500 to spend on laptop

[mum2three75]

Okay, my lovely Toshiba X205 is slowly giving up. Graphics card is dying and I can't replace. So...a new laptop is on the cards. Now my requirements have changed a bit and this laptop is for home use only. This means....a bit of internet use, watching HD movies, sometimes decoding of DVDs and the occasional photoshopping. So on the whole no big graphics card needed. I have a bit of a problem choosing the screen. I prefer a bigger screen (17" or greater), but I am also quite tempted by the 15.6" full HD screen of the Enigma III. This would mean however compromising on processor, but having a bit of an improved graphics card. No software needed. I will install Ubuntu and I have the licences for Windows 7 and Office 2010 for work purposes. Hard drive not important either, I'm planning to do a back up of the Toshiba one and put it into the new laptop and use the 250Gb for other purposes.
The current laptop has a 1600x900 resolution as well and I have to be honest, the usual 15.6" resolution 1366x768 I have seen with others and it doesn't quite do it for me.
See below for the two specs. The difference is 50 pounds and the budget is around 500. I could go with the i3 processor, but feel that's perhaps too much of a compromise.....

What do you think?



Chassis & Display
Enigma III 540: 15.6" Glossy FHD LED (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2450M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
ENIGMA GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Enigma III Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,100/5,200 mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £536.00 including VAT and delivery.

or



Chassis & Display
Voyager: 17.3" Glossy HD LED Widescreen (1600 x 900)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2450M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 520M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W Adaptor (GT 540M) / 120W Adaptor (GT 555M)
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £484.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Music Guy123]

I am a little confused as to what you are doing with the hdds, you can ask pcs not to sell you any in which case you can remove about £50 from your spec. I would recommend the second one as I prefer 17.3" screen sizes. Also, make sure you upgrade the thermal paste, well worth it. Also, get the silver warranty, well worth the fiver.

 

[frahil]

Currently i am in the same boat as you. I'm buying my laptop atm and your Enigma III settings are precisely what I am going for it looks to be able to play skyrim fine and stuff of a similar intensity. so yeah go for the enigma.

Use this code to get an extra 15 quid off: ADW27

 

[mum2three75]

Thanks Music Guy123! I wasn't aware you could customize without hdds as this doesn't appear to be very clear in the selections. I'll speak to them about it. Will look into the thermal past, didn't really consider this.

 

[mum2three75]

Thanks Frahil. My gaming days are a bit over ..... it's all a bit more internet stuff, movies and HD-video (although not editing!). Thanks for the code though!

 

[Music Guy123]

If it is all movies and stuff, I'd get the voyager, upgrade the screen (you cN afford it if you remove the hdd), definately get the thermal paste, it is worth more than the £9. And definately get the warranty, for £5 you get so much more.

 

[mum2three75]

If it is all movies and stuff, I'd get the voyager, upgrade the screen (you cN afford it if you remove the hdd), definately get the thermal paste, it is worth more than the £9. And definately get the warranty, for £5 you get so much more.

Just looked into the thermal paste and reviews of the artic paste....it looks very good indeed. Not too worried about overclocking, but having a lower cpu temperature could be benificial. Waiting for PCS to get back to me on the HDD, emailed them, but as yet no reply. Not too worried though, I'm not in a hurry and I know that they're quite busy just after Chrismas and the new year. I'll probably go for the warranty.

I'm leaning towards the full HD screen with the Voyager, depending on what the price is when the HDD is removed.