Is this laptop good for gaming?

[Xanatos357]

I bought a new laptop and was wondering if it was good enough for gaming.

Windows 8.1 Pro
ENVY 15t-j100 Quad Edition
15.6-inch Full HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1920x1080)
4th generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Processor 2.4 GHz (3.4 GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M Graphics with 2048MB of dedicated video memory
8GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

 

[Spykezxp]

What games would you be playing? Cant really tell you either way if you don't say what you want to play.

 

[GhostRyder]

I bought a new laptop and was wondering if it was good enough for gaming.

Windows 8.1 Pro
ENVY 15t-j100 Quad Edition
15.6-inch Full HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1920x1080)
4th generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Processor 2.4 GHz (3.4 GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M Graphics with 2048MB of dedicated video memory
8GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

Like Spykezxp said, its going to depend on what your going to be playing. But the short answer would be no for most games on a 1080p screen like that.

If you really want a gamer laptop, your going to have to have a card normally in the range of 760+ because below that those are designed for very minor gaming or media. If you have a budget, you can post it and we might be able to direct you towards a better alternative because in my book also HP up-charges alot on their laptops.

 

[Xanatos357]

What games would you be playing? Cant really tell you either way if you don't say what you want to play.

I was thinking along the lines of Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Eve Online

And as for my budget, generally, under $1000

 

[Xanatos357]

Like Spykezxp said, its going to depend on what your going to be playing. But the short answer would be no for most games on a 1080p screen like that.

How does the 1080p screen affect gaming performance?

 

[GhostRyder]

How does the 1080p screen affect gaming performance?

The more pixels you have to render, the higher the GPU is stressed to run the game at the same settings.

For instance, I have a family computer that's an HP my sister owns with an A10-5750m that has a HD 8650G graphics card. It will play games on medium settings with fairly decent performance because it runs on a 720p screen. I also have one my friend owns with the same chip but on a 1080p screen and games are only playable on low settings.

With mobile, I would try to shoot for a GTX 750 at least for the games you selected at the 1k budget. Here's a few solutions I can think of that might satisfy your needs:

Lenovo Ideapad with Dual GT 755m 899
Not a bad deal considering you get 2 GPU's, however then you have to deal with SLI drivers and such and its got an i5 processor.
MSI GE70 with HD 860m 1099
Pretty good single GPU performance, downside is that it like the Lenovo has an i5 mobile processor which is still good..
Cyberpower Fangbook with GTX 765m 999 (I have the older model version of this GPU and its pretty darn good)
Best choice I can find because you get an i7 and the GTX 765m.

Just a few suggestions of course, there are lots of other options out there, but for the money you can get better than a GT 740m especially in the gaming realm.

 

[Tech Analyzer]

The Laptop's specs are great except for the GPU, it wont be good for next gen games on Ultra nor in High!

 

[Jad Chaar]

The more pixels you have to render, the higher the GPU is stressed to run the game at the same settings.

For instance, I have a family computer that's an HP my sister owns with an A10-5750m that has a HD 8650G graphics card. It will play games on medium settings with fairly decent performance because it runs on a 720p screen. I also have one my friend owns with the same chip but on a 1080p screen and games are only playable on low settings.

With mobile, I would try to shoot for a GTX 750 at least for the games you selected at the 1k budget. Here's a few solutions I can think of that might satisfy your needs:

Lenovo Ideapad with Dual GT 755m 899
Not a bad deal considering you get 2 GPU's, however then you have to deal with SLI drivers and such and its got an i5 processor.
MSI GE70 with HD 860m 1099
Pretty good single GPU performance, downside is that it like the Lenovo has an i5 mobile processor which is still good..
Cyberpower Fangbook with GTX 765m 999 (I have the older model version of this GPU and its pretty darn good)
Best choice I can find because you get an i7 and the GTX 765m.

Just a few suggestions of course, there are lots of other options out there, but for the money you can get better than a GT 740m especially in the gaming realm.

+1
I think going with the Cyberpower is the best choice since it has a fairly powerful GPU and CPU for the price. I would say the 860M option but the dual core CPU is a downside and it wouldnt make up for the more powerful GPU IMO.

 

[Spykezxp]

I agree that the Cyberpower would be a very good option. It has 7200rpm hard drive versus a 5400rpm which is a plus for laptops (you can notice the difference between speeds). It also has an available hard drive slot so you could add in a msata SSD hard drive (while keeping the 1 TB hard drive that comes with it) and produce faster load times. It should also come with another available RAM slot so you could put in an extra 8GB RAM stick and bump it up to 16GB total. I would suggest buying this laptop and then in time (when you have the money) add the RAM and SSD.

 

[GhostRyder]

+1
I think going with the Cyberpower is the best choice since it has a fairly powerful GPU and CPU for the price. I would say the 860M option but the dual core CPU is a downside and it wouldnt make up for the more powerful GPU IMO.

You would actually be surprised how well the mobile i5 CPU's are, but I still think the cyberpower as well is the best option.

The Cyberpower would probably be your best option for a gaming class machine because it starts out strong and will keep going strong with its upgrade potential for the future.

 

[Benmar]

I think your laptop specs is good but I doubt of your Graphics card...better you buy for gaming laptop....there are lot of laptop brand support gaming...

 

[tipstir]

8GB not enough you would need a system that can do 16 GB at purchase with an option of , 24 GB 32 GB so you would buy a system with 16 GB with upgrade option to 24 GB or 32 GB when needed. I use 16 GB for desktop and I do heavy online gaming one game only. STO in 3D 16x texture. I know some go out and buy and install an additional video card so they can be ready for 1440p. I am on 1080p while I play.

You should look into gaming laptops though, just make sure you have option to upgrade the hardware in the future though. Otherwise another purchase of another laptop in the future.

Don't count on the 3.4GHz boost, that only happens when the system demands more CPU so it's a temporary effect. The system will be lower than 2.4GHz too. They like throwing out numbers. Best to buy a 3.4GHz with the boost to 3.7GHz. Make sure you buy and additional battery larger than the one you have or will have. Also PSU with cord.

 

[cliffordcooley]

8GB not enough you would need a system that can do 16 GB at purchase with an option of , 24 GB 32 GB so you would buy a system with 16 GB with upgrade option to 24 GB or 32 GB when needed.

I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I do play a few games. The games I play has not needed over 8GB, and that is even with my Pagefile turned off.

Could you list the games that require more than 8GB? If the OP is not interested in those games then 8GB may be sufficient. For the 3 games the OP listed, 16GB currently seems like overkill.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Could you list the games that require more than 8GB?

Just about none.

 

[Spykezxp]

I have 8GB of RAM on my computer and have yet to come across a game that needed more than that. 16GB is overkill for the most part. I cant even imagine 24GB to 32GB. In my opinion that is just a waste at this point in time. I stick by what I said earlier by having 8GB now and upgrading to 16GB down the road when (and if needed).