Laptop suggestions for c.£500

mat4404

Hi everyone,

I was wandering if I could get a bit of help. I consider myself to have a reasonable knowledge of laptops but was wanting some confirmation.

I've been looking for a new laptop for around 6 months and think I've finally settled on the NEW (important part is it is a much sleeker design, has USB 3.0 and full HD screen) Dell Inspiron 15R with the following (important) specs:

3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3317U processor (3M Cache, up to 2.60 GHz)
8192MB (2x4096) 1600MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon™ HD 7670M 1G DDR3
1TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Windows 8 64bit, English
6-cell Lithium Ion (65WHr) Battery
15.6 inch LED Backlit Display with Anti Glare and FHD resolution (1920 x 1080)

I'm not allowed to post a link as a new lad sorry!

With a few voucher codes, the above laptop is available for £521, delivered.

My criteria is a decent looking, all rounder with a dedicated graphics card and at least an i5 3rd generation processor, at least 4gb preferrably 6gb of RAM, for around £500.

I was wandering if you kind folk new of, or could find me anything better?

Thanks in advance

Matt

closed

is that the 15r se?

haven't checked the prices recently, but something not too dissimilar was available for a fair bit less a week ago, depends whether you need that screen/video card combination

N0015R54 15R Laptop
15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED with TrueLife
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
6GB3 DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
Hard Drive (details)1TB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
1GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M
is currently £479 before using any vouchers and topcashback

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4373497

pcworld/currys had some i5's under £400 too.

misiek404

It would be hard to find something to match this dell you mentioned, price wise. ivy bridge i5, 8gb ram, 1tb hdd ati 7670m for under 500 is not easy to find.
msi has some good new stuff but whole different price range though

Cisco001

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_ThinkPad_Edge_E530_1277382.html

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_Z580_1292735.html

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Samsung_300E5C_1273705.html

I suggest go for lenovo E530 if you don't mind cash back. Thinkpad usually has better quality.

mat4404

Thanks for the replies guys and gals.

The reason I'm plumping for the new Dell Inspiron R series (as opposed to the old one in the sale posted by closed) is two fold. The previous design was hideous and heavy, however according to reports from CES 2013 the design is much improved and weight is down to 2.2 kgs. The specs are also better in areas that are important to me. Quicker connections with USB 3.0 for when I eventually upgrade the interal drive to an SSD, a Full HD anti glare screen and a longer battery life.

Same reasons go for purchasing the Dell over the Lenovos. Think I've made my mind up and am going for this Dell. Seems to be an up to date piece of kit with the relevant spec at a decent price.

mat4404

Ive just seen that the i5-3317U has a clock speed of 1.7 ghz!! Anyone know why it's so low? I am re-equating this purchase now!

Splott

mat4404 wrote: »

Ive just seen that the i5-3317U has a clock speed of 1.7 ghz!! Anyone know why it's so low? I am re-equating this purchase now!

Unless you're gaming or transcoding DVDs on a regular basis, it doesn't matter. Any processor released in the last half decade is fast enough for ordinary daily use.

And a dedicated graphics card is also pointless unless gaming and even then only if it is a decent spec.

Willing2Learn

@OP

Don't forget to try the Dell Outlet store. I get most of my laptops there, sometimes at around 50% off compared to their regular site.

mat4404

Splott wrote: »

Unless you're gaming or transcoding DVDs on a regular basis, it doesn't matter. Any processor released in the last half decade is fast enough for ordinary daily use.

And a dedicated graphics card is also pointless unless gaming and even then only if it is a decent spec.

Nail... head. Want it for gaming to a decent spec. COD would be around the top spec game I would play.

jaydeeuk1

One of the Acer timeline laptops came with an i5 and a geforce 640 which is a heck of a lot quicker than the 7670. In fact the i3 version which isn't much slower was under £400 before xmas. Battery life is excellent, has an SSD, usb 3.0 Price have come up since as it comes with win 8 instead of 7...

i3 £449 with win 7, was £399 in Nov
http://www.simplyacer.com/Acer_Aspire_Timeline_Ultra_M3-581TG_1215228.html

i5 £549
http://www.simplyacer.com/Acer_Aspire_Timeline_Ultra_M3-581TG_1300439.html

Decent reviews too

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/acer-aspire-timeline-u-m3-581tg-review-50007336/


Ok it doesn't have as good a screen as the dell, but the dell would struggle with most modern games at 1920x1080 with the radeon, the 640 has a fighting chance. Battery life is decent, 5 hours easily on the acer, and its fairly light. TBH, you won't get an i5 with full HD, usb3, SSD and a decent mid range 7750 or 640/650 for £500 or less at the moment. The ACER is pretty damn close though...

misiek404

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

Ok it doesn't have as good a screen as the dell, but the dell would struggle with most modern games at 1920x1080 with the radeon, the 640 has a fighting chance. Battery life is decent, 5 hours easily on the acer, and its fairly light. TBH, you won't get an i5 with full HD, usb3, SSD and a decent mid range 7750 or 640/650 for £500 or less at the moment. The ACER is pretty damn close though...

Very true.
I would ditch Dell for this Acer or.. well, keep saving up for something for around 1k if I wanted a good gaming machine.