Need laptop for uni :D

is the 4670 1GB of similar power to the 9800GT btw in normal PC's, or perhaps even faster? I was out of the loop for over a year and totally missed these cards.
 
I was looking at that but it has a smaller hardrive, screen resolution and 2ghz cpu might be a bottle neck to the 260M?

Its tempting though. Plus im more comfortable with dell after the numerous bad experiences ive had with ocuk.

5.8KG is pritty heavy too compared to 3kg.
 
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Yeh, to be honest the Dell Studio XPS 16 has won me over, with the 2.40Ghz, 1066MHz (for only an extra £30) and the 4670 1GB card.

I think its well worth it. Its hard to find anything else in the top part of 'class 2' graphics cards. There are a few Acers about with the 130M card and they are slightly less money, they come in at around £700 but they wont have the kick that the XPS 16 has.

The OcUK laptop that would be my other choise would be the Acer 6935G, its got a decent processor but a lesser graphics card, but it makes up for that in cost. Seems everywhere else has sold out of the 6935G - but anyway the other places had an 800MHz processor where as OcUK have the 1066MHz processor.
 
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Yeah im just about to place my order :P Exciting stuff no? haha :P . The build quality of dell laptops I also find to be very good with slim designs and don';t weigh too much.
 
This all makes minimal sense to me. Netbook + desktop is basically the answer for uni, with a gaming laptop as a poor compromise. Just take the desktop up and the laptop home in xmas holidays, move the desktop back down if you go home for the summer.

Dell build quality is nothing special. I've seen a particularly large number of dead inspiron 1525s lately. It's nothing like as bad as Acer but not brilliant. Ibm thinkpads are built like bricks, and would probably where I'd be looking if getting an over £300 laptop. Slim designs and low weight mean little heatsinks and a hot laptop with a shorter lifespan. If weight matters at all what are you even looking at desktop replacements for?

Mathematics is going to make you do work in matlab. This is going to make you miss your desktop very much. I dont think a gaming laptop makes any sense at all :(

edit: I see I was too late, well I hope you like your new toy
 
JonJ678 said:
This all makes minimal sense to me. Netbook + desktop is basically the answer for uni, with a gaming laptop as a poor compromise. Just take the desktop up and the laptop home in xmas holidays, move the desktop back down if you go home for the summer.

Dell build quality is nothing special. I've seen a particularly large number of dead inspiron 1525s lately. It's nothing like as bad as Acer but not brilliant. Ibm thinkpads are built like bricks, and would probably where I'd be looking if getting an over £300 laptop. Slim designs and low weight mean little heatsinks and a hot laptop with a shorter lifespan. If weight matters at all what are you even looking at desktop replacements for?

Mathematics is going to make you do work in matlab. This is going to make you miss your desktop very much. I dont think a gaming laptop makes any sense at all :(

edit: I see I was too late, well I hope you like your new toy
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Taking my desktop makes no sence if you do not wish to be gaming too much at uni and just want something to use every now and then.

As said many times i dont want to take my desktop with me. Leeds is 4 hours driving away and ill be traveling mostly by train as a result. Im not gaming heavily, maybe like hour or two a week. Just doesn't justify the hassel of taking my desktop up with me.

As for maths as far as im aware in lectures i wont be needing a laptop. If i do its no biggy as its ony 15.6" so its quite mobile and battery is good for 2.5 hours reviews seemed to say abouts.

Quite annoying how many people on OCUK think they know someone's circumstances better then the person they are trying to advise. If for any reason I do need a desktop, ill simply take the one ive got and add any upgrades that may be required to get what i want out of it. The laptop should be good for at least 2 years, maybe slowed down too much by the third and in the last year there isn't a chance ill be gaming anyway.
 
8igdave said:
is the 4670 1GB of similar power to the 9800GT btw in normal PC's, or perhaps even faster? I was out of the loop for over a year and totally missed these cards.
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Not as good as a 9800GT unfortunately.

I would have gone for that Dell that you specced except with the 9 cell battery instead. Don't worry about an SSD, you aren't running a top of the range rig so you probably won't notice much difference in performance. Make sure that you only charge it when the battery is dead otherwise you're going to be wasting capacity of the battery over time. Just incase you didn't know mate. :)

By the way, when it comes make sure you take a few pics. :D
 
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8igdave said:
Quite annoying how many people on OCUK think they know someone's circumstances better then the person they are trying to advise.
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It must be infuriating that the university student thinks he has a better idea about university life than the college student yet to start his undergrad.

