Which would chip would you choose?

I'm going to primarily be gaming and simple web surfing. As I deploy often now and games keep me from wanting to poke my eyes out from spending 7 months on a ship....what's the best choice?

Just would you choose for overall gaming?

i5 540M
i7 620M
i7 720QM
i7 820QM

Edit: Well Justin said it would be an automatic upgrade to the 740QM and 840QM if selecting either of those. That's nice

 

It depends on the pricing, but as long as the i7-620M is cheaper than the i7-720QM and not much more than the i5-540M it's a decent pick.

In any case, the GPU is more important for gaming; in particular, considering laptop GPUs are much weaker than their desktop counterparts, while the CPUs are less far off, it's generally the GPU that will let you down.

 

It's going to be the 5870. So, can't really do better there.

 

You did not state whether you have a limited budget... is this CPU selection question just a general question, or are we working with monetary limits?

 

Since the 740 is basically the 820 now i would stick with that myself...

Having owned all 3 cpus 720/820/920 id say the 820 was best choice overall and now the 740 is cheaper and basically the equal...

 

an i5-540 has an almost identical score to a 520m if the 520m is an option...personally, if I had the cash I would have opted for a i7-620m myself though...

 

820/840QM. More power, more flexibility, best long-term value.

 

crazy how different the answers are

 

If you want to play GTA IV or other future unoptimised Console rubbish then you need a Quad, if not then a Dual will do the job just fine.

 

Yep opinions vary ..


I just think bang for the buck the 740 is a no brainer...

If you have cash to burn grab the 840 ...

I think the money would be better spent on a SSD myself if your looking for a real performance leap..

 

I am curious why the 940XM chip was not part of the poll?

 

To much $$ i imagine... The price jumps way to much from the 840 to the 940 for the average person not to mention most people know they dont need it ...


Unless you have a specific reason in mind the 920/940 just are not worth it especially when it comes to gaming... They run hotter and consumer more power for almost 0 benefit in games...

Video encoding or something where maybe time is precious and your looking to shave off a couple extra minutes it might be worth it but that is really all...

 

The money depends on the person and their available budget. Just as some people buy expensive sports cars with the best engine specifications (for a price) some will buy the 940XM just for the speed.

I am just saying the poll is incomplete.

 

Yes i understand that and agree but in this case his poll only had those CPUs available to choose from and im sure he didnt leave one out by accident ...

 

Which would be correct. The price is prohibitive. Well, not that I couldn't afford it, but I don't want to. It's needlessly excessive to me which means I chose not to make it one of my options.

The poll is not incomplete =p

 

Well, not that I figure anyone really cares...but here's what I went with

1 x Sager NP8760 (Built on Clevo W870CU) Custom Gaming Laptop () = $2,019.00
Display 17.3" FHD LED Backlit 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1080)
Dead Pixel Policy Standard Dead Pixel Policy
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-820QM, 1.73-3.06GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)
Thermal Compound -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
Graphics Video Card ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
External Graphics Card No External Graphics Card
External Monitor Video Adapter No Video Adapter
Ram ~ 6,144MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
Exterior Finish Standard Finish
Optical Drive ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
Primary Hard Drive ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)-
Second Hard Drive None Standard -
Raid HDD Raid Settings - OFF
External Hard Drive (Back Up) No Back Up Hard Drive
Floppy Drive No Floppy Drive
Memory Card Reader Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth + EDR
Wireless Network Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Wireless Network Accessories No Network Accessory
Camera Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
TV Tuner No TV Tuner
Sound Card Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
Case Basic Black Business Case - Included
Battery 11.1V Smart Li-Polymer battery pack 3800mAh, 42.18Wh
Car Adapter No Car Adapter
Spare AC Adapter None Standard*
Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters No Dock/Hub/Adapter
Fingerprint Reader Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Mouse / Keyboard Accessories No External Keyboard or Mouse
Notebook Cooler No Notebook Cooler
Operating System ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
Microsoft Office Software No Office Software
Software Bundle (Not Installed) No Software Bundle
Warranty 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
Xotic Gear No Xotic PC Gear


The only discrepancy in the above is the chip got upgraded to the i7-840.

 

Congratulations!! Good choices. Should serve you very well for a long time.

 

There is an Intel® Core™ i7-640M coming up in Q4 2010. It looks very good, 2.8 GHz at stock clocks and 3.46 GHz on Turbo Boost.

But overall, the i7-840QM is a better pic over the 640M.