View Full Version : Laptops
Thanks to my accident a few weeks back, my shoulder's a bit knackered to say the least (back to where it was pre-physio when I was in Stafford last year for those who heard me whining about it back then :D) and sitting at a desk all day is the worst thing I can possibly do to it.
Unfortunately my new job involves all desk work so I can struggle through that but by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit at a desk on the PC at home. Same thing happens at the weekend as I'm trying to rest it as much as possible then too.
As I still need a PC for various things (if nothing else, the game reviews I do), I've decided to go for a laptop come next payday as I can sit on the floor against a beanbag and rest my shoulder.
I don't want a desktop replacement but I've got a rough idea of requirements.
It'll mainly be for basic word processing/internet etc. But I would like some form of graphics card so I can still play World of Warcraft on it every now and then. I'd only need something like a Geforce 8300GS (which is what's in my PC at the moment). I just don't want onboard graphics.
2gb RAM is essential.
Not sure on CPU, overheard the IT guy at work saying AMD are equal to the core2duos in laptops but I'm not sure about that as I don't know him well enough to know if he knows what he's talking about :p
Not bothered about HD space as I've got an external HD kicking around and as it's not a desktop replacement, it's not vital for masses of space.
My budget is max £450 but ideally £400. I'm not adverse to paying £450, it just has to offer enough to warrant the extra £50 ;)
I've had a look on Europc, Dell, Dell Outlet and Ebuyer. Dell Outlet and Europc seem a good bet so far.
Main thing after all that waffle is just to check that I'm going down the right routes. :D
Admiral Huddy
05-03-2008, 16:07
Checkout Novatech.. I've been supplying PCs and Laptops from them for a few months now.
:)
LeperousDust
05-03-2008, 17:25
Dell everytime! Check their outlet thing like you have, and hot uk deals for the usual dell offers. I've experienced quite a few laptops now (fixing students laptops gives me pretty good indication) and Dell make some stunning laptops, thats why i'm using one right now :D Although the other big makes (not the cheap crappy Acer types et all) are generally just as good, in fact i've been pretty impressed with HP lappys too if you can get those cheaper...
Basically to sum up, go for bigs names and big offers with hot uk deals :) Works everytime
Thanks Huddy :) I'll have a look now.
Sounds like I'm doing the right thing then Alex :D Been keeping an eye on hotukdeals and I know Dell seem to have the new offers on a Thursday.
Don't suppose you know anywhere that does student discounts? Still got an NUS card as I'm a part time student. It'd be handy if somewhere did them :D
And should I stick with looking for a core2duo or would an AMD chip be any good?
LeperousDust
05-03-2008, 17:45
C2D all the way, i forgot to mention the guy was kinda talking out his arse when he compared the two. I'm all for competition but AMD pretty much suck atm, C2D are great performers but more importantly are great on battery life too :)
Don't know of any decent student discount stuff that would be better than HUD, and by god i've tried to find one!:D
Agreed on HUKD and the C2D processor.
Sadly the spec is rather too high for my ol' D600, otherwise I'd have offered you that.
Stan_Lite
05-03-2008, 18:27
Another Dell fan here. I love my M1710 - I know it's a lot meatier than you're looking for but the build quality is excellent and it works beautifully.
Oddly enough, I was just reading an article in last month's PCPlus magazine last night about AMD mobile systems. The gist of it was that, although AMD were catching up on Intel's Centrino platform, they still have a way to go yet. The newer AMD platform (Kite Refresh) is close to Centrino in functionality but the chips aren't up to the job yet with lower performance and higher power usage, shortening battery life. Their new platform due out this year (Puma) doesn't sound all that promising either. The article said that "The introduction of Puma will bring AMD up to date with last year's technology."
Basically, you won't get much better than a Dell with a C2D Centrino, imo :)
Fair enough :) I thought he was talking nonsense from what I knew of desktops but thought I'd check just in case :D
Funnily enough hotukdeals have got a decent Dell one for £445 listed that matches everything I want but I don't have the money right now, doh!
Agreed with the majority, Dell, C2D, HUKD :) I'll recommend EuroPC though if you want it on 0% finance - they were great with me. Had to ring up to get the spec I wanted though, the website doesnt have everything on it.
Don't tempt me with 0% deals :p I'll end up buying more than I need ;D
I'll keep an eye on things then :)
I get paid on a Friday in a couple of weeks so just in time for the Thursday deals :D
semi-pro waster
05-03-2008, 20:46
Have you tried Dell laptops before? The reason I ask is that I find I don't particularly get on with the keyboards and really don't like the trackpads, especially on some of the cheaper models so it might be worth a test or at least considering an external mouse. That said the one I kept losing the enter key from was an expensive one, however I think that was just a one off really as the build quality is generally pretty good.
