GO TO THE UPDATED POST for 28/07/2012
That’s true that if you don’t know what you’re looking for, then this article won’t help you. True, and we’ll try to address this issue in another post.
But, if you know that you need a high-end midrange gaming performance then this post can help you. high-end midrange means that you’ll be able to run most of the games, even the heavier, on high to highest settings on FullHD resolution. Some will run on medium settings on FullHD (BF3 is an example for a very graphic intensive game). In this post we’ll look into laptop offerings that sport GPUs like the nice GT 650M / GTX 660M from Nvidia or the still to be widespread AMD’s Radeon 7730M / 7750M and 7770M. We’ll mainly see laptops with the former GPUs (650M/660M) as they are currently found in more laptops and have been reviewed thoroughly.
As for the performance of the 7730M and 7750M The 7750M and 7770M: The 7730M performance should be around the 7690M performance, maybe a bit more. Without the memory bandwidth limitation of the 7730M DDR3 memory, the 7750M/7770M should be considerably faster – around the GT 650M performance according to estimations over the net (1) plus the fact that it has a good >15% higher core clock than the 7730M + a much higher memory bandwidth (twice or more) => estimation for much higher performance than the 7730M. Anyhow, as I said in the other post – we’ll need to wait for more reviews and concrete gpu specs to know better.
Before I start, an important point – there is a real flaw to all these laptops and this is the missing SSD/mSSD. Great gaming laptops without an SSD. So do youtselves a favor and when you weigh the price and features against your budget, keep in mind that you might want a 50-60$ SSD just for the OS and such. It makes the laptop much more enjoyable.
| Model (link to coupon) | GPU/CPU | Street Price | Why | Why not | price / gaming perfratio | sources |
| Alienware m14x R2 14.0″ | GT 650M GDDR5 / I5-3210M | 1100$ for basic configuration |
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OK | Alienware m14x-r2 review |
| Samsung 700Z5C-S03US 15.6″ | GT 650M / I7-3615QM | 1260$ | No in-depth review, but this machine has a very good price / performance ratio and the Samsung series 7 qualities | Still unknown | OK | |
| Samsung 700Z7C-S03 / S01 17.3″ | GT 650M GDDR5 / I7-3615QM | 1350$ |
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OK | Samsung 700Z7C-S01 review |
| MSI GT780DX 17.3″ | GTX 570M / I7-2670QM | 1300$ |
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OK | MSI GT780 review |
| MSI GX683DX | GTX 570M / I7-2670QM | 1250$ |
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Good | MSI GT683DXR review |
| MSI GT60 | GTX 670M / I7-3610QM | 1450$ | Same as GT70 (see below) | Same as GT70 (see below) | OK to Good | MSI GT60 review |
| MSI GT70 | I7-3610QM / GTX 670M | 1500$ |
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OK to Good | MSI GT70 review |
| MSI GE70 17.3″ | GTX 660M 2GB GDDR5 / I7-3610QM | 1200$-1250$ |
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Good | MSI GE70 review (GT 650M version) |
| MSI GE60 15.6″ | GT 650M / I7-3610QM | 1100$, 1200$ for GTX 660M version |
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OK to Good (660M) | MSI GE60 review |
| Asus G75VW | GTX 660M-GTX 670M / I7-3610QM | 1500$ |
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1500$ for GTX 670M – you can get more if you agree to let things like build quality off | OK | Asus G75VW review 1Asus G75VW review 2 |
| Asus G55VW | GTX 660M / i7-3610QM | 1200$-1350$ (FullHD version) |
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Good to Very Good | Asus G55VW review |
| HP Envy 15t-3200 | I5-3210M / Radeon 7750M GDDR5 for basic configuration | 905$ or 1000$ with FullHD display with coupon (Same as Envy 17, look for deals) |
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OK to Good | Envy 15 review (previous model) |
| HP Envy 17t-3200 | I5-3210QM / 7850M | 1005$ with coupons |
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Excellent | HP Envy 17-3D review |
| HP Pavilion dv4t-5100 14.0″ | GT 650M 2GB GDDR5 / Intel Ivy Bridge I5-3210M | 680$ with coupon |
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BEST | |
| Lenovo IdaPad Y580 15.6″ | GTX 660M 2GB GDDR5 / i7-3610QM | 900$ w/o FHD 1100$ with.Wait for coupons |
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Excellent to Best (660M for 850-900$) | user review no 1user review no 2 |
| HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 select edition | Nvidia GT 650M 2GB GDDR5 / Intel Ivy Bridge I5-3210M | 825$ with FullHD display, 712$ without |
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BEST | review of previous generation dv6tse,dv6t-7000 quad edition review |
| HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 quad edition | GT 650M 1GB GDDR5 / i7-3610QM | 971$ with FullHD display + mSSD + backlit kb, 835$ without FullHD and mSSD, but extended battery |
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Excellent-Best | dv6t-7000 quad edition review,Another one |
| Eurocom Monster 1.0 11.6″ | GT 650M 2GB DDR3 / I5-2410M | 825$ base price, 912$ with high quality display |
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Excellent | Eurocom Monster review |
| Eurocom Fox 4.0 15.6″ | GT 650M 1GB GDDR5 / I7-2670QM | 825$ for base configuration (FullHD), 894$ with high quality fullHD display |
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Very Good | Still no in-depth review |
| 15.6″ Sager NP6165 /17.3″ Sager NP6175 | Nvidia GT 650M 1GB GDDR5 / Intel I5-3210M | 870$-970$ : 970$ for the FullHD high quality display |
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Excellent | Sager NP6175 user review,Clevo P170EM review, W150ER review |
| Sager NP9150 (15.6″) / NP9170 (17.3″) | GTX 670M (upgradable to 7970M) / Ivy Bridge I7 | 1100$-1600$ (7970M + Very High quality display) |
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BEST | User review |
Note that some laptops were not mentioned here as they are no very cost effective compared to the others in this price range (like the Acer V3 and more).
