For the price this is an absolute steal. Although the processor is modest, combined with that beefy Nvidia GTX 950M, you will be able to play any game. Perfect for those who want to game on the go, but don't want to remortgage their house.
Make is an Acer, screen size is 15.6"
Fairly important facts to include in the OP or title.
- buddn07
Top comments
malachi
19 Dec 166#4
Werid CPU to pair the GPU with.
TheButler83
19 Dec 164#32
This is a cracking deal imo.
Yes if the processor was an i5 or i7 it would be better. Yes if if it had an SSD it would be better. Yes it I was buying a gaming laptop I would save for the several hundred more such an upgrade would entail.
Simple fact is that if I literally had only £500 to spend then this is actually is a laptop that can play today's generation of games and will probably be good for a few years worth of new releases provided you don't mind moving the detail levels down a few notches as the years go by.
Compared to some laptops that brand themselves as "gaming" which you can find for a similar price and would barely handle Solitaire at least with this you won't find yourself opening on X-mas day only to find you have a glorified typewriter :wink:
Darkle
19 Dec 163#6
Sorry but that's an antiquated view and hasn't been true for years at this point.
All of the modern main engines like Unreal, Crytek and Unity 5 use multi-cores.
Nearly all AAA releases this year were optimised for multicore including Forza Horizon 3, Watch Dogs 2 and BF1.
Moving forward into Vulkan and DX12 multiple cores are able to address the GPU simultaneously which previously wasn't possible and cores will become a direct factor.
This laptop is better than most in terms of price to gaming performance. Much better than an i7 with Intel gfx, but the i3 will struggle very quickly. i3 is aimed much more at light gaming and user duty like web browsing, HD video viewing.
This doesn't mean it can't game, but pretending there would be little difference with an i5 or i7 is just misleading.
All comments (91)
phil36
19 Dec 161#1
the GPU fits the minimum of any game this year but may not be that futureproof sadly, I am concerned the CPU wont be strong enough for some games though, it's a hell of a bottleneck if its not
BOPthecop to phil36
19 Dec 16#2
Most games are not optimised to use more than one CPU core, so you wouldn't see a huge difference in performance combining a GTX 950m with a quadcore i7 compared to this dual core i3. Granted some games are optimised and there would be a good bit of difference for those titles. Having previously owned a laptop with a GTX 950m I can assure you that by adjusting resolution and graphics settings, this laptop will play any game at a reasonable FPS.
Astec123
19 Dec 161#3
I really cant fault this at the price. I know that CES is upcoming and there's going to hopefully be a lot of change in the laptop space very soon but for the price you're getting quite a lot of computer. Yes the processor might not be the greatest thing in the world but it should work well alongside the graphics card. RAM is reasonable, decent capacity hard disk (SSD is a lot of an ask with the rest of the specs). Full HD screen is a nice feature to see but remains to be seen just how good the screens on these will be.
BOPthecop to Astec123
19 Dec 16#19
Again I agree with everything you just said, but for the price nothing will come close to the gaming performance you will get with this.
malachi
19 Dec 166#4
Werid CPU to pair the GPU with.
BOPthecop to malachi
19 Dec 16#24
It isn't if you think about it. For the price, they have prioritised pure FPS. The cost of an i3 with a GTX 950m would be comparable to a laptop with just a quadcore i7 and no dedicated graphics, Yet this i3-gtx 950m combo would absolutely smash a quad-core i7 with intel hd graphics in any game. Hence the term budget 'gaming laptop'.
plewis00 to malachi
19 Dec 16#33
Not really - most games rely more heavily on the GPU than the CPU, it's a pretty good place to get some cost savings and the GPU isn't ultra-high end, it's pretty mid-level (maybe mid-high).
ssimonian
19 Dec 16#5
This is more true on previous gen stuff. Current gen on DX12/Vulkan/well programmed from 2010 onwards should support at least 2 cores in gaming. Also CPU is seriously lacking imo - low end, low voltage, u series makes you think less power for more battery life, and then they put dedicated gpu.
To give you an idea, it runs like an i5-M series ivybridge, and paired with mechanical hdd, will prob be a bit slow.
If you are gonna get this, wait until after xmas and see if it drops in price.
Darkle
19 Dec 163#6
Sorry but that's an antiquated view and hasn't been true for years at this point.
All of the modern main engines like Unreal, Crytek and Unity 5 use multi-cores.
