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Help with a laptop recommendation (...yet another one of these...sorry)

  • 18-07-2010 12:59am
    #1
    abelard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,837 ✭✭✭


    Ok so I know this kind of thread pops up all the time, but I was still hoping someone might be kind enough to impart some wisdom on a good laptop to buy for my needs.

    I've had my current laptop (Dell Vostro 1500) for over three years so I'm looking for something new. I have a budget of about €1,000 though I can stretch it a bit if necessary. I am also in America right now and will be until September if that helps anyone with a recommendation.

    So here's what I'll be using it for;

    First, standard stuff, internet, office/college stuff, downloading and playing music/tv/movies, blah, blah, blah, I know any laptop can manage these. Moving on....

    Photo processing - I do a significant amount of photography, so I'd like it to be able to efficiently handle Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5, etc. working in tandem without any significant slowdown.

    I also occasionally use the likes of Illustrator and InDesign, as well as messing about a bit with Reason/FruityLoops. My current laptop can handle these fairly adequately, so I assume any new one can too. Again though I'd like to be able to run them as smoothly and efficiently as I can.

    Gaming - I'm primarily a console gamer, but I like to play some games on my laptop too. I don't need a graphical powerhouse in my laptop, but I'd like a good graphics card. For example, recent and upcoming games on the PC I'm looking out for would be Starcraft II, Civilization 5, Portal 2, Dragon Age, Diablo 3. So you can see my tastes in PC games are generally strategy and RPG games which tend not to be the most graphics heavy. I'm not exactly looking for something that will play Crysis. The thing is, I do plan to have this new laptop for about another 3 years, so I'd be looking for something now that can still fairly adequately handle new releases in these genres in 2-3 years time. I know that's a bit vague but I hope it gets across what I'm trying to say.


    Next, I'd like to keep it portable enough (obviously). My current laptop has a 15.6" screen and is pretty heavy. I'd like to find something with in or about a 14" screen. It doesn't have to be wafer thin and light as a feather, but just something fairly light.

    Similarly, I'd like good battery life (6-7 hours), though again it doesn't have to be amazing.

    That's about everything. Obviously there are other perks that it would be nice to have, but are no means gamebreakers, and I'd sacrifice them for price if necessary - I'm talking things like a solid state hard drive, multi touch touchpad, tablet functionality, blu-ray.


    I guess if I had to sum it up, it'd probably come under the heading of a good though not top-spec gaming and multimedia laptop. So recommendations that fit that bill would be much appreciated!

    Finally, I don't want a mac, and I'd prefer not to get a Dell this time, nor do I want an Acer.


    Like I said, any help would be much appreciated!


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