Hardware Laptop specs ~ for gaming and general usage.

[KiraKat]

So, I just ordered a new laptop (new-ish laptop) and from what I can see it's got some decent specs. Here's the rundown:
.Samsung Series 3 Laptop, 15.6inch screen ( model no. 300V5A-A05)
.500GB SATA HDD internal
.4GB DDR3 Ram
.Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor B950 @2.1GHz
.NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 520MX Graphics card
Also it's bundled with Windows 7 Premium but i'll probably put it up to Ultimate.
Drop your opinions, especially all of you pro's out there. It'll be good to see if this was worth the £250.00 I spent on it.

 

[Foxi4]

.Samsung Series 3 Laptop, 15.6inch screen ( model no. 300V5A-A05) //Okay. Samsung's alright, I guess.
.500GB SATA HDD internal //Goodie.
.4GB DDR3 Ram //Goodie.
.Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor B950 @2.1GHz //Meh, why not i3?
.NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 520MX Graphics card //Sufficient for everyday use.
Also it's bundled with Windows 7 Premium but i'll probably put it up to Ultimate.//Same difference.
Drop your opinions, especially all of you pro's out there. It'll be good to see if this was worth the £250.00 I spent on it. //Relatively good specs for the price paid. Good value.

Just to clarify, B950 is almost exactly the same as the i3, it just doesn't have HT threads, which is a tad of a shame. You should be fine though.

Chart courtesy of compare-processors.com

 

[KiraKat]

Yeah I was thinking of getting one with an i3 2350 I think but it only had a Nvidia 310M graphics card and cost £299 instead. Other than that I really didn't want to get an integrated Intel HD 3000 one either, they don't look so great. Most integrated cards suck anyway. But I guess for some games it should be okay (Dark Souls on low-medium). I'm trying not to spend too much, Students gotta watch their munnys.

 

[Foxi4]

Yeah I was thinking of getting one with an i3 2350 I think but it only had a Nvidia 310M graphics card and cost £299 instead. Other than that I really didn't want to get an integrated Intel HD 3000 one either, they don't look so great. Most integrated cards suck anyway. But I guess for some games it should be okay (Dark Souls on low-medium). I'm trying not to spend too much, Students gotta watch their munnys.

In that case, you made the right choice.

The laptop you bought also has an integrated GPU - the NVidia chip will be in a dormant state most of the time. Contemporary Intel processors have Intel HD graphics on-board in order to save battery life - the GeForce takes over when GPU-intensive applications such as games require it. Just a fun fact, really.

As a 520MX owner, I think you'll be happy with the chip. It's affordable and it'll allow you to play all the contemporary games - perhaps not at Ultra Quality settings, but hey! You get what you pay for, eh?

I just hope that Samsung's build quality is top-notch, but judging from their other products, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[FireGrey]

That sounds like a fair deal.

 

[KiraKat]

Yeah I was thinking of getting one with an i3 2350 I think but it only had a Nvidia 310M graphics card and cost £299 instead. Other than that I really didn't want to get an integrated Intel HD 3000 one either, they don't look so great. Most integrated cards suck anyway. But I guess for some games it should be okay (Dark Souls on low-medium). I'm trying not to spend too much, Students gotta watch their munnys.

In that case, you made the right choice.

The laptop you bought also has an integrated GPU - the NVidia chip will be in a dormant state most of the time. Contemporary Intel processors have Intel HD graphics on-board in order to save battery life - the GeForce takes over when GPU-intensive applications such as games require it. Just a fun fact, really.

As a 520MX owner, I think you'll be happy with the chip. It's affordable and it'll allow you to play all the contemporary games - perhaps not at Ultra Quality settings, but hey! You get what you pay for, eh?

I just hope that Samsung's build quality is top-notch, but judging from their other products, you have nothing to worry about.

Yeah it should be alright, I guess I'll have to judge it myself when it arrives in the week.
Thanks for your opinions and elightenment people, appreciate it.
p.s. Alright I'm off to take a Shower (don't imagine that) anymore thoughts etc from everyone else would be great, thanks.

 

[Rydian]

The graphics might not be as powerful as you think, as the second number is the relative power of the card, not the first. For example a 460 is more powerful than a 520.

That said, pretty much any dedicated card beats out integrated graphics (still), and that will definitely play games.

 

[Foxi4]

The graphics might not be as powerful as you think, as the second number is the relative power of the card, not the first. For example a 460 is more powerful than a 520.

That said, pretty much any dedicated card beats out integrated graphics (still), and that will definitely play games.

Seeing he had the choice between 520MX and 310 for which he'd have to pay more for, I think he chose right.

 

[Originality]

For the price he paid, it's pretty good. I give it a thumbs up.

And for those who say HD3000 sucks, it does. But it can play Crysis, so shut up