Need laptop advice please

robowen1981

Hi guys, I'm looking to get some input on a new laptop that I'm planning to buy. The laptop is for both myself and my g/f to use mainly for watching movies (maybe blu-ray), playing games (shogun 2/FM11 etc) and surfing the internet. We have looked at a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 2630qm processor, 8gb ram, 500gb hdd and nvidia GT555m graphics card. This would cost around £900 new and is right at the top end of our budget. In order to save money I have looked at systems from Kobalt computers and pc specialist but both of these seem to be more expensive.

The Dell outlet seems to occasionally offer similar spec machines for a lot less money (£550-£650) which is preferable. We have had our current Acer laptop for around 4 years and would like this laptop to last the same amount of time so build quality is also important.

What I'm after are any opinions as to whether the Dell is a good buy and whether the outlet is a good place to buy from, any suggestions as to an alternative and finally I want to know if I'm actually going for overkill rather than future proofing.

If you need any more info just let me know.

Hammyman

Be aware that the Dell XPS is a desktop replacement and you'll be lucky to get 90 minutes on the battery and half that if gaming. They are a good laptop and if you're going to be playing decently demanding games, its not overkill. IF it were just for Facebook and MSN then thats a different story

jaydeeuk1

If you're not scared off by the Acer name, I quite like this one

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_Ethos_8943G_1005703.html


Ok, £849 for an acer is a lot of cash, but you do get a gorgeous FULL HD 18.4" screen, radeon 5650, 4gb DDR3 (really don't need any more that 4gb for what you're using it for), and a decent i5-460m

Might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere too. If you're going to watch movies on it, no point going for a naff screen imo.

Theres also plenty around the £600 mark and capable graphics cards, just not with the fantastic screen.

grumpycrab

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

...
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_Ethos_8943G_1005703.html
...

Looks great but for that amount of cash I'd want a 3 year warranty. e.g. for £70 http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/AcerAdvantage_extended_service_agreement_-_3_years_-_Collect_and_Return_SV.WNBAF.AL3/version.asp

robowen1981

I'm not too bothered about battery life as it won't be moved around too much, an hour is fine but anything over that is a bonus. Like I said we've had an Acer for about 4 years and apart from cracked hinges everything has been fine so that doesn't put me off.

I really want to find a laptop that will play the games I want now but will also be able to manage to play newer games (on lower settings of course) for a least 2-3 years, our current laptop has a geforce go 7300 and managed to cope until recently so I'm hoping this is doable on this budget.

The Dell looked like a good chance to "futureproof" on a relatively tight budget because of the combination of the 17" screen, new quad core sandy bridge processor and the GT555m graphics card. Like I said I'm not sure if I'm going for overkill, if you have any advice as to whether an i5 system would be better then I'm open to that, just don't want to have to splash the cash again in a year because I didn't spend the cash on an i7 now.

Obviously I like the idea of spending £650 on the Dell outlet machine rather than £850 elsewhere but find myself doubting the quality etc so if anyone has any experience of the Dell outlet I would appreciate feedback.

Hammyman

AFAIR, you can still change the graphics card on a XPS to a newer version as they come out. Its not massively complicated if you're OK wielding a screwdriver.

closed

Future proofing laptops is an expensive and futile pastime, just buy a cheap one which plays current games or get a desktop

robowen1981

Thanks Hammyman that's another thing to consider, I didn't realise that the graphics card was upgradable in a laptop. Closed I know that I'm going to be paying more for a laptop than a desktop but I do need it to be portable within the house so buying a desktop isn't an option.

Hammyman

Usually they aren't but in the top end ones you usually can in the gaming and business lines.