Laptops with no optical drives? Really?!?!

hugh2006

Afternoon all,

In the market for a new laptop & looking at Acer Aspire Timeline 3820T Core i5. One of my reasons is tha it is lightweight & portable due to having no optical drive. But I'm worried if I need an optical drive, though I honetly can remember the last time I used that drive on my current Toshiba Equium.

My main worry is that if something goes seriously wrong with the laptop, then the optical drive would be necessary.

Thoughts & opinions please! Cheers.

marco_polo

An awful lot of ultra slim laptops come without optical drives. I wouldn't see it as a big problem myself as there is really nothing that can't be done with a bootable USB stick instead nowadays.

Duddy

If it worries you, remember you can get an external optical drive for very, very cheap. I have a slimline toshiba and to be honest, the lightness outweighs the need for an optical drive, they're great for carrying around.

hugh2006

Cheers, with the above posts in mind, which laptop would you go for:

1. http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_Timeline_3820T_Core_i5_Laptop_LX.PTC02.218/version.asp
- 13.3"
- Intel Core i5-480M Dual Core
- 6GB RAM
- 500GB
- no Optical Drive
- 1.75KG
- up to 8 hours battery life


2. http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_IdeaPad_Z370_1091025.html
- 13.3"
- Intel Core i5-2410M Dual Core
- 4GB RAM
- 750GB
- DVD Rewriter
- 1.99KG
- up to 5 hour battery life

Roughly €25 in the diff.

Please help, frozen with indecision!!!

Allyall

Personally, i prefer the Lenovo.
~ The only thing i use optical drive for, is burning discs for other people, Photo's etc..

Still handy to have.

I cannot for the life of me remember where, but i have vague memories of somebody telling me that the Acer your linking to, has problems with it's battery or power.
Worth looking into before you buy it, if you buy it.

hugh2006

OK, I've (I think!) narrowed down my selection to the Lenovo Ideapad Z370, but have to decide between two processors:

1. Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Dual Core (2.3GHz, Intel Sandy Bridge Architecture, 3MB Cache, Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz)

2. Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Dual Core (2.1GHz, Intel Sandy Bridge Architecture, 3MB Cache)

Obviously, the first one is a superior processor, but there's €100 extra for it [all other features are equal apart from the Hard Drive (#1. 750GB & #2. 500GB)] & I'm not sure if I need the extra power. My main uses are MS Office, watching movies/tv online, iTunes, web surfing etc.... Don't game, don't edit.

Is Core i3 enough???

marco_polo

hugh2006 wrote: »

OK, I've (I think!) narrowed down my selection to the Lenovo Ideapad Z370, but have to decide between two processors:

1. Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Dual Core (2.3GHz, Intel Sandy Bridge Architecture, 3MB Cache, Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz)

2. Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Dual Core (2.1GHz, Intel Sandy Bridge Architecture, 3MB Cache)

Obviously, the first one is a superior processor, but there's €100 extra for it [all other features are equal apart from the Hard Drive (#1. 750GB & #2. 500GB)] & I'm not sure if I need the extra power. My main uses are MS Office, watching movies/tv online, iTunes, web surfing etc.... Don't game, don't edit.

Is Core i3 enough???

The i3 should be plenty for your needs, nothing you have listed there is particulatly CPU intensive.