cheapest asus rog laptop for playing witcher 3 at reasonable (+medium) settings?

[gabjiboji]

Hi guys

I am saving money to buy a laptop and I would very much like to be able to play Witcher 3 on it at acceptable settings. By acceptable settings I think I mean above medium settings (would prefer high settings, but you know). I do not know much about the proper fps and other computer talk. I just want the game to run smoothly and look good as well.

I have been trying to understand exactly what things to take into consideration when choosing a model but as I said, I am not exactly versed in the hardware thingies. I've seen videos on the web with people testing the Witcher game with various models of GTX, but is that all it takes? I can't just say 'It's got GTX960 so it will work', right? Is a 2.0 GHz processor a good processor for what I want? Should I look for a higher GTX or a higher GHz count? You see, I really don't know.

So I thought it would just be easier if I could find someone that can help me find the right type of gaming laptop that I need. That way I can see exactly how much money I should save.

I hope one of you can lend a hand, I'd be über grateful.

Thank you very much!

[gabjiboji]

sevymar wrote:
My old laptop, the G750JX with GTX770M ran the witcher 3 at around 40FPS everything low. still looks great imo.
My current laptop, G752VY with GTX980M runs at a smooth 60FPS on Ultra but hairworks turned off.

thanks, this gives me something to compare with

[Boxis]

Check this page, if you can:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Witcher-3-Notebook-Benchmarks.143187.0.html

There were some optimalization patches, but fps is kinda similar, so the data shown there is mostly accurate.

[gabjiboji]

Boxis wrote:
Check this page, if you can:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Witcher-3-Notebook-Benchmarks.143187.0.html

There were some optimalization patches, but fps is kinda similar, so the data shown there is mostly accurate.

OK.. I don't think i understand everything on that page, but that table was clear enough. however, it refers only to the gpu as far as i can tell. now i'm not so sure on the processor. will a 2.0 ghz affect gameplay much?

[nandodean]

GL552 will do the job on medium settings.

[gabjiboji]

now see what i mean, it was said above that i need gtx970 to run it. did you play the game on gl552? or you estimate that it should work, based on its specs?

[gabjiboji]

nandodean wrote:
GL552 will do the job on medium settings.

now see what i mean, it was said above that i need gtx970 to run it. did you play the game on gl552? or you estimate that it should work, based on its specs?

[Dreamonic]

Lets put this to rest, because back in the day if any of you can recall, some CPUs like the A10-4600M were paired up with flagship GPUs at the time like the 7970M for example. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible CPU/GPU configuration, because when the CPU was at maximum load, the GPU wasn't (essentially, GPU performance bottleneck by the CPU). So FPS of equivalent GPU config notebooks showed just how much that piss poor of CPU choice was affecting average FPS! The difference was like 50%, but then again, it was a cheaper configuration than going Intel i7-3630QM/3940XM at the time. So you get what you pay for, enough said there.

If you want to do some reading on the MSI GX60 (older notebook) I was using in my example above, you can read about it here since this will answer how important CPU performance is with a gaming notebook.

Nowadays, most gaming notebook configs are using higher end CPU models paired with mid range/high end GPU models so max performance (no bottlenecks - shouldn't even being using this word here) can be attainable 99.9% of the time; Lower end gaming notebook configs still mostly use higher end CPU models, but the GPU models are usually mid range and this is where the cost in savings come from, the GPU, amount of system memory, SSD space, screen size/res, even brand!


For the sake of argument, let's say this:

A 2Ghz quad core CPU with a 960M vs 3Ghz quad core CPU with a 960M (say price difference is $150 between the two) of course the 2Ghz CPU model will run games fine, but average FPS will be down compared to the 3Ghz model. How much will it be down? It could be anywhere from a minimum of 30% to the 50% as mentioned earlier. So let's say the 2Ghz model gets 30fps and the 3Ghz model gets you 45fps. Is $150 worth that FPS improvement going with the faster CPU? You decide.

