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Question

Help on buying custom laptop: Graphics vs SSD

by Jul 8, 2015 8:50AM PDT

Hello. Below are specs for a $1430 Battalion N170SD Gaming Laptop. I will be using this laptop for known games (WoW, Archeage, LoL, etc) but I wanted something that runs fast. I am new to SSD's, and my friend suggested I replace the standard 1 TB hard drive offered for a 500 SDD and a 128 GB M.2 for $1430 (as seen below in specs). However, for roughly the same price, I could keep my 1 TB hard drive but get the better NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M 3GB instead of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M - 2GB .

I am no expert on SDD, let alone what a M.2 is, but I like the sound of faster processing and could live with the weaker Graphics card. Please help me decide! Thank you.


Case : 1 x Battalion N170SD 17.3" Full HD Display 1920x1080 Laptop
Processor : 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4720HQ Mobile Processor (4x 2.6GHz/6MB L3 Cache) [N170SD]
Memory : 1 x 16GB [8GB x 2] 1600MHz DDR3 SO-DIMM Laptop Memory - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card : 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M - 2GB [N170SD]
M.2 SSD Drive : 1 x 128GB M.2 SSD - Single Drive
Primary Hard Drive : 1 x 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD -- Read: 540MB/s, Write: 520MB/s - Single Drive
Optical Drive : 1 x 8x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [N170SD]
Media Card Reader / Writer : 1 x Built-in 6-in-1 Media Card Reader/Writer [Laptop]
Sound Card : 1 x High Definition Audio Interface
Network Card : 1 x Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN [Laptop]
Internal Wireless Network Adapter : 1 x Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11ac + Bluetooth Combo [M.2]
Operating System : 1 x Windows 8.1 + Office 365 Trial [Free 30-Day !!!] 64-bit
Additional Software : 1 x NZXT CAM - Hardware Monitor Software - Preinstalled on your PC
USB Ports : 1 x Built-in 4x USB 3.0 Ports

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Answer
No sale.
by Forum moderator Jul 8, 2015 9:06AM PDT
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reply to R.Proffitt
by UnclesAA Jul 8, 2015 10:27AM PDT

Thank you for the reply. I am new to this, so when you say a sea of green, I'm assuming to stick with the 960M, ok.

Now the 128GB SSD M.2 you are saying it is not good enough? 512GB is highest option this company offers and would be extra $217 which would be my max in budget. Do you think it would be ok with just a 512GB or even a cheaper 256GB M.2 just to get by for now?

Thank you!

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I believe Bob's thinking about space management
by wpgwpg Jul 8, 2015 11:05AM PDT

I have a 120 GB SSD with the Windows 10 pre-release software, and it's working just fine. I have a lot of software installed and am only using about half the 120 GB because I keep my data on a different drive. However you do see a lot of posts from people complaining about the "low on space" problem. This happens to folks who don't know or don't care about where things go until they run out of space. I'm always surprised by how so many folks who've had computers for years who don't understand the file system. As long as you understand it, and know how to keep the SSD for just things that Windows has to have, and how to put everything else on a separate hard drive, 120 GB is more than enough. That's easy to say, but unfortunately it rules out a great portion of today's computer users.
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I used to work with a product where we'd say "rule #1 applies". Rule #1 is "know what you're doing. A lot of folks think they shouldn't have to worry about the file system. These folks are the ones who shouldn't have 120 GB SSDs.
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Good luck.

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I had hoped you would visit the supplied link on the 960m
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 9, 2015 6:20AM PDT
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