Laptop conundrum, which of these 3 to pick?

Liveforrugby

So, title says it all I guess, I'm not very good so I'm guessing you smart computer blokes might make the final decision.

1. http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Samsung_RF711-S07UK_17.3_Inch__Core_i7_Entertainment_Laptop__NP-RF711-S08UK/version.asp

Pros - Does blue-ray apparently, 17.3 inch screen, I'm looking for "the bigger the better" also 8gm ram

Cons - only 2nd generation, graphics card is only "540m"

2. http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-17r-5720/pd?oc=n0017r38&model_id=inspiron-17r-5720

Pros - 17.3 inch, 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 630M, 3rd generation intel processor which I hear is faster but I'm not sure tbh

Cons - only 6gb ram as opposed to 8gb, no blu-ray so no hd movie renting

3.http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n0015r42&model_id=inspiron-15r-5520&c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

Pros - 8gb ram, 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M video card (btw is this better than the 630m Nvidia?), 3rd generation inter core proccesor

Cons, 15.3 inch screen, no blu-ray

If you guys could pick out the best of the 3 I would really appreciate it, they are all about the same price give or take 50.

this is the main dell page with summaries if you want to have a look

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/laptops?~ck=mn#!facets=111726~0~1780115,41105~0~3280673&p=1

Thanks!

Overheal

Liveforrugby wrote: »

3.http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n0015r42&model_id=inspiron-15r-5520&c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

Pros - 8gb ram, 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M video card (btw is this better than the 630m Nvidia?), 3rd generation inter core proccesor

Cons, 15.3 inch screen, no blu-ray

You havent said what you intend to regularly use the laptop for, otherwise this stands out as the best all around choice, performance-wise. The 7670M is better than the 630M, it ranks a 126 against the 630M's rank of 134 on notebookcheck. Paired with the i7 3rd gen and 8gb of ram the specs are good on paper.

However, the Inspiron body itself is ultimately a bulky plastic option with a strange rounded design and a cheap feeling keyboard and trackpad. At 15.6" though it's more 'convenient' as a laptop than your other 2 choices, which are more Mobile Desktop replacements. Everyone things a 17" screen is a great idea, until they try to travel with it, take it to class, or go sit in the living room with it. Of the other 2, I'd pick the Samsung for better build quality: its not going to feel as cheap, which counts for a lot. The 540M ranks a 140.

The other thing I don't like about dell is all the "free" stuff they tack on to the laptop. You're paying for it somewhere. And usually its a pretty cheap printer, or worse, McAfee. I love being at work and people tell me I have the cheapest laptops they've seen then they think it's absurd we don't preload all of them with office (a $100 license for Home and Student). Not everybody uses the software; why make everyone pay for it?

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

You havent said what you intend to regularly use the laptop for

I believe, the OP has said in another thread what he's looking for...

Liveforrugby wrote: »

Basically I'm looking for a laptop that's an absolute BEAST. HD amazing graphics card, ridiculously fast - all that jazz. Something that can handle even the heaviest games without breaking a sweat

That would be same thread by the way, where you told him about the sheer pointlessness of the Core i7 and suggested a Core i5 instead.

Overheal wrote: »

The 7670M is better than the 630M, it ranks a 126 against the 630M's rank of 134 on notebookcheck. Paired with the i7 3rd gen and 8gb of ram the specs are good on paper.

Care to elaborate, why a Core i7 Quad paired with a GTX 660M (GDDR5) is "sheer pointless", but "good on paper" if paired with a GT 630M or HD 7670 (both with DDR3 VRAM)?

IMO, both GPUs are sheer pointless as neither can run demanding games and for multimedia purposes Intel HD 4000 is more than sufficient.

mickoneill30

Overheal wrote: »

The other thing I don't like about dell is all the "free" stuff they tack on to the laptop. You're paying for it somewhere.

That free stuff subsidises the laptop. I think Mcafee / Norton / whoever pay to get it put on in the hope that a new user will pay for the app. I've seen laptops running like a dog straight out of the box because of all the rubbish the vendor has installed.

I normally get PCs handed to me to wipe when my mates get them. I got one last week and couldn't be assed so I ran this http://pcdecrapifier.com/
It did a great job. Five minutes with that and the PC just had Windows on it and was ready for the tools that I put on it that are actually useful for new users.

Jarren

OP

I believe that this is good compromise between multimedia/gaming

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Samsung_550P7C_1198887.html

Torqay

Jarren wrote: »

OP

I believe that this is good compromise between multimedia/gaming

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Samsung_550P7C_1198887.html

Yep, that is a pretty good machine (I believe you have posted it in another thread already), good reviews all round (the sound system seems to be class). The only "bottleneck" would be be the DDR3 graphics memory. Demanding games in high details at 1600x900 might suffer a bit here.

Overheal

I think newer games might suffer but current games should play just fine on that.

Again, I'm not the biggest nvidia fan and I hope theyve ironed out Optimus switching issues but otherwise thats a good find on the Samsung. The battery life though is woeful looking. 2.5 hours? (you see why I liked the A10? 9 ****ing hours. :pac:)

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

The battery life though is woeful looking. 2.5 hours? (you see why I liked the A10? 9 ****ing hours. :pac:)

The OP is primarily looking for a 17" laptop now. They don't spend much time on batteries, it's the nature of the beast.

Liveforrugby

thanks guys! You're a lot of help, I owe you one!