Upgrade or Buy new

[neeeewb]

My current laptop has a Intel I5 quad core processor and 6GB ram with Nvidia graphics card. It's total memory capacity is only 8GB.

I would like to be able to box 5-6 toons but when I hit that 5th toon I do notice my lag go up and also the ability to window out to a browser is when it really, really slows down.

My question is - Would buying the extra 2 GB to max out the laptops memory make the difference that I'm looking for? Or would buying a laptop with more ram(16GB) be what I am looking for? My Budget is about 1k and under. Thanks in advance for the advice

 

[devestator]

My current laptop has a Intel I5 quad core processor and 6GB ram with Nvidia graphics card. It's total memory capacity is only 8GB.

I would like to be able to box 5-6 toons but when I hit that 5th toon I do notice my lag go up and also the ability to window out to a browser is when it really, really slows down.

My question is - Would buying the extra 2 GB to max out the laptops memory make the difference that I'm looking for? Or would buying a laptop with more ram(16GB) be what I am looking for? My Budget is about 1k and under. Thanks in advance for the advice

If the maximum memory capacity in your laptop is only 8GB it's got to be a little old. That means the Nvidia card in it is probably a little dated as well. I'd suggest going for a new laptop if you got a 1k budget. You can get a descent base line gaming laptop for just under or right at 1k.

I bought my gaming laptop about a year ago now so there are newer models, but It's an MSI Dominator G Series. Laptop purchase price was 1200 with an 17.3" display, i7 2.7ghz, 8GB ram, GTX 870M graphics chip, and a 1TB hdd. Granted 1200 is over your budget and it's still only 8GB of ram, but if you went with a 15.6" display and a slightly lower end model (maybe something with a smaller hdd and/or slower processor) you should be able to get it for under your budget. What I did with mine though is immediately upon ordering it, I upgraded it to 24GB of ram (it can go to 32 I just didn't feel like going under the keyboard to get to the other slots there), and put an SSD in it for the primary drive with the 1TB as a data drive. The 16GB of ram kit at the time was like 120 dollars.

 

[dewey2461]

My current laptop has a Intel I5 quad core processor and 6GB ram with Nvidia graphics card. It's total memory capacity is only 8GB.

Sometimes they spec out machines capacity based on what is available at the time of publication and if larger modules will work.

You can try googling your laptop model + 16 GB ram and see what comes up.

An other option is trying to reduce the amount of ram you are currently using while playing EQ.

And of course purchasing a new laptop is always a nice option if you have the cash. I got my wife a 17" i7 + nvidia with 8 GB ram that seemed to run my six box team pretty well in a pinch. But I'm using WinEQ2, have graphics turned down, old models, etc ...

 

[William12]

I don't use laptops I prefer a desktop but go new

ASUS ROG GL551 series GL551JW-DS71 Gaming Laptop Intel Core i7 4720HQ (2.60GHz) 16GB Memory 1TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB 15.6" Windows 8.1 64-Bit - Newegg.com

would be able to box 12 or so EQ only takes about 1gb of ram per instance.

If you can go desktop do that instead build it yourself for half the price of that laptop.

 

[neeeewb]

How about something along these lines?

Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition VN7-791G-78VM Intel Core i7 2.5GHz 16GB DDR3 1TB HDD Blu-Ray 2GB Geforce GTX 860M 17.3" Full HD Gaming Laptop Windows 8.1 64-bit

 

[dewey2461]

How about something along these lines?

Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition VN7-791G-78VM Intel Core i7 2.5GHz 16GB DDR3 1TB HDD Blu-Ray 2GB Geforce GTX 860M 17.3" Full HD Gaming Laptop Windows 8.1 64-bit

Should have no problems with that. Other than cleaning off all the pre-install crap ware.

 

[neeeewb]

Also in lamen's terms, what is the big difference between SSD and a standard HDD?

