Choosing a Dell Laptop for Uni...

chris6273

chris6273

chris6273

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78
Hi guys,

This is going to be a long one so please bear with me. I want to make sure I get all the basis covered when buying my first laptop. Before I start I want to say a big no no to; Acer and MSI. The last acer laptop we had was slow and developed a motherboard fault. 5 out of 6 MSI Products I've used in the past have failed.

Now to start;

I am looking to spend an absolute maximum of £800. I only want what I'll use and don't want to overspend on something that I won't use to its full potential. From what I've read University can be very unpredictable as to what I will end up doing in my free time :D. So...

In September I will hopefully be starting Uni and I will obviously require a laptop to take notes and carry out projects on. I will be studying Computer Networks so the Networking Port and WiFi technology need to be top spec.

Also it will hopefully replace my aging desktop computer which has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (Overclocked to 3.5GHz), GTX 285 and 6GB DDR2 RAM (2 sticks from 2007 and 2 from 2008 so its very old RAM).

The first thing I want to mention is it appears as though Intel are releasing their Haswell Range in June of this year.
Is it worth proceeding to carry out an analysis of Laptops if I need one before September? (I'm not sure when Dell will refresh their range of laptops with new components)

The second is I have been told I will receive a possible injection of £200 if I buy it straight from Dell due to warranty purposes and peace of mind. I've looked at Ebay for 17R SE laptops and whilst cheaper the ones I looked at were seller refurbished.

The third one is; Is it worth getting a 15 inch laptop over a 17 inch laptop when I can plug it into my 24" screen in my room? The Dell Lineup seems to have ATI graphics chips for 15" screens and Nvidia for 17" screens though.

Over to what choices I have from Dell; I've had my eye on both the Inspiron R and Inspiron R SE range however I'm not sure which one I should pick. The Inspiron R range are mostly powered by onboard Intel HD 4000 graphics which is a big no no for me and the SE range mostly have a dedicated graphics chip. also the Inspiron R range seem to be more portable which is one of the reasons I require it.

I've had my eye on these two in particular but I'm not sure how good their AMD Graphics Chips are. Also is there a comparable difference between the Core i5 and Core i7 processors in them? Any comments?

I've also had my eye on these SE ones as-well (The first three in particular). I guess it boils down to the amount of difference between i5 and i7 processors they contain. Any comments?

I would like to make sure I make the right decision but at the same time I don't want to overspend on something I won't use. I have close to 0 experience with mobile graphics processors and the latest Core ix range.

Can anyone help me with this dilemma please?

Thanks for reading and helping!

Chris
 
Maybe not much help but I would leave it until the summer to purchase. You will get more for your money/better performance.
Dell Laptops are my preferred laptops. Their warranty is great, should you have any issues.
If you have a 24" monitor then I would go for the 15" laptop screen, to save weight, and size. 15" screen will be fine for taking notes. However, I dont know what impact the Ati vs Nvidia chips have, but I assume both will support your 24" monitor resolution and performance not relaly a concern if you're not going to game with it (both chips should be fine).
Personally I would try to get the i7 chip as it may last that bit longer before starting to feel slow and of course will feel more responsive, although these days Hardware seems to be much further ahead and copes with new software much better (ie, can install 2 or 3 new versions of Windows and performance stays fast unlike the old days).

If the laptop doesnt have a SSD then definately worth speccing that, even if you have to drop to the i5 processor to save a few quid.

Oh and one piece of advice, as you will have important notes on it, ensure you have a backup regime to another drive in case the laptop is lost of does fail.
 
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Thanks for your reply.

I'll wait until summer then and probably go with the 15" screen for portability.

I'll have a backup regime in place in the case of data loss.

Can anyone else help with the ATI vs Nvidia comparison?

Also I've just noticed that the i7 laptop in the first link is quad core with a 1GB graphics chip, 6GB RAM and a 1366x768 display whereas the more expensive one has a dual core with a 2GB graphics chip, 8GB RAM and a 1080p display. Both are 15 inch but the latter is an additional 70 quid.

What one would be the best to go for if they are both on offer in the summer? Wouldn't a dual core be a bad idea?
 
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Are you going to want to play games on it? If not, you might want to check out the Dell Outlet for Latitude and Precision models. They're significantly cheaper than brand new ones, yet still come with three years warranty. Best of all, the Latitude and Precision ranges have matte displays, so no glossy rubbish to distract you from your work. You do occasionally get models with discrete graphics adapters, but nothing that you'd want to do any serious gaming on.
 
Yes I think I am going to play games on it as its going to be used for a bit of everything. So if I fancy relaxing in the lounge then I can do so.
 