HP/Compaq as Leperous Dust suggest are pretty good, I've got one that I ended up giving to my parents and for the money I paid and the use I've had out of it was great.
Davey_Pitch
05-03-2008, 20:58
Can't argue with anything that's been said so far, except for Alex's comment about Acer being crap. I'm posting this from my Acer laptop and it's as good a laptop as I've used, and that includes Dell stuff. Dell make amazing laptops, but this Acer of mine is rock solid.
I've had a mess about with a few people's Dell laptops before and not been bothered by the keyboard :)
But thanks for that SPW as I hadn't considered something like that before :D
I did quite like the look of the HP laptops when I had a look at some in a store the other day, not sure if they'd be within budget for what I want though :/ I used to have a HP laptop years ago which worked a treat. Pity I was only borrowing it :(
leowyatt
05-03-2008, 23:42
We have nothing but Acer's here at work and they have been excellent, no trouble what-so-ever.
I'll bear them in mind :) Although I've not seen any yet that are the right spec for me.
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 00:33
Sorry that comment was a little flippant, i singled out Acer in a way that wasn't fair, but although reliable, i still find them somewhat "cheaper" in a hard way to explain. That be said the cheaper Dells can also have this quality though, i'm just lucky i suppose using my XPS, my friends inspiron trackpad and keyboard feel different but in so much a bad way as such. Tbh with laptops today theres little you can go wrong with really, i'm astonished at thte prices and the rate they fall. I gladly use my laptop as a PC nowdays, its generally "docked" with my TFT plugged in using bluetooth mouse and keyboard. But its great that i can just pick my PC up and walk away with it when need be :)
Blackstar
06-03-2008, 01:07
Acer is alright. This is my second Acer after they had to replace my first one due to the screen hinges cracking, this one over heats badly (i have to blow out dust a lot because of the poor fan location) and the touch pad occasionally has a life of its own. Other than the build quality i like it.
We also have a Dell, its quite good but i don't use it enough to comment. I'm also wanting a new laptop as this one is not particularly portable, even though it is a laptop its a widescreen. So will be keep an eye on this thread.
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 02:01
Tbh all laptops you get now days are AFAIK "widescreen" hell mine is widescreen because it makes a good size screen with the keyboard width. Buts its just 12" screen, so that makes it portable...
My Acer worked great until it needed service. I didnt see it for over a month and was flat out lied to by the service guys on numerous occasions, put me off them for life.
Blackstar
06-03-2008, 15:20
Its a 17.5 inch screen on mine, i'd like something smaller and more portable. Daz they messed me around for months, in the end my mum phoned and spoke to some high up director and things went quickly after that. :o
leowyatt
06-03-2008, 15:23
I just don't understand the point of a 17.5" laptop :confused: Anything over say 15" is just to big to be portable. 13" is probably around the ideal size. We had some new 17" Acer machines at work here the other week and they were ridiculous.
Davey_Pitch
06-03-2008, 15:45
Ours is 17", but then it was bought so that Lynne could have it downstairs doing work while watching TV. Portability was never a concern for us.
15" is what I'm after really. :) Although it won't be moved far, I'd still like it to be vaguely portable even if it's just around the house.
There's a decent Vostro on hotukdeals today but I don't have the money yet :/ Damn me for looking early :p
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 16:28
17" is still FAR more portable than any computer or comparable performace ever will be Leo! Yes you won't take it everywhere with you, but it can be easily and all in one moved from room to room house to house to work etc... All in its bag all self contained, think of it as more like a luggable than a portable. But they do make sense in the right situations. :)
Haly the Vostro are EXCELLENT laptops for their money :) My bro just scored one for his birthday off my rents and i'm VERY impressed with it!
They look good :D And seem to be great prices.
Roll on payday :cool:
I was speccing a Vostro earlier today for a friend. They are impressively good value for money.
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5470 (1.60 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2-cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional - English
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
128MB nVidia® GeForce® 8400M GS
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day Included - No Upgrade Selected
Comes to £404.20 inc VAT (delivery is free until 20th March)
Near identical to what I was looking at earlier :) Just went for a slightly faster processor for a bit extra. Otherwise exactly what I want :D
I'm going to stick with XP, just don't see the point in Vista yet and I've got a legal Vista license floating around somewhere anyhow.
If you can afford it, and there's an option too, look at upgrading the screen resolution to whatever it is in the 1400xwhatever region. People often overlook the screen but its the part of the laptop you'll use above all others!
1440x900. :)
The next one up on Dell systems tends to be 1680x1050 (which is what I got - even though I actually run it at 1440x900 on a monitor and 1280x800 when mobile). Dell's current generation 1920x1200 screens seem to be plagued with backlight bleeding issues so best avoided (not that I'd recommend going that high on a 15in screen anyway).
