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Need a laptop, tell me what to buy (warning, lots of requirements)

8 replies

LucyFarinelli · 20/02/2012 20:38

Hi,
Starting uni in september and need a new laptop. I will be watching and recording lots if videos as part of my course so...

Ok here is what I need:

*Video/ Graphics card at least 1 GB
*Memory capacity of at least 4 GB
*Built in wireless
*Built in webcam (good quality)
*Need to be able to do video editing
*And need to be good for writing essays

Any suggestions???

OP posts:
AllIWant85 · 20/02/2012 20:45

Budget?

LucyFarinelli · 20/02/2012 21:11

Anything up to £800 (could stretch a bit higher if it's really good)

OP posts:
littleredcheekmonkey · 20/02/2012 21:12

Depending on budget you could probably go one of two ways, spend more and get a MacBook (never had one myself, but I expect the tool of choice by graphics artists and video producers (i suspect ad much Mac's style ad much as the software!)

Alternativley, spend less and by a windows laptop, it won't last you as long, but should be cheaper for comparable hardware.

Be aware that the latest spec will be disproportionately expensive, however end of line stuff may not be able to support newer software after as little as a year. (you could buy cheap and expect to replace it sooner) eg cheap Dell or or such from Tesco!

You should probably think about what software you'll want on it (sounds like you already have) as things such as video processing do benefit from certain hardware support.

It's worth buying a magazine that's does reviews etc as they'll review against thay kind of functionality, and you should get a better idea of other features you may or maynot know abouty. I'd advise againt the likes of Pc world, as in my experience they dont know their stuff so will not help you make a well informed decision - make your decision the choose where to buy.

No specific answers there, but the things I'd consider if I were looking again.

Worth looking at dell outlet, they somtimes do good offers (im not touting Dell, they just the only one I can remember at the mo!).

LucyFarinelli · 20/02/2012 21:32

Monkey Thanks a lot., thats really useful. I think I may go and buy some magazines. I've had a look on Which? website but there is a lot of trawling to find out about each laptop.

I'll definatly look into Dell, not a fan of Mac (they have problems with software compatability with windows).

OP posts:
lazydog · 21/02/2012 07:46

If you're looking at Dell (which I would - we have 3 at the moment) then I'd recommend looking at the XPS 17 range here

I, personally, wouldn't go for less than a 17" screen for video work, even though it means it's heavier to lug around.

I'd choose the second option on that page I linked to (the one which is saying "prices from 749") but I'd customise and upgrade from the standard screen resolution of 1600x900 to 1920x1080 for an additional 90 quid - well worth it.

The rest is way more than adequate at the standard spec and the LCD upgrade takes you to a total price of 839.00, if you can stretch to that?

lazydog · 26/02/2012 04:34

Any update? Just curious what you went for in the end - plus a little "bump" because at the end of the month, the price of the laptop I linked to (you did say, "tell me what to buy" Wink ) goes up by over 300 quid!

LucyFarinelli · 26/02/2012 20:07

I have a few i'm going to try out, but I've also designed my own laptop on Dell's website. So using that as a benchmark really. I will let you know lazydog when I've had a chance to look at these in the flesh. Thanks for your advice though.

OP posts:
jshm2 · 28/02/2012 10:57

That's nothing special to be honest as most standard i5 machines and quite a few i3 too, have you covered.

With a budget of £800 what size of screen are you looking at?

The 14" Acer TimelineX 4830T series comes in at around £600 with a 9 hour battery as standard - but weighs around 2kg

The 11" Alienware M11x-R3 exceeds your requirements and it's the best gaming machine you can buy at the price at just under £750

The 15" Dell XPS 15z is around the £800 mark and it's a rock solid performer.

The 17" HP Envy 17 has Beats Audio as standard and it's pretty quick too. But you'll need to use some coupons sites to get discounts to bring it to £800

The 15" Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 is a business laptop and pretty rugged in build and quite light too. Available for around £600 it's a good quality machine.

The 15" Samsung p580 is around £700 and offers the most "bang per buck" of the competition. Reliability is a bit of an issue with Samsungs but you'll often find they can price match any of the competition.

Anyway, the choice is yours as you have there the machines to beat in their respective price and size bands.

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