Building a laptop - opinions please - Hardware & Software

So, first of all I would like to say hi! this is my first post in over 3 years now I think?? So I hope it all makes sense. Anyway, recently, my primary (pre-built dell laptop with integrated graphics i've had for about 3 years - because I may've pushed it to its limit even with a cooling fan pad under it) laptop died, processor burnt-out. My girlfriends laptop is also dying, and we are looking to upgrade together and get the same build. <insert mush here> Anyway, our price range is really max of £850 - per laptop (we're both UK) The spec we've decided on is: 15.6" 1920x1080 (cannot change this option) Intel Core i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4330M 2.8GHz 3MB Cache (multiple options but we decided on this - her idea) 1x 8GB 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (the motherboard has 3 ram slots so we can add more if needed - and has no option for 2x4GB when being built) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2.0GB DDR5 Video Ram - DirectX 11 (cannot change this option) 1 TB Serial ATAII 8MB Cache 5,400RPM HDD (she picked - and tbh i'm not too fussed about boot up times etc - laptop has 2 HDD slots anyway so I can add another if i want later) Arctic MX-4 Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound (I insisted after my recent heat issue) Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. (we both dislike windows 8) 2MP integrated webcam (cannot change and if it bother us that much a decent external is cheap) Total Cost £841.00 including VAT... What are your opinions on this build? As other pre-built laptops of similar spec seem to be around the £1000 or higher mark, and those of a similar price range fall short on spec. I'm coming to the end of uni so will be going back more towards gaming (not to say I wont be doing other modules and courses), not massively intense gaming, but like DayZ, Kerbal Space Program, Planetary Annihilation (that is probably the most intense). She will be using it more for assignments and a hell of a lot of sims >.> No joke she has like 20GB of custom content for sims 2 and wonders why it takes over an hour to load! and photoshop. IDK she does shipping things and mashes stuff together *shrugs* My other question is, would 2x4GB be better than 1x8GB ram sticks? (the closest option is 3x4GB) And, what is better and why? Intel Core i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4330M 2.8GHz 3MB Cache Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz 6MB Cache I would have gone for the quad core personally, but she made a compelling argument with some games and applications only utilise 1 core. (Like kerbal space program) - but photoshop would utilise all 4 cores. so I'm a bit unsure with that one, considering the 0.4GHz difference and stuff, so advice please? since this doesn't make a huge price difference between the two.

For determining which is a better processor, you should look into some benchmarks between the two processors. Clock speed means nothing in this case honestly, just look for some gaming and productivity benchmarks. Secondly, 2 x 4GB is better, because it allows you to take advantage of dual channel. A technology which theoretically doubles RAM speed, and in practice has an ever so slight barely noticeable speed improvement in the system. I always recommend it because 2x4 costs the same as 1x8, but if it's not an option it's nothing to loose sleep over. The same doesn't carry over to 3x4 (tri-channel does exist but haswell doesn't support it, nor do any modern platforms). Thirdly, "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2.0GB DDR5 Video Ram - DirectX 11 (cannot change this option)" is not a video card. There's no model number in there, so I can't really say anything one way or another. But a 780M is quite different from a 750M and the above could indicate either. For the HDD, I would upgrade to a 7200 RPM drive if you can. Booting from a 5400 RPM drive is extremely unpleasant. For the operating system windows 8 is a bit faster with some games even gaining a solid 10 FPS from it, and there are programs that make it essentially windows 7 with windows 8 programming (classic start for example); however, windows 7 is still cheaper, so I won't make a strong case for it.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M 2.0GB DDR5 Video Ram - DirectX 11 Sorry! i forgot to add the 765M in there. I've never had a graphics card that wasnt integrated, ever! so the idea of this is kind of exciting! The only issue is, it's the only option for the laptop we are looking at. I understand about the booting from a 5400 RPM drive, it's something i'm used to though, although that is the case I made if i'm honest :p - but yes I do see your point and i will look into convincing her so, more. (and if not I can always just add a secondary down the line) So, going to the RAM, I agree, if i had the option I would have chosen 2x4GB. So, with the 3x4GB would I expect a decrease in performance even if using identical 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 sticks? This might sound silly but i've never had more than 2 sticks of ram, so would it not recognise or utilise 3 sticks? (the 12GB?) or would it utilise 12GB but with decreased performance over dual channel 2x4GB? (I think that makes sense)

1 x 8 GB and 3 x 4 GB would have the same performance unless your running enough memory intensive programs to reach that, at least that's as far as I know. I'm not sure about 2 x 4 vs 3 x 4. My recommendation is still 1 x 8. The 765M should serve you fine, and it's a pretty good card for the price. Why don't you just put a 7200 RPM in your laptop and a 5400 RPM in hers if you really can't convince her?

I'm seeing her today anyway so i can discuss the HDD and CPU today with her, I think we may end up with slightly different laptops because dual core seems it would be better for her, and quad core seems like it would be better for me. Although tbh there doesn't seem to be a lot in it over all looking at benchmarks and seeing other peoples opinions on other forums. So, does anyone have an opinion or experience with or about either the: Intel Core i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4330M 2.8GHz 3MB Cache OR Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz 6MB Cache and in regards to the RAM discussion, could anyone give an opinion of performance of 2 x 4GB vs 3 x 4GB? please.

Honestly I doubt you'll even need the 2×4. Get that though over the 3×4. You can always add another 4gig stick later if you need it.

By the way RAM speed has zero effect on playing games because they rely almost solely on video RAM. 2133MHz will give you maybe a frame per second optimistically over 1333MHz.

yeah, that had slipped my mind because i'm so used to having integrated graphics you see! >.> Right, the spec currently as it stands now then is: - 15.6" 1920x1080 Matte - Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz 6MB Cache - 1x 8GB 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (there was no option for selecting 2x4GB) - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M 2.0GB DDR5 Video Ram - DirectX 11 - Primary HDD 750GB 16MB Cache, 7200rpm - Secondary HDD 1 TB 8MB Cache 5,400RPM (more for storage than to run programs from) - Arctic MX-4 Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. - 2MP integrated webcam Total Cost: £891 Including VAT. What are your opinions on this build vs my previous spec, as I have taken what has been said in to account? Also the price has been bumped up because of the secondary HDD, without it the price would be £836.

It would honestly probably end up cheaper to get a single 1.5tb or 2tb HDD at 7200rpm than 2 separate ones. HDD's have a fairly steep floor, and you can generally get the next size up every ~$20 (USD)

Hmmm okay, thank you =] Also, in case anyone was wondering about the 2x4 vs 3x4 RAM question I had, it seems that the more modern motherboards allow for slot 0 and 1 (providing you used matched RAM) to work in dual channel, with the third slot remaining single channel. So if you were to put say (for arguments sake), 2x4 in slot 0 and 1, and 1x8 in slot 2. The 2x4 would work as dual and the 1x8 as single. (apparently with no detriment to system performance). However if you were to put the 1x8 in either slot 0 or 1, and the 2x4 in the remaining free slots, they would all work as single channel because apparently slot 0 and 1 are accessed first (makes sense because it's in order) and if they don't match everything is automatically used as single channel. Apparently.