Have a very large budget, but what do I 'need'? Spec please :)

Snooble · 17 May 2011 at 13:08

Hi all,

My old Toshiba laptop just died - but I've noticed a current trend in laptops, I'm seeing god awful touchpads. Really unresponsive or badly designed.

So, I'm looking for a reccommendation, I want a thin laptop, light, ~14-15inches, looks very nice, for watching movies/browsing/web design/small amount of video editing. It needs a good touchpad and keyboard. I'll be swapping the hdd out for an ssd most likely. Prefer new mobile processor tech.

Budget is around £300-£700.

What brands should I be looking at? Any series coming out that will suite my needs?

Thanks so much in advance, find myself looking over the same old xps/MSI.

S

philjohn · 17 May 2011 at 14:13

If you can push your budget a bit more, then an Apple laptop would tick all the boxes. You can use BootCamp to install windows if you want.

olivier renault · 17 May 2011 at 14:39

The MacBook is still the daddy.

In the thin and light category, you have the Samsungs (QX410, Q430), Asus (U35, Bamboo), and maybe a couple of HPs like the DM4, and the Acers (Timeline, Travelmate series, like the 3820TG).

My money would be on the MacBook, the Q430 or the 3820TG, as the QX410 is STILL not available in the UK, however I haven't been paying attention on what's new in the laptop department recently (apart from the Fusion netbooks, which I think arent powerful enough for you).

Best to have a look at local stores and see what they have. You may not get the exact models.

Snooble · 18 May 2011 at 10:19

The MacBook's do look good. But I'm assuming I'll be paying a price premium for the software I'll never use?

Are there not any companies that specialise in high quality laptop chassis? A kind of 'Lian-Li' of laptops.

Thank you thus far, looking into those laptops now - The Q430 looks nice.

S

MasterPlan1 · 18 May 2011 at 12:21

HP Envy is comparable to Apple in the chassis department.

lsg1r · 18 May 2011 at 13:43

asus u36 would be what I'd be looking at, theres one out now using the older core i processors and a new sandybridge version (u36sd iirc) should be out soon. Should just be in the top end of your budget.

Spec's off top of head
core i processor
nvidia gpu
13" screen etc (yes I know it's a little smaller but I doubt you'd notice 1 inch)
no optical drive built in
up to 10 hours battery
under an inch thick

Snooble · 18 May 2011 at 14:16

Just looked at the Envy, the touchpad is the same on that as my friends HP laptop. That touchpad is dreadful. As the buttons are built into the touch sensitive part.

When I use a touchpad I rest my thumb on the left click (as most people do I think), when using that touchpad, it causes problems with multiple fingers on the touch sensitive part - so the cursor jumps around on the screen when I try and click.

Bad design in my opinion, they're going with the whole "tap to click" thing. But it prevents your wrist from resting properly.

S

Jimz · 24 May 2011 at 09:47

Why Mac's tho?

They only look flashy and thats about it.

If you are used to Windows, stick with Windows because you'll be paying so much for a Mac and half the software you will NEVER use