Nearly all AAA releases this year were optimised for multicore including Forza Horizon 3, Watch Dogs 2 and BF1.
Moving forward into Vulkan and DX12 multiple cores are able to address the GPU simultaneously which previously wasn't possible and cores will become a direct factor.
This laptop is better than most in terms of price to gaming performance. Much better than an i7 with Intel gfx, but the i3 will struggle very quickly. i3 is aimed much more at light gaming and user duty like web browsing, HD video viewing.
This doesn't mean it can't game, but pretending there would be little difference with an i5 or i7 is just misleading.
treb
19 Dec 16#7
Ugh i3 COLD
BOPthecop to treb
19 Dec 161#22
Depending on the game you are playing, the GPU will be doing the brunt of the work. If you can find a more powerful build for under £500, be my guest.
bisoner
19 Dec 162#8
Nvidia users haven't seen much, if any, improvement in DX12 games. Yes, AMD users have seen some gains but they aren't earth shattering like was promised.
I'm not sure the cpu will be a bottleneck for the gpu. Gaming laptops are a strange phenomenon in my book. A cheap Xbox or PS4 along with a cheaper laptop offers much more overall. If you want to do PC gaming justice it's probably best to build one.
korny2
19 Dec 161#9
Decent price with a gtx 950m and full HD screen, cpu not the greatest for games though probably bottleneck some games and I would replace that slow hard drive.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
GPU - GTX 950M (AMAZING FOR THE PRICE)
RAM - 8GB
HDD - 1TB 5400
Screen - 1080p LCD
Drives - DVD
For the price this is an absolute steal. Although the processor is modest, combined with that beefy Nvidia GTX 950M, you will be able to play any game. Perfect for those who want to game on the go, but don't want to remortgage their house.
Make is an Acer, screen size is 15.6"
Fairly important facts to include in the OP or title.
- buddn07
Top comments
Yes if the processor was an i5 or i7 it would be better. Yes if if it had an SSD it would be better. Yes it I was buying a gaming laptop I would save for the several hundred more such an upgrade would entail.
Simple fact is that if I literally had only £500 to spend then this is actually is a laptop that can play today's generation of games and will probably be good for a few years worth of new releases provided you don't mind moving the detail levels down a few notches as the years go by.
Compared to some laptops that brand themselves as "gaming" which you can find for a similar price and would barely handle Solitaire at least with this you won't find yourself opening on X-mas day only to find you have a glorified typewriter :wink:
All of the modern main engines like Unreal, Crytek and Unity 5 use multi-cores.
Nearly all AAA releases this year were optimised for multicore including Forza Horizon 3, Watch Dogs 2 and BF1.
Moving forward into Vulkan and DX12 multiple cores are able to address the GPU simultaneously which previously wasn't possible and cores will become a direct factor.
This laptop is better than most in terms of price to gaming performance. Much better than an i7 with Intel gfx, but the i3 will struggle very quickly. i3 is aimed much more at light gaming and user duty like web browsing, HD video viewing.
This doesn't mean it can't game, but pretending there would be little difference with an i5 or i7 is just misleading.
All comments (91)
Again I agree with everything you just said, but for the price nothing will come close to the gaming performance you will get with this.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-6100U+%40+2.30GHz&id=2623
To give you an idea, it runs like an i5-M series ivybridge, and paired with mechanical hdd, will prob be a bit slow.
If you are gonna get this, wait until after xmas and see if it drops in price.
All of the modern main engines like Unreal, Crytek and Unity 5 use multi-cores.
Nearly all AAA releases this year were optimised for multicore including Forza Horizon 3, Watch Dogs 2 and BF1.
Moving forward into Vulkan and DX12 multiple cores are able to address the GPU simultaneously which previously wasn't possible and cores will become a direct factor.
This laptop is better than most in terms of price to gaming performance. Much better than an i7 with Intel gfx, but the i3 will struggle very quickly. i3 is aimed much more at light gaming and user duty like web browsing, HD video viewing.
This doesn't mean it can't game, but pretending there would be little difference with an i5 or i7 is just misleading.
I'm not sure the cpu will be a bottleneck for the gpu. Gaming laptops are a strange phenomenon in my book. A cheap Xbox or PS4 along with a cheaper laptop offers much more overall. If you want to do PC gaming justice it's probably best to build one.