Going to be first time user soon. I got a few questions though.

I'll become a proud user of the M14x soon so I wanted to get a bit of information so I can maximize my experience. One thing I will say before hand is that I'll be using this laptop for more than gaming, but it will play a major role in fulfilling that hobby.

Now to my questions.
1) I plan to play BFBC2 (BF3 as well) at the highest settings (or near the highest) with as little compromises as possible and meet the 30-60 FPS range (with consistency) of game-play. What are some things that I would need to do in order to make that happen? Or do I simply as tune the games settings to high without having to worry about manipulating the hardware?

2) Same question above but instead its going to be for processor intensive games like StarCraft 2 on Ultra

3) Is the Killer Network Card upgrade necessary for the online experience? (would I expect anything annoying from the default network card)

4) What advantages do I lose choosing an i5 over an i7 2630QM looking at it in a realistic and practical sense?

5) Would it be advantageous for me to upgrade the processor later, or is it best to get the i7 already installed into the m14x?

 

Get the i7, I hear the battlefield engine will be set up to gain quite a bit of an advantage on rigs with more cores.

You might want to overclock the GT555m a little, and if you're doing that I recommend a repaste and a cooling pad.

From what I hear the stock card is awful. I would spring for the Killer card if you plan to game over wifi.

 

1. A simple overclock via MSI afterburner will make gameplay more smooth. I play BFBC2 and BF3 alpha, i got on high settings on BFBC2 at 900p reso 30-60 fps, but still somewhat laggy gameplay in intense situations, i guess that's from the server or game engine. BF3 i got 25-40 on high settings, but was laggy, plays it on medium just fine with little noticeable graphics loss.

2. Can't help you on that one.

3. The quad core i7 has two more cores as well as hyper threading. It's a cheap upgrade that will benefit you for as long as you have your laptop. The core i5 is good, wont bottle neck your system much, but a core i7 for 100 more is a great deal. Just get it now, 100 dollar upgrade or pay around that in the future for it. Why not have it now and benefit from the better performance?

3. The stock wireless card is alright, at least for me, it gets the job done. A lot of others have had issues. But if you want you can get a 6250 from ebay for around 25 dollars, they're as easy to install as ram. You don't really need a Killer nic, but if you need better range and a more capable card, try a better intel card.

 

Niko did a pretty good job of running through everything.

1. Use MSI to do a subtle (or intense) overclock, and use a program like 3dmark to test for any artifacts or high temperatures. I have heard of friends getting great overclocks on this GPU. If you really want to overclock other things, you could, but the performance vs. temperature gained won't be that great, specifically in the cpu.

2. Idk from first hand, but there are videos on youtube of the m14x doing great on starcraft so i don't think you have to worry about that.

3. I highly suggest getting the i7 now because it will be a lot more future-proof than the i5. Its only $100 and we're seeing games using the cpu more and more.

4. I don't have much experience with these wireless cards so i can't honestly answer. i have the 6250 just because i heard of a lot of problems with the 1000.

 

starcraft plays like a charm on high settings and reasonably well on ultra, n my m14x is not overclocked yet. Get the i7, cuz thats whats making starcraft easily playable and as others said, the i7 is tons more bang for your buck and more future proof. I have the basic wireless card and have been playing starcraft through wifi for about 2 weeks now and have had not a single dropped game or laggy connection issues (i have basic cable internet) others have said the wireless card is crap but i have yet to experience the problems.

 

Thanks guys for all your help. You all have definitely helped me understand what I'll need to do.

I just hope that the BF3 final version wont lag on high settings for the m14x!

 

Best of luck to ya.