Notebooks Looking for a notebook

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Fares, 16 Dec 2011.

  1. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Hello everyone!

    I'm looking to buy a notebook(my first one) this christmas.

    Mainly I need it for my college work,but I will also play from time to time some games like FIFA,NFS,Starcraft.

    In my opinion it isn't worth investing to much money in a notebook so I'm aiming at the low-end market.

    So far, I've looked at these two laptops:

    ASUS K53SC, I3 2310M,4GB,500GB,520MX

    TOSHIBA L750,I3 2310M,3GB,500GB,525M

    Wich one do you think it is better?Any other sugestions would be welcomed!
     
    Last edited: 16 Dec 2011
  2. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    If you don't mind owning a Dell (some people do) check out the dell outlet store daily.

    They often have very good prices for refurbed units - one that stands out at particular good value right now is this one:

    •Inspiron 15R - N5110
    •Processor: Intel Core i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz
    •Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
    •4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (1 DIMMs)
    •320 GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
    •8X DVD+/- RW Drive
    •Display: 15.6in High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife
    •Graphics : 512MB AMD Radeon HD 6470M
    •English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
    •Back Up Media Not Included
    •Wireless: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 (1x2 b/g/n+ Bluetooth Combo Card)
    •LCD Back Cover : Diamond Black Cover with matching palmrest (Non-Switchable cover)
    @ £358

    If you want something a bit bigger they also have right now:

    •Inspiron 17R - N7110 Laptop
    •Processor: Intel Core i5-2430M (2.40 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.00 GHz)
    •Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
    •6 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz Memory (2 DIMMs) 1X4GB+1X2GB
    •640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
    •8X DVD+/-RW Drive
    •17.3 inch High Definition+ (1600 x 900) LED Display with TrueLife
    •1 GB nVidia GeForce GT 525M - Dual Core Graphics Card
    •Antivirus: McAfee Security Centre 15 Month Subscription
    •Wireless: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 (1x2 b/g/n+ Bluetooth Combo Card)
    •LCD Back Cover : Diamond Black Cover [Switchable Lid]
    @£400

    and they have lots inbetween, it's easy to configure search for all components. The stock is limited though and when its gone, it's gone but they do update every day with new models so keep an eye out on it until won comes in at the spec and price you want.

    I got my GF a XPS L502x from there for £380, I saved just over £100 on what it would have cost new so definitely worth a look in, it was classified refurbished but it looked brand new to my eyes.
     
  3. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Good to know,thanks I will keep an eye on that
     
  4. OmightyOne

    OmightyOne Minimodder

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    Dell outlet Cheesecake, got my alienware m14x £300 cheaper! and still with 1 year warrenty!
     
  5. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Before i take a decision I want to ask you if a i5 2410m does hurt the batery life more than an i3 2310m.
     
  6. kenco_uk

    kenco_uk I unsuccessfully then tried again

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    It might a little, but you're going to get a fair amount more performance out of an i5.
    http://ark.intel.com/compare/52220,52224
    For a start, the i5 is clocked slightly higher and turbo boosts when required.
     
  7. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    The i5 can overclock itself (TurboBoost) when the computer needs more oomph e.g. in games or processor heavy tasks, so that will impact on battery life a bit.

    I doubt in day to day use it would effect battery life that much that you'd choose the less powerful i3 over the i5.

    Someone with more technical know how might be able to explain fully though how the battery life might differ.
     
  8. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for your replies.So I should go for I5 ,giving the fact that I found an Asus with i5 that is surprisingly cheaper than the model with i3.
     
  9. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    Just make sure it's a sandy bridge i5 and not from the last generation of chips.
     
  10. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    I intend to buy the Asus K53SC ,wich is a laptop from 2011,and it has the i5 sandybridge.
     
  11. Bede

    Bede Minimodder

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    Alienware M11x perhaps? I'm not sure which revision they've got too now, but the R3 was very well received. About £1k though, however very sturdily designed (I have the R1).
     
  12. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Well that is a gaming laptop ,and it is way over my budget,with that kind of money I would rather buy a PC:).
     
  13. Bede

    Bede Minimodder

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    You say you want to play SC2 (I'm guessing, if it is SC1 you play then my apologies and get the cheapest laptop you can find) but you will seriously struggle with a low-end notebook unless they have got a lot more powerful recently.
     
  14. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    You should be able to play SC2 on an i5 and GT520M

    http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-520M.43104.0.html

    Low settings should be no problem, but going to medium will make it almost unplayable between 20-30fps. The GT525M listed in the Dell's above will get 30-45fps.

    All depends how much you would game on it and at what settings.
     
  15. Fares

    Fares What's a Dremel?

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    Sorry I didn't want to offend you,it was a misunderstanding.I should have mentioned that I already have a Pc that can play the games listed above at decent settings ,I only need to play those games let's say when on train,or at home in hollyday.So I'm interested just to run SC2,and because I already have a pc I don't see any reason to spend too much on a laptop.
     
    Bede likes this.
  16. buchanan0204

    buchanan0204 What's a Dremel?

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    Both good brands of laptops... Low failure rates :)

    Avoid Acer and HP... you will do fine with either of these.
     

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