Liclac Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 Hi OCC I am planning to upgrade my laptop.. I am using it for drawing, gaming, 3D modelling (maya, 3Ds Max), editing video (Adobe After Effects).. My current system: Intel Core i7 720QM Intel HM 55 Chipset 2x500GB Seagate 7200rpm Ati Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 4x2GB Kingston DDR3 1066MHz I am planning to upgrade later.. But I cannot decide what is the best upgrade for my usage.. the choice is: 1. Processor 720QM --> 820QM... I have to add extra US$360. Is it worth enough to add extra 360$ in 820QM based on its performance? 720QM: 1.6-2.8GHz, 6MB L3Chace 820QM: 1.73-3.06GHZ 8MB L3Chache 2. RAM. RAM is very important in rendering in after effects.. it always use almost all of my RAM. I am planning to upgrade it to 16GB 1333MHz (Max amount). Price: $200 3. SSD I don't know about this one,,, I need your explanation about this one. How big does SSD affect my system? Help me to decide what is the best to upgrade and if you have any other opinion, just tell me. Regards Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 The SSD will make a great speed boost but since you're doing alot of rendering you'll probably need alot of space for the finished files right?? Would just one 500GB be enough, I don't think the jump from 720-820 is $360 better. Maybe $100 tops! I would upgrade the memory yourself: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007609%20600006178%20600000399&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 you can combine the 4x4GB sticks yourself for cheaper than $200 (and yeah after affects takes all you can give it!! it's crazy) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 (edited) don't bother with the old i7's, the slowest i7 2nd gen pretty much matches/beats the fastest 1st gen for a whole lot more, the 6970 is better?have you looked at a sager or a eurocom? whats ur price range? Edited April 10, 2011 by Dan The Gamer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liclac Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 The SSD will make a great speed boost but since you're doing alot of rendering you'll probably need alot of space for the finished files right?? Would just one 500GB be enough, I don't think the jump from 720-820 is $360 better. Maybe $100 tops! I would upgrade the memory yourself: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007609%20600006178%20600000399&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 you can combine the 4x4GB sticks yourself for cheaper than $200 (and yeah after affects takes all you can give it!! it's crazy) Thanks for the reply hmm...so that's it.. the 820qm is not worth enough for $360..I see the review and it is said that the 820QM just a little bit faster that the 720qm. let's remove this processor from upgrade plan! I have 2 HDDs, 500GB each HDD.. and yeah, I need it for the finished file... Maybe I can use an external HDD for save my files... Thanks for the link... yeah. After effect is crazy... so RAM is important in rendering... should I upgrade it first? what do you think? don't bother with the old i7's, the slowest i7 2nd gen pretty much matches/beats the fastest 1st gen for a whole lot more, the 6970 is better?have you looked at a sager or a eurocom? whats ur price range? But If I want to upgrade it to i7 2nd gen.. I have to change my Motherboard...it means I have change all of the component.. And I am using Mobility 5870.. It is an Asus G73JH A1. The problem if I change the GPU, I am afraid the Power adapter won't be enough for that beast... I only have 150watts.... Sager and Eurocom is very hard to get in my country... I don't know my budget.. since I am going to upgrade later... not now.. but I am deciding what is the best so I can save up my money first.. : Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forb Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 Looking at your usage, wouldn't a desktop be a better option than a laptop in the future? As for the upgrades, SSD would reduce your loadtimes and would be the most noticeable upgrade. I think if your drawing/rendering a lot, upgrading RAM may help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) Personally I'd leave the entire thing alone with the exception of the RAM - but DO NOT buy it through the manufacturer/vendor of the laptop. Go on Newegg or something and get a 4x4 GB kit of laptop memory for a lot less. Example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178335 x 2 = $160 - $20 MIR = $140 (assuming they only allow one rebate per household, they may allow 2) I second the notion that a desktop would probably be more cost effective if you decide to upgrade the whole system down the road. Edited April 14, 2011 by Waco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 Thanks for the reply hmm...so that's it.. the 820qm is not worth enough for $360..I see the review and it is said that the 820QM just a little bit faster that the 720qm. let's remove this processor from upgrade plan! I have 2 HDDs, 500GB each HDD.. and yeah, I need it for the finished file... Maybe I can use an external HDD for save my files... Thanks for the link... yeah. After effect is crazy... so RAM is important in rendering... should I upgrade it first? what do you think? But If I want to upgrade it to i7 2nd gen.. I have to change my Motherboard...it means I have change all of the component.. And I am using Mobility 5870.. It is an Asus G73JH A1. The problem if I change the GPU, I am afraid the Power adapter won't be enough for that beast... I only have 150watts.... Sager and Eurocom is very hard to get in my country... I don't know my budget.. since I am going to upgrade later... not now.. but I am deciding what is the best so I can save up my money first.. : oh i thought you were buying a new one cause everybody who does names their threads like this... ur name actually matches what ye be doing.... you can always check a sager computer and see what power block it has? where be ur living anyways? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sYstEmATiC Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) The only thing I would invest in it, like everyone else says, is ram. A bigger secondary hard drive might not hurt if your dealing with multiple huge files, and a ssd for the main drive. As for you suggesting to yourself about an external hdd. I would HIGHLY advise you to make sure its got an esata port on it if you go that route, as transfering huge files over usb 2.0 is a royal pita. Upgrading the main components in a laptop, especially higher end ones, are not worth the price paid for the small performance increase (relative to price). As forb mentioned, I would consider a desktop for that kind of work, unless your situation requires the portability (like me ). Depending on your budget, if you have to have a laptop, Sager has some very high end notebooks with high end design cards and insane amounts of memory. Unfortunately you can easily surpass $4,000 usd on something like that. oh i thought you were buying a new one cause everybody who does names their threads like this... ur name actually matches what ye be doing.... you can always check a sager computer and see what power block it has? where be ur living anyways? For reference, The sager in my sig came with a 220wt brick. Edited April 14, 2011 by sYstEmATiC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liclac Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 depend on what everybody said here, RAM is the best upgrade so far and it is not too expensive.. Actually, SSD is interesting too... Unfortunately, it is still too expensive... Personally I'd leave the entire thing alone with the exception of the RAM - but DO NOT buy it through the manufacturer/vendor of the laptop. Go on Newegg or something and get a 4x4 GB kit of laptop memory for a lot less. Example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178335 x 2 = $160 - $20 MIR = $140 (assuming they only allow one rebate per household, they may allow 2) I second the notion that a desktop would probably be more cost effective if you decide to upgrade the whole system down the road. I understand... so it is the best to buy the RAM outside the laptop vendor... oh i thought you were buying a new one cause everybody who does names their threads like this... ur name actually matches what ye be doing.... you can always check a sager computer and see what power block it has? where be ur living anyways? My name? what is it? haha..no, I just bought this laptop 6 months ago... sure, I will check it! thanks! oh and I am living in Indonesia.. I can't buy from newegg. It is very rare to see sager here..most of the laptop price are more expensive than the price at newegg and some other stores outside there.. Too bad.. I want sager at first, but I can't find the seller.. The only thing I would invest in it, like everyone else says, is ram. A bigger secondary hard drive might not hurt if your dealing with multiple huge files, and a ssd for the main drive. As for you suggesting to yourself about an external hdd. I would HIGHLY advise you to make sure its got an esata port on it if you go that route, as transfering huge files over usb 2.0 is a royal pita. Upgrading the main components in a laptop, especially higher end ones, are not worth the price paid for the small performance increase (relative to price). As forb mentioned, I would consider a desktop for that kind of work, unless your situation requires the portability (like me ). Depending on your budget, if you have to have a laptop, Sager has some very high end notebooks with high end design cards and insane amounts of memory. Unfortunately you can easily surpass $4,000 usd on something like that. For reference, The sager in my sig came with a 220wt brick. I am not buying a new one... just upgrading it.. I own my laptop for 6 months.. there's no way I buy a new one... lol.. XD I want a desktop at first, desktop is more powerful than laptop, but I have to consider the portability.. My situation is the same as sYstEmATiC. That's why I choose laptop even I want a desktop. I am still a university student though, I need it for my college work until I graduate. When I get a job after it, I will buy a powerful desktop and workstation for it... by the way, sYstEmATiC. do you know any external HDD that has eSATA port? Thanks.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 The only thing I would invest in it, like everyone else says, is ram. A bigger secondary hard drive might not hurt if your dealing with multiple huge files, and a ssd for the main drive. As for you suggesting to yourself about an external hdd. I would HIGHLY advise you to make sure its got an esata port on it if you go that route, as transfering huge files over usb 2.0 is a royal pita. Upgrading the main components in a laptop, especially higher end ones, are not worth the price paid for the small performance increase (relative to price). As forb mentioned, I would consider a desktop for that kind of work, unless your situation requires the portability (like me ). Depending on your budget, if you have to have a laptop, Sager has some very high end notebooks with high end design cards and insane amounts of memory. Unfortunately you can easily surpass $4,000 usd on something like that. For reference, The sager in my sig came with a 220wt brick. usb 3.0 really now? what model was ur sager? do you like em? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sYstEmATiC Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 Since the laptop is relatively new, and money is a slight issue, I would just go with a ram upgrade for now. You would be surprised how big of a difference there is with more ram when it comes to dealing with design. usb 3.0 really now? what model was ur sager? do you like em? I don't think his laptop has usb 3.0, which is why I mentioned esata instead. I have 2 usb 3.0 hdd's and its just as fast as an internal drive. Its an NP8170-S1, and yeah I love it. The specs are in the sig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted April 14, 2011 Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) Since the laptop is relatively new, and money is a slight issue, I would just go with a ram upgrade for now. You would be surprised how big of a difference there is with more ram when it comes to dealing with design. I don't think his laptop has usb 3.0, which is why I mentioned esata instead. I have 2 usb 3.0 hdd's and its just as fast as an internal drive. Its an NP8170-S1, and yeah I love it. The specs are in the sig. oh yeah... stupid very slow usb 3.0 adaption for no reason, yeah the hdd is still the bottleneck, wasn't the 485m a tad bit expensive... i mean couldn't you crossfire two 6970m's and save a few? so do you do video editing and stuff cause 12gb is a lot for a laptop! so who made ur laptop mr.thread starter? brand? did you say asus? and by ur name i meant the threads name ya ur lappy don't got no usb 3.0 so esata it is! Edited April 14, 2011 by Dan The Gamer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now