 

[William12]

Also in lamen's terms, what is the big difference between SSD and a standard HDD?

haha load speed from windows to how fast your toons load and zone. Trust me its a huge difference. If you're going to spend 1k$ on a laptop go SSD might as well.

Oh and ask if you can downgrade to windows 7 lol.

 

[dewey2461]

Also in lamen's terms, what is the big difference between SSD and a standard HDD?

HD's have spinning disks with a read head that takes time to physically move.

SSD's are pure electronics so they are VERY fast to access data. Windows start times on my home machine went from ~60 seconds down to 20 seconds.

 

[Fry]

If you are doing any sort of traveling with the laptop, go SSD. I see so many laptops with hard drives corrupted from bumps.

SSD is also like the holy grail for program load times, once you go SSD you can never go back. They are also pretty easy to add if you buy one without a SSD. Samsung SSD's are around the $140 range these days for decent amount of space.

 

[aspire2008]

Don't buy a laptop to play EQ unless work requires you to travel alot, even then I hope you enjoy lugging around 10-12 lbs.

 

[Nuclearweapon]

Ditto

Laptop is the last resort... In addition, unless you are running 3, 4, 5, 6 instances of EQ even your desktop does not need to be top of the line...
Good internet speed and a hard line internet connection go a long way... Wifi sucks ass...

 

[neeeewb]

appreciate all the responses, it was helpful in my buying process.

 

[PeteSampras]

personally, i did buy a laptop (MSI GT 60) and am able to box 10 eq instances reliably with 16 gig ram, 980M and i7. but i travel a lot so theres that. although I am considering finally getting a desktop after a 5 year absense to use as primary. i can say that i require all the ram to load that many instances. 11-12th instance start to lag. i havent tried above 12 instances. 32 gigs is probably overkill, but 24 gig is in my personal wheelhouse, which means i would likely get 32gb just to match.

 

[Casca]

I have been playing on two desktops with three screens. However, I just retired from the military and in a few months will be moving out of the USA to see if I can afford to live and enjoy life on my retirement. Once I recover from my shoulder surgery, will be going to a few countries to see how I like it.

How loud does the MSI laptop get when you're boxing 6 accounts? Is the 17" screen big enough for you to run all 6 instances on the screen at once via ISboxer? If you were running all 6 on screen at once, is it still playable at high settings are do you dial down/only have one instance on screen at a time?

I don't play any video game except Everquest and am not looking to spend money I don't have to. I was going to try dragging my desktops with me, but that's probably a very bad idea lol. I'd guess one laptop powerful enough to do what I need is better for electricity than two overpowered desktops and three big monitors. Or maybe I am trying to rationalize why I should buy a new toy lol

edit: ended up getting Amazon.com : ASUS ROG G751JL FHD 17.3 Inch Laptop (Intel Core i7, 16 GB, 1TB HDD, Black) with NVIDIA GTX965M - Free Upgrade to Windows 10 : Computers & Accessories Asus rog g751. It was $50 more than the MSI Dominator with similar specs. I think only difference is the Asus has NVidia 965m and the MSI has NVidia 960m, probably means next to no difference there.

From what I read, the Rog has better cooling, although the MSI does well too. On reviews, the rog is rated as quitter at idle and load and I am willing to pay $50 extra for that. Also got 16gb more ram to bring it to 32gb total.

 

[Casca]

This laptop (asus rogue..linked above) 6-boxes EQ at high settings beautifully. I have a second monitor linked to it with my warrior on the laptop screen and my other 5 accounts on a 17" split into a major screen on top and 4 small screens below. The big thing for me is that it does all that and makes just about no noise. I mean, this thing is silent and I am very happy about that. I did replace the HDD with an SSD I had and although the SSD didn't make much if any difference in load time for EQ....there's no drive noise.

I had a 14" Alienware before this and it sounded like an airplane on takeoff playing a single instance of EQ. Hell, it was loud just surfing the internet.