Small but powerful?

janja93

Budget: Around 500. Could go to around 650 at a push.

Intended use: Ok, here's the thing, I want to use this laptop for college so I would like it to be quite light and sturdy plus internet and word processing. I'd also like it to be able some more demanding programs like Photoshop and Fruity loops fairly easily. I could live with bad speakers and I could add an external hard drive later to keep memory costs down?

Mobility: As said above, it being portable is pretty important for it.

Warranty: I could do without warranty to keep the price down.

What Operating System do you use? Gonna say windows just because my budget wouldn't stretch to a Mac.

I would appreciate some help so much, I'm kind of overwhelmed by the amount of laptops / netbooks out there. I don't really know where to start.
Thanks!

cookie1977

What screen size?

janja93

Emm, Is there anything in between the small notebook screens and the kind of regular 15.6 inch? If so, somewhere in between the two would be good I think.

cookie1977

Well you've 11, 12, 13 and 14 inch screens?

janja93

Around the 13 - 14 mark I think.

marco_polo

Posted this on another thread, and it is right on the limit of your increased budget, but I think the Asus U30 ultraslim is very close fit with your requirements.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74019022&postcount=4

The___________

marco_polo wrote: »

Posted this on another thread, and it is right on the limit of your increased budget, but I think the Asus U30 ultraslim is very close fit with your requirements.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74019022&postcount=4

Won't even touch 10 hours of battery life with that product- when Asus claim 10 hours of battery life with the U30SD they refer to the 8 cell battery variants, the listed product instead has the smaller 6 cell battery (4400mah)

marco_polo

The___________ wrote: »

Won't even touch 10 hours of battery life with that product- when Asus claim 10 hours of battery life with the U30SD they refer to the 8 cell battery variants, the listed product instead has the smaller 6 cell battery (4400mah)

Right you are sir , I spotted the entry level models have no bluray drive but not the different batteries.

janja93

Thank you!
Any other suggestions, just to have a bit of a choice?

janja93

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Portege-R835-P56x-13-3-Inch-Magnesium/dp/B004G8QOJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314389062&sr=8-1

What would ya think of that?

Or this one?
http://www.dabs.ie/products/lenovo-ideapad-z370-i3-2310m-4gb-500gb-dvd-rw-13-3--w7hp-7FQ0.html?refs=389120000-22-52330000

marco_polo

janja93 wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Portege-R835-P56x-13-3-Inch-Magnesium/dp/B004G8QOJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314389062&sr=8-1

What would ya think of that?

Or this one?
http://www.dabs.ie/products/lenovo-ideapad-z370-i3-2310m-4gb-500gb-dvd-rw-13-3--w7hp-7FQ0.html?refs=389120000-22-52330000

Either of those would be a good choice good (the Toshiba would be the slightly better option, the Portege series are great laptops imo).

For light and portable I would have a look at some of the Acer Travelmate series as well.

janja93

Thanks again!
Just one last bit of help would be great. Do you think a more expensive i5 processor would be a needed investment for what is listed above?

marco_polo

janja93 wrote: »

Thanks again!
Just one last bit of help would be great. Do you think a more expensive i5 processor would be a needed investment for what is listed above?

A 13.3" with an i5 probably won't come in under 600 so it would be the upper end of your budget. I wouldn't call it an absolutely essential upgrade but if you tend towards intensive rather than casual photoshop/Fruity loops work then the performances benefits would probably be worth it (budget permitting).

Don't have time for an through search of retailers & models but for example the i5 version of the z370 comes in at about 630 delivery.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_IdeaPad_Z370_1091025.html

janja93

Ok, I think I'm ready to buy now!
Thanks so much for the help!

Jonny7

Any non-atom Dual core processor will be fine

check genuine online reviews to find real batt life before you buy

www.saveonlaptops.co.uk have some of the best prices, but amazon is good too

janja93

Thanks!
How can you get Saveonlaptops to deliver to Ireland? What do you write in as your postcode?

marco_polo

janja93 wrote: »

Thanks!
How can you get Saveonlaptops to deliver to Ireland? What do you write in as your postcode?

Yes for abiut £10 or so. The only postcode that works for Ireland is 000 000.

janja93

Thanks for the help everyone! I ordered a Lenovo Idea-pad from save on laptops earlier today

tennis12

janja93 wrote: »

Thanks for the help everyone! I ordered a Lenovo Idea-pad from save on laptops earlier today
[/QUOT Will ypu let me know how you get on with this please.
Im in the exact same situation and looks like a sweet laptop..

janja93

I would definitely recommend saveonlaptops, have the laptop already and they sent it out yesterday after an order last thing on friday!
First impression of the laptop itself is it's great too

tennis12

janja93 wrote: »

I would definitely recommend saveonlaptops, have the laptop already and they sent it out yesterday after an order last thing on friday!
First impression of the laptop itself is it's great too

Cool, and could I ask you, was there a extended warranty available,? If so how much?
I'm would love this laptop but I'm not sure can I afford it, trying to think buy once and buy good ..