New laptop time! After a decent peformer

[razer121]

Currently i use a Dv6 Pavillion with a hd 4530 gpu...naturally this is now lacking in the newer games....so after reading up reviews on the HD 5450 i was suprized with the performance of it! plus probs doesnt help that my laptop currently has a 2.10 amd dual core....

So either way with this in mind and a budget of £500 what do you guys suggest on a good laptop? something i want is ideally a core i5 450m, of course an i3 would do but i dont want the cpu to bottlenext my gaming habits i like to be able to game at medium min details...so having all on low is a now go for me! when it comes to laptops i only know ati...

the dv3-4050ea 13.3" is really looking to be the one i like it and the beast fits the bill but if i can get better peformance for my money then im going to go for that! thanks!

[TooNice]

The 1st gen XPS 15 can be had for *just* under £500. It's an i3, but the GT420M is faster than the Mobility HD5450. 15.6" is quite a bit bigger than 13.3" though (not sure if you move often).
[BTW, shouldn't this have been posted in the HW forum ]

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Both the Core i3 and Core i5 processors you are considering are dual cores. The Core i3 lacks Turbo Boost though.

You can get a Dell Inspiron 15 for £479 with a Mobility Radeon HD5650:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/...codes-coupons/

There is also the XPS 15 with the slower GeForce GT420M for around £499:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/...deals-coupons/

The Vostro 3550 has a Sandy Bridge Core i3 and a Mobility Radeon HD6630M:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/...al-comparison/

The HD5650 and HD6630M should be around the same speed AFAIK.

There are discount codes on each page.

You can also get cashback on Dell purchases from TopCashBack:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/...al-comparison/

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell_sm...dium_business/

[razer121]

Cheers guys, looking for a small laptop, i only use it for mobile gaming, So dont fancy lugging around a massive beast again i like the HP laptops and TBH i always steer clear of dells, however if you recommend these as decent laptops then i guess i will go google some reviews.

""edit"" after looking at them the only one i would even consider is the Dell inspiron 15, thats a tidy little laptop! but going to keep my options open before i go ahead and order it!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You missed this deal on the M11x:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell...-currys/916499

There is this factory refurbished one for around £544:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FACTORY-REFURB...534453fe60208c

[razer121]

Meh the Alienware is abit too small, 13Inchs is as small as i want to go and 16inchs is as large as i want to go, however that is one sexy laptop

Still eyeing up the Dell Inspiron 15 but thinking about going for the Nvidia 525.....i suppose i could always stretch the extra cash if its worth it! looking at notebookcheck the nvidia card for instance gets at least 1000 extra points in 3d mark, which would suggest it is a better card....

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Meh the Alienware is abit too small, 13Inchs is as small as i want to go and 16inchs is as large as i want to go, however that is one sexy laptop

Still eyeing up the Dell Inspiron 15 but thinking about going for the Nvidia 525.....i suppose i could always stretch the extra cash if its worth it! looking at notebookcheck the nvidia card for instance gets at least 1000 extra points in 3d mark, which would suggest it is a better card....

Looks at the scores in games and 3DMark Vantage scores:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...0.23697.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.43889.0.html

TBH,I am uncertain whether the GT525M option is worth £120 more though.

[razer121]

Looks at the scores in games and 3DMark Vantage scores:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...0.23697.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.43889.0.html

TBH,I am uncertain whether the GT525M option is worth £120 more though.

This is just it, consider im used to a GTX 460 in my pc, and a low end 4530 in my laptop, so judging that i consider all options, the 5650 seems to fit the bill perfectly but the gt525 does have the slight edge but like you said is it worth it, no not that much!

Personally i would prefer a HP laptop as i like the design but the dell is looking to be the winner! i'm going to hold of ordering a little while longer just to make sure i do enough research n no other decent offers turn up....

One other thing, i really liked the idea of a small but powerfull 13-14" laptop, shame!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would keep checking HUKD but realise most of them are absolutely clueless about laptops.

An example is the following laptop:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/tosh...-dixons/930321

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/tosh...pcworld/857328

Basically it is a thin and light laptop made of re-inforced magnesium alloy and has long battery life(it is based on a business class laptop). Even the screen is reinforced and it is ideal if you travel with your laptop. I have handled one and it has excellent build quality and yet it is voted cold since you can get a piece of ****e with better specifcations and much worse build and worse battery life for less. Clueless muppets TBH.

[razer121]

So the day is finally here...ive been doing loads fo research and finally ive decided its time to start spending but before i do that...is there any other deals i should be aware of?

I cannot currently find the deal with the dell so im having to look elseware for it!

But any other suggestons would be really good now as im buying it today

[Phage]

Not here. But As I'm going to be buying shortly for my Step-daughter, I'd be very interested on what you find.

[razer121]

Currently it is a toss up between a dell inspiron 15r 5010 with the hd 5650, or the alienware m11 with the gt 335, both have pros and cons, the pros of the alienware is the fact it is small, something i did want, but then it only has a 1.7odd cpu, which is fromt he older line of core 2 duos, where the 15r has the newer core i3...so its a hard choice!

[razer121]

Done i ended up getting a factory refurb of the.....drumroll please!



Alienware m11 very excited!

[Behemoth]

Where from and how much mate ?

[razer121]

Well, this one i did orginally order was from ebay, too much! but im not keeping it, im getting my money back and going to order it direct from dell instead

[KidChameleon]

What are Dell lead times like? I was on the look out for a half decent gaming laptop around £500 and the Inspiron 15 looks just right, but I'm probably off to New Zealand as soon as Friday. I know Ebuyer have been good with quick delivery but I have a feeling my aunt's Dell desktop took a few weeks.