new gaming netbook (with eGPU) suggestions

[Chalky Emultion]

Hi,

I'm going to buy a new netbook/small laptop because my Acer Aspire One A150 is becoming really slow, and I can't play any decent game with the single-core Atom N270 and the GMA 945 iGPU.

I need a netbook which will run games like CoD Black Ops II smoothly. I don't care about screen resolution (it could be very low, for example 1024x600), I only need a small netbook or notebook capable of run 3D modern games.

Any suggestion?
If it's possible, It would be fine for me to run an eGPU (external graphics card) with a netbook...

 

[yowanvista]

Combining an underpowered notebook with a decent external GPU will only yield in poor performance, not to mention the bottleneck caused by a slower notebook CPU. That would be a total waste of performance and money, keep in mind that the GPU isn't the sole factor to be considered in gaming. Moreover I doubt that you'll ever find a small notebook with an unoccupied mPCIe slot.

Honestly speaking you'll be better off with a midrange laptop sporting dedicated graphics from AMD or Nvidia. Some of those Dell Inspiron 15 series feature the 7730/7670M which is good enough if you're looking into casual gaming at decent levels.

 

[Chalky Emultion]

As i said, i need a small notebook... I already have an unused GPU and PSU to make an eGPU... Are the new Atom dual core-four threaded CPUs decent?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Netbooks are underpowered for gaming. It's highly unlikely you will find a small notebook with a powerful enough system to support even an externally powered external GPU. Even if you did, the USB would throttle the eGPU. It would be much better to find a midsized laptop that is already designed for gaming. It would be more convenient to lug around and use than a smaller one and eGPU.

 

[Chalky Emultion]

USB? You can't Connect an eGPU to an USB port. I have a limited budget, i already have a good GPU to use as eGPU, all i need is a notebook or netbook with a core i3-core i5 CPU (or core i7) with a mPCI slot..

 

[yowanvista]

As i said, i need a small notebook... I already have an unused GPU and PSU to make an eGPU... Are the new Atom dual core-four threaded CPUs decent?

Any Intel Atom processor is way too garbage for any type of gaming, just forget it. None of them will deliver the adequate level of performance required to run games.

As I said earlier pairing a low end processor with any midrange-high end GPU will only cause bottlenecks and make the whole thing utterly pointless. You'd be better off with a decent laptop with dedicated graphics.

Budget 'small laptop' isn't something that rhymes with gaming.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

USB? You can't Connect an eGPU to an USB port. I have a limited budget, i already have a good GPU to use as eGPU, all i need is a notebook or netbook with a core i3-core i5 CPU (or core i7) with a mPCI slot..

Good luck finding one with a mPCI slot.

 

[Chalky Emultion]

It seems I should get a laptop :/ I can't find a decent notebook with an mPCI slot...

So let's find it! The only things I care of my new laptop are 3:

- as small as possible (I don't care about screen resolution)
- it must have a dedicated GPU (i prever Nvidia to AMD)
- it must have an Intel CPU (i hate AMD CPUs)

My max budget is 1000$ (about 800€)

(Is the GTX 660m a decent GPU?)

 

[Chalky Emultion]

I found these laptops:

MSI Gaming GT60-75X285FD - Core i7-3630QM 2.40GHz (GTX 675MX/DOS) 0016F3-SKU22 | eBay

MSI GX703BE-023UK (ecx-Ove-UK-LT-097-MS) AMD Quad-Core A10-Series APU for Notebooks with AMD Radeon HD 8970 Graphics 17.3inch 8GB RAM 750GB HD Windows 8 Details

MSI Gaming GE60-i560M247 - Intel Core i5-3230M 2.6GHz(GTX 660M/Win 8 0016GA-SKU9 4719072289171 | eBay

 

[yowanvista]

The MSI GX703BE-023UK is obviously the best out of those three primarily due to its superior GPU but the GE60-i560M247 with the GTX660M should also do the trick, besides it might be the best option if price is really something that matters here. It should be able to run any game at moderate graphics level.

You can compare both HD8970M and GTX660M
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8970M.90656.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-660M.71859.0.html

 

[Chalky Emultion]

ok, and what about the i5-3230M and i7-3630QM differences?

Also can the GE60-i560M247 be upgraded in future?

 

[yowanvista]

Well the i7-3630QM is a quad-core processor, the i5-3230M is a simple dual core. You'll be able to upgrade the processor as well as the RAM and the GPU as long as it's an MXM GPU.

 

[Chalky Emultion]

I can't decide between the MSI GT60 with GTX 675mx 4GB (999€) and the MSI GE70 with the GTX 660m (about 849€), both with the Core i7 3630qm.

Will a GTX 660m be enough to play games in FullHD at high/ultra settings? Does 150€ make a big difference for 4 more GB of RAM, a stronger GPU but a little smaller screen?

 

[yowanvista]

I can't decide between the MSI GT60 with GTX 675mx 4GB (999€) and the MSI GE70 with the GTX 660m (about 849€), both with the Core i7 3630qm.

Will a GTX 660m be enough to play games in FullHD at high/ultra settings? Does 150€ make a big difference for 4 more GB of RAM, a stronger GPU but a little smaller screen?

It should be able to run most games with settings set at high but definitely not maxed out with all the visual effects enabled. If you really want an ultimate gaming PC you'd better get a PC. Most games will run at around 20fps with ultra settings on the 675MX, the GTX660M will naturally be a bit slower. It's up to you but I think that the extra money is worth it especially when the hardware is among the best for laptops.

 

[Chalky Emultion]

I already have 2 gaming pc, one of them has got a GTX 690, all i need is a mobile gaming laptop.