Buying a Laptop :]

snake_element

snake_element

snake_element

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Joined
16 Sep 2006
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10
Hey lads, I've suddenly realised that i really need a laptop, but i don't want to get the wrong one so i figured this would be a good place to come for some advice :p

Basically, with a budget of about £500, maybe a bit over but nothing serious, i need something that can run some games nicely, I'm not talking like Crysis standard obviously but stuff a bit less demanding. I've seen some cards like the 9300GS and 8600GS and whatnot, but the nvidia numbers confuse me lol.

I would like a Core 2 Duo, and something like 2GB RAM if you think its sufficient :confused: and a 250GB HDD at least.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me :)
 
I paid about 700 for mine a year ago and its pretty much the spec youre after. Its a Dell Inspiron 1520, 2.0Ghz C2D, 2Gb and an 8600M GT. I opted for a 160gb 7200rpm drive instead of a 250gb 5400rpm but they were the same price IIRC. I'd be suprised if you couldnt get the same sort of thing for 500 now.
Mine's been brilliant, apart from a duff AC adaptor, I havent had any problems. Not the best built machines in the world, but better than the budget brands like Acer and dont cost much more (if at all).
I dont do a lot of gaming (got a Ps3 for that!) but this handles Fallout3 and Far Cry 2 no problems. You wont be able to crank the detail up, but its definitely playable!
 
snake_element said:
I cant find the one you were talking about, just some for about 1k and others with a much lower spec...

hmm
Click to expand...

It looks like the 1520 (then the 1525) has been replaced by the Inspiron 15, which seems to be targetted at a lower end, I'm guessing because they have the Studio 15 now (which has mixed opinions around here!). When I got it, the 8600m card was optional on the lower spec ones and standard on the higher spec ones, but now there's no option for anything other than integrated.
The Vostro 1510 has an 8400m GT, which might be suitable.
The XPS M1530 at £619 is the same spec as mine, but I dont know what the view on those is here as they look quite similar to the studio...
 
Yeah, 1520 is a great machine. On one right now.

Realistically, you want a machine with a GeForce 8600, 9600 or Radeon 3650 at minimum. The lower end chips are really quite poor.
 
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