Recommendations:
1. If you want the most gaming performance for your money (up to 1500-1600$) go with:
- One of the “best” price/performance ratio gaming laptops, like the dv6t-7000 select edition or the heavy duty Sager and 7970M for 1500-1600$. The Sager NP6165 and NP6175 offer
- One of the other “excellent” gaming laptops, preferably the Lenvo Y580 with its good build quality or the Sager NP6135. Still no in-depth reviews, but the Y580 seems to be as expected – very high build quality, very good FHD TN panel (but still a TN panel with the not-very good viewing angles and so on), high temps during load (but that’s no different than other laptops in the sub 1000$ gaming laptops, very high gaming performance.
2. If you want an all rounder with very high gaming performance (GTX 660M, GTX 670M, Radeon HD 7850M) but also overall good gaming laptop (build quality, screen quality, heat and noise) then:
- Still the Lenovo Y580 and the HP Envy 17t-3200
- The HP dv6t-7000 select edition or dv6t-7000 quad edition - both offer top features to price ratio.
- Asus G55VW which offers quite a lot including good heat and noise handling, but not long battery runtime.
- HP dv6t-7000 select or quad edition with the FullHD option + buy a nice and cheap mSSD and you get great laptop for 950-1000$.
[...] GTX 670M laptops or found a great GTX 670M laptop (like the Asus G75VW-TS2) that you want, take a recommended GTX 660M laptop and save the money or spend it on other things like SSD or comic books.Otherwise, for high [...]
i’m decreased all other models in my head and there are two models atm. msi ge60 and lenovo y580… in my country lenovo has 8gb ram, glossy, 1368x720p screen, 500gb 5200 rpm hdd and gtx660. on the other hand ge60 has 750gb 7200rpm, full hd matte screen, 6 gb ram, gt 650. and in the meantime, lenovo is 50$ cheaper than msi. i’m sorry for asking this but im in really a big dilemma. i thought a lot, i even left the decision to chance, but still i couldn’t decide. which would you prefer if you were me?
What answer would you give me if you were me?
just kidding
If I were to buy a gaming laptop and I knew that I’m gentle with the laptop + I’m not in an extremely hot place, I’d take the MSI. The FullHD matte screen is a very big advantage.
Y580 has also a FullHD version, are you sure there isn’t such thing at your place?
i will be serious to your answer. i don’t have your knowledge, so i couldn’t answer it like now. i have msi in my heart, but lenovo with gtx660 in my brain. because i think i can buy a hd monitor later.
it will be a gift for me and i will be living in london in a few weeks. i said it’s gift, because buying in london is not an answer. so, i will not use it in very hot country but at the moment, im in turkey.
well, manufacturers bring their products later than developed countries. so, yeah, i’m sure there is just mentioned lenovo at the moment. but like i said, i can’t wait for it.
thanks for your answer, i really appreciate it.
If you think that you’ll use it mainly at home with external monitor then the Lenovo is a better option.
But if you’re going to London, why not buy there?
so, you are saying, the only good thing about msi is its screen quality? i always used desktop and it will be my first laptop. that’s why i dont know the difference about these screens. that’s why i couldn’t choose. if i choose msi, i won’t buy an external monitor but if there is too much difference in quality, then i think i can buy. in addition, if i choose msi, i would buy ssd instead of a monitor later.
like i said, it will be a present to me. i just have to choose a model, not where to buy. that’s why, i’m stuck to these two models.
hmm.
