I am trying to find the best gaming laptop/descktop replacement untill next intell CPU come out because I left my PC behind in a move. currently interrested in: http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/home/Dell-Laptops/xps-17/pd.aspx?refid=xps-17&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1 the one for 719 or the one for 849 (plus a Blue-ray drive) CPU: i5-460 vs i7-740 GPU: 435 vs 445 Nvidia for the extra drive I can get one from dell for 80 is there a cheaper say LG or Sony that would fit? and is the difference in the specs worth the price? are there better choises out there that can deliver in under 10 days? Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated
I don't know how well the new fermi mobile GPUs perform in games, I can't find any benchmarks to compare to my current favorite in that price band, the ATi 5650. Notebookcheck ranks the Nvidia 435M as pretty much the same and the 445M as slightly better than the ATi option. With the current set of offers the Dell you are looking at is about the same price as pcspecialist.co.uk's enigma II that I usually recommend. The problem is if you want a decent warranty (3 years) you have to add £180 to the price, which is just ridiculous. The pcspecialist.co.uk laptop comes with 3-year support for only £5, though you do have to pay for any replacement parts and for postage after the first year (labour is free for 3 years). One thing I would note is the difference in screen size and resolution; the Enigma II has a 15.6'' 1920x1080 screen, while the Dell has a 17'' 1600x900 screen. If you don't mind a physically bigger (and likely heavier) laptop and don't want insanely high resolution density (the Enigma II has the same resolution as most 24'' desktop monitors compressed into a relatively tiny 15.6'' screen!) then the Dell is the better option. A 17'' inch screen will be nicer simply because it's larger and the lower resolution will mean smoother frame rates. I think 1600x900 is fine for a 17'' screen as it's still higher resolution on a pixels-per-inch basis than most desktop monitors (my 22'' is 1680x1050 and is perfectly fine for gaming). So, if you don't mind a smaller 15.6'' screen on which you have to game at less than max resolution to get optimum frame rates in newer games the Enigma is better choice because it's cheaper. If you prefer a larger, lower-native-resolution screen then you have to choose between paying nearly £200 for a warranty or having no warranty after the first year, which with a laptop is... risky!
I wouldn't know where to look, but if you can find this laptop for the equivalent euro price in the UK then it would be my recommendation. I did a couple quick searches on amazon.co.uk, but I couldn't pull it up .
Just to be clear 900 is my absolute limit and must include a logitech mouse & blue ray drive (will drop drive for great GPU only)
The XPX17 is meant to be a good laptop but bear in mind it appears that the 445m is a DDR3 variant rather than the quicker GDDR5 model. Dell arn't clear no this point (as the don't mention either way) but it's the general consensus on the notebook review forums that if it was GDDR5 they would mention it.
hmm that's a good one. I will have to ask about it before I buy. might got for the 435 cheaper option then. I just need it to play decent res on current games: Left4Dead, Sup Com 2 ect. So 96 stream cpus vs 144 should do me fine. My current rig (see sig uses a 8800GTS) so I guess it would be fine. found a 50 quid blue ray on ebuyer so i might go that rout its liton though.
just added the Alienware MX11 to my list of cannidites. The cheaper SU Core addition and then up grade the RAM and HDD my self: 1 4GB crossair value stick and a samsung 500GB HDD because its nearly half the price to do it yourself (prieces from scan. Plus the mx11 got good reviews here and I could use it as an altra portable when I buy my full rig. I'm waiting for intel's next CPU before I commit to a build.