Inspiron 17R - 7720 •Inspiron 17R - 7720
•Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3210M (2.50 GHz)
•Windows® 8
•4 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz SDRAM Memory (1 DIMM)
•Hard Drive : 500GB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
•8X DVD+/-RW Drive
•Display : 17.3 Inch High Definition+ (900p) WLED TrueLife
•Graphics: 2 GB Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 130W
•Back Up Media Not Included
•Windows® 8 64bit (Englilsh)
•Wireless : Intel 2230 Wireless Card + BT
•LCD Back Cover : Aluminium
•Battery : Primary 6 Cell 48W/HR
•Internal Qwerty Keyboard

or this

nspiron 15R - 7520 •Inspiron 15R - 7520
•Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM (2.2GHz, 6M cache)
•Windows® 8
•8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 DIMMs)
•1 TB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
•Optical Drive : Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
•Display: 15.6in Full High Definition (1080p) WLED with AntiGlare
•Graphics: 2 GB AMD Radeon HD 7730M Card
•Back Up Media Not Included
•Windows® 8 64bit (Englilsh)
•Wireless : Intel 2230 Wireless Card + BT
•LCD Back Cover : Aluminium
•LCD Back Cover : Aluminium
•Battery : Primary 6 Cell 48W/HR
•Internal Qwerty Keyboard

Both well under budget.

I prefer Nvidia on mobile solutions as they have never caused me any driver hassel.

Both are up to the task the 15" is more mobile obviously.

Regards.

C.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

Both of them look very attractive but I don't like the idea of only having a 1 year warranty on a laptop (Its the only option I can see in the Dell Outlet Laptops - The only place I can see laptops for those specs listed) especially if it's for Uni.

Seems Nvidia are only offered on 17" laptops. Would it be worth going for them? Is the difference noticeable when carrying around a 17" laptop?
 
My P170EM is a monster and pretty much only gets moved from desk to desk as it pretty much static at all times, l mainly use a m11xR3 for portability, however l have recently moved to an Asus G46VW which is just as portable with a little more grunt.

You may want to look at a 14" model laptop with 900p display.

15" is imo a good size for portability if looking at a xps 15z etc.
 
Those are way out of my price range I'm afraid and we don't want to buy one from eBay because its not direct from the manufactuer as I said in my first post. Thanks anyway.

CEUOTC said:
I am pretty sure you can extend the warranty.
Click to expand...

How do I do that? It only gives me the option for 1 years warranty.
 
chris6273 said:
Those are way out of my price range I'm afraid and we don't want to buy one from eBay because its not direct from the manufactuer as I said in my first post. Thanks anyway.



How do I do that? It only gives me the option for 1 years warranty.
Click to expand...

I Still have the option to extend the Warratny of my M11xR3 on the service page.

Dell Outlet - Extending the warranty after purchase

Hope this helps, not sure if the above post is still relevant however as stated l am still able to select a request for extending the warranty.

XPS 14 Ultrabook
XPS 14 Ultrabook
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3317U (1.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.60 GHz) (1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M Graphics & TPM)
Windows® 8
4 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz SDRAM Memory (1 DIMM)
32GB mSATA3 SSD for Minicard Slots
500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
Display : 14.0 Inch HD+ (900p) True Life Infinity Display with Skype Certified Hi Def Webcam
Back Up Media Not Included
Windows® 8 64bit (Englilsh)
Wireless: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Card
Battery : Primary 8-cell 69W/HR
Internal Backlit Keyboard
Palmrest

660(ish) Pounds Sterling including vat and del.

Regards.

C.
 
CEUOTC said:
I Still have the option to extend the Warratny of my M11xR3 on the service page.

Dell Outlet - Extending the warranty after purchase

Hope this helps, not sure if the above post is still relevant however as stated l am still able to select a request for extending the warranty.

XPS 14 Ultrabook
XPS 14 Ultrabook
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3317U (1.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.60 GHz) (1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M Graphics & TPM)
Windows® 8
4 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz SDRAM Memory (1 DIMM)
32GB mSATA3 SSD for Minicard Slots
500 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
Display : 14.0 Inch HD+ (900p) True Life Infinity Display with Skype Certified Hi Def Webcam
Back Up Media Not Included
Windows® 8 64bit (Englilsh)
Wireless: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Card
Battery : Primary 8-cell 69W/HR
Internal Backlit Keyboard
Palmrest

660(ish) Pounds Sterling including vat and del.

Regards.

C.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.

Here is the screen I am presented with for Warranty:

warrantya.png


I think I'll just leave it till the summer when i'll hopefully get a better price for performance.
 
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