13inch all round laptop??

queen of hearts

Budget: roughly anything from 1,200 to 1,400, i guess i would be willing to pay more if it would run extra smooth but i don't want unnecessary costs.

Intended use: college work, Internet, e-mail, Word processing, itunes, some movies, games mainly sims3: ea games released these specs http://www.totalvideogames.com/The-Sims-3/news/EA-Reveals-The-Sims-3-Spec-13559.html

Mobility: Very important; Screen: 13inch - 14inch

Warranty: would like a warranty

I was looking at the dell xps 1330 and the studio xps 13 but i'm a bit lost at this stage, i really need specifics beyond the model, tried to get some advice on dell online chat, the guy told me the only difference between the xps and the studio 13 was the weight.........

It doesn't have to be a dell either, though i do like them for their warranties.

ScissorPaperRock

Macbook!

ProperDeadly

ScissorPaperRoc wrote: »

Macbook!

+1

Alanstrainor

queen of hearts wrote: »

Intended use: ....games mainly sims3: ea games released these specs http://www.totalvideogames.com/The-Sims-3/news/EA-Reveals-The-Sims-3-Spec-13559.html

ScissorPaperRoc wrote: »

Macbook!

:rolleyes:

OP, i'd say you could easily half your budget and get a more than adequate laptop, I haven't got the time at the minute to search myself, but the likes of an Asus, Hp, Samsung for ~800 should get you some pretty good specs for your needs. Try dabs.ie or elara or the likes and post back with ones that take your fancy.

Vokes

Bought a Samsung Q310 recently and have no complaints at all.

It's a nice size (13.1") and has some great specs making it a great all-rounder machine.

Would definitely recommend.

Jim

If you're looking for best value for money and to play games don't buy a Mac.

ant043

get a macbook. Value for money is there because of the operating system.

Alanstrainor

ant043 wrote: »

get a macbook. Value for money is there because of the operating system.

The OP specifically states that playing games is one of his priorities. A macbook is Not the answer then.

ant043

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The OP specifically states that playing games is one of his priorities. A macbook is Not the answer then.

Why not ? its easy to install windows via bootcamp and use leopard for everything else.

Alanstrainor

ant043 wrote: »

Why not ? its easy to install windows via bootcamp and use leopard for everything else.

I dont want to take this thread off topic, but why buy a Mac at a premium to install XP? Half the OP's budget would suffice in getting a well spec'd laptop.

besty

I ordered a Studio XPS 13.3 today. Pretty happy despite the high price. I think the spec I've gone for should keep me happy for a few years anyway. I've done research like yourself and considered the Mac option but as has already been said, for gaming that wouldn't really cut it. I think the XPS option is a good one personally. Good luck.

dory

My new laptop is the samsung Q210 12''
Some of the specs are: Samsung Q210 PDC T3400 3GB 250GB DVDRW 12.1" Vista Premium.
I know this has most of the things needed for the Sims, I just hope it has the Pentium IV needed. That bit I don't understand. Roll on Feb 20th!

Also, that set me back €606, I think for what you're looking to spend you could get a mini rocket.

EDIT: Sims 3 delayed til March. Bugger.

queen of hearts

nah its delayed to JUNE!!!

these are the specifications off the sims website:
THE SIMS 3 MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS


FOR WINDOWS XP

Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1 GB RAM
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
FOR WINDOWS VISTA

Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1.5 GB RAM
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires at least:

Intel Integrated Chipset, GMA X3000 or above.
2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
0.5 GB additional RAM
SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS


NVIDIA GeForce series

FX 5900, FX 5950
6200, 6500, 6600, 6800,
7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280

ATI Radeon™ series

9500, 9600, 9800
X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
2400, 2600, 2900
3450, 3650, 3850, 3870,
4850, 4870

Intel® Extreme Graphics

GMA X3x00 series

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slower. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly. Intel integrated chipsets featuring underclocked parts will not perform adequately.


Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants will have low settings selected, but should run satisfactorily.


Please note that attempting to play the game using video hardware that isn't listed above may result in reduced performance, graphical issues or cause the game to not run at all.


The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.


but the xps 13 only comes with 9500...... which isn't in the list, and no one can tell me why?

sexpot

Go for a macbook definitely. I've owned an xps m1330 and just got my macbook. I regretted not getting the macbook straight away. From experience i've found the m1330's are suffering a lot of small failures that get annoying. I know you want it for gaming and bootcamp will accomadate you there. Macbook all the way though!

FruitLover

ant043 wrote: »

Why not ? its easy to install windows via bootcamp and use leopard for everything else.

It would make far more sense to dual-boot between XP and Ubuntu a PC laptop for half the price.

Macs are for fashion victims.

sexpot

FruitLover wrote: »

Macs are for fashion victims.

.....and people with brains.

Windows sucks massive amounts of penis. You only realise this when you get a mac though.

Alanstrainor

This is an on Thread Warning. Any more off topic posts will result in a weeks ban

Creamy Goodness

sexpot wrote: »

.....and people with brains.

Windows sucks massive amounts of penis. You only realise this when you get a mac though.

or you use any other *NIX based operating system.

OS X is good only because apple limit the hardware combinations that it will run on so they have some what of a standard platform. Microsoft simply can't do that with 100's of vendors making pc's.


the Samsung Q310 looks quite tasty OP. samsung has very good build quality too.

dolliemix

for carrying around easily......definitely the macbook.

I changed from pc to 13 inch macbook just after christmas and everything is much easier!

I've an M1330 and I absolutely love it, not a single problem with it. I got it for just over €1700, but, of course you could knock €600 off that. Very good laptop, I'd definitely recommend it.

besty

-JammyDodger- wrote: »

I've an M1330 and I absolutely love it, not a single problem with it. I got it for just over €1700, but, of course you could knock €600 off that. Very good laptop, I'd definitely recommend it.

Glad to hear it. My Studio XPS 13 is on the way. Pretty miffed Dell no longer supply the remote in the card slot any more though.

BostonB

We have a M1330 we got for 500 from the Dell outlet. No problems with it so far. I'd be happy with a MacBook either. One thing I've noticed is theres an awful lot of Macbooks for sale on adverts.ie and a lot of them have had a lot of bits replaced for some reason. Likewise I'd avoid a M1330 with a 8400GS gfx card. As i think thats the cause of a lot of failures. I think dell extended the warranty on those though.

FruitLover

sexpot wrote: »

.....and people with brains.

Ha! If they had sufficient brains, they'd be smart enough to use linux on a PC for half the price.

With a dual-boot of Windows satisfying the gaming requirement, this would be the ideal option.

queen of hearts

ok i think i've decided on the studio xps 13. its alot of money but i had some put aside and its bound to last me a good while!

XoXMascaraXoX

hey, I currently own a macbook that i am willing to sell. I love my lil kiwi(yes i named it) but i seriously need the money for other things. its:
Model Name: MacBook(lepaord)
Model Identifier: MacBook2,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB21.00A5.B07
SMC Version: 1.17f0