Hey guys, is this any good for my cousin?

[XxAntiMatterxX]

My cousin is HORRIBLE at understanding computers, so i'm kinda the "tech" guy he calls, and I helped him out. I want to know what ya'll think of the laptop I customized for him... He wanted it really cheap, but really good for gaming, so I based the laptop off of playing Planetside 2 on medium settings. I attached a pic of the laptop. here is the specifications:

Operating system Windows 8 64

Processor 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor (2.4GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)

Graphics card NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT 650M Graphics with 2048MB of dedicated video memory

Display 15.6-inch diagonal High Definition BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768)

Memory 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Hard drive 750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

Hard Drive Acceleration Cache NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache

Office software Microsoft Office Trial

Security software No additional security software

Primary battery 30% off 9 cell Lithium Ion Battery

Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

Keyboard Backlit Keyboard

Personalization HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated dual array digital microphone

Networking 802.11b/g/n WLAN


If you don't like them, customize one here:

HP® Official Store — Buy and Customize your ENVY dv6 and dv6t-7300 Quad Edition series PC direct from HP

And post the specs! thanks SO much!

 

[OhSnapWord]

If he's gaming, why doesn't he go for a desktop? Better value.

 

[XxAntiMatterxX]

If he's gaming, why doesn't he go for a desktop? Better value.

Because he really needs the portibility... so... what do you think?

 

[OhSnapWord]

Yeah, I'd say it would definitely get the job done.

 

[cboucher]

The hard drive might be a bottleneck for this system. Although if you went with an SSD it would would probably take it out of the "cheap" category. Maybe a hybrid drive? I've heard very good things about them so far...

 

[JackPanzer]

The hard drive might be a bottleneck for this system. Although if you went with an SSD it would would probably take it out of the "cheap" category. Maybe a hybrid drive? I've heard very good things about them so far...

+1 for the Hybrid disk idea.

The only issue that I see is the weight. That thing must be pretty heavy. If you want something cheaper, you could wait for the next i7 generation that is said that comes with some graphic improvements but even with that information I would not use an intel graphic card to play games.

A second possibility could be using an AMD instead of intel, but obviously this is just in case the price gets too high to buy the laptop.

 

[XxAntiMatterxX]

+1 for the Hybrid disk idea.

The only issue that I see is the weight. That thing must be pretty heavy. If you want something cheaper, you could wait for the next i7 generation that is said that comes with some graphic improvements but even with that information I would not use an intel graphic card to play games.

A second possibility could be using an AMD instead of intel, but obviously this is just in case the price gets too high to buy the laptop.

This price as high as he's going, so should I downgrade one thing, to upgrade another?

 

[JackPanzer]

This price as high as he's going, so should I downgrade one thing, to upgrade another?

As much as your uncle is fine with the price (I highly doubt it xD) you wont need to downgrade anything. The spects are all spectacular, is a powerfull set but as I told you I'm worried about the weight, I have a 3.5kg laptop (R.I.P, the graphic card died ) and it used to be a nightmare carrying it with the books and other materials to the college, and it wasn't a short path!

If you think that this config is too expensive you could change the CPU for an i5 or the graphic card for an 550M (this is just a little example). I don't think that you will need to upgrade anything more.

 

[XxAntiMatterxX]

As much as your uncle is fine with the price (I highly doubt it xD) you wont need to downgrade anything. The spects are all spectacular, is a powerfull set but as I told you I'm worried about the weight, I have a 3.5kg laptop (R.I.P, the graphic card died ) and it used to be a nightmare carrying it with the books and other materials to the college, and it wasn't a short path!

If you think that this config is too expensive you could change the CPU for an i5 or the graphic card for an 550M (this is just a little example). I don't think that you will need to upgrade anything more.

I alwaya thought a 550 was a lot worse then a 650... could 550 play planetside 2 on medium settings?

 

[JackPanzer]

I alwaya thought a 550 was a lot worse then a 650... could 550 play planetside 2 on medium settings?

I'm afraid that I can't answer that question. The 550M is way worse than the 650M, I just suggested it as a "plan B" in case of the laptop were too expensive :3