New Laptop suggestions/advice

happyoutscan

So my 5 yr old Dell Inspiron has finally passed away due to unresponsive keyboard issues. It fell down the stairs, was used non-stop, half battered with work and never gave me a problem ever (except for the usual battery issue) until now. Kind of delighted because I've been thinking about an upgrade for a while now. I have a budget of €1100 and my new machine must have a 17" screen, 6G of RAM (minimum) and good processing (at least 5i, 7i etc). I've looked at a couple online:

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/17_18_inch/80006633/lenovo_17_3_g780_m842ymh_i5_3210m_6gb_500gb/details.aspx

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n0017s31&model_id=inspiron-17r-se-7720&c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

I like the Inspiron (from experience) for its look and warranty etc. Is there much of a difference between these machines?

By the way, I'll be using it for a bit of gaming, browsing, streaming etc. I'd appreciate any and all advice/suggestions from any of you. Thanks again.

Torqay

komplett also have 17" Tosh with an Ivy Core i7 quad and a HD 7670M (comparable to GT 630M in the Lenovo) for €799, it's only 4 GB, but an 8 GB kit costs less than 50 Euro, if you want to upgrade yourself.

Neither of these GPUs are really gaming graphics and the GT 650M in the Dell XPS, although a good bit faster, is nothing to write home about either.

Edit: The only thing that can be said for the XPS is the Full HD display... but the price is ridiculous.

happyoutscan

Thanks for your reply! My knowledge of 'gaming specs' is quite limited so I appreciate your advice. Any advice on a more 'gaming' 17" inch laptop?

Captain Commie

My first suggestion to anyone looking to buy a Dell consumer laptop is DONT. I personally find the build quality of their consumer line to be terrible and have had to work on plenty of them to be able to speak from experience.

If you are prepared to spend the full amount of your budget, then Komplett have a Sony Vaio at 1,099 that seems to match your budget and more than covers your required spec.

Torqay

Just had a look at Schenker's new XMG A722, 17.3" display, Ivy Core i5, 8GB RAM, GTX 660M, UK keyboard, €841 sans the operating system.

Same build with an Ivy Core i7 quad costs €1.020 (again, no OS).

happyoutscan

I'm leaning towards the Sony Vaio although I'm going to sleep on it in case any more advice/suggestions come in. Thanks again for the input.

happyoutscan

About time I popped back (hope that ok with the mods), went for the Sony Vaio and delighted I did. Everything perfect, runs great, no problems whatsoever. Even dropped it and no problem. Thanks again.