Thoughts on the Inspiron 17R SE pls

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a 17" laptop with the following requirements in order of importance:

3rd gen CPU
Dedicated GPU
6GB RAM

What do people think to the Inspiron 17R SE?

Link: http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n0017s15&model_id=inspiron-17r-se-7720&c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1

Specs:

3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM processor (up to 3.40 GHz,, 6M cache)
Windows 8 64bit, English
17.3in Full High Definition (1080p) LED Display with Anti-Glare
8GB2 DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
1TB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
Optical Drive : 8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 130W
£799

Thanks

closed

expensive, do you need all that grunt - i5/4GB is cheaper

these coupon codes will get the price down to nearer 700

GHQLJ4Z5CQB4TD
F98501?PZMNH4L

plus more off with http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell/

[Deleted User]

closed wrote: »

expensive, do you need all that grunt

these coupon codes will get the price down to nearer 700

GHQLJ4Z5CQB4TD
F98501?PZMNH4L

plus more off with http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell/

Thanks.

My previous laptop (Acer 5024) has lasted 7 years so I don't mind spending a bit for something decent. It gets a fair amount of use too so again I don't mind getting something a bit top end.

Main uses will be movies / TV / gaming.

Upgrade from i5 to i7 is £80 and for that GPU I suspect the i5 may prove a bit of a bottleneck.

For an extra £20 on top of the i7 I can jump from 6GB to 8GB so this seems like a no brainer.

Options here:

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/laptops.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&ref=hpt2&s=dhs#!facets=208596~0~3040717,93410~0~1450395&p=1&sort=-price

How long do you reckon those codes will be live for? (Edit: 2 days apparently. I'm guessing more will come out though).

I'd also probably buy the 3 year warranty.

closed

codes come out all the time

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/inspiron-17-deals-codes-coupons/

can't see you getting a bottleneck with an I5/4GB, it's going to be much faster than a 7 year old machine, movies/tv and most games should run easily. fullscreen hd iplayer would probably use under 15% of the i5 cpu power and minimal ram

3year warranty, i7, 8gb adds about £3-400 to the price.

Cisco001

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Xplorer_X7-7600_Notebook/

£804

• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM Mobile Processor 2.40 GHz 6M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.40 GHz
• HDD: 750GB 7200RPM SATA300 Hard Drive [+29]
• MEMORY: 4GB (4GBx1) DDR3-1600 SODIMM Memory (Corsair Vengeance)
• MOTHERBOARD: Mobile Intel HM77 Express Chipset Mainboard
• SOUND: Built-in 3D Premium Surround Sound
• VIDEO: NVIDIA GTX 660M 2GB PCIe Video (NB-376-101)

The benefit of this machine is GTX 660M. Choose 4GB RAM due to the budget, but it is something you can easily upgrade yourself in future. Also you can get a SSD in future if you not getting it at the moment.

Or althernatively, order it through PCspecialist.co.uk
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/2850/

£799
i5 3210m
4 GB RAM
GTX 660m 2GB
120GB intel 520
750GB WD SCORPIO BLUE

[Deleted User]

closed wrote: »

codes come out all the time

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/inspiron-17-deals-codes-coupons/

can't see you getting a bottleneck with an I5/4GB, it's going to be much faster than a 7 year old machine, movies/tv and most games should run easily. fullscreen hd iplayer would probably use under 15% of the i5 cpu power and minimal ram

3year warranty, i7, 8gb adds about £3-400 to the price.

Ah yes, dmxdimension - I know that

Yeah from reading up it seems it wouldn't bottleneck the GPU. I suppose I'm just thinking the extra 2 cores would be futureproofing.

With an i5, 6GB RAM, 1080p costing £699 I think the extra £70 for an i7 doesn't seem like that much more. Then I think does an extra £20 to go from 6GB to 8GB RAM seem that much more?

The upgrade in CPU and RAM doesn't affect the £155 for warranty also.

I'm open to other brands of course

Doesn't have to be 8GB - suppose 6GB would be fine.

closed

heading for a £1000 - don't forget the backlit keyboard and recovery disc and office.:D

for most uses, all those cores, and all that ram, will be sat there with nothing much to do. Futureproofing can be done by cutting the budget in half, and buying a newer one in a few years time. Sale of goods act gives a bit of extra protection after the first year, the 3rd year of warranty is expensive.

Whatever you decide, check it out in a shop to make sure the sound/keyboard/touchpad/screen are suitable.

[Deleted User]

closed wrote: »

Futureproofing can be done by cutting the budget in half, and buying a newer one in a few years time.

You raise a very valid point. Nothing to say I have to eek it out to the 7 year marker.

But with the 10% codes it's actually more like £859 rather than 1k.

Thanks for the advice.