Whats the best notebook/laptop to get? Help!

[ravedave]

Hi,

I just wanted someone to tell me whats the best notebook/laptop for around £500 as this is my first time buying one, i would like to get one that i can play games on, games like The movies,Ghost recon etc, any help would would be fantastic.

Regards
Dave

[jankerson]

Hi,

I just wanted someone to tell me whats the best notebook/laptop for around £500 as this is my first time buying one, i would like to get one that i can play games on, games like The movies,Ghost recon etc, any help would would be fantastic.

Regards
Dave

You really aren't going to get much for that.

If you want something to play games on you need to more than double your budget.

Laptops that you can really play games on with good graphics cards in them are around £1,300.

[ThreeOnTheTree]

Agreed. At that budget, you'll end up with something very basic. Graphics won't be that great, nor will battery life. Most entry level notebooks have integrated graphics (they use system RAM) like Intel Extreme, SiS-based, or Via based graphics. About the best you can hope for is ATI X200, but even then it won't be earth-shaking power.

[jankerson]

Something like a Dell Inspiron 9300 or Latitude D810 both with the upgraded graphics Card would be good choices. (256 mb 6800 Go in the 9300) (128 mb Radeon X600 in the Latitude D810)

That will also be a good price point to see what it takes to get what you want.

[ravedave]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies i just got them as i was away over xmas and new year.

I've been looking on ebay alot for a laptop and there are lots of excellent high spec laptops on there but it's hard trying to find a seller to trust as there's alot of people getting riped off just now which is a shame .

Anyway i was also looking on Ebuyer and they have this laptop Acer Aspire for £638.99 which i am willing to pay but i'm not too happy with the Processor and ram but i really like the fast graphics card (ATI® X600) but i've been told that it's not a x600 but it's now being shipped with a ATI® X700 which should be even better .

So i would really like to know what you guy's think about this laptop,would it be any good for gaming plus is that processor up to the job,i think the ram is DDR2 ram.

Thanks For your help.

Dave

[Martin_89]

That acer laptop looks good, i ordered one for my uncle from ebuyer for my little cousins christmas present (was a different model though) but it was really well built and i was impressed with it.

id say that one is ok processor wise but it could be doing with an upgrade to 1024mb of ram when you get the cash!

cheers,
Martin

[ravedave]

Thanks Martin for the fast reply, that laptop seems to be the best deal i can find just now for that price,i would want to upgrade it to 1gb ram or even 2gb if it's got the room and the price is right,i think it's got 2x 256 not sure but i may have to lose them.

The laptop will be mainly plugged into the mains and only sometimes i'll be taking it out and about with me,also it comes with xp home which i will be changing to xp pro as i find it better with xp pro.

If anyone has any views on this laptop or any other it would be great to hear from you.

Many thanks
Dave

[ThreeOnTheTree]

It's a shame you live across the pond, because I could probably hook you up over here (I have something that matches your specs pretty close). Cross-country deals are next to impossible though, due to customs and tariffs.

[Hoyle]

It's not a bad system... I've used a very similar Acer system, and it should be OK. The CPU is sort of weak, but with those graphics it's not going to be the limiting factor in gameplay anyway. I'm not fond of Acer's "Crystal Bright" display - that just means that they leave the LCD glossy to achieve a higher contrast rating... at the expense of never being able to use it with a window or light source behind you (it's like looking into a mirror).

[ravedave]

Thanks again guys!

I am rethinking about my budget because i really want a gaming laptop and as i've been searching the net for good deals on laptops i came across 2 of the cheapest great spec laptops i can find.

I would really like your feedback on these laptops,they are both the same but different specs,so i am now willing to put my budget upto £900 now after seeing them.

Or do you think i should stick with my first choice and upgrade it?

Any info would be greatful, please see link below,thanks Dave

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo 1

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo 2

[Martin_89]

wow thats really good value for both of them.

i would go for the second one since its got the faster processor (sicnce yo cant overclock them or upgrade them, easily ) and double the ram.

[ThreeOnTheTree]

I'd go with the 3700+ model, as any games you play will be limited by the X700 graphics anyway. The 3700+ runs at 2.4ghz, which is more than enough. You could do the 4000+, but it's a place that you could save a little money.

[Justintime]

Yea, 200MHz difference in max clock is so small its virtually unnoticeable.