Laptop needed.... 2k max

Conanius

Conanius

Conanius

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
12,873
riteo, work are offering to buy me a laptop, 2k is the absolute limit, non negotiable, even by 7 pence !

Im after the best performance I can get for general use + a bit of gaming/dvd watching. Will be doing a lot on my commute on the train, so decent battery life, low weight, and potentially small (but if theres something stunning thats a bit bigger, ill cope !

I've seen some that have HD DVD drives, SLi GFX, Geforce graphics cards, 2 gig of ram, dual core etc etc, but im not sure what the ebst spec I can get for this money is....

any suggestions on models/makes etc, software isnt a problem as I can get it from work on our licence agreement.
 
An Apple Macbook Pro?

Could get a very nice one for £2k, and you can boot in to Windows if you have to use it for work stuff.
 
OllyM said:
An Apple Macbook Pro
Click to expand...

Definitely what I would go for if I had a budget like that. However if you went for PC laptop/notebook then you could definitely get more 'bang for your buck' spec-wise.

I've got a 15" MBP (set me back £1300) waiting to be opened and I'm really looking forward to it. :D
 
What about ultra portables these days ? Going WAAAAAY under budget I'm tempted by a Philips X55 as its only 1.9Kg. If you get a powerhouse your going to be carrying a hot heavy monster everywhere.

Code: 
Specification for PHILIPS X55

Processor Type 	Intel Core Duo 2 T5500
Processor speed 	1.66 mhz
Memory Size 	1024 mb
Memory Type 	DDR2
Hard Drive Capacity 	100 Gb
Optical Drives 	DVD+/- RW Double Layer
CD-ROM Speed 	24 x
CD-RW Speed. 	24 x
DVD-ROM Speed 	8 x
DVD-RW Speed 	6 x
Floppy Disk Drive 	No
Screen Size/Type 	12.1 WXGA
Graphics Card Type 	Intel GMA950
Graphics Memory 	Up to 224 MB mb
TV-out 	No
Sound Type 	AC 97 Integrated
Modem Type 	56k
Wireless Enabled 	Yes
No. of USB Connections 	3
No. of Firewire Connections 	1
Infrared Port Included 	No
Other Interfaces 	RJ-11, RJ-45
Battery Type 	li-ion
Battery life (up to) 	4 hours
Software Titles Included 	Works 8.5
Operating system 	mce 2005
Weight 	1.85 kg
Height 	36.5 mm
Width 	297 mm
Depth 	213 mm
Colour 	silver


I'm looking for alternatives but definately taking a portable not power route, does anyone know any other small but powerful ones apart from the Vaio range? :)


Whoop
 
I would go with what ever gives you the best battery life, I think that the most important thing to take into consideration with any laptop, you mention that you've "seen some that have HD DVD drives, SLi GFX, Geforce graphics cards" etc but bear in mind that these kind of laptops are only going to last a couple of hours at best, If I had two grand to play with I'd go a Mac Book Pro.
 
I'd go for the Sony VGN-AR21S. (My bro has just bought one and envy doesn't come anywhere near it. :( )
A bit of a beast size wise though.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2.06GHz (x2), 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2048MB DDR2-667MHz
Hard Drive: 200GB Serial ATA 5400rpm (2x100GB)
Screen: 17" Widescreen TFT (1920x1200 - 16:10)with X-Black Technology
Optical Drive: DVD±RW / BD-RE Blu-Ray Super Multi Double Layer
Graphics: NVidia GeForce Go7600 256MB
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth: Bluetooth Enabled
Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition - FREE Upgrade To Windows Vista
Hybrid TV Tuner (Digital + Analogue)
Built-In 0.37 MegaPixel Camera
Built-In Microphone
 
c@tbyte said:
I'd go for the Sony VGN-AR21S. (My bro has just bought one and envy doesn't come anywhere near it. :( )
A bit of a beast size wise though.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2.06GHz (x2), 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 2048MB DDR2-667MHz
Hard Drive: 200GB Serial ATA 5400rpm (2x100GB)
Screen: 17" Widescreen TFT (1920x1200 - 16:10)with X-Black Technology
Optical Drive: DVD±RW / BD-RE Blu-Ray Super Multi Double Layer
Graphics: NVidia GeForce Go7600 256MB
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth: Bluetooth Enabled
Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition - FREE Upgrade To Windows Vista
Hybrid TV Tuner (Digital + Analogue)
Built-In 0.37 MegaPixel Camera
Built-In Microphone
Click to expand...

Thats pretty much exactly what id like.... any idea what price they clock in at?

edit - about 1700, bargain. will investigate a decent bag also
 
Last edited:
Shame the macbooks graphics are so poor for the high price and cost more than the equivilent windows laptop.

Dells xps is a good bet for power and portability starting at £849 only 12.1" and 1.98kg, upto 2.33Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4gb ram and geforce 7400 256mb. Always much cheaper with dell to buy the memory seperatley though.

If you want portable don't get 17", the weight increases massivley as does the battery drain and the higher native res makes gaming worse.
 
Last edited:
Whoop said:
Going WAAAAAY under budget I'm tempted by a Philips X55 as its only 1.9Kg.
Click to expand...

Im buying an X56 when my student loan comes through, its a 1.86MHz CPU compared to the 1.66 and its only like £30 more expensive.
 
Stellios said:
Im buying an X56 when my student loan comes through, its a 1.86MHz CPU compared to the 1.66 and its only like £30 more expensive.
Click to expand...


Just thought id say that the Philips laptops (and indeed pc's) are purple shirt own brand, and the build quality and reliability is horrendous.

Good value for money mind, but the reliability really is very very poor on the laptops even moreso the screens are exceptionally flimsy.

Word of warning :cool: .
 
Chris1712 said:
Just thought id say that the Philips laptops (and indeed pc's) are purple shirt own brand, and the build quality and reliability is horrendous.

Good value for money mind, but the reliability really is very very poor on the laptops even moreso the screens are exceptionally flimsy.

Word of warning :cool: .
Click to expand...
he speaks truth, there not there own brand, our buyers source the parts and demand the specs from a 3rd party company... this only applies to the freevents and freeline ranges though, they are good value for money, but screens do suffer from a lot of problems such as flickering backlights etc...
 
that sony vaio is 99.9% perfect, and I think i'll go for that.

Only concern however, is that the battery is only good for 90 minutes at best according to Sony !
 
Ouch on Sony battery life!

I'll stay clear of the Philips then by then sounds of it, I really am struggling to find a <2Kg machine that doesn't cost the earth. Is this a market gap?


Whoop
 
Whoop said:
Ouch on Sony battery life!

I'll stay clear of the Philips then by then sounds of it, I really am struggling to find a <2Kg machine that doesn't cost the earth. Is this a market gap?


Whoop
Click to expand...

Dell xps?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom