Need some advise for an upgrade, please help!

[zijungao]

I have a kindda old M15x, with i7-740QM, and a GTX260m Graphic. I am wondering what kind of upgrade I can have. Am I able to change it to a better GPU? If I change the GPU to a GTX560m, is it necessary to also get the CPU upgraded? Also, what kind of hard drive I can buy for upgrade, just a normal SSD? I am very very new to the upgrade world, I have never upgrade a computer before. Please help me and thank you guys very much!

[Kazalor]

Hey,


First off I'd like to say that you're M15x isn't really that bad off, I upgraded from completely stock options, ATI 5730M, i3 370m, but you have a 260M and your processor isn't the least bad, but if you really need that extra computing power, look no further!

As far as GPUs go, yes you can go with the 560M, it's roughly the same size as the 460M and you can find them on ebay and it should cost you around the mid 200s maybe low 300s. If I were you, I'd go with an ATI 6970M, I got me one, (thanks to svl7!!!) and love it for gaming. However, if you are an NVIDIA guy, you may prefer to stick with them, and not go ATI, it's all up to you. The 6970M can run all modern games at high to ultra settings at 1080p easily ( well maybe not BF3 ) As far as CPUs go, the i7 940xm is the fastest @ 2.13ghz but most agree that the i7 920xm @ 2.00Ghz is a better bang for your buck. I went with the 940xm, but I had no limit on budget. As far as SSD go, I'm not sure the maximum capacity you can get, because the hard-drive space in the computer is limited to 2.5' I think? I have the stock HD, the 320GB 7200rpm one, but you just reminded me to look into that upgrade. Also, if you don't have 8GBS of RAM already, RAM is also another upgrade worth looking into if you are a multi-tasker, or have tons of tabs up while gaming, listening to music, or you're running many applications at once. As far as the upgrade process, the processor is very easy to install, it's plug and play, you remove the back cover, which exposes all the parts, and the processor has 4 screws which you unscrew, and you take out the old one, put in the new one, spray some thermal paste on it, and stick it in and yore good to go, however the graphics card is all dependent on which one you buy. I know for a fact the NVIDIA GPUs are slightly more difficult, some require flashing, but the ATI ones are as simple as putting in and DLing drivers.

[zijungao]

Thank you so much bro. I really also don't have the budget issue so I may go with the ATI card. I found one on ebay and it is about 400 bucks, is that a right price to go for it? For the CPU, if I only upgrade the GPU and leave the old 740QM there, will that effect too much on the gaming performance? The hard drive I could just go for anyone that is 2.5'?
Any good memory brand that you recommend?
I know I am a little annoying but please heeelp
THX

[Kazalor]

No prob man, you aren't the least bit annoying. If you left your 740QM in there, honestly, you should be fine. Sure'll you'll definitely see improvement if you were to upgrade down the road, but stick with what you got. As far as hard drives go, yeah I'm not entirely sure, but look for stuff that is 2.5 inches, and it should fit snug. $400 for the 6970M is more than what I paid, but thats right around the price, see if you can get a better deal, but if budget isn't an issue, go for it!! Make sure you keep your old backplate on your old graphics card because you'll have to take it off and use it for the 6970M. When upgrading RAM, it really doesn't matter what you use. I have 8GBs of Corsair and games/applications are really quick. I can't imagine what it's like with 16GB in an M15x.

[zijungao]

Is it okay to use a 1600 memory on the M15x? Or 1333 is the highest?

[ASCI_Blue]

You can use 1600, it'll just run at 1333.

You can get a 1 terrabyte SSD, however a 500 gig is $1,000 (usd) so don't want to look at a terra.

Far as RAM is concerned sure the moar the merrier but there's a point where it doesn't matter cause the software can't or won't use it. I've got 4 gigs, I run things like Starcraft 2 in max everything (1600x900 res as that's max for me) and it's silky smooth.

[Kazalor]

is your 5850 stock or OC? Not to hijack the thread, Damn I'm getting around 60 with my 940x
And 6970M

[ASCI_Blue]

Not sure what FPS I'm getting but yes my 5850 is bone stock as is CPU and RAM speeds.

[zijungao]

Therefore no need to spend extra on 1600 rams right? I guess I can just buy 1333 rams cuz those are little bit cheaper.

[Kazalor]

So you don't know your FPS? if its 45+ constantly with large battles I'd be thoroughly surprised.