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- Joined
- 24 Feb 2004
- Posts
- 1,083
- Location
- Leeds/Cyprus
A friend of mine saw my Acer Ferrari One and was quite impressed with it (despite the tacky Ferrari logo), so he asked me to help him find something similar in size, price and performance. Trouble is, I got mine when it was 25% off (so £300, costs £400 normally), and I can't find anything comparable at that price range! He's willing to stretch up to £350ish or so, but it's got to meet the following requirements:
1. The guy's not a big gamer but he does occasionally fire up Rome: Total War, which, despite being an ancient game, would probably need something better than the standard Intel built-in graphics. So something based on ION/ION2, or AMD Fusion perhaps?
2. He also does lots of spreadsheet work so a 10" is out. 11.6" and above would do him, but probably no bigger than 13" as he wants it to be easy to lug around.
3. Battery life has to be at least as good as my Acer's 5hrs, but better will be much, much preferable. 6-8hrs anyone?
So, anyone have any suggestions? I've found the MSI 11.6 U270 DC for £365, which is slightly over his budget but I think he'd stretch to it. I understand that's a Fusion machine, right? I'm a bit hesitant to recommend it though, as although MSI claim 8hours battery life for it on their website, the one review I found for it only kept it going for 3hours! (Although that was while running benchmarks with power management turned off, to be fair)
I've also found the Dell Inspiron M101z for £349. I understand that has a Radeon 4225 in it, which should easily be enough for him, but I haven't found any firm measurements of its battery life. Would it last a good 5+ hours?
I've also considered trying to talk him into downgrading to a 10" screen and going for the Acer Aspire One 522, which is way below his maximum budget, has decent battery life (according to Acer's claims at least, haven't found a reliable review), and is another Fusion machine so it'll have decent graphics.
The other possibility is, if people think that Intel graphics might be enough for the sort of ancient games he runs, to go for the MSI X340 on here, which seems ideal in every other way apart from the GMA graphics. Stylish, big screen, within his budget, good battery life.
So yeah, as you can see everything I've managed to find compromises on one of his basic requirements - they're either above £350, don't have decent graphics, don't have decent battery life, or have a screen size lower than 12". Can anyone recommend a machine that can manage to pass all the tests, or should I go back to him and admit that I could not meet his challenge? Am I on a wild goose chase? Should I just advise him to wait for another sale like the one that netted me my Acer?
1. The guy's not a big gamer but he does occasionally fire up Rome: Total War, which, despite being an ancient game, would probably need something better than the standard Intel built-in graphics. So something based on ION/ION2, or AMD Fusion perhaps?
2. He also does lots of spreadsheet work so a 10" is out. 11.6" and above would do him, but probably no bigger than 13" as he wants it to be easy to lug around.
3. Battery life has to be at least as good as my Acer's 5hrs, but better will be much, much preferable. 6-8hrs anyone?
So, anyone have any suggestions? I've found the MSI 11.6 U270 DC for £365, which is slightly over his budget but I think he'd stretch to it. I understand that's a Fusion machine, right? I'm a bit hesitant to recommend it though, as although MSI claim 8hours battery life for it on their website, the one review I found for it only kept it going for 3hours! (Although that was while running benchmarks with power management turned off, to be fair)
I've also found the Dell Inspiron M101z for £349. I understand that has a Radeon 4225 in it, which should easily be enough for him, but I haven't found any firm measurements of its battery life. Would it last a good 5+ hours?
I've also considered trying to talk him into downgrading to a 10" screen and going for the Acer Aspire One 522, which is way below his maximum budget, has decent battery life (according to Acer's claims at least, haven't found a reliable review), and is another Fusion machine so it'll have decent graphics.
The other possibility is, if people think that Intel graphics might be enough for the sort of ancient games he runs, to go for the MSI X340 on here, which seems ideal in every other way apart from the GMA graphics. Stylish, big screen, within his budget, good battery life.
So yeah, as you can see everything I've managed to find compromises on one of his basic requirements - they're either above £350, don't have decent graphics, don't have decent battery life, or have a screen size lower than 12". Can anyone recommend a machine that can manage to pass all the tests, or should I go back to him and admit that I could not meet his challenge? Am I on a wild goose chase? Should I just advise him to wait for another sale like the one that netted me my Acer?
I'll tell him that one of the two MSIs is the best at his price range, depending on whether he wants decent graphics or not.