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 20:04
Yeah, listen to Daz, my 1280 * 800 can be painful sometimes, but most of the time when i need the extra room i've got my monitor plugged in to the right of me. On the move i take the screen space hit because generally on the move i'm not trying to get a million and one things done that need that sort of room!
Ok :) I noticed while looking that the price difference isn't too bad. Think it was about £30ish with the ones I looked at. Might be wrong though.
You lot are going to make me spend a fortune at this rate :p ;D
It is easy to upgrade the resolution should you wish to. Definitely stick with XP on a machine with that spec too - it's hardly underpowered, but Vista runs like an utter pig IMO on a medium to high spec desktop machine so I dread to think what its like on a lappy.
Runs absolutely fine on my D830 - it does have a 2.4GHz processor and 4GB RAM though. Also has the Quadro NVS 140M which I believe is comparable to the 8400GS. Graphics score is a bit naff, but good enough to run Aero.
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 21:12
Vista needs memory thats the only prob, C2D and 2Gb will be superb, i should know :)
I just didn't see the fuss with Vista when I ran it in the summer so might as well stick with XP :D
Looks like a screen upgrade is £20 at the moment which is fine for me. It's annoying there's a half price graphics upgrade that runs out on the 12th though. I get paid on the 14th, doh!
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 21:55
I understand what you're saying about Vista, but after using it now for a while, i don't want to use XP again, i can't totally put a finger on it, but the integrated search and better volume control are two definates for me... And its bad, but i have grown fond of the lovely aero glass, using XP feels "old" now.
How fickle of me :(
The next one up on Dell systems tends to be 1680x1050 (which is what I got
Me too :)
It's great for working on but most people I speak to tend to think it's a bit small. I love it though, high res ftw.
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 22:44
My eyesight is crap too high-res is bad :p
Del Lardo
06-03-2008, 22:51
1440x900. :)
The next one up on Dell systems tends to be 1680x1050 (which is what I got - even though I actually run it at 1440x900 on a monitor and 1280x800 when mobile). Dell's current generation 1920x1200 screens seem to be plagued with backlight bleeding issues so best avoided (not that I'd recommend going that high on a 15in screen anyway).
I've run the 1920x1200 15" screen on my D830 since September and for me it's perfect (though I admit I do like freeky high res screens) but it's not for all. I would VERY seriously look at the screen upgrade to 1680x1050 if you can afford it.
I understand what you're saying about Vista, but after using it now for a while, i don't want to use XP again, i can't totally put a finger on it, but the integrated search and better volume control are two definates for me... And its bad, but i have grown fond of the lovely aero glass, using XP feels "old" now.
How fickle of me :(
I used it for a month or two last Summer and I just didn't see what the fuss was all about. Like I said, I've got a legal copy of it floating around so I can always switch if I want to. For now though, XP will do me fine :D
I reckon 1440x900 will do me fine too. Really not one for high res and as I want to get away with playing WoW on it with a not amazing graphics card, I'd rather a better FPS rate and low res :p
LeperousDust
06-03-2008, 23:17
You could still turn the res down for things like WoW etc... Technically running no standard res on the panel would look fugly, but i don't think you'd notice a load of difference...
Still: Vista > XP :p Can't believe i'm saying that, i know i wouldn't have done so a few months ago :D
It's not optimal, for sure, but I wouldn't go so far as fugly. Fugliness used to happen on old TFT panels that were relatively low resolution to start with and didn't scale very well. Neither of those applies to most decent modern TFTs. Won't be optimal, sure, but plenty good enough. None of the TFTs I own/use run at native resolution.
LeperousDust
07-03-2008, 00:52
Yeah sorry fugly a bad word, i agree entirely i run whatever res is appropriate, most LCD's i see now days including the Dell lappys i've seen scale fine :)
I'm really not fussed about high res screens though :p
It's not meant to be a desktop replacement anyhow remember ;) Just something to help me out when sitting at a desk is too painful.
LeperousDust, how do you account for or deal with the general lagginess that Vista suffers from? Copying or cutting/pasting files for example. Or, how about trying a right click on an icon in our Quick Launch bar.
I'm running a C2D at 3.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 8800GTS, and frankly if I could roll back to XP tomorrow, I would. As for Aero - I turned it off. I run Windows Classic. Aero was great except for the blue lines round the outside of all the dialogue boxes. They immediately make it look cheap IMO.
