Laptop Advice Needed

[Isphera]

OK, so I'm heading off to uni in the next couple weeks (see releated thread) and I thought I'd treat myself to a new laptop. Not sure what budget is atm, but it's likely to be around or below about £700. Now, I don't know alot about laptops other than that the ASUS one's I've had in the past have been win.

I've found THIS one for a while, but I wondered if anyone had any better suggestions? It would mainly be used for work and media/music stuff with some casual gaming. Space won't be a major factor, as I still have my extl. drive.

[Chazlene]

Hmmm I'm actually tempted by that laptop as well, considering selling my PC around Christmas time and buying a laptop, having a desktop is just a burden...

[Chalex4]

Oric I assume you're taking your desktop to uni as well? Why do you want such a big laptop? When it comes to note taking in lecture theatres, you can only really fit a 13"/14" laptop on there.

I have a 13" sony vaio (was £900), and it's been perfect for MATLAB/coding/web stuff/notes on the move etc. It has 4GB ram, W7 pro, decent core 2 duo and ati 4680 graphics so it's pretty good all round. I certainly wouldn't want a larger laptop UNLESS I wasn't taking my desktop.


EDIT: Just so you know, I find my desktop at uni to be perfect. In halls it was great to have a proper good PC back in your room that you can run decent games/HD movies etc on. Having a bigger screen is also so nice for relaxing. I ended up watching TV/movies pretty much every other day with my mates on it with my surround sound .

[Colonel Mitch]

oric if u want something that it possible to game on (yes i know thats not why your buying it but still) the one you picked will simply cry at anything you throw at it on low settings.

Acer make decent laptops these days and for that price u can get 1 with a half decent gfx.

[Calneon]

I got this one:

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-e-s...torialarticle2

Couldn't be happier with it. Plays all games i've thrown at it (GTA4, SC2, Flatout) at low-medium settings, it's light, very nice keyboard and touchpad, decent enough speakers. Only bad thing is it's battery, but not really a problem because I usually have it plugged in.

You will ignore this post though because you hate Sony.

[Colonel Mitch]

I got this one:

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-e-s...torialarticle2

Couldn't be happier with it. Plays all games i've thrown at it (GTA4, SC2, Flatout) at low-medium settings, it's light, very nice keyboard and touchpad, decent enough speakers. Only bad thing is it's battery, but not really a problem because I usually have it plugged in.

You will ignore this post though because you hate Sony.

How much was it?

I was just about to say general advice, avoid apple and sony due to overpricing, avoid hp and compaq for build quality (and i would also say dell but ive heard theyre decent these days) I would recommend toshiba and asus as high quality makes, so long as u dont get a dirt cheap tosh

[Calneon]

How much was it?

I was just about to say general advice, avoid apple and sony due to overpricing, avoid hp and compaq for build quality (and i would also say dell but ive heard theyre decent these days) I would recommend toshiba and asus as high quality makes, so long as u dont get a dirt cheap tosh

£750.

EDIT: This:

[Colonel Mitch]

£750.

EDIT: This:

Thats actually very nice =]

[Isphera]

I got this one:

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/vn-e-s...torialarticle2

Couldn't be happier with it. Plays all games i've thrown at it (GTA4, SC2, Flatout) at low-medium settings, it's light, very nice keyboard and touchpad, decent enough speakers. Only bad thing is it's battery, but not really a problem because I usually have it plugged in.

You will ignore this post though because you hate Sony.

When did I say I hate sony :P. All the TV's in our house are Sony, I love the PS3 etc. And I'm not taking my desktop to uni unless I actually need to. Main idea is that I'm using the desktop as my torrent center at home, then transfering it via FTP to uni due to restrictions.

Cheers for the advice guys, keep it coming!

[Isphera]

I've now kinda narrowed it down to three:

THIS Acer Aspire

THIS Toshiba Satellite, or

THIS ASUS N73

[Calneon]

The Aspire will struggle with games, other two look ok, though not sure how the GT325 compares to the 5650.

I'd also recommend a 15" laptop, perfect size IMO. Another thing to note is the resolution, mine is 1920x1080 on a 15" screen, the ones you link are 1600x900 on a 17.3" screen, so mine is much sharper .

[Isphera]

I'd prefer a 17" over a 15" - I've got a 15" on my old one, and it's just a tad too small for me, esp. as a Desktop Replacement. Although, admittedly, portability will be reduced, I must question as to where else I'll take it other than home, my room and the library.

That said, I'm not objected to it, and will look into it.

[Colonel Mitch]

The toshiba is the best there tbh.

Its good value for money and has better gfx than the asus IIRC (also its alot cheaper)

[Isphera]

Discovered that the Toshiba linked (the best having compared) is actually not in stock anywhere :S

However, there is this one - http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.c...ibaShop/false/

Basically the same, but a step down on the i5 and about 50 quid less - seems worth it!

Anyone got any other suggestions in a similar price range?

[Calneon]

That one looks good.