Question about Decent laptop vs netbook +desktop

[Spiderbot01]

I finish uni this year and my laptop bless it, is on its way out.

I've already got a job for the students union, where I'm out of the office a lot and may have to do spreadsheet type work at home.

Basically my question is, with a budget of £600-700 is an all round laptop worth upgrading to (that I'd be able to play most games on) whilst still being useful for work,

or is it possible to get a desktop/netbook combo - so I can play games and do work at home on the desktop while having the portability during the day?

I get a desktop in my office if that may play into considerations. Thing is, I don't know a great deal about hardware difference and I've heard a lot of negatives on netbooks, so was just wondering on opinions!

[clyzm]

Personally I'd say just get a decent laptop, because you may find yourself in a situation where you need a program to run on your netbook but you installed it on your desktop and vice versa. Just have everything in one unit and shit

[Shinobi]

For £600 you're gonna struggle with games. For a great all-round laptop that I can personally recommend, see this:

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/ ... spiron-15r


I know there are many good laptops out there, some perhaps better suited for gaming, but this is the only one I'll 100% recommend as I own it and love it.

Admittedly it's a little long in the tooth now, and there have been a few Inspiron incarnations since. One I'd bet is a good buy as my cousin owns and loves it: http://search.dell.co.uk/1/1/146132-del ... aptop.html
Here is a review of said laptop: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/ ... spiron-17r

Also, looking on the Dell site there are a number of slightly higher-spec versions you may be interested in. I'm not as confident suggesting laptops as they're not so spec-dependant and a lot can suck about a laptop's keyboard/screen/trackpad etc as you'll probably know.

Desktop (build your own for whatever purpose ya need) + shitty netbook for basic work would be my personal choice, mate.

[Psychotic]

Ew. Dell.

[Shinobi]

Ew. Dell.

Very informative.

They're not terrible. Heh - recommending a branded desktop would be the last thing I'd do* but since I'm not a big laptop fan and don't think it's possible to build your own from scratch, I recommended a machine I use and am happy with, and that I've read many positive reviews about.

Tell ya what, though, you wouldn't belieeeeeeeeeve the EWWWWWs I made when I found out Dell now owns Alienware (not that I like Alienware much but still)...


*with the exception of Scan, of course, oh and cyberpowersystem where my dad bought his, that didn't turn out too bad. Incidentally, R.I.P. Vadim computers (long time ago I know but I was a loyal customer)

[Siva]

This is a decent one, £569.99, has a GT555m which can handle pretty much any of today's games. You can't max out BF3 on it but you can play BF3 on it. On medium settings at least.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/laptop/range/ ... .html?th=g

A GT555m is really the best you can hope for in the sub-£700 price bracket, unless you are willing to buy a used laptop.

[Spiderbot01]

I'm leaning more towards the netbook/desktop combo

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/lapt ... ictTab#top

seems the best shout that I've found so far for netbooks, particularly due to the price. Don't really know what I'm looking for on the desktop front!

[Shinobi]

That one must be good it's got an orange lid... actually it is quite shexy.

Will find some desktops for ya.

EDIT: if ya got £700.... minus £275 for n/book..... ya fucked for games

[James]

You won't be able to play most videogames at an enjoyable level properly on a notebook, full stop. Gotta go one up I believe like a light laptop that is easy for portability.

[Shinobi]

It's a pretty hard and fast decision when it comes to laptops between ultra-portable or gaming. You won't, as far as I know (again - my knowledge of anything other than desktops is pretty slim) get a decent gaming laptop for much less than a grand, and any hopes of better-than-average battery life or light weight should really be abandoned.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

What games are we talking? Magazine reviews etc will say a machine (be it desktop or laptop) is no good for games if it isn't pretty beefy, but it all depends what games. Example: my secondary PC is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (something like 2.2GHz), with 2Gb RAM, a cheap 1Tb SATA I HDD, GeForce 9800GTX+ and windows 7 home premium.... it plays DX human revolution at a pretty acceptable 25-30fps, it'll play crysis 2 on medium detail fairly well (sorry no exact figure), it will with a bit of tweaking be fine for most multimedia tasks (weirdly it SEEMS just as fast as my core i7 950 at dvd encoding), and it plays HD video just fine.

If you're going for the desktop/netbook combo I'd go for a pre-built desktop, perhaps I'd even venture onto eBay as it is quite possible to find a few diamonds in the rough on there... get the cheapest most functional netbook you can stoop to, and concentrate on the desktop.

Or get yourself an alienware laptop and start weight-training before you attempt carrying it around.... (no, don't get anything alienware!!)

[Siva]

...Please build your own desktop if you get a desktop.

[Dae]

Get a portable netbook + build a PC for games.

(Also there was a similar thread a year ago).

[Shinobi]

As great as it is to build your own PC (I always do), I have to admit it often works out cheaper to get one pre-built.

Back in 2010 when I bought a system for my dad, it worked out cheaper to buy it.