Taking your desktop would save you a grand. It would save you £500 even if you bought a new laptop anyway. I see this as sense. Your counterargument appears to be that if you take it you'll spend all your time gaming, surely a mathematician has reasonable self control?


Gaming laptops however do not make sense to me. They run hot, don't run for very long, weigh lots and cost stunning amounts. The end result plays games worse than a desktop anyway. Still, I see you are convinced. On a final note, get insurance for it, as it is quite likely to be stolen at some point.
 
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I think I'm going for the Dell Studio XPS 16 as well.

2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo
4096MB 1067MHz RAM
1GB Radeon HD 4670
500GB Hard Drive

For £788.56, really can't beat it. It looks smart too.

It utterly destroys the 1k Alienware, which has 2GB RAM, 512MB Radeon 3670, a worse screen, it's a joke really.
 
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JonJ678 said:
Gaming laptops however do not make sense to me. They run hot, don't run for very long, weigh lots and cost stunning amounts. The end result plays games worse than a desktop anyway. Still, I see you are convinced. On a final note, get insurance for it, as it is quite likely to be stolen at some point.
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I think the OP is entitled to spend his or her cash on whatever they want and far be it from anybody in these forums to tell them what they should or should not be doing. The OP was asking advice on laptops for university and I didn't see anywhere in the 1st post the OP asking for advice on wether to buy a laptop or lug a desktop about. The reason he wants a laptop is because no matter how big or heavy, they are still much more portable than a full desktop setup. You think that he's wasting his money, and he thinks that he's made a good purchase, I know who wins in my book. The OP came here asking a question, he found the answer to what he wanted and that should be the end of the matter imo. And by the way, the laptop that he got isn't a full on gaming laptop, otherwise he would have been spending much more than he did. It was just a Dell with an uprated graphics card on which he plans to game around 2-3 hours a week.

Strife212 said:
I think I'm going for the Dell Studio XPS 16 as well.

2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo
4096MB 1067MHz RAM
1GB Radeon HD 4670
500GB Hard Drive

For £788.56, really can't beat it. It looks smart too.

It utterly destroys the 1k Alienware, which has 2GB RAM, 512MB Radeon 3670, a worse screen, it's a joke really.
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I agree mate, I think that with Alienware you pay for the brand, and even that doesn't mean as much as it used to after the takeover by Dell. It's a shame they charge you such a huge price for the name because some of their cases are very tasty indeed. :)
 
K1LLSW1TCH said:
Not as good as a 9800GT unfortunately.

I would have gone for that Dell that you specced except with the 9 cell battery instead. Don't worry about an SSD, you aren't running a top of the range rig so you probably won't notice much difference in performance. Make sure that you only charge it when the battery is dead otherwise you're going to be wasting capacity of the battery over time. Just incase you didn't know mate. :)

By the way, when it comes make sure you take a few pics. :D
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Yeah they dont sell it with a 9 cell so I guess if I find I need more battery i will have to buy one. Think it's a pritty good deal though. Also family had now something like 5 laptops so know all too well about their dwindling batteries.

JonJ678 said:
It must be infuriating that the university student thinks he has a better idea about university life than the college student yet to start his undergrad.
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Yeah i really don't know anything about uni apart from my sisters 4 years of experience at leeds uni doing dentistry.

Once again you presume you know all about my circumstances.

K1LLSW1TCH said:
I think the OP is entitled to spend his or her cash on whatever they want and far be it from anybody in these forums to tell them what they should or should not be doing. The OP was asking advice on laptops for university and I didn't see anywhere in the 1st post the OP asking for advice on wether to buy a laptop or lug a desktop about. The reason he wants a laptop is because no matter how big or heavy, they are still much more portable than a full desktop setup. You think that he's wasting his money, and he thinks that he's made a good purchase, I know who wins in my book. The OP came here asking a question, he found the answer to what he wanted and that should be the end of the matter imo. And by the way, the laptop that he got isn't a full on gaming laptop, otherwise he would have been spending much more than he did. It was just a Dell with an uprated graphics card on which he plans to game around 2-3 hours a week.
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And here is a good example of someone who doesn't pretend to know all the in's and outs of why i want a laptop. But at least reads what i say and gives me advice which fits what i asked.

Besides as he also points out, ive explained quite clearly why a laptop suits me. You on the other hand have a too bigger internet ego to presume anyone could possibly want something different to you.
 
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