Can't pick a laptop :(

camelelf · 27 Jul 2013 at 10:58

If anyone has any of their own suggestions then feel free to show me any laptops, I've been searching for a week now and have found a couple to choose from -

Just a general use laptop, resolution isn't a major factor but it's nice to have.
will be used for light gaming, nothing heavy as I already have a desktop. budget - £450 maybe £500 if it's a 'must' (second hand is fine)

This one is straight from Dell - 17.3" 1080p I5 3337u equipped with the 8730m (I can't seem to find much on this card) Decent price at £440. They did do a GT 650M for £475 but the price went up to about £510 last night :mad:

Straight from dell again - 17.3" 1600x900 I5 3337u but is equipped with the 7670m which supposedly plays Dirt 3 on high 30fps+ which is good enough!
Nice price of £350

***After some more searching I found this machine -17.3" 1600x900 GT650M. I7 3630m. Bargain surely? Although it worries me that it's so cheap. The scratch isn't much according to the seller. Seems to good to be true!

devious93 · 27 Jul 2013 at 15:07

Check out an Asus N55SL, I got mine second hand with delivery for about £430, I multi task a lot and use photoshop/game etc and has no complaints at all with the gt 635m 2gb and i5 version

RJC · 27 Jul 2013 at 15:08

Please remove the Ebay link and just post up the specs of the Laptop

camelelf · 27 Jul 2013 at 15:28

devious93 said:
Check out an Asus N55SL, I got mine second hand with delivery for about £430, I multi task a lot and use photoshop/game etc and has no complaints at all with the gt 635m 2gb and i5 version

Thanks but I couldn't find one anywhere

Well, not under £600!

I'm really P'd off with that Dell one, even the £510 one has sold out now!

devious93 · 27 Jul 2013 at 15:43

N55SF then, basically the same thing!
Plenty of those still on well known auction sites

camelelf · 27 Jul 2013 at 23:38

devious93 said:
N55SF then, basically the same thing!
Plenty of those still on well known auction sites

Around £450 which is good. So now i've got a choice of the N55SF or the I7 with the 'minor scratch'. After texting the seller a few times, he avoided the question of 'How visible is the scratch' and just said it's minor.

Can screens be replaced on these laptops? It's been years since I've replaced a screen, I'm guessing it's still the same? Just want to be 100% sure.

If not, looks like I'll have to get the Asus!

devious93 · 28 Jul 2013 at 00:04

Completely up to your preference, the N55SL I'm using is brilliant and is basically identical to the N55SF, had a few annoyances near the beginning which was soon sorted out with driver updates etc and has been the most reliable computer I've had.

Screens are replaceable but an absolute nuisance to do on a laptop personally so I tend not to bother with them.

The real question is do you even need an i7?

I thought I did because I game, multitask a great deal, run photoshop etc and with thisi5 2450 processor I've never had an issues or lock ups like I used to have on my old desktop which was a Q8200 quad core or something along those lines which I'm quite surprised about!

If you plan to game on the laptop the keyboard layout might annoy you a little with the arrow keys but I tend to plug in a keyboard, a secondary monitor and a mouse when I game.

I can get away with playing most games on high and have great functionality, metro 2033 I tend to have to run on medium to get constantly good frame rates though.

camelelf · 28 Jul 2013 at 00:32

devious93 said:
Completely up to your preference, the N55SL I'm using is brilliant and is basically identical to the N55SF, had a few annoyances near the beginning which was soon sorted out with driver updates etc and has been the most reliable computer I've had.

Screens are replaceable but an absolute nuisance to do on a laptop personally so I tend not to bother with them.

The real question is do you even need an i7?

I thought I did because I game, multitask a great deal, run photoshop etc and with thisi5 2450 processor I've never had an issues or lock ups like I used to have on my old desktop which was a Q8200 quad core or something along those lines which I'm quite surprised about!

If you plan to game on the laptop the keyboard layout might annoy you a little with the arrow keys but I tend to plug in a keyboard, a secondary monitor and a mouse when I game.

I can get away with playing most games on high and have great functionality, metro 2033 I tend to have to run on medium to get constantly good frame rates though.

I7 is just something to boast. I don't care if I have it as games focus on the GPU more bar certain games.

I like how you've got the Asus, you seen to be really fond of it so it's nice to have that review. There is one on auction ending tomorrow (Gt555m)
Also there is a similar laptop with the I5 2410 cpu and HD6770m for just £300.
Both these laptops are able to play the games I want but the two cons are:
No Warranty and 15.6" screens. The pro of the £300 laptop is it's cheap, good specs and the money saved could go towards a new monitor and upgrades for my desktop

I'd rather the I7 but I'm sceptical of the price and scratch, although I guess I could open a case and return it if it's worse then he's described, but that involves messing around sorting it out!

A final option is two wait until the end of the week and sort out the money I have after i sell a few things and see how much I have to spend.

Who knew choosing a laptop was so frustrating!

devious93 · 28 Jul 2013 at 00:57

I was in the same boat, I spent hours researching for something on a similar budget and thought I'd give this one a go. the gt 555 and gt 635 didn't have much difference if any between them. This was still under warranty and was only a few months old when I purchased it.

I've always preferred desktops over laptops but my needs pointed towards a laptop more when my desktop died after 3/4 years of abuse.

Option is all yours buddy, you've got my two cents and a starting point to look at venture forth and go from there!

camelelf · 28 Jul 2013 at 01:01

devious93 said:
I was in the same boat, I spent hours researching for something on a similar budget and thought I'd give this one a go. the gt 555 and gt 635 didn't have much difference if any between them. This was still under warranty and was only a few months old when I purchased it.

I've always preferred desktops over laptops but my needs pointed towards a laptop more when my desktop died after 3/4 years of abuse.

Option is all yours buddy, you've got my two cents and a starting point to look at venture forth and go from there!

I did have a 7870 I5 3570k computer but it just didn't click. I didn't play one game on it. I like laptops because It's there to use downstairs while watching Cricket or something, I just don't like desktops haha!

There's a couple I've just found so I'll probably decide tomorrow. hopefully the headaches would have stopped by then!

Don't suppose you could give me any details on what games you play with your GT 635m?

devious93 · 28 Jul 2013 at 01:05

Games I've played on it which generally run fine on medium- ultra:

Batman Arkham Asylum
Dead Island
Dishonored
left 4 dead 1/2
Metro 2033
Serious Sam 3
Team fortress 2

camelelf · 28 Jul 2013 at 15:41

devious93 said:
Games I've played on it which generally run fine on medium- ultra:

Batman Arkham Asylum
Dead Island
Dishonored
left 4 dead 1/2
Metro 2033
Serious Sam 3
Team fortress 2

Decided to take a gamble and get the minor scratch one. As it's supposedly a return product directly from Samsung, the scratch shouldn't be that bad. although I have a feeling i'll be returning it as soon as it arrives! If this happens, I have a N55SF lined up for around the same price, and with over a years warranty.