Laptop for uni ~ £1000

Riserva · 13 Aug 2013 at 04:59

Hello, I'm looking for some help finding a laptop for myself.

I'll be living away but travelling home very often so I don't want to take my desktop(Which is outdated anyway), so I'm looking at getting a laptop for work and gaming. I'm looking for one that'll run all my current games decently (Most played and most demanding would be Shogun 2, Sleeping Dogs, Bioshock Infinite).

My price range would be around £1000. So far I've looked at two that look promising but I have no idea about laptops so I'd like some help if possible.

The two I was looking at: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-005-GI&groupid=959&catid=1828

&

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-099-MS&groupid=959&catid=1828

Thanks.

Nymins · 13 Aug 2013 at 08:24

Depends whether or not you want the bigger screen really. The bottom one will perform better on games due to its lower maximum resolution and newer GPU.

The top one has a higher resolution, but larger screen. Games will perform worse at native res and lowering it down could look bad on such a big screen up close.

Riserva · 13 Aug 2013 at 14:08

Nymins said:
Depends whether or not you want the bigger screen really. The bottom one will perform better on games due to its lower maximum resolution and newer GPU.

The top one has a higher resolution, but larger screen. Games will perform worse at native res and lowering it down could look bad on such a big screen up close.

I'm not entirely sure which is one of my issues. I'd like a bigger screen, but it also comes with the downsides, like having to carry a bigger laptop, wont be as good of a spec as smaller, etc... But I'm thinking 14" may be a little bit too small.

Nymins · 13 Aug 2013 at 16:58

If you are travelling a lot, then the 14" will be a lot easier to carry. The 1600x900 resolution will give a decent amount of screen real estate as well.

Just depends if you care about the extra weight and size of the 17.3" one. If not, then go for it.

Riserva · 13 Aug 2013 at 17:47

Ok thanks. I cant see the weight being an issue. I'm not looking for one that'll be able to run upcoming games at high setting, just for one that'll run my current ones at decent setting.

Is the 17.3" GE70 any better? The specs are: GE70 0ND-293UK - 2.4GHz Core i7 3630QM, 8GB DDR3, 128GB SSD + 750GB HDD, 2GB GTX 660M GPU

Nymins · 13 Aug 2013 at 18:34

The GE70 uses older architecture for both the CPU and GPU, which isn't a massive deal. The screen resolution of the GE70 will result in the performance difference between the two when playing games though.

85256638 · 14 Aug 2013 at 14:19

MACBOOK Air? very easy to carry with

tereu5 · 14 Aug 2013 at 14:25

Heh got one for you in my basket - shame that it might be hard to grab it as removing 14-25 :
Base Alienware M17X R4
Processor Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Memory 6 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz (2 DIMMs)
Hard Disk Drive 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Media Bay 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
NoteBook Screen Display : 17.3 Inch Wide Full High Definition (1920X1080) WLED
Video Graphics : 2 GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M
Software Back Up Media Not Included
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Network Interface Card Wireless : Intel Centrino Advanced-N 2230 (2x2, a/g/n) + Bluetooth
System Color AlienFX Colour : Mars Red
LCD Back Cover : Soft Touch – Stealth Black
Laptop Battery Battery : Primary 9-cell 90W/HR LI-ION
Keyboard Internal Qwerty Keyboard
Hardware Upgrade Camera : Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital Microphones
Adapters 240W A/C Adapter
Power Supply: 250V AC Adapte
for <1k ....

Riserva · 14 Aug 2013 at 21:38

tereu5 said:
Heh got one for you in my basket - shame that it might be hard to grab it as removing 14-25 :
Base Alienware M17X R4
Processor Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Memory 6 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz (2 DIMMs)
Hard Disk Drive 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Media Bay 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
NoteBook Screen Display : 17.3 Inch Wide Full High Definition (1920X1080) WLED
Video Graphics : 2 GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 7970M
Software Back Up Media Not Included
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Network Interface Card Wireless : Intel Centrino Advanced-N 2230 (2x2, a/g/n) + Bluetooth
System Color AlienFX Colour : Mars Red
LCD Back Cover : Soft Touch – Stealth Black
Laptop Battery Battery : Primary 9-cell 90W/HR LI-ION
Keyboard Internal Qwerty Keyboard
Hardware Upgrade Camera : Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital Microphones
Adapters 240W A/C Adapter
Power Supply: 250V AC Adapte
for <1k ....

From when I checked, the M17X is discontinued, and the cost was more than 1k

Jacksonn · 14 Aug 2013 at 21:52

Also agree with MBA, im looking at this atm. The gamer in me doesn't like the idea. But the fact ill be a student is saying I need it.

Riserva · 15 Aug 2013 at 03:52

A MBA wont run my games well though, will it?

tereu5 · 15 Aug 2013 at 13:51

Riserva said:
From when I checked, the M17X is discontinued, and the cost was more than 1k

m17x is but there are still r3 and r4 versions of it

1st of all check dell outlet for some specs/prices maybe you will find descent one there...

Jacksonn · 15 Aug 2013 at 14:35

Riserva said:
A MBA wont run my games well though, will it?

Erm going by what loads of owners are saying at MR, I'm not so sure that's a correct statement.