Looking for a laptop..help appreciated!

stephen_mch

Budget: €500-700

Intended use: College work, some gaming, mostly older games & football manager, but i'd like something capable of running some new games if it fits in my budget.

Mobility: I'd prefer something not too bulky, but power is more of a priority. Open to suggestions though! 17 inch laptops completely out of the question.

Operating system: Windows 7.

I'd like a core i processor as well, thats the main reason i'm willing to sacrifice portability.

I've been looking myself.
Dell have a range Vostro, i3 and i5 processors, and dedicated graphics.
30 euro off at the minute and free shipping.
If you use www.bethrifty.ie you get another 5 percent back.

Do your best to avoid hp!

eclectichoney

So am I! The Vostro 3300 looks great, and apparently is available in 3 colours but when I go into customise it doesn't give me the option. Weird.

Anyway, I'm between the Dell Vostro 3300 and Studio 15 at the moment. I'm not an expert but my main must-haves are an i3 processor, 3GB Ram and 320GB hard drive, and of course WIndows 7. These two are about the best I have found on the Dell site that fit with my needs (which seem similar enough to your own). Given that you want to use it for gaming you might need to upgrade the graphics card on the Studio 15. I picked out a Studio with 4GB ram, 500GB hard drive and an i3 processor for €700 delivered, so if you cut back on the hard drive a little you could probably sub in a better graphics card for not much extra on top, and squeeze it into your budget. The Vostro 3300 would be significantly lighter and smaller as it is a 13.3" screen. (I have an old Vostro 1310 atm and it has been great to me for just 2 years now with very heavy use (and abuse lol!))

stephen_mch

Thanks to both of you! Benn looking around on the dell website, have to say the studio 15 looks pretty tempting, gonna go see if i can customise it to within my budget now