MSI G30 - Get haswell or wait for broadwell ??

So im in a predicament.... this is quite cheap ($1995 AUD ...OR.... $1360 USD) which includes the gaming dock....

Now the GTX 980ti is about $1000 AUD (~$600-700 USD) which makes it close to $2995 AUD which is pushing towards a GT72 (980m) model....

However... if i go the haswell route, will the cpu be fine for future upgrades? I plan to swap the 450w PSU out for ahigher wattage....


Is it worth waiting for the broadwell laptop? I am not fussed with the minidock (new one coming out soon) as the initial gaming dock is more useful to be honest....

Thoughts? should i get it now or wait for the broadwell cpu which the 5950HQ will have an iris pro 6200 (not a iris pro 5200 iGPU)....


thanks guys!

 

The laptop and desktop versions of the 900 series are not the same cards. The 980m performs close to the desktop 970. You're looking at about 70-75% of the performance for a mobile GPU compared to its "equivalent" desktop GPU.

How long are you planning on keeping it? The performance on most i7s is still pretty good. You'll get a small bump in a Broadwell over a Haswell. I wouldn't say it was huge though. Question is if the next GS30 is going to jump straight to Skylake. There haven't been any Iris Pro based i7s announced, so it may be a few months on those. Given the low performance of Intel graphics, I wouldn't base my choice based on that - especially if you're going to game with the machine on the dock.

Just from my experience with my GT60, my old Ivy Bridge CPU didn't really hold back the 970m I upgraded to. That's pushing 3 years old. I didn't feel compelled to buy a Haswell or Broadwell over it. It's played anything I threw at it pretty well. You won't be able to upgrade the CPU anyway, but Haswell won't be a slouch in 2-3 years time unless Intel really puts out something killer. If that's the case, you'd probably want to upgrade regardless of what you have.

Bottom line is this: if you can get a really good deal, and the system meets your needs, I'd go for it. You'll get much more longevity out of being able to upgrade your GPU than you would your CPU.

 

QUOTE="superguy25, post: 10092012, member: 647560"]The laptop and desktop versions of the 900 series are not the same cards. The 980m performs close to the desktop 970. You're looking at about 70-75% of the performance for a mobile GPU compared to its "equivalent" desktop GPU.

True.... i am more concerned about the CPU bottlenecking the GTX 980ti... i understand it will outperform the GTX 980m...

How long are you planning on keeping it? The performance on most i7s is still pretty good. You'll get a small bump in a Broadwell over a Haswell. I wouldn't say it was huge though. Question is if the next GS30 is going to jump straight to Skylake. There haven't been any Iris Pro based i7s announced, so it may be a few months on those. Given the low performance of Intel graphics, I wouldn't base my choice based on that - especially if you're going to game with the machine on the dock.

2-3 years until it dies really..... if the CPU won't bottleneck the GPU bandwidth then I don't see any reason to get rid of it

Just from my experience with my GT60, my old Ivy Bridge CPU didn't really hold back the 970m I upgraded to. That's pushing 3 years old. I didn't feel compelled to buy a Haswell or Broadwell over it. It's played anything I threw at it pretty well. You won't be able to upgrade the CPU anyway, but Haswell won't be a slouch in 2-3 years time unless Intel really puts out something killer. If that's the case, you'd probably want to upgrade regardless of what you have.

Interesting... I am also looking at the new skylake GS60... hoping the thunderbolt port will support a eGPU...

Bottom line is this: if you can get a really good deal, and the system meets your needs, I'd go for it. You'll get much more longevity out of being able to upgrade your GPU than you would your CPU.[/QUOTE

The deal is really good... most other sites are selling the laptop for $2400 AUD (without the dock)... and only 8gb ram

Model $AUD Notes
MSI GS30 /w GTX 980ti $2,995 Haswell CPU with eGPU... broadwell worth it?
MSI GS60 $2,249 GTX 970m processor, 4k screen etc.
MSI GE62 $2,500 GTX 960m :|

 

No question.

I don't think it would. GPU matters more most of the time.

I'm hoping for the same thing. I'm deciding between the GS60 ava the GT72S. The ability to run an eGPU would make the GS60 more attractive, especially as the video card can't be upgraded. MSI demoed a couple eGPU docks this summer, so I'm not ruling that out.

That sounds like a really good deal. It sells for about 1600 on sale here in the US.

Here's how I'd look at. As long as you're ok with the size and don't game on the go, it seems like a good buy. I don't think Broadwell is going to be compelling enough to wait on the GS30. You'll have as much graphics power as you want at home, with the ability to upgrade that as needed. I think it'd have no problem lasting 2-3 years, and then you can park it as a desktop.

It'll give some of the new tech like DDR4 time to mature and prices to fall. Then if something comes out down the road you want, you can always pick that up.

I'd suggest going to a local shop and checking out some 13" laptops to see if you're ok with the size, if you haven't already. Some people like the smaller size, some don't. If all's well then pick it up. If not, take a closer look at the GS60. They're really nice machines.

Hope that helps.

 

Seems we are on similar paths.... I use to own a gt72 , however they are too big for my liking... 15" is perfect for on the go and plugging into a monitor at home.

I think its worth the wait to be honest of buying this... its going to outlast most laptop tech for a while I think... the only issue i'm worried about is battery life (mobile) and the fan noise....

I use to own a HP TM2T (12" convertible - stylus/touch) <----- the protege of touch notebooks today... so 13" is fine

 

I think we're on the same page. I upgraded my GT60 as I didn't find the new stuff compelling. I think skylake is a big change on the platform as well.

I can't do small for very long. I had a 14" Toshiba ultrabook and it was too small for me. I like the 15" platform best. The 17" is a bit big for me as wel but still doable. Problem is there is no GT60 type replacement that has the features of the GT72 but in a smaller size.

The GT72S also has some features that would be good for work, like VT-d support, that none of the others have at this time. I love the GS60's portability but the GT72S's features.

I'm waiting until we set better pricing info and model specifics before i make my final decision.

 

I am not sure there will be a broadwell GS30? They will most likely push for skylake so get that.

We have a thread for the GS30 and there are tests using even a Titan X inside of it without issues. Performance was around than 980m SLI. Mobile CPUs are way stronger than most people assume, even if we are using limited HQ processors.

 

There are broadwell units floating around, just not in large numbers.

 

second with ryzeki. since Haswell GS30 is not highly adopt to the market, waiting a revision of GS30 makes a lot of question mark.
also there is another bigger question is doubting MSI will bring Broadwell Iris Pro to GS30