15" is what I'm after really. :)
/splutter :lipsrsealed:
Lag issues? What lag issues (network excepted - get those all the time)? The only problem I have is when the CPU gets loaded. For some unknown reason the Vista scheduler does a lot worse job of dealing with intensive background processes. Easily fixed by setting the background task to low priority, but I shouldn't have to. Oddly, loading the CPU seems to make my sound stuttering issues go away - can't explain that one. Wonder if it's something SpeedStep-related. :/
LeperousDust
07-03-2008, 02:44
LeperousDust, how do you account for or deal with the general lagginess that Vista suffers from? Copying or cutting/pasting files for example. Or, how about trying a right click on an icon in our Quick Launch bar.
I'm running a C2D at 3.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 8800GTS, and frankly if I could roll back to XP tomorrow, I would. As for Aero - I turned it off. I run Windows Classic. Aero was great except for the blue lines round the outside of all the dialogue boxes. They immediately make it look cheap IMO.
Lagginess i had when copying files with 1Gb mem, 4Gb &SP1 (one or t'other) sorted that right out. LAN copying is a known issue but i think has been sorted with performance and reliablility patches or SP1 but i haven't moved anything big enouhg to noitce recently.
What do you mean about right clicking on quick launch, thats find for me?
I'm "only" running a 7200 at 2Ghz (I think) 4Gb ram, and 7400Go but i really do find performance more than stunning, not that i've run XP on this machine it came with Vista, but apart from my inital bout with 1Gb (****ing awful) it's been sweet as :)
I really wouldn't change back to XP now, Vista is quite an OS really, they've managed quite a bit, albeit i wouldnt pay for it over XP (i had no choice). Windows 7 sounds like the one to really "look out for".
/splutter :lipsrsealed:
Haha :D Can't believe it took so many posts till someone went for that ;D
I've just come in from work in a fair bit of pain, thought I'd quickly check my emails before resting, I've got 3 games coming to review.....eeek! Could really do with a laptop right this second :/ Doh
Well after working out some figures and a sharp intake of breath (spending money is scary :p), I ordered one:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5470 (1.60 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2-cache)
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
128MB nVidia® GeForce® 8400M GS
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Genuine Windows® XP Professional - English
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Europe
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Display with TrueLife™
The only real difference between my desktop and this laptop is the CPU (my desktop's a Core2Duo 2ghz) and the HD (smaller on the laptop but I have an external HD and it's no big deal at all).
Here's hoping it doesn't take forever to be built as I could do with it quite fast :D
Haha :D Can't believe it took so many posts till someone went for that ;D
not like this forum to miss out on a smut opportunity :shocked:
leowyatt
08-03-2008, 09:55
How much did it set you back in the end Jen?
£427. I get 5% back from quidco. So just over £400 once that goes through.
So on the higher end of my budget but everything I wanted so I don't mind :)
Just got an email to say the delivery date is on or before 28th March :( But I'm hoping that gets moved up slightly as when I've bought Dells before they gave a long delivery date then it got moved up a week or so.
The delivery time was the only thing that put me off Dell really but it'd be daft to spend over the odds just to get it quicker.
Davey_Pitch
08-03-2008, 13:55
Nice laptop Jen :) Seems roughly on par with mine power wise and it does everything I want it to do. Yours will be nicer though as Dell seriously kick ass when it comes to laptops :)
Thanks :D Really looking forward to its arrival.
Been wanting a laptop for long enough. It'll make my life a lot easier :)
WOO :D
Your order has been dispatched as of 08/03/2008 Phase: 5. Dispatched
Your Order is in transit with our delivery partner (carrier) / Postal service.
28th March came round fast ;D
Hopefully it arrives sometime this week and when someone's home to take it in :D
Looks a similar spec to mine Jen :)
Mine is a slightly faster chip but a lower spec graphics card. I'm running Vista64 as well. Shoudl suit you fine :)
I have it :D And typing on it now. Very nice :D mainly uninstalling unwanted crap at the moment but very impressed with the screen and speed.
Also just noticed that system properties are reporting the CPU to be a T7250 running at 2.0ghz.....when I ordered the 1.6ghz variety. The invoice with it said it was a 1.6ghz and I've had the money taken out for the 1.6ghz system too.
So that's rather nice :D
Right now to get used to the touchpad and keyboard :p Although if I can learn to use a mouse left handed and not lose any speed, I should be able to manage this :D
MarcLister
13-03-2008, 11:21
Also just noticed that system properties are reporting the CPU to be a T7250 running at 2.0ghz.....when I ordered the 1.6ghz variety. The invoice with it said it was a 1.6ghz and I've had the money taken out for the 1.6ghz system too.
So that's rather nice :DNice one. :D
:D Yeah I was very pleased :D Just the spec I wanted but couldn't afford ;D
Really liking the comfort factor now I've adjusted to the touchpad.
Just need to have a go at setting up the wireless router at the weekend and seeing just how thick these walls are and how much of a problem that is :p
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