CPU or GPU

[Cannon]

I'm planning to buy a new laptop and i came across these 2 and now i can't decide which one is better.

One of them has Nvidia GeForce GTX 970m 3GB VRAM and 6th-generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz

The second one however, has Nvidia GeForce GTX 980m 4GB VRAM but 4th-generation Intel Core i7-4720HQ 2.6GHz .

So the first one has better cpu i assume, but the second one has better gpu right? Which one should i choose? Btw i was surprised to see that the second one was actually cheaper than the first one o.O

[Elthy]

For KSP the 970m is good enough, but the additional CPU power could help. For almost all other games the i7-4720HQ will be fast enough, they are limlited by GPU power, so the 980m would be better...

[Camacha]

That does not sound right. The first CPU is only 6 months older than the second one, so two generations sounds a bit off. The second is newer, but the first one has a slightly higher turbo. How much the actual difference is only benchmarks will tell, but I think it is going to be pretty close.

Please remember to look beyond the specifications. Especially a laptop is much more than just numbers. Pay close attention to things not numerically expressed. How well built is the thing? Is the housing somewhat sturdy? Is the screen of quality? How does it type? Those are all things that will impact your user experience.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Camacha

[Vaporo]

http://cpuboss.com/

http://gpuboss.com/

I found these sites useful when I was searching for a computer.

[Camacha]

7 hours ago, Vaporo said:

http://cpuboss.com/

http://gpuboss.com/

I found these sites useful when I was searching for a computer.

Please note that these are artificial benchmarks. While somewhat indicative, be aware that small differences are often not relevant because of this. Always reference actual relevant real world benchmarks when comparing hardware.

[Cannon]

Thanks for the responses

[cantab]

The two processors are virtually identical in performance. The two graphics chips are considerably different. All else being equal, and if gaming is your primary interest, get the laptop with a 980M. It won't match a desktop GTX 980, but it'll beat a 960 and in some games pull level with a 970 - seriously impressive for a laptop. The 970M is some way behind.