Suggestions on a decent laptop?

ChrisNewton · 25 Apr 2012 at 09:42

My brother is going to Uni next year and he is looking to buy a laptop to take away with him. Here are his requirements; any suggestions?

- budget around £700
- screen size around 13"
- dedicated graphics because he want's to use it for some gaming (Guild Wars 2 etc.)
- BluRay drive to watch movies
- SSD if possible
- obviously best RAM & CPU for the money

ChrisNewton · 25 Apr 2012 at 09:56

I might be able to squeeze more money out of him if push comes to shove!

Buchanan0204 · 25 Apr 2012 at 13:03

Bluray on a 13" screen is a bit of a waste.

You would need to buy the SSD seperate, they don't come as standard on laptops.

Why would you want to game on a 13" screen? Stick to a PC, no one really needs a laptop. They break, are expensive and don't play games very well.

£700 will get him a minted PC that will last for 4 years and do everything he needs including his games.

The specs you listed don't exist in a laptop unfortunately, you posted a mix between ultra portable and bulky gaming. Not possible.

j6m · 25 Apr 2012 at 13:43

Were it not for the gaming requirement I'd suggest a refurbished MacBook.

ChrisNewton · 25 Apr 2012 at 14:48

Thanks for the replies

he does not want a desktop PC because he wants to carry it around with him to lectures etc. I will see if I can get him to change some of his requirements - he will have to decide if he wants a small, portable laptop that won't be so good for the gaming & BluRays or a bigger, less portable laptop.

j6m · 25 Apr 2012 at 16:05

What about the diminutive Alienware M11x? It's garish, possesses neither ODD nor SSD and is about to be discontinued but it's certainly got plenty of power under the hood.

P373 · 25 Apr 2012 at 16:14

ChrisNewton said:
Thanks for the replies he does not want a desktop PC because he wants to carry it around with him to lectures etc. I will see if I can get him to change some of his requirements - he will have to decide if he wants a small, portable laptop that won't be so good for the gaming & BluRays or a bigger, less portable laptop.

Might be worth picking up a cheap netbook and using the rest of the money on a reasonably specced gaming pc? When I started uni I did the exact same thing (although I had a proper 13 inch laptop with a core 2 cpu).
Now in my 4th year I've actually replaced my laptop with a 15inch Acer 5553 and I have to say its still fairly mobile and when coding away from home I do appreciate the extra horsepower that a 15inch laptop offers for the same price.

Buchanan0204 · 25 Apr 2012 at 17:21

Save up a bit extra and get an ultrabook.

This will have the new Ivybridge with improved graphics (ideal for the games) better battery life, 13" screen as you require.

So all ticks so far. With regards to movies. Join netflix. A bluray on a 13" screen is wasted.

j6m · 25 Apr 2012 at 17:29

Buchanan0204 said:
Ivybridge with improved graphics

If Intel's past efforts are any indication I'd stick with the discrete option.