How will this laptop handle the games I play?

I know a laptop isn't the way to go for gaming, but I need portability

FPS/Detail approximations are welcomed.

Games I play:
LoL
WOW
Runescape
COD
TF2
DayZ
and a few others.

Please let me know by the following specs:

Stock specs:

-Processor - 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M Processor (2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz)
-6GB RAM
- Graphics card - 1GB Radeon(TM) HD 7750M GDDR5 Graphics


Would it be smart to upgrade to 8GB RAM and/or Intel i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)?

Another option i have is the 2nd gen i7-2670QM for no additional cost. Worth it?

The laptop I'm looking at is an HP Envy 15, please don't suggest other laptops, just offer opinions on specs.

 

You will definitely be able to play all of those games on it, most likely at at least med graphics.

I would go with 8 gigs of ram as that is the standard now a days.
The 3210M is a fine processor, but if you want a little extra oomph then the 3610QM wouldn't hurt.

 

Thanks for the input. Do you personally think the processor upgrade is worth it for $105?

 

If you are into video rendering/editing and graphics and all that, the Quad core upgrade will come in handy for $105. You may also see a small, but noticeable performance boost.

 

RAM is easily self-upgradable, so that's not really an issue.

 

The processor is not really what will hold you back with your games. That i5 will do you just fine IMO. Its a third-Gen i5, and they're not really a slouch. The i7 is definitely a more capable CPU, but you won't notice it much.
The low-end radeon would be your main hindering point...it will allow you low-medium settings with maybe a tolerable framerate.
The next hindering point will be the speed of your hard drive, and your ram. If it's a 5400 rpm drive, your overall read/write and windows operations will not be up to par for someone looking to play games on a computer. 7200 rpm or a SSD are a must imo. its a very noticeable difference.
Also, if you're running pretty quick ram(ex 1666 MHz) the 6 gigs should hold you up fine for a little while til you decide to get more serious, although eventually I would upgrade to at least 8 gigs. If it's slower, I'd recommend bumping it up to 12 gigs to start with.

 

It's decent for those games, I recommend i7 for sure and possibly 8gb instead of 6.

You could also get an SSD drive, but yeah you can tune it up so much it all depends what kind of money you're looking to spend..

 

trust me after abit it will certainly effect on your laptop.

 

1600MHz for RAM and 7200rpm for the hard drive.

Another option i have is the 2nd gen i7-2670QM for no additional cost. Worth it?

 

There are some games that Radeon graphics cards struggle with, purely because they were created for Nvidia graphics cards. Apart from that, it should be fine.

 

That hdd and ram should hold you out fine then, good speeds.

The 2nd Gen i7 will be a minor improvement over the i5 in terms of its technical computing capabilities, but you will find that all of the third Gen ivy bridge chips run much much cooler than the sandy bridge chips
Imo I would stick with the i5 unless you can upgrade to a 3rd gen i7 for a very low price. The only thing you will notice between your i5 3rd and the i7 is when it comes to media processing, such as creating aac music, or video editing...etc. For games, like I said, that i5 will be more than sufficient. simply put, most game engines are not complex enough to truly find the limits of any of the 3 processors mentioned in this thread. They will, however, utilize every bit of power your gpu is capable of. Media editing programs(especially professional ones), on the other hand, will show you what your processor is made of.
my opinion, to keep your budget from unnecessarily going above what you need, leave everything alone except your GPU...see if there's an option to upgrade it. preferably to an NVIDIA, because like the_dealer just stated many game engines are designed to utilize features that only NVIDIA cards have(some are opposite, not many though), such as optimized shaders or tesselation and such. A radeon card will still play those games, just won't be able to produce the same video quality if the game is not optimized for it. And stay away from any integrated card options!!!!!

 

Thanks for the info guys, I understand what you're saying about the graphics card.

The AMD is the only option, how will it run the games that I specifically named?

FPS/detail wise

 

You will probably handle DayZ and Cowadooty with lower graphics but for those games like Runescape it'll be fine. I agree that an i7 would be pointless, stick to the i5.

 

I'm currently using a Sony Vaio



I can seem to only run Dayz in 720P on everything low. for decent play ability.
But currently updating my graphics drivers so I'll update once that's finished.

 

Many times you will find that the drivers you are using are limited by what the manufacturer allows, and the manufacturer will sometimes fall way behind in their latest drivers. Such as in the case of your vaio...you will probably find that the version that sony provides you is far outdated, and limited In options as far as what your card is capable of.
The solution around this is to find hacked drivers that will fool your PC into thinking they're from sony. Many times, you will find that once you start using the actual nvidia/radeon drivers instead of the ones from sony, there will be many new features in your graphics manager, and you will also find that you can now overclock your card, too! HPs are notorious for this, but companies like hp sony Toshiba etc design their computers for business and consumer use, not the enthusiast....thus the limitations.

If you can't find hacked drivers, you can usually find a tutorial on how to modify the .inf file in the new drivers before you install them.
If it fails and your card doesn't recognize the modded drivers, no worries! Don't freak out, you haven't damaged anything...just roll back to a previous version and try something different.

 

To the OP, im curious what your final price is on this laptop you are looking at buying.
I know you dont want other suggestions, but perhaps I can help you get closer to your goal for the same price, or less. More power and less money has always twinkled my eye, I know that much!!

 

I wouldn't buy an HP. Asus and Lenovo are where it's at.

 

I Shave had nothing but foul luck with HP notebooks myself too, but the OP may not may want anything else..


Also, smokehut I would suggest upgrading your ram to something faster. Research your computer and find out what the fastest ram you can run in your computer is. Then buy it, and try to buy a low-latency ram..dont skimp. Its not expensive anyways.
Second, a faster hard drive would do you wonders. Combine those two, and your gaming experience will be mildly better.

 

Cheers for the advice buddy, I'm literally in the middle of a desktop build anyway. I only have this for now, and take it away with me if i get sent to work far away.

 

I absolutely love HP, I've had no problems and I've owned/used many of their computers.

Also, money is not a big issue, was mainly seeing if the processor upgrade WOULD be worth it. Specs aside, I love the design and features.

Final line - I'm going with 8GB RAM + 3rd gen i7-3610QM