Cosmos II laptop for Uni and gaming

[fin3rz]

Hi Chaps and Chapesses,

I've ordered a laptop from the PC Specialist website and it's currently in the 'processing stage'. This will be my first laptop and I'm looking for something that'll be good for 3D modelling software (ie SolidWorks, Autodesk etc), video editing (Hitfilm 2 Ultimate), and general university work. I'm not really a PC gamer at the moment, although I won't have my console with me at Uni so I would like the option of becoming a PC Gamer (!), playing games at reasonable settings (ie Battlefield at medium settings).

I'm slightly worried that my CPU might not be up to the job. Should I upgrade it slightly, if so to a better i5 or i7? Can you guys offer your thoughts on this? My max budget ideally is £700 but ideally I would like to keep it under. Currently the spec below is £677.

Many thanks!

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Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD7500BPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[mantadog]

The bottom spec i7 will be double the performance of that CPU, which I would strongly advise you go for.

Video editing/3d work really needs as much CPU as you can throw at it.

Apart from that, scorpio black and the upgraded thermal compound would be good too.

 

[fin3rz]

The bottom spec i7 will be double the performance of that CPU, which I would strongly advise you go for.

Video editing/3d work really needs as much CPU as you can throw at it.

Apart from that, scorpio black and the upgraded thermal compound would be good too.

Are you referring to the Quad Core 4710MQ or the Dual Core 4610M? I realise this may be a difficult question, without a definitive answer, but how much noticeable difference would it make to upgrade to the i7? My current desktop uses a AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor @ 3.00GHz, how would the i5 and i7 compare to this?

Many thanks!

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Are you referring to the Quad Core 4710MQ or the Dual Core 4610M? I realise this may be a difficult question, without a definitive answer, but how much noticeable difference would it make to upgrade to the i7? My current desktop uses a AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor @ 3.00GHz, how would the i5 and i7 compare to this?

Many thanks!

He means the i7-4710mq The i7 will probably be better than your desktop CPU as it has more threads plus Intel CPUs are usually better at single threaded applications as well, so it's a win win situation.

The i7 is definitely worth the upgrade, it'll be able to run mulitple programs and CPU intensive programs a lot better.

Also, as mantadog said, get the upgraded thermal paste and scorpio black HDD, they only cost a little more but will give you a noticeable increase in performance.

 

[mantadog]

My current desktop uses a AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor @ 3.00GHz, how would the i5 and i7 compare to this?

Many thanks!

The i7 (4710mq as said by George already) is about 2.5 possibly even 3x faster than your desktop chip. If your going 3D work it will be a godsend.

 

[fin3rz]

Hi again!

I've taken your advice and upgraded to the 4710MQ, Scorpio Black and Artic Silver Paste.

Thanks for all your help. Sooooooooo excited for it to arrive!