More Laptop Advice

ali123

I am in the market for a new laptop. Realistic Budget €800
Main uses (in order of priority):
Viewing and Editing photos
Watching DVDs
Limited Gaming

My main priorities (I think) are as fast a machine as possible (i7 processor), a good quality screen and sound system, 15 inch screen and reasonable battery life.

At the moment I am considering:
Lenovo z500
Dell inspiron R

In the back of my mind I'm thinking should I hold out for a macbook pro?

Sorry for the long post just wanted to try and cover everything, all opinions or suggestions welcome.

looking_around

why do you want a macbook? Hardware spec wise, you normally end up paying bout 200 quid more than windows equivalent.

Are you after an ultrabook (thinner) or is a standard laptop suitable for you?

Storage space. How much do you need?
There's SSD which is faster than a HDD (once you go SSD you don't go back XD ..) They are more expensive for less storage space though.
Mostly used for the OS, with the cd-reader replaced for a HDD for the extra space.

If battery life is important..you need to make sure you're going for I7-4XXX (intel haswell) They are amazing for life.

Light gaming? What kind of games?

Editing photo's? Would you like a gamut 95% screen or is an average matt screen suitable enough?. I have no experience with the gamuts, they're supposed to be clear colours etc.
Gamuts screens cost about 100/150 ontop of laptop price, but they might be worth it to you?

ali123

Hi

I was just thinking of a mac as I've heard that they are good for video and photo editing although I don't really know much about it and I might find that any other brand would suit my needs.
At the moment I don't do any editing as my current computer isn't really up to the task.

I don't really need an ultrabook as I would prefer an optical drive.

This is the Lenovo I was looking at:
http://shop.lenovo.com/ierewards/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/z-series/z500/
And Dell:
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15r-se-7520/pd

I would like an anti-glare/matt screen doesn't need to be anythin too flashy just good quality

looking_around

I never liked macs for editing...but admittedly, I chase down free programs to do what I need. And there's more for windows.

They do have one thing, is that the mac OS is 'less' bloated, but I don't think they're worth the extra 200
Check out this from pcspecialist.co.uk

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/genesisIV/
Options added; Cost €721 (includes postage)
*Genesis IV: 15.6" Matte HD LED 16:9 Widescreen (1366x768)
*Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
*8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
*750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) (slightly smaller, but faster than the dell option)
*Genuine Windows 8 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (€92)

Hows that?

Pcspecialists have great value..but can take about 3-4 weeks after ordering(however you can pay for fast track bout 25 ...and it should ship within the week.
I'm very happy with them!

ali123

Looks great thanks. How do you rate their graphics card Intel graphics 4000. To be honest I haven't played games in ages due to my basic laptop but I would like to capacity to play some good strategy and role play games, just not sure what yet.

looking_around

It's not bad. I picked a quad core for you so thats the 4400.

I'm not sure how the 4400 fairs as I have nvidia card with mine.
But, I did gaming with just the I3-3XXX with the 4000 and it was fine. Played Sims 3 with 5 expansion packs on high settings. For 'heavier' games it had to be medium settings. (Which were still pretty good). It's shaders were lacking but it was never a problem.

If you want, most other models on pcspecialists include dedicated graphic cards. Though you might have to drop down to an I7 dual core, to stay in budget.