,
I don't have any openings for employment... but I am hinting that provided you can build up a knowledge base and a client base that you can work in your free time for $70-80/hour as a tech in your own home.

Your time should be worth something... even if you are a student.

 

^ I'm not a student and I work as a self-made AutoCAD engineer getting less then a half of what you mentioned.

My friend has 2 electronic bachelor degrees and works for about the same amount of money as me.

I don't know where they pay you $70-80/hour for fixing computers...