Buying Advice

[fluffyuk]

I am thinking of buying a new laptop which will hopefully be a DELL Studio XPS 16. Standars spec shown below:

Software & Services
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP

4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)

500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 3670 - 512MB

6-cell Battery

So my questions are:
I was thinking about upgrading the graphics to the (ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 4670 – 1GB) but didnt know if it was a good graphics card which was worth the extra $100

Are there any other upgrades which you can suggest would be benefitial to my sysem.

Are there any other laptops around the same price ($1049) that would match or beat the system.

I heard you should also buy the advanced warrenty so after two years you can drop it and get a new one?

I was thinking about buying the system for day to day use,gaming also something that would last for a couple of years in trodays climate.

Thanks in advance for all your help and support.
Josh Higginson

 

[Maziar]

Fill the FAQ first:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop

 

[fluffyuk]

1_Budget absolute max $1300

2_Any size but perferably 15.6"

3_Full HD screen If poss

4_Half and Half portability

5_Battery around 3/4 Hours

6_Games Include new releases such as Assassins Creed 2, Modern Warefare. At least Medium.

7_Gaming, some photo editing. Web browsing.

8_320GB ideally 500gb

9_Dell.

10_Forever or until I get boared usually 3-5 years


11_At Least DVD

12_Prefer Dell.

13_US and UK

 

[supa_mario25]

The 4670 is a much better card and lower power for performance, up to you if its worth the $100

 

[Maziar]

XPS 16 has overheating problems unfortunately,you may want to look at HP ENVY 15

 

[fluffyuk]

Thanks for your replys guys I was also guided to this lenovo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146613

could you guys please tell me if I should go with the lenovo or this revised Dell XPS bellow:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dydwfn3&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-studio-xps-16

 

[Maziar]

As i said XPS 16 has overheating problems,did you check HP Envy 15 ?
BTW that lenovo is good but there are better options

 

[fluffyuk]

I think the HP Envy 15 although nice is a little out of my price range. As for the overheating prblems I heard about it heating up also but could this be rectified by placing it on alaptop stand with a fan ? I never put laptops on my 'lap' anyway.

Have you any other suggestions, I have actually changed my budget to 900-1100.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[fgocards]

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-n61jqa1-order-p-2734.html

I recommend that laptop mainly for the GPU. This is in your budget and it's made by Asus which is arguably the best maker of laptops in the world. (My opinion)

Asus laptops really do have amazing quality of build, and great tech support. This Asus laptop starts at $1065 without the cash discount from Xotic. It ships for free.

The GPU inside is a 5730. That's better that a 4670 on a XPS and better than that 240m on the levno.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/graphics/ati-mobility-hd-5700/Pages/hd-5730-specs.aspx

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gt_240m_us.html

There you can compare the two GPUs. The stream processors are quite different but mainly just divide that 400 by 5 and you get the number of Nvidia. (Or close to it) It comes to 80, and the 240m only has 48. This a a great laptop if you're looking for bang for buck as it includes a 500gb 7200rpm HDD, and 4 gigs of DDR3. It will be available late January.

 

[deadlockedworld]

The HP envy is on sale several hundred dollars off.
http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/hp-envy-15-core-i7-laptop/14729.aspx

All makers are currently transitioning from core 2 duos to i5s and i7s-- I would look for the newer processors. The new dell studio line is out. I would consider them.
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/193628

If you are going cheaper I think the Lenovo listed above is a great purchase.

 

[fluffyuk]

Great advice everyone ! so to summerise which is best the:
Lenvo (I doubt I will buy it, it looks ugly)
HP
Asus
Dell XPS (New Spec posted below with core i7)

1 Intel CoreTM i7-620M processor (2C/4T, 2.66-3.33 GHz, 4M L3)
1 4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz 2 Dimm
1 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD, W/2.0 MP, XPS 1645
1 Facial Recognition
1 ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 1GB
1 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive

All around the same price:
Lenovo $999
HP $1174 (I think sorry if not accurate)
Asus $1032
Dell $1017

 

[deadlockedworld]

Yea .. I tried to convince my girlfreind to get a Lenovo when they were on sale last too... she refused because it was too ugly... haha

I think the dell you posted is a pretty good deal, and good looking too. It probably wont have quite the gaming capacity that you could get in an Asus model, but it does look a lot nicer. Now you just have to decide which color to get...

 

[fluffyuk]

Lmao haha doesnt say alot for my manliness if me and your girlfriend agree on unglness of laptops lol
Ye the Dell rep really helped me out to get me a good deal, and they do look amazing ! will I see a huge improvement in performance from the Asus's GPU ?

And regards colour I always go black because they never look as good as they do on the site (colour wise).

Thanks again

 

[deadlockedworld]

I dont really know how to quantify the difference between them... Tom's doesnt benchmark laptops... The 4670m is more than is in most laptops, but it isnt something that a intense gamer would buy.

If the dell is cheaper I think its a good deal, but if they are the same price the Asus probably is--because fgocards is right about Asus quality. If you get a warranty deal it probably wont matter though.

 

[fluffyuk]

Ahh thanks for your research and the Graph, I wont be able to take advantage of the warrenty as I will be relocating to the UK for a couple of years and the warrenty doesnt cover International unless I pay an extra $175which I dont really want to do.

As for intense gaming, I do like to game but not crazy, however I would like it to be as future proof as possible and run new games.

 

[fgocards]

Not to mention Asus comes with a 2 year full warranty with 2-way pre paid air shipping. And comes with a one year accidental warranty in the (unlikely) case that you need help.. Please note that Dell's support has gone down very much in the past year, but Asus's remain high.

I don't recommend Dell, Acer (and all branch brands like Gateway, eMachines), and HP to many people except when they're buying in a multitude for school or business. Dell doesn't specialize in personal computers.

 

[fluffyuk]

Oh wow so I would have no problem if it broke while I was in the UK and it broke they would pick it up and send it back to me Thats an added bonus!

The only reason I was moving towards the Dell is I have had them before and have been happy. Its always difficult changing to something your not use to.

I know xotic do student dicount but would they do it with the Asus you suggested to make it even cheaper

 

[fgocards]

Oh wow so I would have no problem if it broke while I was in the UK and it broke they would pick it up and send it back to me Thats an added bonus!

The only reason I was moving towards the Dell is I have had them before and have been happy. Its always difficult changing to something your not use to.

I know xotic do student dicount but would they do it with the Asus you suggested to make it even cheaper

Most likely. You can live chat with them for questions like that. Also theres a 3% cash discount for ordering by check, so that's even more.

 

[fluffyuk]

Ye I tried to find live chat but could see it so I sent them an email. And by ordering by check you mean a bankers check ? that odd how th give dicount for that.

 

[fgocards]

Ye I tried to find live chat but could see it so I sent them an email. And by ordering by check you mean a bankers check ? that odd how th give dicount for that.

Yes pay-pal e-check, check, or money order. They can do this because credit card retailers charge them 2 or 3%. So if you pay by check or money order they don't get charged, so they can pass the savings to you.

 

[fluffyuk]

Nice everyone likes a good deal ! I dont know how you guys do it but thanks so much for all your help!

As there are no reviews on the Asus yet I think im going to hold out until it come out unless anyone can tell me (speculating) how more inpressive the GPU will be as there are no stats so I dont know if it will be a decent card.