I got this:

ORDER INFORMATION:
Order#: 177035
Date: 20/10/2010 03:57:59

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Sales: ALAN
Referral: Custom PC

COMMENTS/SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
OCT
ITEMS:
Intel X58 Configurator (NO MONITOR)
INFI7DDR3Z, http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/syste ... figurator/
*BASE_PRICE: [+552]
CABLE: None
CAS: Thermaltake Armor A60 Gaming Mid-Tower Case with SideClick EasySwap / SSD Support and front USB3 port [+24]
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: NONE
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-950 3.06 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366 ***Overclockable S&S***
CS_FAN: Maximum Case Cooling Fans for your selected case, and match the colour of the fans already in the case [+15]
DONGLES: NONE
EXPAN: NONE
FA_HDD: None
FAN: CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent Operation at only 22dBA + Overclock Proof) ***Overclockable XXX*** [+2]
FLASHMEDIA: None
FLOPPY: NONE
FREEBIE_HD: None
FREEBIE_NVVC: None
HDD: 640GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+18] (1.28TB (640GBx2) Raid 0 Extreme Performance [+47])
HDD2: 640GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+47] (Single Hard Drive)
HOMEINSTALL: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: NONE
MEMORY: 6GB (3x2GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Triple Channel Memory [+37] (Corsair XMS3 w/Heat Spreader ***Overclockable XXX*** [+27])
MODEM: NONE
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MONITOR3: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA-III RAID w/ 7.1Audio,GbLAN,IEEE1394a,USB3.0,SATA-III,RAID,3 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI *** XXX overclocking *** [+19]
MOUSE: NONE
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+74] (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: Corsair Power Supplies [+49] (850 Watts CMPSU-850HX Modular-- Quad SLI Ready [+32])
PRO_WIRING1: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chasis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
RUSH: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: NONE
TEMP: NONE
TVRC: NONE
UPS: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: NONE
VC_PHYSX: None
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5770 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 Video Card [+52]
VIDEO2: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics
VIDEO3: None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics
WAP: NONE
WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
WEBCAM: NONE
WNC: NONE
_PRICE: (+1014)
_view_: d
£1,014.00x1 £1,014.00
SUBTOTAL: £1,014.00
VAT (17.5%): £181.83
Shipping: Standard Delivery UK mainland £25.00
GRAND TOTAL: £1,220.83

Which, after pricing up on various sites, I couldn't get cheaper buying parts individually.

Try lambda-tek PC configurator, maybe, think that was the closest price I found. Plus you can choose the smaller details so everything is as you want it, although back in 2008 when I bought parts from them I did have a few problems waiting around for out-of-stock items but on the whole I was happy.

I don't know how much you know but trust me when I say that the act of physically building your own reallyl isn't that difficult. It took me one whole day to assemble my first PC.... (okay it took me another 3 to route the wires efficiently lol).

[Aidan]

That is a RIPOFF.

£1,220.83 for an x58, with only 6Gb or ram? -and a 5770?

[Shinobi]

Back in 2010 though mate

[Siva]

It's still a ripoff

Why would you buy an i7 and then get a 5770. As well as that, £1,200? lol.

[James]

Definitely a ripoff.

[Shinobi]

Not my problem really lol, tis my Dad's.

I couldn't find a better deal online for pre-built and from a company with an online configurator thingy. Scan are more expensive.

Had the 5770 because dad's budget was £1250 and he doesn't play demanding games, stuff like AifE and Footie manager and Civ 5 etc. He just wanted a good pc, and I think in Oct 2010 that was a good PC.

Feel free to suggest decent PC companies though!! Altho personally I'll stick to building my own if I'm buying for me. Don't wanna hijack this thread though...... had any luck with the search for laptops? desktop/netbbooks?

[Spiderbot01]

It's difficult to get up to date reviews tbh, but the vast majority of pretty much all netbooks of any price can handle browsing and document editing which is its primary function.

So far the Acer Happy 2, the Samsung NF110 or the Samsung NC110 seem the most likely options as they're all around the £230-250 mark, though finding them online new isn't easy.

As for a desktop, I'd be impressed with myself if I managed to put on together, but it's incredible difficult to compare everything.

My current laptop has a 2ghz core 2 duo processor, with integrated graphics, 3gb of ram and 150gb hdd, so I'm really just looking for something more powerful than this.

But I don't really know the difference between i3, 5 and 7 and how good they all are compared to dual core processors, so trying to work out what would be more powerful than this is difficult (not to mention I don't know what constitutes a good graphics card either)

[Shinobi]

Depends what you want 'em for.

I too don't really know the difference between i3,5 and 7, because lower-end ranges don't even enter my head when considering a PC build or buy.

[Dae]

But I don't really know the difference between i3, 5 and 7 and how good they all are compared to dual core processors

You meant, "Core 2 Duo processors". Some of the i3, i5 and even i7 are also dual core, although they will be substantially better than most Core 2 Duo's.

This perhaps may give you an idea about how they all compare to each other.

