Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
I have been looking for a laptop for about a month now and have just been biding my time. I am currently in the middle of January exams and so I decided to get the laptop immediately after them, so that I could concentrate on revision.
I was pretty much set on the NC8430 from laptopsdirect.com but they appear to have just sold out :( . If anyone knows of any other places selling the same NC8430 I would really like to know. However, if thats the last of those, then here is my ideal specifications:
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
£700 maximum (GBP)
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
15"-17"....15.4" would be ideal.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Work, games and general stuff.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
I will be taking it places but portability is not a huge must.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
I do like games but I am not bothered about being to play the latest ones. I will be playing CS:S, World Champinship Rugby, Farcry....and quite a few others.
I realise that very simple graphic cards can handle these games but I would like to have something like a x1600/7600 ideally.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I've looked at Zoostorm and decided that I wouldn't want to take the risk. Other than that, I would be happy with any relatively well-known brands.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
2 hours at the least.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No, I don't mind.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
England
10) Screen Specifics
Im not fussy about the screen. 15"-17"
11) Build Quality and Design
I wouldn't like anything really flimsy as I would be scared to touch it. However, I'm not looking for anything bomb-proof either.
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not really.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Buying now; would like it to last for the next 5 years at least.
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
THe size of the hard-drive doesn't need to be huge. 60GB would do fine.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I would like to have a DVDRW+.
Thanks in advance, I really appreciate these sorts of websites :D
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
I don't think any 700 pound laptop can last 5 years and stay "relevant" or mainstream in my opinion...
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
I agree with the above poster. £700 is a budget laptop price and if you want anything to last 3+ years we are talking at least £900 - 1000.
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
I was too interested in the NC8430, I have found a similar laptop at just above the cost of the HP
Toshiba Satellite Pro A100
Now this laptop looks similar in stats:
- Better Processor (Core 2 Duo over standard Core Duo)
- Lower RAM (512mb compaired to 1024) easy to upgrade
- Smaller H/D (80gb compaired to 100gb) again easy to upgrade
- Better OS (XP Premimum compaired to XP Home) great for free vista instead of half price
- Better Graphics card? (X1600 supporting 512MB HyperMemory compaired X1600 256MB dedicated graphics) Not sure is this is better or not!!
- Both have wireless, bluetooth, widescreen 15.4" and DVD DL
My big question is about the graphics card, what is Hyper Memory? Is this shared with the RAM? Does the graphics card not have dedicated memory?
Any help?
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
Hyper memory is shared memory. The 512 X1600 will 'steal' up to 256 MB of system memory as needed. You can look at the GPU guide for more information. The graphics card does indeed have it's own dedicated RAM.
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
That's certainly a good deal, although it will require a ram upgrade to 1Gb to game well.
Hypermemory allows the graphics card to take ram from the main system ram as an integrated 'shared' card would and use it as well as it's dedicated ram. It will have some dedicated ram but I honestly don't know how much. The X1600 can't use much more than 256mb of ram anyway so the extra 256 (up to 512mb hypermemory) is not really of much use.
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
Hyper memory is shared memory. The 512 X1600 will 'steal' up to 256 MB of system memory as needed. You can look at the GPU guide for more information. The graphics card does indeed have it's own dedicated RAM. Thanks, interesting read this ones book maked!
Think I might try this laptop!
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
Ok thanks for all the replies. I might just stick it out a bit longer and wait until my balance can afford something in the £900 region.
That Toshiba A100 does look very nice but I think the x1600 on the HP would outperform the x1600 on the Toshiba. This is mainly because the HP has 256mb dedicated whereas the Toshiba only has 128mb dedicated.
Thanks anyway, I'll keep looking on this site reguarly.
Answer:
Re: Desperately need laptop for uni (student/gamer)
The aforementioned A100 is pretty much game worth and will compete with any other high speed system with a RAM upgrade for ~£50. The x1600 is pretty much the best consumer line GPU. The x1700 and go7700 are better but have just come out. The x1600 is probably your best bet and for the price I have to say i stand corrected to my previous post. Thats a pretty good gaming rig (with RAM upgrade ofcourse ;) ) for the price.