Looking for a decent portable laptop, suggestions?

[Rob_B]

I will be away on training quite a bit for my new job so need a laptop to take with me, will be used for browsing (either by 3G dongle or pref built in 3G) and Skype to chat to my wife & son so it needs to have a webcam.

I fancy something portable but NOT a netbook, Atom just doesn't cut it for me. New or refurb would be considered.

Max screen size 13.3" for portability/weight reasons.

I'd like Win7, DVDRW would be nice but not a major thing.
I'd like to maybe install Steam & be able to play HL2 etc if I get bored so a half decent onboard GFX would be nice but I'm aware that pushes the price up.
After that RAM/HDD isn't an issue as they can always be upgraded so it won't affect my buying decision too much.

Now to budget, I'd be hoping to spend less than £300 but for the right model I could squeeze another couple of hundred onto that so £450 maybe £500 max but it'd have to be goooood to get me to £500!

So does anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers!

Rob

[usxhe190]

Think you need to increase your amount to £400 to get something decent.

Not sure on refurbished. Battery is key.

You ok with 11.6" laptops? 13.3 inch will be more comfortable though.

[Rob_B]

Yeah as I mentioned I'd like to spend less than £300 but to be fair I know that's unlikely, £400 would probably be fine.

I'm ok with any size between 11-13 inches really (I await this comment to be sigged...)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You can go with either a CULV laptop for around that price or an AMD Zacate based netbook. The CULV laptops will have a slightly more powerful CPU and the older generation Intel IGPs which are quite weak whereas the AMD Zacate based netbooks have much faster graphics cards.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

These two AMD Zacate models are starting to filter into stock:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...4-5046273.html

http://www.dabs.com/products/lenovo-...m_content=Q200

They should cost between £300 to £350.

You can get AMD C50 based Zacate netbooks for under £300 but the E350 are worth the extra cash due to the faster CPU and IGP.

Here are some reviews of the HP netbook:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20512

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4187/h...on-on-the-road

Edit!!

It seems the original HL2 will run on medium settings at 1366X768 although later Episodes maybe an issue.

OTH,I suspect if you reduce the resolution newer games will be more playable.

The E350 IGP based on the desktop HD5450 graphics card. This means in most cases the previous generation Intel HD graphics will be slower. Also,the latest HD3000 will probably be faster but AFAIK Sandy Bridge laptops with a smaller screen are usually above £400.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

BTW,remember that Zacate has much higher single threaded performance than the current Atom so in most cases it will be faster in everyday use IMHO. Also,the current Intel HD3000 IGP is faster but the Sandy Bridge laptops are over £400 and most smaller screen notebooks ATM under £400 are using CULV or Pentium dual core processors and their associated IGPs which are not that fast.

[Rob_B]

Interesting however it still seems underpowered, more a netbook than laptop. There aren't any benchies but I speculate a C2D CULV @ 1.2 or 1.3Ghz would wipe the floor with it (not sure of the gfx performance of that platform though?)

Perhaps going C2D & sacrificing GFX performance in place of a beefier CPU would be best, it's tricky, it'll be used more for browsing etc than games so maybe I should consider that more important but I'm stubborn!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Interesting however it still seems underpowered, more a netbook than laptop. There aren't any benchies but I speculate a C2D CULV @ 1.2 or 1.3Ghz would wipe the floor with it (not sure of the gfx performance of that platform though?)

For the sort of purposes you are using the laptop for it is more than fast enough. On top of this the IGP will destroy any of the Pentium Dual Core and CULV based laptops with a smaller screen in your price range. For the sort of screen size you are looking it is either Atom,CULV,Zacate or maybe a Pentium Dual Core.

The E350 IGP is the second fastest IGP in most cases after the Intel HD3000 which is found on Sandy Bridge laptops. For your budget and screen size requirement you are looking at IGPs and the only other alternative is to look for an Atom Ion netbook which has a slower CPU but has a dedicated Nvidia graphics card.

[usxhe190]

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 11
Toshiba T230

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I didn't realise £500 was your maximum budget. I thought it was £400!!

The Dell Vostro V130 maybe worth a look at:

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

It is based on the Dell Adamo and has an aluminium body.

It has the previous generation Intel HD graphics which was found on the socket 1156 Core i3 processors. However,it does not have as long a battery life as the Zacate netbooks though.

Here is a review:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-...k.43347.0.html

There is also the Dell Vostro 3450:

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

It has a 14" screen but uses Sandy Bridge processors and uses the HD3000 IGP meaning it should be OK for light gaming.

The HD2000 IGP in my computer can run L4D at 1280X800 at a mixture of medium and high settings without AA smoothly.

The Vostro 3450 is around 2.28KG in weight,has a 6 cell battery as standard and has an optical drive.

BTW,there are some dsicount vouchers on the front page of the dmXdimesion website and TopCashback also do 6.06% cashback too on Dell Vostro laptops:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

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

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/dell/

[Rob_B]

Thanks guys, we're pushing the very upper limits of budget now with those suggestions & I'm thinking if I really need an i3 or awesome gfx (let's face it, I don't really)

I'm scouring the Dell outlet now actually, I'd discounted some on there but am taking another look. I fancy an M1330 but need to check prices out.

[Rob_B]

Dell Adamo for £470....http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell...laptops/914878

Lovely looking but overpriced still, although SSD is nice

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Dell Adamo for £470....http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell...laptops/914878

Lovely looking but overpriced still, although SSD is nice

The Vostro V130 is very similar in design.
Adamo



Vostro V130

[Rob_B]

ouch @ the price though!

[Cleeecooo]

The vostro's are very good - my Dad has one and even I find it ok to use

[Rob_B]

Dixons have the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ for £429, - 10% code + 4% Quidco so just under £370 after all of that, looking at reviews now...I'm a sucker for touch screens!

http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/acer-as...39264-pdt.html

Dual-core Intel® Pentium® Processor SU4100
3GB DDR3
11.6"
Multi touch display
250GB HDD
3 x USB
b/g/n Wifi
HDMI out
1.7KG