The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Which setup is better?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Gotei 13, Mar 4, 2009.

  1. Gotei 13

    Gotei 13 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    439
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I'm choosing between 2 laptops that are identical in specs apart from the CPU and GPU. Which one out of these 2 would be better for gaming?

    1. T9400(2.54ghz) and 9650mGT
    2. T5750(2.00ghz) and 9700mGT
     
    Gotei 13, Mar 4, 2009
    #1
  2. FoxTrot1337

    FoxTrot1337 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    352
    Messages:
    1,042
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    IMO, I would go with the first one.
     
    FoxTrot1337, Mar 4, 2009
    #2
  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

    Reputations:
    4,412
    Messages:
    8,077
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    205
    I would go with the second one. The 9700mGT is a getter graphics card, plus the processor can always be upgraded much easier than the graphics card can.
    The graphics card is almost always the bottleneck for gaming, so the better the graphics card the better your gaming experience will be.

    If you do not plan on opening your system for upgrading, than go with the first one because the extra processing power will make everyday activities a bit faster.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Mar 5, 2009
    #3
  4. novablade

    novablade Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    42
    Messages:
    134
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I also say go for the first choice.
     
    novablade, Mar 5, 2009
    #4
  5. Gotei 13

    Gotei 13 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    439
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    These specs will not be changed once i buy them so they are fixed. I was also interested in the first one before i noticed the second one.
     
    Gotei 13, Mar 5, 2009
    #5
  6. joshuaLX

    joshuaLX Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    182
    Messages:
    535
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    First one by far!

    The T9400 kills the T5750 with its 6MB L2 Cache and 1066MHz FSB. The T5750 has a 667MHz FSB which is pretty long in the tooth these days. Also, the T9400 is built on a 45nm process as opposed to the T5750s 65nm process.

    There isn't a big difference between the two cards. They both have 128-bit memory interfaces. Just overclock the 9650 a bit if you feel you need a little more power.
     
    joshuaLX, Mar 5, 2009
    #6
  7. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

    Reputations:
    2,962
    Messages:
    8,231
    Likes Received:
    63
    Trophy Points:
    216
    Generally agreed.

    But in this case, the difference between the 9700M GT and 9650M GT is indeed pretty small, while the T9400 is significantly better than the T5750, so you may actually see better performance with the first configuration. Ultimately I think you should buy the second configuration and just upgrade to the T9400. I don't think it's that expensive of a chip.
     
    Commander Wolf, Mar 5, 2009
    #7
  8. Gotei 13

    Gotei 13 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    439
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I think i will go with the first one since i can't upgrade due to many reasons. Thanks for all the help.
     
    Gotei 13, Mar 5, 2009
    #8
  9. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    4,843
    Messages:
    8,389
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    205
    One other point:
    Depends on the game - if the game is "CPU heavy"... well...
    Then you need the more powerful processor.
    Also, some games do require fast processors...

    World in Conflict wants more than 2GHz dual Core... I think...
    (But was fine with an NVidia 8400GS which is weak ;) :) )
     
    DetlevCM, Mar 5, 2009
    #9
  10. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

    Reputations:
    353
    Messages:
    1,216
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    FSB won't matter on a core 2 duo system as the memory controller is not integrated with the CPU, therefor higher FSB won't give any noticeable effect in performance :)

    I'd take the second one as a average core2duo is all you need togheter with a good GPU.
     
    Michel.K, Mar 5, 2009
    #10