Laptop for College

Anderson256 · 15 Aug 2012 at 14:14

Hi, I am starting college soon and I am looking for a new laptop for coursework/general use and was wondering what you would suggest?

My budget is £800, but I would like to save as much as I could.

Looking for an i5 or i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 15.6" Screen, DVD or Blu Ray Drive.

I would really like a SSD but I realise that would be hard to find combined with everything else for £800. It would also be good if it was able to handle some gaming, maybe Diablo 3 and a bit of Minecraft now and again.

So, any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks.

Kreeeee · 15 Aug 2012 at 14:50

Get a Clevo Optimus III

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M - 1.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Optimus/Voyager Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days

£625.83 ex VAT.
£751 inc VAT and Delivery.

You can drop the SSD to a 330, remove the dead pixel guarantee, and get windows for £822.

This laptop has a pretty decent GPU in it too

edscdk · 15 Aug 2012 at 14:52

the cheapest i3 you can get with built int gfx so you dont play any games!

Anderson256 · 15 Aug 2012 at 15:30

Thanks Kreeeee

, that is perfect! Was expecting this to be a headache but that laptop does everything I need. Will be ordering one soon

Kreeeee · 15 Aug 2012 at 15:49

I am just about to click buy on the exact build I posted. It took a fair bit of research but it's a great spec for the price!

Slyman2k4 · 15 Aug 2012 at 19:49

Did you go for it Kreeeeeee? I've been in the much same position over the genesis.

Then people on here mention the dell outlet...

It's such a difficult decision...

Kreeeee · 15 Aug 2012 at 19:53

Just waiting until the weekend, but yes I will 100% be going for it.

Slyman2k4 · 15 Aug 2012 at 19:58

I think that's the push I need to go for mine. I need it for final year project work in uni. My eyes are shot from hunching over a pc for X years in the dark, my 13" ASUS UL30a no longer cuts the mustard without having to wear my glasses.

Kreeeee · 15 Aug 2012 at 20:01

It may throw a spanner in the works, but the 17.3" version costs £5 more

I'm moving on from a dell xps m1330 myself.

Slyman2k4 · 15 Aug 2012 at 20:11

See now, for £5 more that would definitely be worth it if it'll benefit you!

But unfortunately I need to keep mine as light as possible for lugging about, that's why I am going for a genesis instead of a Optimus too. As the optimus seems much more of a steal.

I am hovering over this at the minute, I don't need the gfx as I wont be gaming on it, but to support external displays on the other hand...

Chassis & Display
Genesis IV: 15.6" AUO Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-3110M (2.40GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
Upgrade to 62.16WH 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (£39)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£12)

Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS & UK OFFSHORE ISLANDS / N IRELAND (£12)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days