Looking for laptop

slimergan

Hey,
I am looking for a pretty high spec laptop. I would be using it for programming, photoshop and dj apps like virtual dj and ableton. I would also like to play the occasional game aswel, nothing too intensive maybe football manager. I would be mainly looking at quad core i7, at least 6gb Ram, minimum 720p screen, dedicated graphics card minimum 1gb. My last hp dv6 overheated so I would like a laptop with good build quality and cools well.

Much Appreciated if someone could help

Sorry Budget would be about 900euro

machiavellianme

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/21_15/productdetails/80003357/Asus_15_6_N53SV_S1842V_i7_2670_8GB_750GB/90N1QA7B9H6G2AVL133Y/default.aspx

Asus have an excellent build quality. Its super quiet, runs cool, even on 24hour simulations and ticks all of your boxes. Have the N55SF-S1194v myself (same price before christmas but it has a blu-ray drive instead of dvd, otherwise is the same machine edit, I see the model I bought is no longer available on Komplett, but they have one with slightly less ram and smaller hd for 949). The sound is unreal on the N55SF as it comes with an external subwoofer and was designed by Bang and Olufsen (cant vouch for the N53 if it has the same).
Full hd screen (albeit matte instead of glossy, which is nice when coding).
The only pitfall is the keyboard. It is american layout (as standard with all asus) and has a full numeric keypad. This makes the keys slightly smaller than usual but you get used to it pretty quickly.

slimergan

Thanks for replying machiavellianme

I was actually looking at the n55sf here, I think its the same one as komplett
http://www.dabs.ie/category/computing,laptops-and-netbooks,laptops/11105?q=asus%20n55

Would you think for the extra 50euros to go for the n55sf or would the n53 suffice?The only difference on the american keyboard is the key size is it?

machiavellianme

No, the key size is a seperate issue. For the most part, you dont really notice it, its just the larger keys like return, shift etc are slightly smaller so touch typing becomes a little hit or miss as you adjust. TBH, it took only a few days of playing with it to get used to it, probably the same for any new keyboard.

The american keyboard is actually a different layout for symbols, i.e. the " above the 2 is swapped with the @ above the '. Theres only 1 or 2 swaps and you can easily map them back by selecting keyboard region as Ireland. Perhaps the model linked might have an "english" version keyboard instead of us since it is the model designated for sale here.
You can see the keyboard layout here...just hover over it for magnification.
http://www.asuslaptop.com/proddetail.php?prod=N55SF-S2213V
The one I bought was the international version. It really is a phenomenal machine for the price.

slimergan

ya I think I am going to go with one of these which would you think?The N55 or N53?

machiavellianme

If you can afford it, the N55 wins handsdown, it is the replacement for the N53.

slimergan

thanks I might splash out and hopefully it will last me a few years.
What is the story with warranty buying from them?

machiavellianme

2 year warranty on all asus machines. Theyre built like tanks so likely its all you'll ever need.