General Use Laptop

T

twchambers

Member
Hey there,

I'm hoping to get myself a new laptop for Christmas.
It would be for general usage, though would hopefully include some light-moderate gaming, and some amateur video and photo editing.
I would be running Linux and my budget is slightly flexible, but aiming for around the 700 mark.
One of the important things for me is that this laptop is built to last. Have had my current laptop for 5 years and want this one to be able to do the same with minimal upgrades over the next few years!

Any suggestions to modify the spec below would be appreciated. Would be willing to flex on cost for the right upgrade!


Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2430M (2.40GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
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 Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
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: £687.00 including VAT and delivery.
 
T

twchambers

Member
Thanks for your reply. Obviously cost increases as you move upwards through the range, but is any of the i7's considered to be the best value for money? eg. For the sake of nearly £50 the 0.1GHz clock speed of the 2.5GHz i5 was of little advantage over the 2.4GHz.

Anyone have any opinions on the matte screen?
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
the quad core in my opinion offers best value for money, the core speed isnt much slower and there are 2 extra cores, as well as 6mb cache instead of 3mb
 
T

twchambers

Member
Apologies, didn't make myself clear. I meant is there a 'best value' option out of the quad cores... but having just rechecked the prices again I dont think I can stretch to anything more than the 2.2GHz!!
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
you may not notice much difference at the moment as a lot of programs dont use more than 2 cores, but there will be a big performance difference when they do

also, you may be interested in the 17.3" Optimus, which with the same spec is only £8 more
 
T

twchambers

Member
Hmm... Not too sure how many linux programs are multithreaded, but as you say they will become more so in future. Cheers for the tip off on the 17.3. Had originally only thought about the 15.6 as I wanted the portability of that size, but I guess it's not too much of a difference.
 
T

twchambers

Member
A slightly updated spec based on suggestions...

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
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 Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
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: £749.00 including VAT and delivery.

A little more expensive than the previous spec, but worth it based on the suggestions.
Any further input would be greatly appreciated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top