Is the Intel Core i5 3230M good enough for gaming??

[Ajeff37]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop that I can use to play games like battlefield 4 & ghosts (all on low settings). The laptop I've found that's within my price range (less than $850), has an i5 3230m and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M 2GB. The gpu is good enough for what I need, but I'm not sure if the CPU will be powerful enough to play any of the newer games coming out. Will it last or should I pay an extra $150 for a i7 3632qm?

 

[jaguarskx]

Most games do not use more than 2 cores. However, BF 3 and BF 4 benefits from quad core in multiplayer mode. A quad core CPU generally not help with games that can only make use of up to 2 cores.

If you are able to spend the extra $150, then I recommend you buy a similar laptop, but with a more powerful graphics chip. Games are more limited by the GPU than the CPU so a more powerful GPU + less powerful CPU laptop will provide better overall performance than a laptop with a more powerful CPU and a less powerful GPU.

 

[Ajeff37]

The cheapest laptops with a better GPU costs around 200 - 300 more and they have terrible CPU's, yay australian prices haha. I only plan on playing games with settings turned all the way down, will that graphics card be able to handle games like battlefield that way?

 

[LummusMaximus]

To answer your questions: yes, but who wants to play games on low? If anything, you could get something good from MSY (Aussie!), i recommend looking at their HP laptops. They're well priced.

 

[Ajeff37]

haha no one wants to do that. I might be building a gaming pc in the next couple of months if I can get a decent job so i wanna use the laptop to game until then and I want it to be able to last a little longer if i don't end up building the pc. I had a look at those laptops and the ones that are equal to or better than the one I'm looking at are a little out of my price range.

This is the one I'm going to buy if I can't find an alternative. I have two 4gb ram sticks that I'm going to throw into when it arrives so RAM isn't an issue.
http://www.shoppingexpress.com.au/buy/toshiba-l50-core-i5-4gb-750gb-nvidia-2gb-15.6-inch-laptop-pskjpa-00e00u/PSKJPA-00E00U?utm_source=myshopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Laptops&utm_term=TOSHIBA+L50+Core+i5+4GB+750GB+Nvidia+2GB+15+6+inch+Laptop+PSKJPA

 

[LummusMaximus]

That's a tough deal to beat, mainly because you'd only be looking at Intel CPUs, correct? AMD chips offer far superior price-to-performance.

 

[Ajeff37]

It goes alright haha. I'm totally open with going for an AMD chip the problem is i know absolutely nothing about them. What are the AMD equivalents to the specs in that laptop??

 

[LummusMaximus]

Okay, I don't know much about AMD chips but here goes:

Go for A8 or A10, anything lower is low performance.

As for GPU, Bigger number means more fast. That's all I know. I could recommend a specific system, if that's helpful at all:

The (from MSY) HP ProBook 455 G1 ($750). That's a good system that'll game well.

 

[Ajeff37]

Seems all right, the gpu and cpu are a bit weaker than the Toshibas, do you know anymore amd laptops with a bit more power?? My budgets $850 but I can go for $1000 if the laptops absolutely amazing for it's price.

 

[LummusMaximus]

Well, as far as I know, there's a HP Pavilion 15 that's $50 more. A10 processor, but weaker GPU. If the Toshiba represents good performance for your price, that's that I suppose. However, here's two build quality accounts, and I've poked both systems:

The Pavilion has a rock-hard keyboard deck, no flex at all. "Borrowed" it from little brother to poke a bit. But i have a friend with a very similar model to the Toshiba, and there's a bit of keyboard deck flex and one of his side panels is coming off so he can't remove his wireless mouse dongle.

 

[Ajeff37]

Yer I saw that one as well got excited until I saw the GPU haha, why can't companies just make a component better without downgrading another.
Yer I was playing with Toshiba in a computer store and the build quality does feel kinda sketchy compared to other laptops, but it is pretty powerful. Guess I'll keep searching or wait for mwave to throw a decent computer on special. Or just buy a goat or something like that

 

[Ajeff37]

http://www.mwave.com.au/product/asus-n56vzs3266h-156-core-i7-8gb-ram-1tb-hdd-gt650m-4gb-windows-8-refurbished-ab53467#detailTabs=tabSpecifications Ask unto mwave and mwave shall deliver!

 

[LummusMaximus]

Why buy a goat? That's your entire goat, and if you're anything like me, you already have a goat or two in the cupboard for emergencies!

 

[Ajeff37]

I used my emergency goats during the heatwaves, need to get around to finding some replacements.

 

[LummusMaximus]

There are great places to get goats from. One I'd try is www.goatsonabudget.com.au