Another day another change of mind

Markachy · 4 Jan 2010 at 19:17

Hi guys,

I am constantly flitting between whether I should get a new laptop, subnotebook or Netbook and today the arrow has stopped at laptop, 15.6".

Currently looking at Asus, one with Core 2 Duo T6600, 4GB RAM and Nvidia G102m 512MB graphics.

Another Asus, for £50 more, is AMD Turion X2 Ultra zm84, 4GB RAM, Radeon 4570 512MB graphics.

Obviously the AMD model is more powerful graphically but less in processor terms, but would it be hotter/less battery life? Any issues with either processors or graphics chips? Which would you recommend?

beermonster · 4 Jan 2010 at 19:30

Whats your budget, the AMD do run a bit hotter than the intels though.

Shane5578 · 4 Jan 2010 at 21:05

actually they are the same heat output (35w). except amd is clocked +100mhz faster.

but nowadays amd is like a poor mans chip.

Markachy · 4 Jan 2010 at 23:21

Budget is as little as possible for my needs! I am wholly against not having some description of dedicated graphics chip due to Intels offering being ****e, but don't require lots of graphics power. Love everyday stuff being very snappy though.

Basically looking for a multimedia laptop for surfing, videos/dvds, light programming, ideally a bit of light gaming, ideally quite portable and ideally good battery life (ha, ideal world).
My current laptop is dying though so am stuck between risking a subnotebook/netbook and hoping my lappy lasts or just replacing it with something along the 15" size (I currently have a 17" and its too big to cart around).

I was taken with the Dell 13z but reality of its cost hit me. Was then set on the HP Mini 311 but then a 10% off voucher disappeared and VAT went up, raising its cost to £305, so £345 with a 2GB RAM stick, and the Atom is terrible. Where are all the cheap core 2 duo 14" laptops with dedicated graphics for £400?!

DJ Prem · 6 Jan 2010 at 09:23

Check out Lenovo G550 my nephew ordered it from their site before Christmas for £400 came with a dedicated gfx card, 15.6" display, 4GB RAM, Win 7 and it has a slick look/design.