What laptop should I buy?

[Benfish]

Hi Guys,

I'm currently in the market for a new laptop. I have been searching the web for much of this week, but still haven't been able to find the right machine for me. Since I will likely be purchasing an SSD upgrade for the new laptop from Aria, I was hoping somebody here might be able to make a recommendation based on my requirements.

The laptop will be used for general word processing, web browsing, and gaming. Portability isn't much of an issue, but I would like to try and avoid something monstrously huge, ugly, noisy, or hot. I'm not keen on all of the fancy stuff manufacturers try to pack in, so something with a basic feature set (like a macbook) would do me just fine. As my budget will reflect, I am hoping the laptop will last at least two (preferably three) years - a warranty service similar to AppleCare would also be a big plus.

My requirements/search criteria are as follows:

CPU: i7-3610QM, I don't need anything more expensive.
GPU: GT650m minimum, the higher the better. I have a preference for ATI, though that isn't particularly important.
Memory: 8-16gb, 1333 or 1600 is fine.
HD: Doesn't really matter, although I'd like a SATA 600 port for a fast SSD.
Screen: 15.x"-17.x" is fine, must be 1080p. No preference for the glossy/matte stuff.

I realise that all of this is quite picky, but I would really appreciate any recommendations. My budget is about 1400 squid, though I am willing to increase that if the laptop has a decent SSD included.

Thanks guys!

[benzeman]

Personally, I tried to have a similar style setup, but failed miserably. I would suggest spending £350-400 on a netbook or 13" laptop, and then the other £1,000 on a desktop if possible - I think you'll get more bang for your money that way, especially in performance when gaming (on the desktop, you'll struggle to game on the netbook/laptop).

If you need the gaming side of your computer to be portable, feel free to ignore this post - I deal with low powered laptops mainly, so know next to nothing about today's gaming laptops.

[El Wayneo]

laptop in my sig isn't as good as the specs in the OP but i can play most games at medium at 1600 x 900, the GT650m is about 30% more powerful, so you would be alright.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.71887.0.html

[Traldera]

Personally, I tried to have a similar style setup, but failed miserably. I would suggest spending £350-400 on a netbook or 13" laptop, and then the other £1,000 on a desktop if possible - I think you'll get more bang for your money that way, especially in performance when gaming (on the desktop, you'll struggle to game on the netbook/laptop).

If you need the gaming side of your computer to be portable, feel free to ignore this post - I deal with low powered laptops mainly, so know next to nothing about today's gaming laptops.

+1 for this, given your so keen on a laptop that will cost near the £1000 mark at least i assume your a student or something similar and need to save on space. If thats the case consider a desktop based in the something like the Bitfenix Prodigy...not sure of the top of my head if Aria actually sell the smaller case builds as gaming oriented builds, shouldnt be too hard to look see.

From personal experience, you will be very disappointed shortly down the line with a gaming laptop, they are comparably overpriced to desktops, and have no scope for upgrades (they change the socket types on just about everything way too frequently). A cheap laptop for those portable moments with a slightly portable desktop that will allow for upgrades and repairs long term (laptops rarely have long warranties) will honestly give you more long term satisfaction.

I speak from experience - bought an expensive gaming laptop back when i was younger....regretted it a year later when the warranty was out and the GPU blew and there was no cheap way to repair it or upgrade it...not to mention 5+ Kg with the charger block was way too much to carry to and from places even a short walk away.

However - if you are set on a laptop of those specs....your best brands to look at are Asus and MSI...dont go alienware unless you've developed some disease that causes you to excrete cash... Both of those brands have dedicated gaming ranges....but as i said your looking at £1000 minimum, more likely closer to £1200

[Sarky]

I listened to the above advise being given when I was looking for a 'gaming laptop', got myself a cheap laptop from a Scrivz on here and built the mini ITX rig in my sig, both came to about £600.

Best to save your money if you're starting uni, you may find you don't game as much when you're there - thats assuming thats what you're doing.

[El Wayneo]

Traldera is wrong on a few things there.

sandy and ivy are the same socket any mid range 5 series laptop is compat with mid high 6 series.

example, i can put an ivy cpu in mine and have a choice of changing my gpu from gt555m to 560/570 or 650/670.

was true of ages ago but laptops have come on loads.

true you can get much better desktops but then you cant use it on a train or on your lap and you would need to carry the case and screen around.

you can get the laptop you mentioned for about 800.

[Traldera]

Traldera is wrong on a few things there.

sandy and ivy are the same socket any mid range 5 series laptop is compat with mid high 6 series.

example, i can put an ivy cpu in mine and have a choice of changing my gpu from gt555m to 560/570 or 650/670.

was true of ages ago but laptops have come on loads.

true you can get much better desktops but then you cant use it on a train or on your lap and you would need to carry the case and screen around.

you can get the laptop you mentioned for about 800.

Wasnt' aware they had stopped the outragous rate of change I admit on upgrading them....but the point about getting a cheap laptop and then a high performance ITX PC still stands