Buying a laptop

[DanTheGamer11]

I'm located in Ireland

 

Hiya guys,

College started and I'm need of a decent laptop with a budget of ~800 euro, should be somewhat capable of AutoCAD, Blender and some other software like that and for some 'light' gaming and portable! I already have two laptops in mind but I'm open to suggestions(with preferably more than one year warranty) as long as nobody posts newegg or other places that don't ship here links.

 

First is a 3 year warranty Dell Latitude with i5 4200U HM87 & AMD HD 8850M, full HD non touch screen and 6 cell 65Watt/hour battery:

http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/latitude-3540-laptop/pd?oc=ca003l35408wer&model_id=latitude-3540-laptop

 

Second is a 1 year warranty(130 euro for another, no thanks) Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series with i5 4200U HM76 & nVidia GT750M, 766P glass touch screen and a 4 cell 58Watt/hour battery:

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-7537/pd?oc=cn75310&model_id=inspiron-15-7537#overrides=

 

The Latitude has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 2.0(Manual says 2 an one of the USB ports is also powered) which I hate, also only has VGA output and no backlit keyboard. Has Windows 7 Pro upgradable to W8 Pro for free. 1 4GB ram stick in single channel.

Dell Wireless 1705 1X1 802.11bgn + Bluetooth 4.0

 

The Inspiron has 4 USB 3.0 and one of them is powered which I like a lot and possible a better card reader(SDXC compatible)! Only has HDMI output though. And looks sexy too. Has Windows 8 standard. 4GB+2GB in dual channel. Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 2x2 AGN + Bluetooth 4.0. 

Edited October 12, 2013 by DanTheGamer11

[IVIYTH0S]

I've been burned on two nvidia powered laptops so i went with an Intel+AMD combo and Dell.

 

I'd say the fact that the first has two more extra years of warranty, better resolution screen (this will make productivity skyrocket!) and a higher capacity battery....makes it the easier choice but the fact that it has no HDMI in this day an age (WTF DELL?!) makes it a harder choice. It had everything going for it until I read that.

 

Are you only considering Dell?? (not that they're bad, I love mine)

[DanTheGamer11]

I've been burned on two nvidia powered laptops so i went with an Intel+AMD combo and Dell.

 

I'd say the fact that the first has two more extra years of warranty, better resolution screen (this will make productivity skyrocket!) and a higher capacity battery....makes it the easier choice but the fact that it has no HDMI in this day an age (WTF DELL?!) makes it a harder choice. It had everything going for it until I read that.

 

Are you only considering Dell?? (not that they're bad, I love mine)

 

I know I like the latitude too, Maybe because it's a business model? Still HDMI would be way better, don't feel like using 2 cables when one could do both. I like the Inspiron too but the screen and warranty is pretty much a rip off. The GPUs are pretty similar in performance(except I prefer AMD and BF4 with mantle will perform better). I've sent Dell an email regarding some things, like why I can get 3 years warranty with lenevo for 60 euro where as dell is 130 extra for 1 year......

 

No, just don't see any other companies that have something as good as the Dells I linked hence this thread, maybe somebody knows of other laptops in this price range similar.

Edited October 12, 2013 by DanTheGamer11

[Prunes]

How about a Lenovo Edge E531: 

 

 

Intel Core i5-3230M Processor (3.20GHz, 3MB Cache, 1600MHz) with Intel HD Graphics 4000

Windows 8 64

15.6W FHD Antiglare, Midnight Black - No WWAN

Nvidia N14P-GV2+ 2 GB VRAM (WWAN or mSATA capable)

8 GB DDR3L - 1600MHz (2 DIMM)

1TB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm

DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8

6 cell Li-Ion Battery 62WH - 75+

ThinkPad a/b/g/n Wireless & Bluetooth 4.0 (2x2 ABGN & BT 4.0)

1 Year Depot/Express Warranty

 

Amounts to

[DanTheGamer11]

 

How about a Lenovo Edge E531: 

 

*cut*

 

Amounts to

Edited October 12, 2013 by DanTheGamer11

[kennethk]

 

 

How about a Lenovo Edge E531: 

 

*cut*

 

Amounts to

[DanTheGamer11]

Glossy screens aren't that bothersome tbh, not like I'll be using it outside. I want to play Crysis 3 too! Maybe light gaming isn't the term to use lol

 

It seems Dell hasn't released all their new lineup completely, haven't seen the 5000 series and there isn't a 15 inch 7000 series(has backlit keyboard but expensive) either.

[Prunes]

 

I wish I would of seen that Lenovo before I got my hp envy, on laptops you'll find that Antiglare screens are a blessing.

 

Furthermore intel hd4000 is a fine gpu for gaming as well as you can always upgrade the hdd and ram later. Greta find

 

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T430, and antiglare displays should be mandatory on all computer displays! It really makes a world of difference, when using the laptop for work. Also, it seems that you are more interested in being able to game on it than doing heavy editing/rendering. And yeah, the US always gets the good deals and the prices are always about 20% or so lower than in Denmark at least... No fair!

[DanTheGamer11]

I think I am more interested in gaming, we don't start the demanding stuff until 3rd year(I'm in first) but I want something decent enough to start working on some lighter things, and I assumed the AMD graphics card in the Latitude would have had the AMD advantage in CAD stuff versus Kepler gaming gpus(though the GT750M could do it just slower, while the Lenovo you posted would be better at design)! Nonetheless the Edge you linked has a GT740M pretty much so it's not out of the selection, just want more options.

 

Thanks for help so far guys! 

Edited October 12, 2013 by DanTheGamer11

[Onion]

Couple days late, are we? It's a shame you didn't have your check sooner, my laptop ended up going like $350 below MSRP. 

Edited October 13, 2013 by Onion

[DanTheGamer11]

^Evil

 

 

If I were in Hong Kong I could get an Inspiron 15 5575 with i7 ULV, HD 8850M, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD and 3 years warranty for 800 euro   Granted a 766P Touchscreen(But with HDMI) and 2 USB 3.0 + 2 USB 2.0 instead of 4 USB 3.0 but meh

http://www.dell.com/hk/en/p/inspiron-15r-5537/pd?oc=15rd5728&model_id=inspiron-15r-5537

 

Wanna know if they're gonna have 7000/5000 series Lattitudes with 8850M at non too expensive prices... or something with USB 3.0 only

 

This MSI is also an option:

Intel i5 3230M(Non ULV but higher power consumption+heat) 2.6GHz CPU

8GB DDR3(1333Mhz for i5?)

500GB HDD

NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 2GB GDDR5 Graphics

comes with 2 years international warranty

2 USB 3.0 + 2 USB 2.0,

Screen 15.6" Res is unknow(either 766P or 1080P)

Non Backlit Keyboard(possibly replaceable?)

4 Speakers

 

https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/MSI+GE60+0NC-630UK+15.6%22+LED+Gaming+Notebook+?productId=56072

Edited October 13, 2013 by DanTheGamer11

[IVIYTH0S]

That looks pretty nice!

Maybe give them a call and find out which one it is (as I see on MSIs website that they're available in either resolution), you could always throw in the higher resolution panel later on too!

Edited October 13, 2013 by IVIYTH0S