[ynnaD]

Samsung NC110

This is a great netbook, i had to source a personal netbook for one of the users at work, we got them this , i've had a fair bit of use on it and i like it , fairly powerful for the price, it's not a gaming machine by any stretch but it will handle most things with ease, it would fit what your looking for.

[Tantalus]

There is ultimately a compromise here.

Buy a laptop - optimum for work (take anywhere and work anywhere), not great for gaming (mobile processor).
Buy a desktop/netbook combo - not so great for work (smaller keyboard is a pain, shitty screen, sloth performance), better for gaming (although the desktop would be no champ).

[Shinobi]

But I don't really know the difference between i3, 5 and 7 and how good they all are compared to dual core processors

You meant, "Core 2 Duo processors". Some of the i3, i5 and even i7 are also dual core, although they will be substantially better than most Core 2 Duo's.

This perhaps may give you an idea about how they all compare to each other.

Thanks Dae. I did in fact mean dual core... wasn't aware of the 2 core ones! Well, didn't think there were 2 core i7s??

Mine's an i7-950... I get confused between physical and logical cores. Kinda thought all "core iX2 series were 6 core though... ooops

[Professor Layton]

There is ultimately a compromise here.

Buy a laptop - optimum for work (take anywhere and work anywhere), not great for gaming (mobile processor).
Buy a desktop/netbook combo - not so great for work (smaller keyboard is a pain, shitty screen, sloth performance), better for gaming (although the desktop would be no champ).

The small keyboard on a netbook is really no problem at all for a lot of people. Same for the screen, it's still at a decent resolution despite it's size. (Depending on what kind of work you're gonna end up doing you could consider plugging it in a second monitor at work though, but the same counts for a laptop)

The performance can be quite bad though at times, but you just need to make sure to not have windows automatically update itself while you're working.

[Dae]

smaller keyboard is a pain

I agree with Clix here. It's a pain for a day or two. On my Eee netbook I even had the right shift key in a weird place, but I got used to that too — despite I'm a somewhat a conservative kind.

[Shinobi]

^agreed. Would NEVER consider a laptop without a numpad when I was younger, but now I don't care. Often find myself going for the del key in totally the wrong place on most netbooks/smaller laptops, but you get used to it.


If you buy a netbook you're not really expecting the earth though, are ya. Well you shouldn't be.

Dare I suggest it..... there are plenty of decent netbooks shipping with various linux distros, too, y'know. I'm not ACTUALLY aware of any examples but I've been told this is the case and I suppose it could be true... possible performance increase due to reduced OS overheads maybe?

[Aidan]

But I don't really know the difference between i3, 5 and 7 and how good they all are compared to dual core processors

You meant, "Core 2 Duo processors". Some of the i3, i5 and even i7 are also dual core, although they will be substantially better than most Core 2 Duo's.

This perhaps may give you an idea about how they all compare to each other.

Thanks Dae. I did in fact mean dual core... wasn't aware of the 2 core ones! Well, didn't think there were 2 core i7s??

Mine's an i7-950... I get confused between physical and logical cores. Kinda thought all "core iX2 series were 6 core though... ooops

I'll break it down...






Atom are 1 physical core

AMD HD Internet are 2 physical cores

Pentium are single core with HT [1 physical core / 1 virtual core = 2 logic Cores] (Upgraded P4)

Dore 2 Duo are dual core with no HT [2 physical cores = 2 Logic Cores]





*Maxwell / Sandy Bridge (EX)

i3 = Dual Core with HT [2 physical cores / 2 virtual cores = 4 Logic Cores]

i5 = Quad Core with no HT [4 physical cores = 4 Logic Cores]

i7 = Quad Core with HT [4 physical cores / 4 virtual cores = 8 Logic Cores]





*Ivy Bridge (The near future) (All have hyperthreading) (intel will dominate the market even more so than the present when these chips are released)

i3 = Quad Core with HT [4 physical cores / 4 virtual cores = 8 Logic Cores]

i5 = Hexacore with HT [6 physical cores / 6 virtual cores = 12 Logic Cores]

i7 = Octocore with HT [8 physical cores / 8 Virtual Cores = 16 Logic Cores]



*Please keep in mind that each tier of chip (e.g. higher end 'i3' chip) have varying clock speeds, however the logic core amount remains the same. Also remember that each virtual logic core runs at half the speed of the physical.



e.g. A sandy bridge i7 has 4 physical cores, and 4 virtual cores... but since each virtual core runs at half the clock speed of each physical core... You're chip runs around the speed of a 'true' 6 core chip, rather than an 8.

[Spiderbot01]

http://www.ebuyer.com/338538-zoostorm-2 ... -7873-0405

Thoughts? Never heard of Zoostorm before..

[Kaiden]

My brother has a Zoomstorm and it works fine. Dunno about the card though, looks like an entry-level middle gaming benchmark card.

You could build it yourself for £305, not including operating system, but yeah. Don't know enough about the card really, I imagine it'd run stuff fine for a while but it looks like an early 2010 card.