Laptop help

[lee1287]

Okay, i think the forum just ate my thread... Or was it removed? Do they send you a message if it's removed? So i'm going to post it again.

I'm looking for a laptop, for around a £1000 pounds and less, that can comfatably PLay Steam games, Do general web surfing, Handle Microsoft office, Watching movies, all the normal stuff.

I just wanted some help and opinions of the Escapist members, seeing as the people who work at My stores didnt really help me today.

My choices that i thought were decent enoguh, where;

Samsung SF310
Macbook?
Sony VAIO E Series.

What out of them would you prefer, or do you have any better suggestions? Thank you.

 

[lee1287]

Someone must have some ideas, what laptops do you use? Do you like them?

 

[Wrists]

For Steam games (presuming you mean Source games) you most definitely don't need to spend £1000. Back when I got my Asus G1Sn (yes, it's a plug!) it set me back a little more than £500 and will still play most games comfortably, if at quite a high temperature.

The majority of the stuff you list after games is less intensive and still doesn't warrant the price tag you suggested. Look around on the internet for better options. I'd also suggest you ignore the Macbook, it's just not the logical choice in this situation. I don't have experience with either of the others.

 

[lee1287]

Thanks, yeah, that's just my budget, so anything less is very good. Don't wanna buy a laptop and it be incapable of doing anything. What security do you people use?

 

[Hoplon]

am very skeptical of most AV's since they all decided that bloatware was the answer.

Still, Kapersky and Nod32 are probably the best ones.

 

[johnman]

You can pick up a laptop with a 17.3" screen and decent Graphics card for around £800, problably less. Steer clear of HP and the Dell XPS series as they are fraught with issues where the motherboard cooks itself. Graphics card wise you want a Nvidia 8800 GT at the least, and that will play most games, epecially source engine ones. Processesor wise it needs to be dual core, and for that kind price I would expect an I series processor which will also run anything. (It will have an Intel I3 sticker on front. RAM wise most laptops come with 2 or 3 Gb and get no less than 2Gb.
Any more questions fire away, this is my full time job

 

[Watchmacallit]

Just don't...Don't get a Mac Book. But you can find a laptop that will run those things but they will most likely have to be on charge and set to super performance. It will most likely over heat very quickly too so try to find one with a good cooling system.

 

[lee1287]

The maxbooks looked so tempting in the shop, Lol. Thanks Johnman, i havent seen any laptops with a screen bigger then 16 inches though, the Samsung has;

Intel® Core? i5 Processor 460M (2.53 GHz, 3 MB

nVIDIA GeForce 310M (External Graphics card)
512 MB gDDR3 (External Graphics)

320 GB (5400 rpm S-ATA) Hard Drive (HDD)
Super Multi Dual Layer (9.5mm S-ATA) Optical Drive (ODD)


Is that decent enough for my uses? And i5 Is better than i3 i assume? Thanks

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Try ACER, I've recommended them before, I am using an ACER laptop, its lasted me three years no problemo, you can get cheap ones because they have windows vista on them for around £800, just buy Windows 7 separately and its easy to upgrade. They do duel core and NVIDIA graphics cards.

 

[lee1287]

Thanks Hero, Can anyone answer my previous post? Good laptop specs?

 

[gauntletrunner]

those specs shouldn't have a problem with source games (I don't know much about graphic cards, but mine only has 256 dedicated and I'm doing fine). as a comparison, I've been running source games, call of duty mw2, mass effect, and similar games, and I'm holding up:
intel core 2 duo 2.0 GHz
ati mobility radeon hd 2400 XT graphics (256Mb dedicated, borrows up to 1 Gb of RAM)
4 GB DDR2 RAM

games that push my limits (but still run) include fallout new vegas, mass effect 2, and mirror's edge.

hope this helps

EDIT: btw my machine is an acer extensa 5620 laptop. I've had it for a few years and it has served me well.

 

[xsosxfelix]

those specs shouldn't have a problem with source games (I don't know much about graphic cards, but mine only has 256 dedicated and I'm doing fine). as a comparison, I've been running source games, call of duty mw2, mass effect, and similar games, and I'm holding up:
intel core 2 duo 2.0 GHz
ati mobility radeon hd 2400 XT graphics (256Mb dedicated, borrows up to 1 Gb of RAM)
4 GB DDR2 RAM

games that push my limits (but still run) include fallout new vegas, mass effect 2, and mirror's edge.

hope this helps

this is close to what i run but yeah its pretty awesome

 

[lee1287]

So there decent enough specs? And i5 processor is good enough? Whats that pokemon in your avatar Fella? I cant remember it...

 

[Baby Tea]

Try ACER, I've recommended them before, I am using an ACER laptop, its lasted me three years no problemo

Then your laptop is an enigma.
ACER is a horrific brand. When I worked in computer sales, every 10 I sold, I would get back at least 7 by the end of the month. Bust, broken, burned-out, whatever. They are right there with Dell and MDG (Canadian only brand, I think) as crappiest brand of computer to buy.

I would, however, highly recommend anything by ASUS.
That is a great brand. I've got an ASUS N10J Netbook, and it's awesome.
Their laptops are just gorgeous. Not too expensive, and not cheaply made.

 

[lee1287]

Hmm, Okay i'll Look into the ASUS, but the SF310 is looking like my favourite atm, Only 600ish pound aswell.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

I haven't kept up with high powered laptops for a while, but I strongly recommend you avoid Sony and Apple laptops like the plague. While the former may offer nice specs and build quality (the latter to a much lesser extend), both are horribly overpriced.

 

[lee1287]

Hmm, Macs are way overpriced, i know that, but the Sony E series seemed kinda alright. Samsung also looks good.

 

[lee1287]

Alrightyyyy then. It's between the Samsung SF310 and the Samsung R780.

SPECS

R780 SPECS

Intel Core i3-330M
Processor clock speed 2.13GHz


Nvidia GeForce GT 330M
Graphics/video ports VGA, HDMI
Graphics Memory 1,024MB


SF310 SPECS

Intel Core i3-370M
Processor clock speed 2.4GHz
Memory 3.00GB


Nvidia GeForce 330M
Graphics/video ports VGA, HDMI
Graphics Memory 1,024MB

They are decent enough for gaming right? Im talking Steam games.