Wanted: Portable and powerful

Time Magazine

Hi folks,

Looking to get a new laptop. Here's the list:

Budget: About €700, but will pay up to €1000 if really worth it.

Intended use: Many uses. I need a fair bit of processing power to crunch numbers for research and also to run Photoshop for little bits and bobs. I'd also like it capable for basic gaming - my current laptop has crashed while playing Counter-Strike a few times. Basically it needs to be powerful and with a half-decent graphics card, but nothing amazing. It'll also be used for DVDs etc so I don't want to have to rely on an external drive.

Mobility: About 8/10 in the importance scale. I move around a lot and may well end up carrying this every day on my back. My current laptop is 15.4 inches and weight 3.1kg so is too big. I'd love something powerful that's only about 2kg, if such a thing exists.

Warranty: I don't care really. If I'm willing to dosh out the cash I expect it to work and hell will fall upon any manufacturer who sells me a piece of crap.

Operating System: I need Windows for software comparability. I really don't like Vista but don't know anything about Windows 7.

I know this is a lot to ask, but are there laptops out there that are reasonably light but also pretty powerful? Anybody give me some tips as to what sort of models I should be looking at?

Thanks.

leninbenjamin

A decent model to look at is the Dell Vostro 1320 (fyi: it's in under the small businesses section of the site, so no VAT included in the prices there!).

Pros: It's got decent core 2 duo processors in the line, a dedicated graphics card (although it's pretty weak, it'll still do CS:S and say the likes of L4D no problem). And it's one of the lightest 13'' you can get that don't have one of those ultra low voltage processors (2.2KG iirc).

Downsides: Core2Duo's are being phased out so they are old tech and it wouldn't have the best build quality being a Vostro).

Time Magazine

Thank you - that looks exactly like the sort of thing I'm looking for, if not an exact fit.

Is there any good site that'd list other manufacturers' models that are in that range/class of laptop? Or is anyone here clever enough to know that sort of information off the top of their heads?

you are going to struggle to get a decent dedicated graphics card in a thin and light for that sort of money.

Did see a Toshiba t130 16 w up in pc world in carrickmines park this eve - has core duo and 3gb ram but no graphics card. pretty decent performance though and 6hours battery life with 13 inch screen. 1.4 kg or so.

was 699 I think or maybe 650 without norton included.

there was also a dell with a 14 inch screen, similar specs, 2kg and 3.5 hours battery.

Time Magazine

LostInDaHack wrote: »

you are going to struggle to get a decent dedicated graphics card in a thin and light for that sort of money.

I will go up to about €1000 if there's a good option. How good are built-in graphics cards these days? Would they play something like CS:S without crashing?

Did see a Toshiba t130 16 w up in pc world in carrickmines park this eve - has core duo and 3gb ram but no graphics card. pretty decent performance though and 6hours battery life with 13 inch screen. 1.4 kg or so.

was 699 I think or maybe 650 without norton included.

I could also get it ex-VAT so that's well within range. Does anyone know similar laptops to this?

there was also a dell with a 14 inch screen, similar specs, 2kg and 3.5 hours battery.

Didn't get the model by any chance did you?

Also, leninbenjamin, you state that "Core2Duo's are being phased out so they are old tech". What's the new tech then? (Sorry for being so noobish.)

leninbenjamin

Time Magazine wrote: »

Also, leninbenjamin, you state that "Core2Duo's are being phased out so they are old tech". What's the new tech then? (Sorry for being so noobish.)

Intel have released a new range of processors, confusingly labeled i3, i5 and i7 respectively. These are effectively the replacements for the Core2Duo and Core2Quad ranges. They tend to be much more efficient when it comes to heat and battery life, and clock for clock they'll crunch numbers better than the older ones (i.e. 2.0Ghz i5 should run a regression faster than 2.0Ghz Core2Duo, in the region of 20% I believe although it will vary).

Dell have a couple out already with these new processors (including this 15'' Inspiron), and overall models with them seem to have a much better price performance ratio than their equivalents with a Core2Duo.

Not sure about the other brands though when it comes to their i5/i7 offerings, but because of the lower heat/electricity requirements I'd imagine there should be a bunch of small & light laptops with them in them eventually so it might be worthwhile holding off a wee bit, if you plan on holding onto the laptop for a time anyway. I'm more familiar with the desktop lines though so this may be bad advice...

Time Magazine

Time Magazine wrote: »

I will go up to about €1000 if there's a good option. How good are built-in graphics cards these days? Would they play something like CS:S without crashing?

I could also get it ex-VAT so that's well within range. Does anyone know similar laptops to this?

QUOTE]

It's not a case of crashing but modern games will have a really slow (i.e. unplayable) frame rate. CS:S is pretty old so something like the toshiba should play that easily enough.

In general there is a tradeoff also with battery life and performance so a laptop with a decent graphics card is only going to run for 2 to 3 hours off battery. (some laptops may have the option to turn the gpu off). It depends what your needs are and you're the person who knows that.

I didn't get the model on the dell - go up there and have a look for yourself! In the end it's your decision and people here are not going to give you all the answers...