New laptop needed. I want a good 'un...

nice_guy80

Right, so I've had this machine for over 3 years
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/acer-aspire-6920g-review-49297311/

have rarely had a problem with it.
was great for playing games
and running all sorts of graphics/media software was a pleasure on it
and the speakers were great
the fan is making noise lately and its ruining my skype conversations

i've kinda decided to donate it to my sister who will use it for work. (or should I just get replacement fan?)

Anyway, I need a recommendation for a decent replacement laptop. cheers

Alanstrainor

RE: The noisy fan, my guess is that it's just a bit clogged up with dust. If you were to open it up and give it a clean, and apply some new thermal paste to the CPU you'd be flying imo.

nice_guy80

bump

I never changed that laptop.
But now I have to as a big pint of water was spilt all over it recently by my nephew

This is what I'm thinking of getting
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/80006637/lenovo_15_6_z580_m81dfmh_i7_3612qm_8gb_750gb/details.aspx

Any comments?
Any other recommendations?

Cheers in advance

Torqay

nice_guy80 wrote: »

This is what I'm thinking of getting
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/80006637/lenovo_15_6_z580_m81dfmh_i7_3612qm_8gb_750gb/details.aspx

Any comments?

Decent deal all round. Just the GT 630M is neither fish nor fowl, more than you'll need for normal use but not good enough to play newer demanding games.

Care to elaborate on your requirements and budget?

nice_guy80

some gaming - Shogun 2 total war etc
some photoshop and other graphics programs
bit of music and video editing
general all round use after that - music, streaming, word processing

budget, €1000

Torqay

Gaming, €1,000 ... have a look at PC Specialist's Optimus IV.

15.6" full HD display 1920x1080 (certainly a bonus when it comes to video editing)
GTX 660M (2 GB GDDR5)
Core i7 3610QM (faster than the 3612QM)
8 GB RAM
120 GB SSD

£790 / €980

It's got a 2nd HDD bay. OS installation DVD and 3 yrs warranty included in this price.

nice_guy80

to be honest, I do very little video editing. just something I do from time to time.

and I had checked them out and tried to build an equivalent laptop to the lenovo one available from komplett but it came in dearer.

definitely the HD screen would interest me

Torqay

nice_guy80 wrote: »

tried to build an equivalent laptop to the lenovo one available from komplett but it came in dearer.

definitely the HD screen would interest me

How so? I f you're looking for an "equivalent to the Lenovo", it should be cheaper. The nearest equivalent would be the Gensis IV in the following configuration

Core i7 3610QM
GT 635M
8 GB RAM
750 GB HDD

It comes in at £632 or €784 and this includes a faster processor, better GPU and 3 yrs warranty. Sounds like the better deal to me (add £35 if you want the full HD display).

However, I was assuming, you're looking for something that will play games nice and smooth, then the GTX 660M is what you want (to remain within your budget). This card beats the GT 630M in the Lenovo by a country mile.

nice_guy80

Torqay wrote: »

How so? I f you're looking for an "equivalent to the Lenovo", it should be cheaper. The nearest equivalent would be the Gensis IV in the following configuration

Core i7 3610QM
GT 635M
8 GB RAM
750 GB HDD

It comes in at £632 or €784 and this includes a faster processor, better GPU and 3 yrs warranty. Sounds like the better deal to me (add £35 if you want the full HD display).

However, I was assuming, you're looking for something that will play games nice and smooth, then the GTX 660M is what you want (to remain within your budget). This card beats the GT 630M in the Lenovo by a country mile.

are you looking at the ex-VAT price?

Torqay

nice_guy80 wrote: »

are you looking at the ex-VAT price?

Nope, £632 incl VAT





Mind you, this is the Genesis IV, not the Optimus IV with the GTX 660M. You said your budget would allow for €1,000, hence I picked the Genesis with the better GPU. Besides the 2nd HDD bay, the Genesis also comes with 3 memory slots (in case you want to upgrade up to 24 GB).

nice_guy80

Its not the same graphics card.

Ok, I see where you are coming from

Torqay

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Its not the same graphics card.

Nope, with the Genesis IV, you choose between Intel HD 4000, GT 635M or GT 640M. I picked the GT 635M which is closest to the Lenovo at Komplett.

The GTX 660M comes at a price, also the Optimus IV has the full HD display as default, better sound system and 8 cells/80 WH battery, hence the £180 difference between the base models.

With a budget over 800 Euros, I'd say you get the better deal if you configure a laptop to your own specifications rather than buying off the rails.

nice_guy80

What do you think of this configuration then?
Cheers

Foxhole Norman

If you are looking at a pre built system for some gaming have a look at the Lenovo Y580. I got mine about 10 days ago and I absolutely love it. €949 delivered from Komplett.ie. Only took 4 days to arrive too, good spec on it with a Nvidia GTX660M, 8GB RAM, i5 3210M, 750 GB HDD, Full HD Screen, Backlit keys, JBL Speakers.

Runs all my games great, Starcraft 2 on Ultra, Guild Wars 2 on High/Ultra and Black Mesa on Very High. All with good FPS.

I think the Y580 was pulled from Komplett since I got mine though, they seem to have disappeared from the site even though there was over 25 in stock when I ordered mine. You can get a Y580 with less spec on Lenovo.ie for €1100.

I believe there's Y580's like mine for sale on Ebay at the moment though.

Torqay

nice_guy80 wrote: »

What do you think of this configuration then?
Cheers

For almost the same price (£790) you'll get the Optimus IV in the configuration I have posted further up, the better machine all round. Add a 2nd HDD later (if you really need more storage) but stay clear of this hybrid drive.

nice_guy80

There is a 2% surcharge for paying with a credit card!!

Plus a delivery charge

nice_guy80

order placed

and so the waiting begins

Media999

Similar spec in my vortex 3 but ive a 7970m and SSD Drive.

Get an SSD into the 1st Drive and put the 750gb in the 2nd drive asap id say( I think you have to remove the DVD drive). Mine boots and opens photoshop in 9 seconds. Its crazy.

Also the screen is really good. I guarantee you will never buy an off the shelf laptop again.