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Toonshorty
07-01-11, 23:22
Well, I'm going to need a laptop sooner or later but just can't bear the thought of going back to long boot times, slow responsiveness and the utterly shoddy performance of a mechanical drive but I just can't afford a 250GB+ SSD.

So, I need a laptop that's reasonably priced, performs well and has TWO slots for 'storage devices' - this is so that I can run a standard 320 or 500GB HDD alongside a 40/60GB SSD boot drive.

I've not got the money now so it'll be a Sandy Bridge laptop I'll get but I presume they'll take the old models - chuck in the new CPUs and be done with it keeping the old features.

So, what can I get for what monies?

I'd like to spend £600-700 but can stretch to £900 if required.
Nathan94
07-01-11, 23:46
Get a Mac or Alirenware :P I know some Alienware laptops can have 2 drives, SLI and what not... :D
Toonshorty
08-01-11, 00:24
Get a Mac or Alirenware :P I know some Alienware laptops can have 2 drives, SLI and what not... :D

A mac? You've got to be kidding me. I despise my iMac.

I'd rather get something that isn't overpriced.
Mr Moose
08-01-11, 00:39
A mac? You've got to be kidding me. I despise my iMac.

I'd rather get something that isn't overpriced.

I know I'll get (fill in word for poo here) load of abuse for saying this on here, but I love macs. I like the OS, and like using my macbook, but LOVE PC's for building and gaming.

Anyway is battery life a must? do you need a given amount of hours? What do you need from the laptop?

I would wait for sandy bridge laptops to come out first though before you get one though, as I know you will do :).
midnightray
08-01-11, 18:07
Hmm finding a laptop with 2 hdd slots is hard, I went for a 17" Samsung RF710 in the end, at about £1100 its over your budget. I too started with around £800 but ended up spending more to get a second slot for my 128gb Crucial SSD :p

As you said in your post your looking at sandy bridge so I guess you should wait, although brand new tech does come at a premium so that might stretch the budget plus the requirement for 2 slots.

Although something to research would be swapping the optical drive out for another hard drive, seen it done on other laptops before. Might be a DIY job though.
El Wayneo
08-01-11, 18:12
Try a budget sony vaio they normally come with two slots.

Although pointless thread tbh.
AaronWHUFC
08-01-11, 18:21
Wait, you want us to spec you a laptop that you don't have the money for and/or hasn't been released yet? ;)

For £900, a MacBook is what i'd get. Uber long battery with sustained performance. Stick in a Hybrid HDD from Seagate, storage of a HDD with similair/slightly less speeds of a SSD.
El Wayneo
08-01-11, 18:22
Theres supposed to be some new Macs being done as well.

AMD ones.
clemos
09-01-11, 21:39
What are you going to need a laptop for?
Toonshorty
09-01-11, 21:53
What are you going to need a laptop for?

Well, for school work.

Have you tried running two instances of Internet Explorer on our school computers? It just locks them up - they've got about 128MB of RAM in them...
clemos
09-01-11, 22:01
So £700 on a laptop for school work? I really don't think you need to spend that much, something like this (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Laptops/Laptop/MSI+CR620+Intel+Core+i3+15.6%22+HD+Classic+Series+ Notebook+?productId=41726) would be fine.
Toonshorty
09-01-11, 22:08
So £700 on a laptop for school work? I really don't think you need to spend that much, something like this (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Laptops/Laptop/MSI+CR620+Intel+Core+i3+15.6%22+HD+Classic+Series+ Notebook+?productId=41726) would be fine.

I want something that'll take a HDD + SSD.

The £700 is just a max budget.
clemos
09-01-11, 22:30
What sort of work are you going to be saving? Couldn't you buy a laptop, sell the HDD and buy an SSD?
Toonshorty
09-01-11, 22:38
What sort of work are you going to be saving? Couldn't you buy a laptop, sell the HDD and buy an SSD?

Also, it's not just school work - but a more portable companion to my desktop.

I suppose I don't really need an SSD but I've got used to having one in my desktop :|
Will
11-01-11, 16:15
Just do what I did, bought a 60GB Mushkin SSD and put it in the laptop. Then take the hdd and put it in a sexy enclosure..

LIKE THIS ONE :D

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Drive+Enclosures/External+%28For+SATA+Drive%29/Icy+Box+2.5%E2%80%9D+SATA+HDD+case+with+USB+2.0+in terface+and+Smart+AP+software.+?productId=37258

When I bought this one it said it was black, then they sent me a white one, and have now changed the colour to white..
Toonshorty
08-05-11, 21:39
I'll bump this since there's no point starting a new thread.

I'll be starting sixth form in the autumn and so I'm going to need a laptop that'll be able to handle Photoshop.

What do you guys reckon?

I'm looking at no more than £500 now.
Sarky
08-05-11, 22:15
I'll bump this since there's no point starting a new thread.

I'll be starting sixth form in the autumn and so I'm going to need a laptop that'll be able to handle Photoshop.

What do you guys reckon?

I'm looking at no more than £500 now.
Are you sure you want a laptop for sixth form? I got a netbook when I started, never used it. Just used my PC and the PC's at school.
Toonshorty
08-05-11, 23:51
Are you sure you want a laptop for sixth form? I got a netbook when I started, never used it. Just used my PC and the PC's at school.

Our school's computers are dire.

Some are celerons with 256MB RAM.

School uses Serif instead of Photoshop, I hate serif.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Sarky
09-05-11, 09:07
Ah makes sense then. We're *quite* lucky, but we have all in ones with Intel Mobile T4300's or something in them with 2gb ram. Most are sluggish as the school decided to install Vista on them all when Windows 7 was out.

Have a look for the Lenovo B570 1068. i5 and 4GB ram should be sufficient, under £470 if you look around too :)