So to answer the question, will a 860M/960M play The Witcher 3 at decent FPS at 1080p? Unless you enjoy most settings at low/medium with some high at avg 30-40fps in a game like that, by all means go for it. Ideally, a 965M/970M can do most settings high with some ultra and get around avg 40-50 at 1080p. The 980M/980 (mobile) can do most settings ultra and get around avg 60fps at 1080p (hairworks off in all of these). Overclock any of them substantially and you can get upwards of 15-25% FPS improvement but not everyone wants to overclock their systems, so some people pay more for these higher end GPU configs when the mid range GPU configs could be overclocked enough to meet identical benchmark scores or even exceed them, but that's for an entirely different thread altogether.


EDIT: Any ROG notebook with a 960M is enough for +medium

[gabjiboji]

Dreamonic wrote:
Lets put this to rest, because back in the day if any of you can recall, some CPUs like the A10-4600M were paired up with flagship GPUs at the time like the 7970M for example. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible CPU/GPU configuration, because when the CPU was at maximum load, the GPU wasn't (essentially, GPU performance bottleneck by the CPU). So FPS of equivalent GPU config notebooks showed just how much that piss poor of CPU choice was affecting average FPS! The difference was like 50%, but then again, it was a cheaper configuration than going Intel i7-3630QM/3940XM at the time. So you get what you pay for, enough said there.

If you want to do some reading on the MSI GX60 (older notebook) I was using in my example above, you can read about it here since this will answer how important CPU performance is with a gaming notebook.

Nowadays, most gaming notebook configs are using higher end CPU models paired with mid range/high end GPU models so max performance (no bottlenecks - shouldn't even being using this word here) can be attainable 99.9% of the time; Lower end gaming notebook configs still mostly use higher end CPU models, but the GPU models are usually mid range and this is where the cost in savings come from, the GPU, amount of system memory, SSD space, screen size/res, even brand!


For the sake of argument, let's say this:

A 2Ghz quad core CPU with a 960M vs 3Ghz quad core CPU with a 960M (say price difference is $150 between the two) of course the 2Ghz CPU model will run games fine, but average FPS will be down compared to the 3Ghz model. How much will it be down? It could be anywhere from a minimum of 30% to the 50% as mentioned earlier. So let's say the 2Ghz model gets 30fps and the 3Ghz model gets you 45fps. Is $150 worth that FPS improvement going with the faster CPU? You decide.

So to answer the question, will a 860M/960M play The Witcher 3 at decent FPS at 1080p? Unless you enjoy most settings at low/medium with some high at avg 30-40fps in a game like that, by all means go for it. Ideally, a 965M/970M can do most settings high with some ultra and get around avg 40-50 at 1080p. The 980M/980 (mobile) can do most settings ultra and get around avg 60fps at 1080p (hairworks off in all of these). Overclock any of them substantially and you can get upwards of 15-25% FPS improvement but not everyone wants to overclock their systems, so some people pay more for these higher end GPU configs when the mid range GPU configs could be overclocked enough to meet identical benchmark scores or even exceed them, but that's for an entirely different thread altogether.


EDIT: Any ROG notebook with a 960M is enough for +medium

This was helpful, thanks Dreamonic. It is now time for me to do the thinking and take a decision

[antoine52200]

When you see the price drops on the g751 line you would be crazy not to go for a 970m... the witcher 3 isn't the only game you gonna want to play right?

Any game that will come in the next year, you will be able to play it at medium settings. With a 965m or less.. well, your laptop will run so hot, for so few fps... always try to get the best gpu you can afford, if you need to wait a couple of months to be able to afford it, then wait!

with a 970 you WILL enjoy playing your favorit game! at nice fps and decent settings! Don't waste your money on a old graphic card

[antoine52200]

there is a 100 $ difference on this model between a 965m and the 970m! depending on your contry and where you buy it, you can even find it cheaper than this!

You would get a good CPU (4720) and you can always buy a SSD later on, and install it yourself! it will make a good gaming laptop with great cooling, a 17 inch G-SYNC overclockable panel to 100Hz, 16Go of RAM, 1 Tb HDD...

here:

http://www.amazon.com/G751JT-WH71-WX-17-Inch-GeForce-Version/dp/B015QZVAF2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=14...

To me this laptop is the safest/smartest buy when on a budget.