Advice between two laptops for my brother

Occono

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-7537/pd.aspx?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn The one on the right.

http://www.komplett.ie/komplett/product/zkb-02pc/80011399/acer-aspire-v3-772g-747a8g50makk/details.aspx#tabpanel

Same price. Dell has weaker processor, but the 750m has DDR5 RAM. Acer has a much better processor but video card has DDR3 RAM.

Dell is also 15 inch instead of 17 and has a touch screen, but they're not a big deal for him.

He really wants to play Battlefield 4.

Torqay

I'd rather buy the Optimus V, €988 in the following configuration (faster processor and GPU):

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

I'd rather buy the Optimus V, €988 in the following configuration (faster processor and GPU):

I think €900 is his limit.

I'll take a look around that configurator and that site though. (I have tried sites like that before when I wanted one but they always ended up more expensive than prebuilt......)

Wow, that site has changed. I couldn't get it it affordable for me a year ago, now it is. Damn, they're much better options there than the Dell I got now.

Torqay

Occono wrote: »

I think €900 is his limit.

I'll take a look around that configurator and that site though. (I have tried sites like that before when I wanted one but they always ended up more expensive than prebuilt......)

I see the Dell costs €960, mucho overpriced given that cr@ppy processor. I said it before, whoever made the decision at Dell to have regular laptops specced only with ULV processors better have their head examined. Another thing I don't like with the new Inspirons, the battery is not user-accessible, i.e. it cannot be easily removed if one is using the laptop on mains for a prolonged period.

As for PC Specialist, you get what you pay for. If you already have an operating system, save the "Windows Tax" (€95). The Optimus V is maintenance/upgrade-friendly and it's got a 2nd HDD bay, if you want to add as solid state drive later. And if you want to play games in full HD resolution, you'll get a lot more from a GTX 765M than from a GT 750M (DDR3 or DDR5).

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

I see the Dell costs €960, mucho overpriced given that cr@ppy processor. I said it before, whoever made the decision at Dell to have regular laptops specced only with ULV processors better have their head examined. Another thing I don't like with the new Inspirons, the battery is not user-accessible, i.e. it cannot be easily removed if one is using the laptop on mains for a prolonged period.

As for PC Specialist, you get what you pay for. If you already have an operating system, save the "Windows Tax" (€95). The Optimus V is maintenance/upgrade-friendly and it's got a 2nd HDD bay, if you want to add as solid state drive later. And if you want to play games in full HD resolution, you'll get a lot more from a GTX 765M than from a GT 750M (DDR3 or DDR5).

There's a 7% off coupon on the Dell, forgot to mention that, so it comes to a little under €900.

I'll look through that PC Specialist site. When I tried it last year, it was a lot more expensive. Ended up getting a Dell with i5-3210m and Radeon 7670m for €550. That site has a lot better options now. (It always ended up more expensive than the Dell. My Dell has driver issues they're not doing anything to fix soon, I'm trying to convince him against it.....)

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

I see the Dell costs €960, mucho overpriced given that cr@ppy processor. I said it before, whoever made the decision at Dell to have regular laptops specced only with ULV processors better have their head examined. Another thing I don't like with the new Inspirons, the battery is not user-accessible, i.e. it cannot be easily removed if one is using the laptop on mains for a prolonged period.

As for PC Specialist, you get what you pay for. If you already have an operating system, save the "Windows Tax" (€95). The Optimus V is maintenance/upgrade-friendly and it's got a 2nd HDD bay, if you want to add as solid state drive later. And if you want to play games in full HD resolution, you'll get a lot more from a GTX 765M than from a GT 750M (DDR3 or DDR5).

Yeah I think he's getting this now. I'd forgotten this site because it was more expensive when I tried, but I only had a €600 budget (well, that I wanted to spend.)

Thanks.

Torqay

Well, they don't really do budget laptops but if you want to spend €800 or more then they are a viable alternative and certainly a better deal than Dell who don't make any gaming laptops (for that they have Alienware in their portfolio).

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

Well, they don't really do budget laptops but if you want to spend €800 or more then they are a viable alternative and certainly a better deal than Dell who don't make any gaming laptops (for that they have Alienware in their portfolio).

They have video cards. I was happy with the performance I got (with the 7670m) for the money, I really needed a laptop and felt uncomfortable spending as much as my brother is.

But Dell has driver issues..................

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

As for PC Specialist, you get what you pay for. If you already have an operating system, save the "Windows Tax" (€95). (DDR3 or DDR5).

I only have preinstalled windows on laptops, I assume that's not what you mean?

Torqay

Occono wrote: »

I only have preinstalled windows on laptops, I assume that's not what you mean?

No. It means if you have a retail copy of Windows... or prefer Linux over Windows.

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

No. It means if you have a retail copy of Windows... or prefer Linux over Windows.

He wouldn't be using Linux if he cares about gaming :P

Torqay

I believe, Steam is making progress on Linux, things are not that bleak anymore.

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

I believe, Steam is making progress on Linux, things are not that bleak anymore.

...Um, yeah, but out of my library for example:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/occono/games?tab=all

About, what, 5% are playable if that?

Seems strange to be concerned about the video card when you can't play 99% of games in the first place..........

Occono

Oh

http://pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusV-13/

Can a 13 inch be reliable? (It's more expensive but I'm seeing if he wants to wait until he can spend a little more.)

Torqay

A regular Core i5 4200M is a lot faster than that Core i7 4500U in the Dell and certainly good enough for gaming. The GPU is more important here.

In terms of reliability, I doubt there is any difference between the Optimus V 13", 15" or 17".

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

A regular Core i5 4200M is a lot faster than that Core i7 4500U in the Dell and certainly good enough for gaming. The GPU is more important here.

In terms of reliability, I doubt there is any difference between the Optimus V 13", 15" or 17".

He wants the Quad Core if it's not that much more. It's in the 13 inch too.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3465294/pc-specialist-optimus-v-review/ 17 inch version review.

Well if he's definitely going to buy it, I guess I'll lend him some more for the 13 inch.

He's been bugging me every five minutes with help buying it so he'll have to put up with my seething envy. He doesn't even commute like I do, he only lives at home, he just insists he wants a laptop.

Boy I hope he's more conservative with spending when he's older.

Torqay

Also consider a solid state drive, or at least one of the hyprids. SSD really makes all the difference in terms of boot time and responsiveness.

Occono

Torqay wrote: »

Also consider a solid state drive, or at least one of the hyprids. SSD really makes all the difference in terms of boot time and responsiveness.

He actually wants Windows 8 (I tried to convince out of it, but it shouldn't be a problem unless he's dealing with Dell and their proprietary drivers really) and it boots fast enough by itself. But besides, he's already at the limit, SSDs are still a good chunk more. Thanks for the advice though.

Oh I found a big discount here
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews/

looking_around

also on PC specialist 15 pound coupon off One of them will work .

I've used the coupons twice =^_^=.

Occono

looking_around wrote: »

also on PC specialist 15 pound coupon off One of them will work .

I've used the coupons twice =^_^=.

They all say expired?

looking_around

thats unlucky..I know a couple of them were expired when I tried them, but one worked twice..

Occono

looking_around wrote: »

thats unlucky..I know a couple of them were expired when I tried them, but one worked twice..

Looking at the comments I found one listed as expired but still works. Thanks!