Spec me a laptop

Shash · 16 Sep 2008 at 18:20

Hi there,

I'm looking for a laptop largely for student work, using to watch the odd dvd, music. Being able to play a few games would be nice but is not a priority. Max budget is ~£700.

I did have a look at *Don't link to competitors!* but I'm not sure its worth the extra cash? I would struggle to go over £700 really.

Any advice on what the best machine I could get for the money would be much appreciated, cheers.

Glaucus · 16 Sep 2008 at 18:27

Might want to remove those links. As they are competitors and against the rules.

ukbrainstew · 16 Sep 2008 at 22:18

If you're not bothered about modern gaming then there's no real need to spend £700. You could have a decent option for £400 - £500. You pay quite a premium to have a serviceable dedicated GPU in your laptop.

Edit: Might want to look at the Dell Studio 15, you can actually have it with a Core 2 Duo and ATI 3450 (more than enough for light gaming, and agiant leap above integrated) for a mere £450.

pingwing · 16 Sep 2008 at 22:24

Ahh best things to look at are either a macbook with higher education discount (£601 for the basic one) or look at laptops targeted at buisness users (samsung or sony are good examples) as they tend to provide the best build quality and user experence (hate that last phrase as you sound like a mac fanboy) but its what i wanted from a uni laptop.

I recently got a samsung x22 for £500 to fit the gap for work (its got a t7 something core2 proc, 2 gig of ram and an ati HD2400 so can game a the level of civ 4 pretty well)

psychas · 16 Sep 2008 at 22:24

Hp laptop

p8600
4 gig of ram
9600gt 512 mb
250 gig hardrive
15.4" WSXGA screen up to (1680x1050)

+ some remote control for windows media center

cost me around 850 euro(660~675£)

ps got it from states (usa)

fobose · 16 Sep 2008 at 23:08

Saw an awesome deal earlier. Its an Asus laptop:

Asustek X50SL-AP124C

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83 GHz)
Memory
3072MB (1024 x 1, 2048 x 1) DDRII 667
Hard Drive
320GB 5400RPM Serial ATA
Optical Drive
DVD±RW DL SuperMulti
Software
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
<edit> removed the software listed as makes post to big </edit>
Display
15.4ins TFT
Audio
Build-in stereo speakers, SoundBlaster Pro Compatible - Asus Built or modified for Vista
Dimensions
365~367 x 262 x 27 / front ~ 35 / rear mm (2.65kg with 6 cell battery)
Input Devices
Keyboard and touchpad
Power Supply
Output: 19V DC, 4.74A, 90W
Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Interfaces
8-in-1 Card Reader (SD / MMC / Memory Stick / Memory Stick Pro / Memory Stic Duo / Smart Media / xD-Picture card)
1 x Express card
1 x DVI Port (DVI-D)
1 xVGA Port (D-Sub 15)
1 x Headphone-out jack (WO/SPDIF)
1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
4 x USB 2.0 ports - Built-in Azalia compliant audio chip, with 3D effect & full duplex
Warranty
1 Year

Most importantly it comes with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 which is listed in the product title on the competitor, so should run Vista like a dream as well as play some goods well too

Not bad for £469.98inc !!

Shash · 17 Sep 2008 at 00:27

Oops sorry about the competitor linkage, forgot that I could refer to models but not link directly in a moment of braindeadness.

Major_Disaster · 17 Sep 2008 at 00:33

psychas said:
Hp laptop

p8600
4 gig of ram
9600gt 512 mb
250 gig hardrive
15.4" WSXGA screen up to (1680x1050)

+ some remote control for windows media center

cost me around 850 euro(660~675£)

ps got it from states (usa)

Do tell more...!

From a certain auction site? The new DV5 range? Did you get hit with import charges? What about the warranty and power?

(Im really interested as im consdering doing the same myself).