Yes, another Vortex III 680m vs Vortex IV 770m vs Optimus V 765m thread!

[alehea750]

So the 680m is still available and still massively rated on the old gaming benchmarks. I've been AGONISING over this site for weeks now trying to figure out what I want vs what I need vs what I can afford.

What I'd like to know is should I plum for the Vortex IV with same specs, although with the 4700MQ and the 770m. Or as a sideways third option should I go for the Optimus V (although I'm a bit geekily in love with the backlit keyboard)?

Is the 680 still very muchly current and competitive?

Is the 770m likely to get gains in performance while it finds its feet?

Should I be aiming for a touch of futureproofing with the 700 cards?

This will be for gaming (Civ5, Rome 2, Shogun 2, Football Manager, and whatever grabs my attention in the next year or so) and just general use (streaming, music, etc) - am I a bit overkill going for the 770m or 680m - would 765m do?

Potentially idiotic question time... would having 17inch over 15inch affect performance? I.e do the components have to work harder to fill the screen?

So we have the Vortex III with a 680m:

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE HYBRID SSHD Drive, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
PCS EXTRA-CARE DIAMOND DELIVERY - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

This build is coming to £1137

Or the Vortex IV:

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE HYBRID SSHD Drive, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Firewire
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Battery
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
PCS EXTRA-CARE DIAMOND DELIVERY - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

This build is coming to £1206.

The third option is to go for the Optimus at same spec for ~£890

Advise and tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm going round and round in circles! It's driving me nuts...

 

[keynes]

Is the 680 still very muchly current and competitive?

Better than any other GPU you listed, you can check benchmarks. I can't find the vortex III with the gtx 680m on the website.

Is the 770m likely to get gains in performance while it finds its feet?

I don't really understand what you mean, by newer drivers? most GPUs will benefit from that not only the gtx 770m.

am I a bit overkill going for the 770m or 680m - would 765m do?

Depends on what settings you wish to play those games, the gtx 680m is not overkill if you are aiming for a gaming laptop.

Potentially idiotic question time... would having 17inch over 15inch affect performance? I.e do the components have to work harder to fill the screen?

No, both have the same native resolution.

 

[alehea750]

Yeah, I didn't mean the 770m in isolation, my question was more general about graphics cards... do they mature over time as the drivers develop? I know nothing about them. Just asking as the 770m is relatively new and it might be an idea to go for the newer card? Does that logic make any sense?

Basically, I'm in that position where I'm poo'ing my pants about handing over a grand for a laptop and I want to be re-assured I'm making the right choice...

The Vortex III was available as of yesterday, and it's saved in my quotes.

 

[keynes]

Yeah, I didn't mean the 770m in isolation, my question was more general about graphics cards... do they mature over time as the drivers develop? I know nothing about them. Just asking as the 770m is relatively new and it might be an idea to go for the newer card? Does that logic make any sense?

Both the GTX 770m and the GTX 680m may improve as newer drivers are released.

The Vortex III was available as of yesterday, and it's saved in my quotes.

Hope you can get it, very good value for around £1000. I cannot find it on the website.

 

[alehea750]

Both the GTX 770m and the GTX 680m may improve as newer drivers are released.

Hope you can get it, very good value for around £1000. I cannot find it on the website.

I went ahead with the Vortex III! Thank you for your help.