questions about p150hm

looking to purchase a notebook within the next month and im looking for some advice/answers on the clevo p150hm. i want it to replace my computer i use to stream live gameplay for my weekly gatherings for fighting games, but also want to be able to game and stream live gameplay while i travel to out of state tournaments. ive done some research, but im pretty unfamiliar when it comes to notebooks. i plan on going through malibal since im located in las vegas so hopefully they can give me some feedback.

my build currently looks like this

15.6" 1920x1080 fhd led backlit matte display
i7-2630qm
amd 6990m
2x4gb so dimm 1333
500gb 7200 rpm in optical hard drive caddy (adding a ssd i have lying around in the main slot)
icd7

now i was looking to upgrade the wireless card to the intel 6230 w/ bluetooth, but im not sure if theres an actual benefit for my needs. i have an iphone4 which i read you can tether with or would it be better to get a 4g network card for when wifi isnt available? also im reading mixed answers on if im able to get a p151hm1 w/ upgraded psu and 6990m, if anyone could confirm this id appreciate it since i think the plastic casing looks better. im sure ill have more questions later, but any advice/answers is appreciated, ty.

 

I would go for the faster CPU and 1600mhz memory. Mine has a 6230 w bluetooth and I am very pleased with its performance. I have not tried the Bluetooth, but the wireless rocks as it has dual band capability.

 

Will you be gaming on a wireless or wired connection; it wasn't too clear in your original post. If you are doing gaming tournaments and you must go wireless then i recommend Bigfoot wireless for an extra $60.

What it does is it prioritizes network packets that you receive. In English, that means that if your CPU is computing 1000 things at a time a normal network card sends a packet so that packet will be #1001, with Bigfoot wireless card it will up the packet job to #1 (just an example). Now of course your CPU can handle all that computing just fine regardless but if you're serious about wireless gaming then Bigfoot is the way to go.

Besides that all your specs look good. If you want you can upgrade the processor 1 step but the difference in gaming won't be much.

 

Yes I would upgrade to the 6230 over the stock wifi card. It can give you up to 2 X the download speeds and the Intel drive package is better.

Also Intel is alway updating the software for free. Even though you have a Iphone that tethers it may not work at times.

It is only $25.00 more on most configurations too.
_

 

I'd recommend the upgraded WiFi, no matter the usage. The 6230 gives you a solid doubling of performance (300Mbps vs. 150Mbps) and better signal strength. The Bigfoot cards are decent upgrades as well if you want the absolute best gaming performance without having to do any serious software configuration on your end.

For tethering, if you don't know it already, it's terrible for gaming. Cellular connections typically have ping well in excess of 100ms, while wired or even wireless connections are 20ms or less. This means there's quite a bit of lag time. Tethered connections are great when you just need internet, but not so much if you want to do anything that requires quick response time.

At this time we are currently only offering the 6990 in the P150HM and up.

 

Sorry if it was unclear, but my gatherings and tournaments are played on either xbox 360 or ps3. I want this notebook to replace my current pc that i use to capture/stream game footage at my gatherings and when i travel out of state for tournys while being able to game on it when im not doing so. At home itll most likely be on wifi so its easier to move upstairs/downstairs since my gf will be using it since i have my desktop. The tethering was for when wifi isnt available when traveling, more so for browsing the inet during long drives to tournys.

I have a dlink 655 router if that helps w/ suggestions eventhough everyone seems to recommend the 6230. Also is a 4g network card worth purchasing for when i cant use wifi or should tethering suffice?

 

Your build is very similar to the one in my sig that I ordered a few weeks ago. I'd definitely get the 6230 wireless card, I can play games online wireless and it works great. I ordered from Malibal and they were great, I'd definitely recommend them. The rubber finish feels good and looks good so I wouldn't worry so much about that. Also the laptop looks sooo much better when you get it then the pictures on MALIBAL's website. I don't know why but it it just looks better.

 

You are making a somewhat big purchase. We understand you may not be able to go all out and max everything but for the minor price of the WiFi upgrade I say go for it. If you REALLY cant spend another $25 you can always buy the card down the road and upgrade it. They are about the same price stand alone also.

If anything though one thing I would say upgrade if you can is the CPU. At least get the next step up. It is a big jump as Intel just refreshed them faster. Also the 6990 is a good deal for the price and performance ratio.

So in all IF you can I would say upgrade Wifi to the 6230, the CPU next bump up and the 6990. That would be my budget system, even if I had to starve for a month, haha. Also the plastic ver vs the rubber really look about the same. Its more the feel. I have a friend with the plastic one and you really cant look at them and tell that easy so don't let that worry you.

Those items will all hold you over for a good time without being the latest and greatest which always cost more, and still leaves you upgrade room down the road if you feel fit.

 

I dont think an upgrade of the cpu would increase gaming peformance that much.

 

^^^^Yes how true. The i7 2630QM is more than enough for gaming in these machines. Most here on the forum are gamers and the 2630QM does the job...
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EDIT: Larry Ninj'd me

I agree, the 2630QM is more than sufficient for gaming. By the time that it becomes outdated the 6990M will have been outdated 2 years ago. So I really see no point in upgrading the CPU if any of the GPU's will just hold the standard 2630QM back in gaming. I spent the money I saved on just getting the 2630QM for the matte screen and a SSD. I think it was definitely worth it.

 

Yep and so far the stock wifi card has been absolutely perfect for gaming. I do worry that i'm missing out on something but my download speeds max out and my ping is always ridiculously low. Thought i'd add this given everyone seems to think it's imperative to upgrade.

 

Thanks for the input. For $25 i might as well pick up the 6230. Does anyone know if i can request the reseller to install the hdd in the caddy instead of the normal slot? This way i can just install my ssd there instead.

 

That's not usually a problem for most, so you can't go wrong asking

 

Sweet, thanks for the quick responses everyone.