Laptop for general use, programming and maybe some gaming

Marvin

Marvin

Marvin

Soldato
Joined
27 Nov 2009
Posts
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Location
Maidstone, Kent
So, I'm uneducated in the world of laptops really, but would like a smallish (15" and below) laptop that's going to be taken with me to uni every day, while my desktop is at home for when I get back. It'll be used for programming, some general stuff (internet surfing, writing up Word documents etc), and maybe some light COD4 or whatever with mates.

So, requirements:
-Small to medium size
-Fair battery life
-2.5" slot for SSD (replace current HDD)
-quick-ish dual core or quad
-Fair graphics (so a 5450 or something?)
-Not too pricy

Can it be done?
 
A couple of thoughts.

1) Weight. Lugging around a 15'' laptop around campus will not be fun.
2) Size. Again, anything above 14'' seems like a chore.
3) Gaming. Notebooks capable of gaming are expensive (around £750+).
4) A quad-core is not advisable for a mobility laptop (no integrated graphics means it will eat batteries).

For an all-rounder, I'd consider the Acer 3820TG (HD5470), the HP dm3 (amd neo + HD3200), the HP dm4 (HD5470), Acer 3810TZ (GMA4500), the Toshiba T130 (GMA4500). I also saw a refurb Acer 4810TZG (HD4330) for £350.

Personally, I'd drop the gaming requirement, and get something light and mobile. the dm3-1101ea looks middle of the road. Under 2 kgs, has some graphics capabilities (although limited), and it looks like it comes with a external ESATA optical drive as well. Aluminium chassis looks good. Should have decent battery life, and comes at around £500.
 
I see where you're coming from, and I've had a look at your suggestions.

The gaming part I guess isn't that important, but I would like to be able to play older games, as I won't have my desktop with me.

I'll keep searching...
 
They are really nice I have to say. Just seeing whether I can get my hands on a Vaio that's grabbed my attention for £530. It's refurb, but I'm not too bothered.
 
Yeah, I just found out about that.

Laptops are a minefield it appears. I saw some Acers which advertised x hour battery life with the 8-cell battery, but the weight with a 4-cell. (8 cell is the standard), how can they get away with this?

Anyway, my hunt is over, found an Alienware M11X for a decent price - it's the ULV model, and considering the Optimus, it has the ability to have good battery life, it doesn't weigh too much, and is only 11". Suits me fine :D.

Thanks for your help Olivier.
 
Cool, let us know how you get on with the m11x. Seems to be a marmite sort of thing. I'd love a 13'' version though, a bit slimmer, but bigger keyboard, screen, and batteries.
 
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Agree on that. This was the best compromise for what I wanted though.

There is a huge gap in the market for powerful smaller laptops. Basically the M11X. That's it...
 
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