According to reviews (link above), the MSI case isn’t that good (not better than the average case), heat and noise are average at best for a gaming laptop. Lenovo would be better.
The screen of the MSI won’t be better than a good external screen. Laptops’ screens are generally low-medium quality screens.
The thing is, the 1080p screens usually better than the 720p ones besides resolution and the resolution is a big plus too.
If you’re sure that these are your only choices then I’d take the Lenovo if you buy a good external screen and if you’re not – then the MSI.
Have you looked at iBuypower and Cyberpowerpc laptops? They have competitive prices, but not really sure on build quality, battery life, ect.
Yes, I have. The Cyberpowers own laptops are Clevo and Compal based laptops but I come at a higher price than the Sager. iBuyPower sell at even greater price. I don’t think they have a better laptop than what Sager offer, according to reviews from the last years.
However, I probably have to include them in the comparison.
The problem is there are a lot of brands and models. You probably see that I didn’t include Toshiba too, for example. There are also Avadirect, Origin (which are again, Clevo last time I checked) and more but do not offer much more and many of them don’t have good reviews.
But again, I probably have to include some word about them
And another thing – you should check them all when you’re actually going to buy a gaming laptop and that’s because there are price drops and coupons from time to time.
Thanks for the info, will help my search for a new laptop.
Hey I found a deal for a Y580 at I’m leaning towards this even though its right at the upper end of my budget. Basically Full HD, 64 gig SSD and backlit keyboard for $999.99 plus Costco has a 2 year warranty on it. Should I go for it or wait for a better online deal?
this is a pretty good deal for this machine, if you trust the 100$ back. If you want a gaming laptop now – then go for it, it’s a really good deal
You also have another option – to take the Y580 from Lenovo site FullHD version for 1000$ and buy yourself some SSD. You’ll probably get a better one (faster / larger / both)
[...] Battle: GTX 560M vs GT 650M vs GT 640M vs GT 555M By junky On May 24, 2012 · 3 Comments (GTX 660M / GT 650M / Radeon 7850M / 7770M / 7750M recommendations)(GT 650M deals, GT 640M deals, GT 555M deals)Two midrange gpus have burst into the world in the [...]
When y580 I5 ivy bridge version will be on market? i need laptop within $750, i think that will be great option?
I don’t know. Currently they still sell the y570 for the same price so it might not be soon.
660M + I5 for 750$ will be great but I’m not sure it will be soon
The samsung 15.6″ one has Gt 640m, not gt 650m. On the provided amazon link, if you scroll down, you’ll see.
yes, you’re right. Thanks.
I’m interested in Lenovo Y580 because of it’s GTX 660m but I am also considering HP Pavilion dv6t.
I would like your opinion regarding this:
- Which has a good screen quality?
- Can I upgrade the battery of Lenovo y580 to a 9cell because HP dv6t offers battery upgrade?
- Is it reasonable to be swayed to GTX660m rather than 650m.
- I hear a lot of heat issues from HP Pavilion, did they address this? How does Lenovo y580 handle heat?
Thanks
Hi jay,
1. First notice that the Y580 has gone up as the last coupon is expired by now, but you can wait for the next one.
2. As for your questions:
a. There is no in-depth review yet, but the Y570 has an average screen and the FullHD display should be considerably better. I would buy the
FullHD model.
b. It doesn’t seem to have a battery upgrade (strange), but you can buy an additional one.
c. The reason depends on the price. In the case of the Lenovo Y580 you get the 660M anyway. The 660M adds another 10-15% in performance
compared to the 650m. I wouldn’t money for it, as I would try to OC it by myself and besides – you better buy an SSD with your money.
d. I don’t know – again, no in-depth reviews. The Y570 was good. The Y580 has a colder HW, like the GTX 660M and the Ivy bridge doesn’t consume
more than the Sandy Bridge.
So, I think the Y580 will be a nice step forward from the Y570 and that means good FullHD screen, better performance but colder when idle and in low usage and that’s about it.
Hi ! Nice review ! Why don’t you talk about the asus n56vz (with geforce gt 650m)? Do you think it’s not a worthy laptop?
I already did in another article, but you’re right. The Asus N56VZ-ES1 has the GT 650M DDR3 variant and not the GDDR5 and typical 720p screen and it doesn’t seem to have any particular strengths over the other models. The N56VZ-DS1 with the FullHD display seems to cost considerably more on NCIX but I don’t find in the US easily