Companies to build laptops??

Rufty1

Hello helpful folk

I have been quibbling over a new laptop for ages....and have finally realised that I can get a company to build one for me for better value than somewhere like Currys. I have come across a company called PC Specialist which has good reviews and I was looking at the Ultranote 2 - but I was hoping to have 8GB RAM in a 2 x 4 configuration (because I am a bu$$er for having a million windows open at a time.) - but they dont have that as an option.

I am looking to future proof as much as possible. I know I probably wouldn't notice the difference between an I5 and an I7 - and PC Specialists only quad core option is an I7 and I figure quad is better than dual core (but I'd welcome advice).


I also have a question on a hard disk vs a mSATA SSD drive. SSD are all the rage now, but would I be better off with a SSD as the hard disk (if that's, not a contradiction in terms) or an ordinary hard drive (I'm thinking of 1TB) and some SSD in the mSATA slot?

They have 2 screen options,
HD 1366 x 768 and Full HD IPS LED backlit 1920 x 1080
What does IPS stand for and would I notice the difference between the 2 for £50?

Are there any other good companies out there that could build me this sort of spec???

(As for my use - I only use spreadsheets for work type stuff, general surfing, watching a bit of TV on line (including GamePass for NFL games), music and photos. I don't play games.)

Cisco001

What is the main use of your laptop?

I suggest go for 15.6" Cosmos II instead for its dedicated GPU
I personally don't see the point getting ultranote.

RobTang

IPS = In plane switching, its the more expensive type of LCD it offers much better colour reproduction and larger viewing angles, you will notice the difference.


Personally I'd go for it just for the higher resolution.


Just as an aside there are no quad core i5 "mobile" class processors and its extremely rare to have 4 memory slots on a non workstation class notebook.


As for HDDs personally I'd go for the straight SSD unless you really need storage. The mSata interface is slower then the regular one, so im not entirely convinced it makes a good caching solution for the price.

bluesnake

"future proof"... at best you are paying though to nose for bleeding edge technology that you probably may never use.

If anyone guarantees a future proof device, ask them to buy you a few lottery tickets too. One can predict, but future proof, not really.

I can also guarantee you a winning lotto ticket - just buy every number combination out there and you will get a winning ticket.