Humming and haughing over new laptop

TheDoc

Howdy,

After some recent business trips I've come to dislike my Dell laptop. It was bought for college about 6 years ago but at that stage portability wasn't as it is today. It is a 17" monster and I'm struggling to deal with it while going onsite. Its just too big.

So I'm kinda humming and haughing about changing.


Budget: Well I'm not paying Apple money, and its solely for travelling but I can see it getting use at home aswell. I want something decent, I'd probably stretch to €500 considering the use.

Intended use: Predominantly business. This means spreadsheets, presentations, word docs, email, internet browsing, being able to have light entertainment like watching movies when I'm on the travel. I'm kinda forgetting about games, I have a nice gaming rig at home.

Mobility: 17" was just too big. I dont want anything to small either, small keyboards and screens annoy me. I'd say 15" would be decent enough. The main thing is it just not being a nuisance and big.

Warranty: The normal warranties are fine, my Dell is over 6 years old and never had a hitch

What Operating System do you use? I've ruled out MAC because I'm not paying that money for what can be gotten for half the price in a Windows format. I usually always carry a linux distro on my laptop, so I guess we are looking windows. I have a copy so a laptop coming preloaded with it is no biggy.


In terms of brands, I would like to go with who has a decent rep. I had a nosey around Currys and Harvery Norman over the weekend and tbh I found the specs underwhelming for the money being asked. I'm probably in the situation that I have such a powerful PC I'm finding it hard to part with cash for what look to be pretty poorly spec'd machines.

I've seen Lenovo mentioned on a few threads, and was under the impression they were a poor brand? Granted my Dell has never giving me any issues, I know the horror stories, aswell as HP.

Asus and Acer seems to get top marks from anyone I speak too.

I've no problem buying online, but if the same thing is available locally for roughly the same price, I'll shop local.

Thanks in advance!

TheDoc

This actually looks kinda decent

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_G570_Windows_7_Laptop__M517AUK/version.asp

I'd like something with a bit of upgrade ability too. So for example being able to pop in a SSD, as the prices are coming down nicely.

And a refurb going for €500

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/GRADE_A1_-_As_New_-_Lenovo_G570_2nd_Gen_Core_i5_Laptop_in_Black_77057503-1-M517AUK/version.asp

Harvery Norman have it for alot more expensive then online

http://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/computers/laptops/lenovo-laptop-g570.html

Wonder if they would be open for a price match, if anything I can get down to see it in the flesh.

was £50 cheaper last week but still a great portable and decently powerful laptop. 13.3 is the perfect balance of usability and portability.

Lenovo

TheDoc

I popped in an i5 and went to 4Gb of RAM and it goes to £489.84(€607.824)

Are the ones I linked not a little more beef for €100 less?

TheDoc

TheDoc wrote: »

I popped in an i5 and went to 4Gb of RAM and it goes to £489.84(€607.824)

Are the ones I linked not a little more beef for €100 less?

they are but they are also a lot less portable (bigger and heavier). you pay for portability. more than enough power in an i3 sandy bridge + 4 gb ram for business use and watching movies so no need to spec up. you won't need the i5 really if you're not gaming.

Jarren

If you are after portability

http://www.amazon.de/Acer-Aspire-V5-471G-32364G32Mauu-Notebook-i3-2367M/dp/B00857VZIG/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1339502755&sr=1-5


If not

http://www.amazon.de/Toshiba-Satellite-C660-2QH-Notebook-520M-1GB/dp/B006TW7R8G/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1339502877&sr=1-1

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90458035/lenovo-b570-m58grge.asp

Jarren

Jarren wrote: »

If you are after portability

http://www.amazon.de/Acer-Aspire-V5-471G-32364G32Mauu-Notebook-i3-2367M/dp/B00857VZIG/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1339502755&sr=1-5

Acer has a weedy i3 compared to the lenovo - 1.4ghz vs 2.3ghz. Personally have bad experience of Acer - not up to the quality of Lenovo. Probably would be fine but more likely to have an issue.

TheDoc

So I've got some travel next week and over the summer and want to make the plunge and get it over with.

Capping my budget at €500, but looking realisticly shouldnt need more then €470.

Lenovo G570 and G575 seem to be leading my way. Ideally would like a bricks n mortar to buy, but can go online.

I looked at Currys and they have about 5 variants, some with specs some without, bit overpriced on the i3 range of processors.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007IZU8T8/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=computers&psc=1

The above on Amazon looks kinda what I'm after. I think at a minimum.

4GB of ram
500GB storage
And an intel i3 min ( although could go AMD)

I'm used to more powerful spec'd desktops so all this seems really puny to me, but I want to get bang for my buck, its purely for work so dont want to spent a **** tone. But with plenty of multiasking I wouldnt mind going to 6Gb.

Any other recommendations or suggestions, could well be overlooking someone/something

TheDoc

Actually, this looks even better

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_G575_Windows_7_Laptop_in_Black_M523WUK/version.asp#maindesc

AMD processor, but 6GB ram, 750GB HD and an actual graphics card

ED E

1.65 dual? Really? My 5yo dell is a 2Ghz Dual. You'd be mad to buy that low spec.

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

1.65 dual? Really? My 5yo dell is a 2Ghz Dual. You'd be mad to buy that low spec.

lol didnt even see that, I've a current inspiron that has better haha

Got laptops sub €700 are so ****

ED E

IMO a good smartphone + a Lapdock is where its at nowadys or a netbook.

If you want power for the move only Ultrabooks are really worth it, but thats 1200+ for something worth having.

TheDoc

Dont lapdocks require your phone to power essentially?

I thought they were epic fail and only worked with motorola phones

ED E

TheDoc wrote: »

Dont lapdocks require your phone to power essentially?

I thought they were epic fail and only worked with motorola phones

Nope, A little mod makes them work with pretty much any phone, and like Anroid is up to 1GB and 1.5Ghz Duals and Quads. Perfect for most mobile work.

TheDoc

ED E wrote: »

Nope, A little mod makes them work with pretty much any phone, and like Anroid is up to 1GB and 1.5Ghz Duals and Quads. Perfect for most mobile work.

interesting

TheDoc

pcspecialist.co.uk

Do custom laptops and have some decent machines

Chassis & Display
Mirage: 13.3" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)

Processor (CPU)
AMD® Zacate™ E-350 Dual-Core Processor (1.6GHz) 1MB L2 Cache

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)

Graphics Card
AMD® Mobility Radeon™ HD 6310 - DirectX® 11, Shared Memory Architecture

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)

Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
ENIGMA GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0

USB Options
3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
Mirage Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (2,200 mAH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor

Again thought its probably a low spec'd CPU : /

Jarren

What was the price on that ^^ ?

Hijpo

an anti glare screen would help stop reflections on the screen if your outside with it or sitting near a window.

just a thought.....

TheDoc

Jarren wrote: »

What was the price on that ^^ ?

£310

Jarren

How about this one ?

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90449487/fujitsu-lifebook-sh531-i5-2430m-w7hp64.asp

TheDoc

Jarren wrote: »

How about this one ?

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90449487/fujitsu-lifebook-sh531-i5-2430m-w7hp64.asp

The only one I've seen with an i5 under €500,

To be honest the more I'm looking the more I'm going off the idea and thinking I'll just keep using my current Dell.

Cant justify splashing out that money for poorly speced machines, its the unfortunate side affect of casual users craving for portability and sacrificing performance

TPD

If any of your travels involve America, you'd be better off waiting and getting a laptop over there IMO. Around this time last year I got an i5, 6gb ram, 7200rpm 750gb hdd, gt540m gpu, 15" asus laptop for $750, which I think at the time was €550ish.

TheDoc

Unfortunately no America trips on the horizon