Queries

[Kukks]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy my girlfriend a new laptop as she desperately needs one to replace her 13" Macbook.

Key features I was looking to aim for:
1080p screen
not too thick or heavy if possible
battery life is very important(4-5 hours +)
8GB RAM
Hybrid HDD with a minimum of 16GB ssd
Dedicated graphics card is not needed but preferred.
Screen size 13" or bigger(up to 17")
Touchscreen enabled is preferred for Windows 8


What laptop model would you recommend to base these specs on? I have a 600 sterling budget to work with. I don't need any of the extra or the OS.

I need it to be a nice fast performing laptop but also long lasting battery life so that she can get used to it easily after using macs most of her life.

Main uses will be hi def video watching, browsing, light gaming but to hell with me if I will stand by while she gets a crappy machine!

 

[Marks]

Did you notice that the new 13" mac pro retinas were announced today.

You best make sure she doesn't view the apple website anytime soon.

 

[mdwh]

Given that you don't need an OS, it's possible to spec out an 8GB 1080HD 15.6" Optimus IV with hybrid hard disk at ~£600. The 15.6" Optimus IV claims up to 6 hours battery life, but I don't have one to confirm that. Also perhaps check out the 17.3" offerings (Optimus and Voyager).

A few points:

* AFAICT, the only options from this site with HD1080 are at least 15.6". If smaller devices with 1920x1080 "full HD" are preferred, it might be worth checking out other PC companies too (e.g., the various ultra-portables, "ultrabooks" and so on). OTOH, I'm not sure that £600 would be enough for the high end ultra-portables anyway (including anything from Apple) - there are some lower cost "ultrabooks" but I'm not sure if they have HD1080.

* In general, it's worth asking if HD1080 is a hard requirement, as that means you're somewhat limited at £600. If it isn't, there's more money to spend on making the spec better in other ways (Personally I happily watch videos on even my 1024x600 Samsung netbook - though yes, if you actually have a lot of 1920x1080 content like Blu rays, it would be a shame not to see it in full glory; higher resolution is better for doing productive things with lots of windows or text editing, but I wouldn't find using 1366x768 much of a problem.)

* I don't think this site has any laptops with touchscreen yet. From the upcoming Windows tablet/laptop hybrids I've seen announced, there will be some x86 ones at the mid-range, but those ones have 1366x768, and I'd be surprised if there's anything with HD1080 (e.g., the Surface Pro) at £600. (I mean, we're basically looking at high end ultra-portables, with the touchscreen, so there's no reason to think it'll be cheaper.)

(As an aside, "Retina display" is just a marketing trademark - other PC manufacturers don't have it, because it's a trademark. My phone doesn't have "Retina", but it's still a higher resolution than Apple's phone)