Spec me a laptop (yay)

Phyre · 13 Dec 2010 at 16:41

Sorry, I know there's a bunch of "spec me" threads, but it's so hard to sift through them all.

So, my budget is ~£600 but could stretch a little bit if it's worth it.
I'd like HDMI out.
Preferably an i5 processor, although an i3 should suffice. i7 would rock my world at that price.
Dedicated graphics is pretty much a must as well.
I'm thinking 15" but since I'm not overly fussed about an optical drive, maybe 14" if one such laptop exists with this spec.
If at all possible a 9-cell battery would be nice since chances are I'd be using it on longer journeys...
Something to go with the previous point... I would like a light laptop, but I realise batteries are heavy and I guess this may not be possible.

Ideas?

linktoinsanity · 13 Dec 2010 at 20:04

You using it for playing high end games?

If you are just playing new games at medium to low settings and older games then look at the DELL Studio 15 on the DELL website.

There are some available with the following specs:

Intel Core i7 620 2.66Ghz Turbo up to 3.33Ghz
4GB DDR3 800Mhz Memory
500GB Seagate Momentus 7200.4 7,200rpm HDD
ATI RADEON HD5470 1024MB Graphics Card
DVDRW Slot Load Drive
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
1366x768 HD LED Screen

That's mine and cost around £800. They are available with lesser specs for lower cost as well. Good luck with your search.

Phyre · 15 Dec 2010 at 22:35

I was hoping for something a little cheaper. I'll have a look at tweaking one of the Dell laptops, thanks. Any ideas if the ThinkPad Edge 15" has an HDMI out?

olivier renault · 16 Dec 2010 at 01:30

If you go for battery life, dont go i7, as it will eat batteries (well, the dedicated GPU will, since there will be no switchable graphics since the i7 doesn't have an IGP).

i5 + HD 5650 and switchable graphics will be a good platform. It's rather uncomon combination in the thin and light category, usually you'd get a i5 and a GT310M / HD5470 at best. For example the Samsung Q430, Acer Timeline X 3820TG. These are good for mobility and with good performance.

Dunno about the Thinkpad Edge, or what kind of GPU it has (HD5730?).

Note that gaming on batteries is usually not a great idea, but you should get around 1.5 hours - 2 hours gaming time, maybe more on a weaker GPU (GT310M / HD5470).

richb93 · 16 Dec 2010 at 22:50

Toshiba Satellite L650 might be worth looking at. I have one, got it in early September this year for around £569. Quite a good price I thought as it has an ATI Mobility Radeon 5650 with 1GB VRAM which runs new games very well

Other specs:

Core i3 M350 2.27GHz
320GB HDD
Win 7 Home Premium x64
1x 2GB DDR3 (with a slot free)
HDMI

Only downer is that it only comes with 2GB RAM in its default configuration which is a bit naff for gaming. I bought 1GB for £6 (!!) which has made it incredibly fast

As I say I don't know if this is best bang for the buck now but pretty sure it was when I got it (in terms of it having such a powerful graphics card)