Trying to finalize my P170HM build

I'm currently figuring out the build for a laptop for my brother and I'm pretty decided on the P170HM from MALIBAL, but I'm not too sure on where to focus with upgrades. I'm looking to be under $1500 so I don't want to go too crazy, but it will be used primarily for gaming (Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Arkham City - mostly newer fps titles) so I know it needs to be built above stock form.

I know the graphics card is the main area to upgrade so I'm looking at the AMD 6990M, but is it that far above the 6970M? I'd like for the laptop to last for a few years playing newer titles at mid to high level graphics, so I'd assume the newer 6990 would have a longer playability lifespan - but how large is the difference is what I'm wondering.

I don't generally build gaming computers so I'm not so sure on processor or memory upgrades - would the base i7 and 8GB of ram be sufficient?

Knowing that the laptop will be used for gaming fairly frequently, would the thermal compound upgrade be a good idea or is it only a marginal effect on the cooling/reliability of cooling?

Any advice is appreciated - thanks.

 

The difference between the 6970 and 6990 is about 15%. See benchmarks below for comparison:

AMD Radeon HD 6990M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
AMD Radeon HD 6970M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

For the minimal difference in price (less than $100), the 6990 is a decent upgrade.

For gaming specifically, the base processor and 8GB RAM is plenty. However, if you want to be "futureproofed" a bit, it wouldn't hurt to upgrade to the 2760. It's hard to say where things will be in a few years and the CPU is difficult/expensive to upgrade yourself. RAM is something you can always add in later on your own.

The IC Diamond upgrade offers temp reductions of 4-7C on average, so it's up to you if it's worth it. If you're comfortable opening up the machine you can always apply it yourself as well.

 

$1500 limits you quite a bit. Really, your only choice for gaming is to get a Satori with a 6990M and use Malibal's new $125 off orders over $1500 promotion. That would bring the price to around $1464 and leave you with a few extra bucks to upgrade the wifi, perhaps to the Intel 6230.

 

The Intel 6230 is a must have, if you don't want to spend $5 more for the Bigfoot card + bluetooth dongle.

Basically, you're looking at a fully stock P170HM with the 6990M and the 6230 Advanced N NIC, which is by no stretch a weak machine(it will run every game maxed)

 

Is there a large difference in performance between the 6230 and the Bigfoot wireless card?

 

No, its for the most part just configured better. In honesty its not really worth it. People will say it is and stand by it but all it does is prioritize traffic from you PC to your router. It does not make internet faster, make games faster or anything.

The only time its usefull is if you are downloading or doing something network intensive on your laptop and want to play a game at the same time and even than almost useless. My wireless connects at 300mb, my internet is 30/5. If I turn on another puter to download something the card does nothing to help network.

If I copy a large file on this one to another, it will help because that will max my internal network, in which priority will help.

I am sure the card is a good upgrade but its not really usefull in consumer world per say unless the computer you are on is very network busy.

 

This is false... anandtech did tests on the bigfoot card, and next to wired solutions, it has the lowest network latency.

 

My brother will mostly be gaming on the computer, but it will also be his primary/only computer so it will be used for any other download/streaming. If it's a $5 difference and in some circumstances it would help keep him from having issues then I don't see a problem with that upgrade - thanks for the info. From the look of it the Bigfoot doesn't come with bluetooth functionality (onboard or with a bundled dongle) - so will he need to get a cheap usb bluetooth dongle if he wants to have a wireless mouse/keyboard or anything of the like? (I don't think he will, but I should probably warn him that he'll need to get one if he ever decides to get any wireless accessories).

Are there any upgrades that anyone thinks I should strongly consider going a little over my budget for or would they for the most part do little for gaming?

Thanks again for the help.

 

He'll need a dongle if he wants to use BLUETOOTH devices... in most cases, wireless mouse/keyboards use either IR or 2.4Ghz RF, which is not bluetooth. Most bluetooth devices arn't gaming oriented(except the Razer Orochi)

The only true upgrade for gaming past a top end graphics card(which you have in it already) is a SSD. I HIGHLY recommend a SSD upgrade.

 

There is a difference especially in download speeds. See the data sheets below...

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/product-brief/centrino-advanced-n-6230-brief.pdf

http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/assets/Company/Media-Center/Datasheets/Final-KIller-Wireless-N-1103-Datasheet.pdf

_

 

Hey guys, ive got the same/similar questions as the OP for the same model, so I thought Id bring them here instead of making another thread. Just trying to learn everything I can before I purchase. I should note gaming is my only concern for the notebook.

Why upgrade CPU? It's my understanding that GPU is the main bottleneck atm, and since GPU cannot be upgraded down the line, you would be "future proofing" for something unlikely to matter. Is this true?

You mentioned 8GB of RAM was plenty. Does 1600MHz make any significant difference in performance from 1333MHz? Would it be "safer" to get 16GB of ram, or faster ram, for the future? (my knowledge of RAM is extremely limited)

Hard drives: My biggest issue is what type of harddrives to get and how many to get. You mentioned SSD is a huge upgrade for gaming. Is it big enough to justify buying a larger SSD drive? Ive been mulling over whether to go with a hybrid drive + blueray, SSD + blue ray, or SSD boot drive + HDD. Is an SSD upgrade worth the price?

 

Dont need to upgrade CPU unless you need the extra performance. there really is no difference between 1333 and 1600 real world. 8gb is more than enough... but you could upgrade to 16 by yourself for only $45.
SSD is a huge upgrade for everything... it speeds EVERYTHING up in general... everyone that has a SSD can attest to this.

 

How much of a boost does the SSD provide over a normal 7200? I know that it's supposed to be noticeable in general, but does it have a major in game boost?

 

Thanks a lot

 

The only difference you'll get in games is with level loading time. Overall FPS won't see a jump. The biggest benefits to SSD's are in boot time and application load time though.

Here's a good comparison review that NBR did:

SSD vs Hard Drives: A Beginner's Guide to SSD Upgrades

 

Thanks for all the info.