Laptop - spec i7 8gb usb 3.0 HD recommendations ?

gdon

Hi,

I have been reading this forum for the last number of weeks and I still cant decide what laptop to buy.

Preferred specs

8gbs ram
i7 processor
USB 3.0
HD resolution 1080p
price range 700-1000 euros
15 or 17inch
windows 64bit

I will use as a desktop replacement. I do a lot of work with corel draw, dont play games. Other than that I use laptop to watch movies, email and internet browsing. I have a 1tb USB portable hardrive so I dont need massive amount of space.

Heres what I have seen so far

Samsung RF711
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Samsung_RF711_1153738.html

ASUS N55SL
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_N55SL-S2019V_1175811.html

Asus N73SM-TZ035V
http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/17_18_inch/80003465/asus_17_3_n73sm_tz035v_i7_2670m_8gb_750gb/details.aspx

I have had a look at Dell but they are comming in over 1000 euros

All suggestions welcome and thanks

G

Torqay

The ASUS at komplett is the only one matching your requirements anyway. The Sammy and the ASUS at saveonlatops only have 1600x900 displays and the ASUS only 6 GB RAM but the GPU is a good bit faster.

Torqay

gdon wrote: »

I have had a look at Dell but they are comming in over 1000 euros

Not quite, the XPS 15 with a Core i7 and Full HD display costs €920, it only has 4 GB, but an after market upgrade should be cheaper than €140 (which is what Dell is asking for 8GB).

_AVALANCHE_

gdon wrote: »

Hi,

I have been reading this forum for the last number of weeks and I still cant decide what laptop to buy.

You've missed some good deals so.

Torqay wrote: »

Not quite, the XPS 15 with a Core i7 and Full HD display costs €920, it only has 4 GB, but an after market upgrade should be cheaper than €140 (which is what Dell is asking for 8GB).

Added and code SFV8B6?X4WH2CX used brings price to €953.

17inch with the WLED Anti Glare screen, better graphics but slower HDD is €971.

gdon

Thanks

Torqay and _AVALANCHE_ for the replies.

I am not absolutely stuck on either full HD (from what I have read here
one cant tell the difference on a 15inch as opposed to 17inch ?)

Also 8gbs of ram maybe overkill for my needs.

Which would you recommend more ram or faster process bear in mind
I would be using the laptop for coreldraw. Even on my workpc with CorelDraw
I find it laggy even with 4gbs of ram.

Both of you seem to be recommending Dell, although from what I read on the forms ASUS seems to be preferred ?.

Also the samsung laptop with the cashback seems quite decent value.

I had a look again at the DELL and I do like the look of the XPS 17 with i7-2670QM, GT 555M, 8gb ram, 1tb hadrive (only 5,400rpm), (1920x1080) HD, 9 cell battery.

_AVALANCHE_ do you think the slower hardrive is a big issue ?

thanks again

G

carbon nanotube

that gpu in the asus is no great shakes, can you not get a dell outlet one?

I got the alienware one for circa 1000gbp with the gtx 560m ddr5


yes 5200rpm spin speed would be an issue on a disk that size, the times to access would be rather large.


thats my take up, i always try to get 7200rpm ones, (or SSD...!)

gdon

carbon nanotube wrote: »

that gpu in the asus is no great shakes, can you not get a dell outlet one?

I got the alienware one for circa 1000gbp with the gtx 560m ddr5

I dont really have a problem with Dell accept in this forum their appears to be mixed reviews on them.

Do you have a link with the spec for the alienware laptop that you bought.
Also if I use dell outlet UK, I need to used deliverme.ie or some other forwarding company ?

I agree with you on the hardrive speed 5200 would probably be slow, but the SSD are very expensive atm. I am not even sure if an SSD hybrid is worth the money.

What do you guys think of this Asus compared to the Dell recommendations:

ASUS X93SM-YZ129V W7HP64

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/e90455276/asus-x93sm-yz129v.asp

I am aware its a german keyboard layout but this wouldnt be a major problem ?

Torqay

You said, size is not an issue, as you're using an external drive for the bulk of your data. Add a few quid and buy a soloid state disk and be done with worries about the speed of the hard disk.

60 GB for 80 Euros, 120 Gb for 130 Euros, either way a great addition.

gdon

Yes was thinking of that, however on the dell alienware site it costs
256GB Dell Mobility Solid State Drive [add € 350.01 and that brings the price to 1500 which is too much to spend.

Torqay

gdon wrote: »

Yes was thinking of that, however on the dell alienware site it costs
256GB Dell Mobility Solid State Drive [add € 350.01 and that brings the price to 1500 which is too much to spend.

I believe, the Dell Mobility Solid State Drive is a rebranded Corsair SSD, which comes nowhere near the current reference SSD, the Samsung 830 (MZ-7PC256). You'll find them cheaper elsewhere.

Only the Kingston SSDNow and OCZ Vertex 3 have higher transfer rates than the 830 Series but both are losing out on access times. Having said that, the differences are rather marginal in real world scenarios.

And if diskspace is not an issue, you'll find the 128 GB variant (MZ-7PC128) for 160 yoyos. This one also has a much better energy efficiency than the larger models.

Then buy a nice caddy for the original disk and you'll get a portable HDD as a bonus.

_AVALANCHE_

gdon wrote: »

I am not absolutely stuck on either full HD (from what I have read here
one cant tell the difference on a 15inch as opposed to 17inch ?)

+1, as long as both screens are the same type and the lower 1360x768 panel isin't a shit one (like Dells entry model) the vast majority of people won't notice a blind bit of difference.

That B+RG LED screen in the 15inch Dell above

WLED versus B+RG LED

• White LED (WLED) is the standard for most screens. It means that a white-colored light diode is providing the illumination for your screen. Blue, red and green LED (B+RG LED), on the other hand, means that there are three light diodes — one red, one blue and one green — providing the lighting for your screen. This provides a richer color experience.

gets well reviewed for its deeper blacks, color accuracy and better colour range though and for what you want it for is worth considering.

17 incher Anti Glare is preferred by most to.

Full HD on small screens makes stuff smaller. You fit more on screen....could benefit you, I don't know.

gdon wrote: »

Also 8gbs of ram maybe overkill for my needs.

Which would you recommend more ram or faster process bear in mind
I would be using the laptop for coreldraw. Even on my workpc with CorelDraw
I find it laggy even with 4gbs of ram.

Both equally important,
CPU processes/renders the image
RAM stores it as you go, no waiting once you've enough
GPU needed for bigger detailed drawings with effects

What CPU is in your work PC? Corel spec is far from resource hungry. Lightest of them I think.

gdon wrote: »

Both of you seem to be recommending Dell, although from what I read on the forms ASUS seems to be preferred ?.

Also the samsung laptop with the cashback seems quite decent value.

Meh, nothing wrong with Dell XPS.

gdon wrote: »

I had a look again at the DELL and I do like the look of the XPS 17 with i7-2670QM, GT 555M, 8gb ram, 1tb hadrive (only 5,400rpm), (1920x1080) HD, 9 cell battery.

_AVALANCHE_ do you think the slower hardrive is a big issue ?

....Toughie, first time I turned on a 7200 I noticed speed dif straight away....but if you've never had quicker and you partition the Operating System down to a 50-60GB partition to cut out needless long reads....no, no rule this out, unless Dell stick in a 7200 on request look for an alternative one.

Torqay

7k2 RPM drives consume significantly more power. Higher spin speed contributes to higher data transfer rates but does not necessarily yield a better performance. Access time is the more important factor... and that's where SSDs really shine (they're 100 times faster than HDDs, regardless their speed)