Laptop for around £700?

Ogroats · 13 Feb 2009 at 22:04

Yes.......another one of these kinda threads but i need help! I am currently looking for a laptop to replace the ageing pc in my house. I basically need a laptop capale of storing lots of music, downloading/surfing the net, playing the occasional game ( mainly fm ) but having a decent enough graphics card to be able to handle a more demanding game, and also doing uni work on. I was hoping to get one with a decent sized screen (15 - 17"). The laptop will be mainly used in the house and probably only occasionally taken to uni so it doesnt matter if it slightly on the larger side.

The only problem is that I am pretty hopeless when it comes to computers. Im not really sure what to look for. I went for a look up the town and on the internet but with so much choice and varrying reviews on graphics cards and processors im lost on what to go on. Any advice/tips/recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Cheers guys!

Ogroats · 14 Feb 2009 at 17:38

Iv had a wee look around and i quite like the look of the Sony VGN-FW11M. Does anybody have any experience with this? Found it for £699.

slambo69 · 14 Feb 2009 at 17:47

What gfx card does it have?

lukext · 14 Feb 2009 at 17:47

In the case of sony, you tend to pay for the name. Take a look at the Dell Studio 17 or 15. That way you can spec it up to what ever price you want. You want to try and get a core 2 processor (look out for names like "Centrino" and "Centrino 2"), 3 to 4 GB of ram, 250 GB HDD. The ATI radeon 3650 in the studio 17 woud probably suit you well, possiblly the radeon 3450 in the studio 15. Head over to notebookcheck and look at their reviews for some of the laptops you like, I found their info extremely useful

Ogroats · 14 Feb 2009 at 17:51

Sorry i forgot to post the spec.......

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor (2.26 Ghz, 1055 Mhz, 3 MB Cache)
4GB Memory
250GB HDD
Blu Ray Player
ATi Mobility Radeon HD 3470
16.4" X Black Widescreen

Il have a look at that website also, thanks.

lukext · 14 Feb 2009 at 18:14

yeh thats a pretty good spec for the price. Two things that really impressed me about the FW when i saw it in a sony centre was the keyboard and the 1600x900 res screen. its an awesome looking laptop.

Cooper · 14 Feb 2009 at 18:17

Ogroats said:
Sorry i forgot to post the spec.......

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor (2.26 Ghz, 1055 Mhz, 3 MB Cache)
4GB Memory
250GB HDD
Blu Ray Player
ATi Mobility Radeon HD 3470
16.4" X Black Widescreen

Il have a look at that website also, thanks.

A Dell 17' studio with the same CPU, 320gb HDD, 4GB Ram, ATI 3650 (50% more powerful than the 3470), but no Blu Ray drive can be had for £629.

If your into games, the Dell is much better by virtue of its GPU.

Ogroats · 14 Feb 2009 at 19:11

Had a look at the dell studio 17 and it looks really good, pretty much what i am looking for. Has anybody got one or used one and can give me any advice on it?

lukext · 14 Feb 2009 at 19:39

if you go to notebookreview.com and look in their dedicated dell studio forums im sure there will be many people in thier willing to provide thier opinion on the studio 17! From what ive read, its a great laptop. beware thou as many people go on their to complain that something has stopped working etc etc so it may seem like its really bad, just have to remember that more people will complain than compliment on there!