Bear minimum CPU/GPU for HD video

Adster3000 · 27 Dec 2011 at 16:14

The sister is looking for a new laptop to replace a ~5 year old one.

This laptop will be used for MS Office, web browsing and HD movies. The idea is to get a fairly cheap one, she has the the idea it will cost her around £500, which I thought was alright.

I didn't want to go ahead and tell her to buy the first £300 laptop I found in case it wasn't able to do the HD video she's after and I have no idea what the minimum will be to be able to play HD video.

Any assistance is appreciated.

ChrisD. · 27 Dec 2011 at 16:15

i5 with on board GPU is fine.

Adster3000 · 27 Dec 2011 at 16:21

MilanoChris said:
i5 with on board GPU is fine.

i3 is out of the question? Or?

Just trying to gauge the bare minimum (for my own interest.) I won't be recommending the bear minimum though.

Skyboat · 27 Dec 2011 at 17:58

It's bare.

And a second-gen (Sandy Bridge) i3 will be fine.

Adster3000 · 27 Dec 2011 at 18:07

Skyboat said:
It's bare.

And a second-gen (Sandy Bridge) i3 will be fine.

Cheers.

Dave L · 27 Dec 2011 at 18:09

Skyboat said:
It's bare.

LOL winds me up just as much as "My breaks are worn out and making a helluva noise....."

:rolleyes:

Adster3000 · 27 Dec 2011 at 18:53

Dave L said:
LOL winds me up just as much as "My breaks are worn out and making a helluva noise....."

Mistakes happen. Doesn't justify rudeness.

How do people feel about the Dell Inspiron 15R? Anything else you guys would recommend?

Skyboat · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:02

Adster3000 said:
How do people feel about the Dell Inspiron 15R? Anything else you guys would recommend?

My sister got the i5 model for xmas. For the price you pay it's ok (I have a MacBook Pro so I'm ever so slightly partisan

), and it's plenty fast. Just be aware the keyboard isn't backlit and neither is it spill-resistant. Saying that, the trackpad is a good size and the buttons don't feel annoying to use (just the drivers for it let it down). If it was me I'd have picked an equivalent Lenovo or ASUS model instead though.

ChrisD. · 27 Dec 2011 at 19:25

As above i3 will be fine but with a £500 budget I'd be wanting an i5.

Have a look at HP laptops, the G6 series are nice.

sehcure · 29 Dec 2011 at 23:26

My cousin recieved the HP Pavillion G6 for christmas, and I was so impressed with it after playing around on it for an hour or so that I checked the price and found - Do not link to competitors - please read the FAQ

Only £399.99 discounted from £549.99!

A healthy amount of RAM, got the i5-2430m processor, and a nice and big 750GB hard-drive.
Runs incredibly smoothly and silently, i'd recommend it - especially at the price it's at. According to my uncle who bought it in a PCWorld shop, the sales assistant revealed that at the current price they are nearly making a loss on the laptop, which for large vendors such as the PCWorld/Currys/Comet company that's almost unheard of!

area512003 · 30 Dec 2011 at 14:09

I would remove those Competitors details from the above post Sehcure.

Please read OcUK FAQ's. :cool:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/faq.php?s=&do=search&q=competitors&match=all&titlesonly=0