New Laptop Advice Please.

U Cook Socks · New Laptop Advice Please.

Need to get a new laptop, as mine is about to spontaniously combust very shortly. Have to get a laptop rather than a desktop, because I don't play at home every day.

Am looking to spend £650 or less, less is preferable the way my roll is heading just lately Very Happy

I don't need it to make me a cup of coffee, or put the bins out for me. Just run applications quickly and efficiently. Main use will be for poker and web browsing.

Anything I need to be looking for when I decide what to buy ? Any recommendations?

Thank you , Please.

forced

all i can say is ... dont get an acer.... i went through 3 of them in 6 weeks..... my samsung seems to be holding up well though.

sootedninjas

lenovo seems pretty good.

check newegg dot com. even tho they are US based at least you can see comparables and reviews for what is good and what it's not. so based on that you know what to lok for locally.

U Cook Socks

JamEaze

Samsung are definitely the best... I particularly like the X series.

U Cook Socks

I have a Sony Vio at the moment, has been really good. It's still a decent spec actually, considering how old it is. But it has done some hard work, and is coming to the end of it's life now.

I was looking more for what things I need to look for, as in what processors are best, and anything in particular there I need to look for. I always go for one with high Ram, cos everything just runs much smoother, but I am really a novice when people start talking computer jargon.

YATHINNK

Basically for 500 quidish, maybe more you can get one that will fly through what you need it to do.

You'll probably need it to be running HEM too whilst you're playing so a decent processor would be good. Most are just dual core now and as the tasks you'll be doing won't be too strenuous then a dual core should do what you want and more, I mean i'm on a netbook right now and it runs FTP, skype, itunes, HEM and Chrome without any real hitches, so a laptop with a dual core processor+ should fly through it. There's also the options of the 'i' processors, i.e i3, i5 i7, but these tend to be a bit more expensive and it may be a little overkill for what you want it to do.

The second thing you want to look for is the ram and for the price you're willing to spend I don't imagine you will have too much problem with finding one. 4gb is the best as you'll get a 64bit OS system when you buy it. For reference 64-bit is definitely the way the computer world is heading and with a 32-bit OS then you can only run up to 3GB ram most of the time. Any more than that and the computer doesn't 'see' it.

Another point is definitely the OS itself. Only get Windows 7. I don't know whether you have that already or not but if you don't make sure you get it, mind you most laptops are shipped with it nowadays anyway. I'm probs too much of a fanboy but when you've used Vista for so long it seems so much smoother and I've not had one program error or anything like that.

With graphics cards and chipsets I wouldn't worry too much, cause you won't be doing much 3D gaming, if that is the case then definitely look for something with a better graphics card. But these are often a lot more expensive and if gaming will be very occasional you have to wonder whether or not it is worth paying the extra money for.

Battery life is another, although I assume that you will be near a mains most of the time, it's important that you can take it off the power once in a while just to keep the battery alive and ticking and healthy. Anything 6 cell will do for this and I wouldn't worry too much about it.

As for screensize, I'd defo recommend 17inches plus if you don't plan on using it on the move alot. It'll be big enough then to be essentially a desktop replacement and with you being at the kitchen table a lot, as you've told me you play there in the past, it'll be easy to focus on and most of these screens are tru-bright and they look immense to be honest.

I can't think of a lot more to add to be honest so I'll just sum it up so it's easier if this has become too long.

RAM: 4GB to run 64bit.
OS: Win7 64-bit (Any version will do, i.e Premium, Pro, etc.)
Processor: Dual Core + nothing less will cope with multitasking. i3/i5 is good if you can afford to ship the money for Laptops with them
Battery: 6 cell is pretty much the min and you'll get away with that
Graphics: Not too important unless you plan on gaming it up. If so look for something with dedicated 3D graphics. These are a bit more expensive though.
Screensize: I'd defo go with 17 inches plus. Especially in your case as I assume you won't be using it on the move too much.

If I had to give a recommendation I'd probably go with this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/252805

Has everything you need really and should nail the majority of the stuff you throw at it.

I hope you can sorta take something from that. I ain't a pro but I reckon I know enough to find something that will do the task. It's then down to personal preference as to what looks good to you and how much you are willing to pay.

U Cook Socks

Yeah, thanks for that.

I'm not a total write off, I kind of get what I am looking for, but I just hate it when you spend a lot of money on an item, only to find you missed something. Like someone will say, oh you should have looked for one with such and such on it etc etc, you get what I mean.

I don't mind paying up around £600, but this is quite a lot for a laptop. I'd rather do that though, than buy one from the total bottom end of the market, cos they in honesty aren't much better than I already have.

I do move it about, but only to my mates and back, it's no big deal how big it is to be honest. It only has to go from the house to the car, and back and so on. I imagine screen size puts the price up a bit, I know when I broke a laptop once, treading on it while being boozed up, they wanted so much to fix the screen, it wasn't worth it.

Basically, I want something that can multi task quite quickly. That has a clear screen, cos my eyes really aren't as good as they used to be. Probably because I spend to much time looking at a computer screen. I always play by a mains, so the battery life isn't ultra important.

I am glad windows 7 is an improvement, because I honestly would prefer XP to Vista, it's an awful os imo is Vista. I also want something that will last me about 3 years, as this one has. Don't see any problems really , as this one is still easily good enough to do what I want, it is just dropping to bits now, and gets worryingly hot sometimes. Might get a refurb on it for the right price and let the kids have it.

hjbear

i think you should invest in a macbook. biggest mistake i made was getting a laptop instead of a macbook.

U Cook Socks

I have already chosen my machine !

Thanks for the advice peoples.

Just got to get the moneys of PokerStars now, which isn't as easy as I first thought. Just another reason I will definitely be back at Full Tilt very soon.

JamEaze

Should just be able to do a cashout onto your Visa card from Stars right?

U Cook Socks

You would think so wouldn't you ?

Read this thread and see what you think.

http://tagpoker.myfastforum.org/about2504.html&highlight=

MrJayOMG

Hey Blazing,

You got a new laptop yet? I am kinda in the same position ATM, got a Sony which is pretty beat up & I'm looking for a new one.

U Cook Socks

MrJayOMG

Awesome, I'll check it out.

tmle09

keep building your roll a lit more and get a nice mac book..those will definitely last you a long time..no viruses Smile

MrJayOMG

I hear what you're saying, but I don't wanna have to wait until I'm playing the $5k games til I can afford a budget mac book Wink

I only use my laptop for grinding & browsing so I can't justify spending a ton of money for something that I won't utilise fully.