Help on choosing a laptop

Spudnik_2

Hi guys,

Sorry for double posting - I have already written this in the 'cheapest decent laptop' thread, but have yet to receive a response so I hope that I'm not breaking too many rules by posting it as a separate thread!

I've been wanting to buy a laptop for the past couple of months now, but keep dithering over what to buy as ultimately it's a lot of money and I don't want to make the wrong decision. As such, I was hoping that some of you 'techie' guys might be able to advise me. I'll be using the laptop for writing, photo editing, listening to music, watching films, and perhaps occassional casual gaming. I'd also like to get something that will see me through a few years, at least university, so don't mind paying a little extra if it's going to work out more economical in the long run. Obviously due to what I want to use the machine for I'm not looking for a super-cheap notebook, but I'd like to get the best value possible.

I currently have my eye on Dell's Inspiron 1720, and I've tweaked the specifications a little to end up with:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
• Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
• 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
• nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB DDR2 dedicated graphic memory
• 250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
• 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
• Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
• Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Europe
• Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
• 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return
• 90W AC Adapter
• Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps) with Enhanced Data rate - Eur
• Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)
• 17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™

I'd have liked XP, but apparently that's a no-go for the 1720.

This comes to £615, but if I order by tonight then I can have an extra 10% discount bringing it down to £553.95. I can also use quidco to get 5% cashback, making it £530. So my question is, will this laptop perform well enough for my needs, and is £530 a reasonable price for the specifications? Or are any of these choices overkill, so I might get something cheaper?

Any help would be very much appreciated - I've been comparing laptops for so long that my mother is impatiently insisting that I should 'just bloody order it'!

Sparky29

http://pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/ might be a good place to put a post to get advice off computer geeks. The experts there have helped me out quickly on a number of occasions. Somebody will point you in the right direction of a reputable company/ good deal

epz_2

if you can hold out for a 45nm processor i would, they ship on the 7th jan and have much lower heat/power use and obiously higher battery time.

imagia

If the graphics card and the 17" are important to you, then that's a fairly good deal. You can upgrade your RAM to 4Gb later on and change your hard drive too, so you should be able to get quite a while out of it, touch wood.

I've just ordered a 1520 and that came in at about £460 (before the 5% cashback). I did consider the 1720 before but I don't fancy the extra weight when I'm lugging it around, and you get better value for money IMHO on the 1520s. I got a 1.83Ghz Core 2 Duo, and a 7200 rpm hard drive. I'm not planning on playing any new games, so I don't need a non-integrated graphics card. It all depends on what is a deal-breaker for you, and what isn't.

Spudnik_2

Thanks guys. The graphics card is fairly important, but the 17" isn't particularly - it's just there! =/

Excuse my ignorance, epz, but I'm not particularly techie-savvy. Could you elaborate?

imagia

What kind of games are you planning on playing? The card you've got is going to limit you somewhat I think. Have you checked if any specific games will run on that spec?

Spudnik_2

Nothing particularly demanding - I *think* my brother's old gaming machine (it was a gaming machine when he built it about 4 years ago, at least!) has the same graphics card, and I've always been fine with that. As I never really have much free time, I just stick to old stuff like Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, and VERY occassionally those awful free MMORPGs. Gaming won't be a huge part of the use of the laptop, though, although it'll get fairly heavy internet, music and film usage. Would the graphics card still be a bit rubbish for what I want?

imagia

Here are Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory's requirements:

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, san-serif][SIZE=+1][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, san-serif][SIZE=-1]
[*]Intel Pentium® III 600Mhz processor or equivalent
[*]128 MB RAM
[*]32 MB 100% fully OpenGL® compliant 3-D video card
[*]Microsoft® Direct X® 8.1 or higher (not included)[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] 128Mb from a graphics card is a bit much for this game. You could easily play it without a dedicated graphics card. I don't think you really need the 1720 if you don't need the 17" screen or the dedicated graphics card, so you could easily go down to the 1520 and save yourself a stack of money. For internet, music and playing films the processor, ram and hard disk are more important- graphics cards are irrelevant.

imagia

BTW, the Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100 card used in the 1520s supports up to 384mb.

Spudnik_2

What sort of games would that be support? Apologies again, I'm not very techie. Or, if it's easier, what sort of games would be too much for it?

imagia

The integrated card would be fine for older games I think. New games would be too much for it. For example, Crysis.
Bear in mind that even with the 1720's graphics card you wouldn't be able to run new, high detail, heavy graphics games on it.