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good laptop? advise needed |
leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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Hey all,
As some of you know im into design (maily use CAD and revit (some sketchup).... i want to buy a laptop that i can use on the move and witht he above mentioned programs...
I'd ideally like to spend under £700 (ish)
can anyone recommend any lasptops (makes/models/anything) that maye fulful my needs?
do i go fro vista? (as most seem to come with this now)?
i have been looking at this one (which agian, your views and crit woudl be great), hopefully this gives you an idea of thye sort of spec im looking for 
3 options below.... any pref? anything you see as a must or a bad point?
(on the bottom one, i can add a better screen and improve the resolution from 1440x900 to 1920x1200 - would you say its worth £100 more?)
cheers for all your imputs
and before i get 'mac-attacked'.... if the proigrams i need, revit, CAD, sketchup, can run on a mac, id consider it... anyone know knows if this is the case, let me know and i could pos get a mac
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[ This Message was edited by: leeboy13 on 2008-01-21 10:41 ] |
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The Lostprophet
Joined: Oct 10, 2004
Posts: 480
From: BEDS,UK
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having a quick look mate, the bottom is the best one vale/spec.
wouldnt see the point in making the screen a higher resolution? i would save the £100
The Lostprophet (+14, -0) [e], [m], [s]) SUPERMODERATOR on M-R. (+117, -0) ebay feedback |
leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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wicked... my main reason behind wanted (possibly) a bigger screen, is that using CAD/revit etc, the higher the resolution, the more i can see on my screen lol..... still, not sure if £100 is worth doing this? hmmmmmm anyone know if the higher res will actually hinder performance slightly (i mean, am i better off keeping it lower to maintain a higher quality running machine?
do you thinhk the bottom one will be able to handle programs such as revit and 3d studio max? (im looking to biuy one that will last at least 2 years really.....)
cheers again |
Cycovision
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: England
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I think you're looking in the right place...
I've just ordered a Dell Inspiron 1520 with a 2.2Ghz core duo processor, 2gig ram, Vista home premium and 9-cell battery for about £613. My only concern is that at over 3Kg it's not particularly light but I can't complain about the specs for that price.
And they're built like tanks, apparently
Oh yeah, and I do design stuff as well as you know but I've gone for the 15.4" screen at 1280x800, reason being 17" screens make the laptop too big and expensive and higher res 15" screens make everything too tiny to see properly!
[ This Message was edited by: Cycovision on 2008-01-21 10:59 ] |
leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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wicked matey!
did you upgrade the graphics too? is the 'upgraded' one i have spec'd any good?
whats your views on the possible screen upgrade im pondering cyco?
is it also worth upgrading to vista ultimate for £80 extra?
cheers matey! |
MWEB
Joined: Feb 13, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: somewhere nicer than you
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I had an XPS Dell untill quite recently, i concur with Cyco that Dell machines are really well built and good performers, keep your eye out for special offers on them too, their prices can fluctuate quite a bit.
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Cycovision
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
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From: England
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Yup, if you don't mind lugging the extra size and weight about then a 17" screen would obviously be better for you. I wouldn't go overboard on the graphics unless you want to play 3D accelerated games or use 3D accelerated apps. a 128Mb dedicated chip is obviously better for CAD than onboard shared but I don't think you'd see a lot of difference if you got a 256Mb one.
Don't bother with Vista premium, you probably won't use most of the extra features such as improved backup facility and extra networking gizmos. Besides, you can always upgrade it later with the in-place upgrade service (I think it works with dell's OEM windows?)
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leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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excellent cyco! well thats £40 i can chop off each of the prices (the dif between the 128 graqphics and the 256 graphics)....
i dont mind the extra weight or size of the 17inch (i think) choosing blindly here as this will be my first laptop lol
is dell really the way forward tho? (just checking) |
Cycovision
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
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From: England
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You can't beat Dell for value when it comes to laptops and as mweb said, they're typically very well built so I reckon they're a safe bet. I can't wait for mine to turn up, put it that way, I'll post piccies when it arrives!
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leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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wicked! pics will be grand..... roughly how longs the wait after you order cyco? did you phone them when you ordered and blag extra stuff? When i was in uni our house mates used to buy dell machines and we used to order them at the same time and blag extra stuff (or money off).... are dell still quite 'giving' when it comes to phoning them?
thanks for all the advise, i think im convinced on what i shoud, do now |
Cycovision
Joined: Nov 30, 2003
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From: England
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Well I ordered it online on Saturday afternoon, but they've decided that the switch card payment needs authorising so I'm waiting for the bank to ring me up 
I didn't bother ringing them up but you're right, you might be able to blagg a few freebies if you do.
Delivery is normally about 1 - 2 weeks depending on their stock levels. Last time I bought something from Dell it took about five days, I think.
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leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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wicked! wooooooo.... i used aint too sure whether to go for the bigger screen now or not.......... eeeeeeeeeek! also, pondering whether to go for the 2x160 hard drive (+£30) or to stick with the 1x250 hdd....... hmmmm decisions! exciting tho |
kenoby
Joined: Dec 17, 2007
Posts: 407
From: 404
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I had 9200 and screen failed after one year. My second Dell, XPS Gen2 had screen failure after yr and a half, few months later even the graphic card failed. If you go for Dell, don't mind spending extra cash for an extended warranty. At least two years...
[ This Message was edited by: kenoby on 2008-01-21 12:09 ] |
leeboy13
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Brissle - dodgy accients
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hmmmmmmmmm valid piont there matey.... normally i wouldnt go for warrenties etc... as i can fix a desktop (with cyco's help of course lol).... but seeing as this is a laptop and a higher spec'd one, should i opt for the extended warrenty etc? whats youre view on this cyco?
spanks everyone, youve all been a great help
(who would of thought it was 'blue monday' eh!??!?! ) |
jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
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From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
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On 2008-01-21 12:12:39, Cycovision wrote:
You can't beat Dell for value when it comes to laptops and as mweb said, they're typically very well built so I reckon they're a safe bet.
They are not very well built in my experience. At work we had bought three and within 2 months 2 had hardware faults. Both took around two weeks for Dell to fix. We wont be buying anymore. All of our HP laptops are really reliable. We have never had a failure on HP laptops within the first year and we have about 20 of them.
Checkout my photos at My Website"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." |
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Posted: 2008-01-21 11:31
