Spec me a 11.6-13.3" laptop please...

[Sumanji]

Hey,

I really wanted to get a Dell XPS M1330, but they have sadly been discontinued basically I want something with a roughly 11-13" display (decent res) and discrete graphics (or integrated) that can manage Source engine games.

Something like this HP with a dedicated Radeon 4330 would be cool, but I'm a bit wary that the Athlon Neo X2 might not have the grunt I want/need. I get pretty annoyed at how sluggish my netbook is at times (Atom N270 with 2GB RAM and an SSD).

Budget - maybe about £600? Does anything fit the bill?

Cheers,

Su

[matty-hodgson]

What's your budget? If it stretches to a Macbook (£800) then I'd say it fits the bill perfectly tbh.

13.3" Screen
Well built
Core 2 Duo processor
Discrete graphics
Plenty of RAM
And the 10 hour battery life!

[kevpuk]

Looking along these lines myself....want a small (13 or 14) screen, decent gfx, decent CPU and decent battery life - holy grail, perhaps !
How's about Acer 3820TG ? Or Asus UL series.....these are on my radar.....Lenovo Y460 looks good, but can't see them in the UK Actually, I prefer the Acer 4820TG to the 3820TG, due to optical drive built-in also.....and then, there is the hp Envy 14 ?

[Sumanji]

...a Macbook (£800) then I'd say it fits the bill perfectly tbh.

VOMZ, gtfo

I could budget for that, but Jobs would certainly not be getting it

Would be looking to spend around £600

[Domestic_Ginger]

HP had an offer on returning an old laptop and getting £100 off. HUKD had offers on an i3 a few months ago.

I think other people offer the same; Dixons curry's etc.

[kalniel]

Asus U35JC-RX080V £670

* Display: 13.3" HD TFT (1366x768, Color-Shine, LED)
* CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-370M (2.4GHz)
* Graphics: Switchable Graphics: NV G310M, 1G VRAM + Intel GMA 4500MHD
* Storage: 320GB (5400rpm)
* Memory: 4096MB (2048x2) DDRII 1066 RAM
* OS: 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddeta...d=U35JC-RX080V

[Sumanji]

HP had an offer on returning an old laptop and getting £100 off...

Hmm, but I don't have a machine to trade-in (unless they'll accept my Dell Mini 9?!).

Asus U35JC-RX080V £670

Looks good - added to shortlist

Does anyone have experience with Asus laptops though? What's their end-user support like?

Cheers,

Su

[usxhe190]

whats your budget?

your best bet will be asus as they love their switchable graphics etc

[Sumanji]

whats your budget?

About £600 maybe.

Su

[usxhe190]

kalniel's recommendation would be the best I feel.

[Blackmage]

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_...21/version.asp

here's a good deal.

[kalniel]

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_...21/version.asp

here's a good deal.

If you don't mind the slow CPU and poor Intel onboard graphics. If OP doesn't mind Intel graphics then there's a huge range available.

[Blackmage]

If you don't mind the slow CPU and poor Intel onboard graphics. If OP doesn't mind Intel graphics then there's a huge range available.

Well, I recommend it on the basis of value, for the price it's going to be hard to beat.

[TooNice]

I've been shopping for 13"-14" laptops and narrowed down to pretty much all the ones mentioned on this thread (I guess they are the main contenders).

My fav would be the Envy 14 even though it might be too big (HD5650, eSATA, decent screen). I like the Acer TimeLineX 3820TG because of the HD5650 GFX card, but I read that the build and screen is kinda weak. I like the Asus U35JC for the USB 3.0, but while the GFX card is decent, it's behind the 5650. MBP is meant to have a very nice screen for a laptop, but if you want Windows, you'll need to splash for a licence, and again, the GFX card is behind the 5650.

Still, for Source engine games, the 310M should be fine, and I think that the two with the HD5650 would be more expensive in the UK than the one U35JC kalniel linked. Note as well that I've not used any of them, but have spend quite a bit of time reading up over the last few weeks.

[Sumanji]

HP Envy series looks pretty awesome, but the Envy 14 is too big (actually a 14.5" screen). 12"/13" with a decent resolution (1280x800 or something) is what I'm after, although I guess that's not really common with the 12".

So does anyone have experience of the Athlon Neo chips? How do they stack up vs. Atom and CULV?

Acer need to release a new Ferrari model for me tbh

Cheers,

Su

[usxhe190]

Athlon laptop chips are pretty bad.