Advice Find Trem a New Laptop!

[Trem]

My faithful yet possibly always a bit shit and overpriced Dell XPS 15z is nearing the end of it's days.

I am now looking for a fast, well made and reliable laptop and possibly something around the 14" screen mark but this does limit my options like a DVD rom drive which I know will piss me off on the rare occasion I need to use one. So what is there out there that I should consider? I have found a few but after being out of the market for a few years I aren't sure which are the better one's or which are better than the last. I know I will never play games on it but if it means things run and appear better then graphics power is also fine but 8gb+ of ram is a must as is a kick ass CPU.

These are a few I have looked at -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LLE6S...olid=1N5SQBL8EXBFG&coliid=I489AWBSM4LEX&psc=1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KLED0...TF8&colid=1N5SQBL8EXBFG&coliid=I3NDQIW4FISNUE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M98GC...UTF8&colid=1N5SQBL8EXBFG&coliid=IT8VSBN5DB0MK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K8QZG...TF8&colid=1N5SQBL8EXBFG&coliid=I1EC1QNP9OA86K

The Asus gives me wood and the 2 Gigabyte one's are beasts but a bit dear and I am fairly sure I would be getting slightly less for my money with the Asus than with the Lenovo.

Jesus this stuff hurts my head.

Help appreciated and will be rewarded with a signed picture of @MYstIC G rimming a rhino.

 

[MYstIC G]

Help appreciated and will be rewarded with a signed picture of @MYstIC G rimming a rhino.

For everyones reference that's actually just Trem in a corset and a wig rimming a rhino, I took the photo and he never paid me!

What's your price range and use case (presumably gaming?) you corset wearing numpty!

 

[caLLous]

As long as it can run Plex you should be ok.

 

[Trem]

For everyones reference that's actually just Trem in a corset and a wig rimming a rhino, I took the photo and he never paid me!

What's your price range and use case (presumably gaming?) you corset wearing numpty!

I have no price range but hopefully below the £700 mark because it may be overkill to spend anymore, no I won't be using it for gaming I can't imagine but it seems like the speediest laptops are the ones aimed at gaming.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Have a look at PCSpecialist, they have a variety of chassis screen sizes etc and you can play with the specs to your hearts content. At least it gives you an idea of what you can get in a price range.

 

[MYstIC G]

given one of yours is over £800 I'd be tempted by something like this http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/MSI_...Windows_8.1_Laptop_9S7-16GH11-267/version.asp as the 12gb ram is going to keep it useful for a long time to come then in the future you could swap out the hdd for a ssd by which time the process will have dropped

 

[Trem]

Have a look at PCSpecialist, they have a variety of chassis screen sizes etc and you can play with the specs to your hearts content. At least it gives you an idea of what you can get in a price range.

I built one on there which I thought would be pretty sweet, I didn't think it was overly extravengant........£1670! I almost soiled myself.

given one of yours is over £800 I'd be tempted by something like this http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/MSI_...Windows_8.1_Laptop_9S7-16GH11-267/version.asp as the 12gb ram is going to keep it useful for a long time to come then in the future you could swap out the hdd for a ssd by which time the process will have dropped

That looks pretty sexual, like you, covered in margarine. What's the deal with these Intel processors, is there really much difference between the various i7's or if I had any i7 would it be enough? Is an i5 not more than up to the job? Actually what the fuck am I thinking, I mainly bastard browse on the laptop, mess about with phones, download, stream sometimes and burn lots of DVD's once a year at Xmas. I am being a dick about this but I just know I would go all pissy if I get one and stuff doesn't run smooth and thing's don't open up immediately.

 

[ECA]

An i5 with an ssd is more than enough for all your laptop needs.

 

[Trem]

An i5 with an ssd is more than enough for all your laptop needs.

I have an SSD in this laptop now but I don't know if it's a good one or if it fits in the new laptops. It is obviously sata and it is a Crucial one but a couple of years old now.

 

[MYstIC G]

That looks pretty sexual, like you, covered in margarine. What's the deal with these Intel processors, is there really much difference between the various i7's or if I had any i7 would it be enough? Is an i5 not more than up to the job? Actually what the fuck am I thinking, I mainly bastard browse on the laptop, mess about with phones, download, stream sometimes and burn lots of DVD's once a year at Xmas. I am being a dick about this but I just know I would go all pissy if I get one and stuff doesn't run smooth and thing's don't open up immediately.

An i5 would easily do you for that sort of thing, especially if you run Plex on it

Depending on your storage requirements I'd go either i7 + HDD or i5 + SSD to keep it in your price range. If was just browsing you could do worse than wait for the batch of 1080p chromebooks/Win8.1 low power jobs that are coming around the corner.

 

[Trem]

I have just done another build on PC Specialist (anyone got anything to say about them and their service, I do like their website, cheers RB) and I got the following -

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - INFINITE CRISIS IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - STRIFE IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - WAR THUNDER IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Cosmos Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
COSMOS SERIES UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £899.00 including VAT and delivery.

After looking around that doesn't seem too dear and it sort of has everything I need/want apart from the 14" screen but I aren't too bothered about that. I am struggling to find anything of any value that is i5 + SSD that would make any sense buying over something like the above.

Helpful/none helpful comments appreciated as always.

Edit -

Actually I have just re-done a chassis I liked from a few days ago and that came out much cheaper with a lesser CPU so comments on this as well please (this is the one I *really* like but mucho pennies) I have also added the £19 year cover for dead pixels because they piss me off

Chassis & Display
SkyFire: 14" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4710MQ (2.50GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - INFINITE CRISIS IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - STRIFE IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Free Item
NVIDIA F2P - WAR THUNDER IN-GAME CURRENCY VOUCHER (With Select GPUs)
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
Ultra Slim 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1202 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 4.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
SkyFire 14" Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED 11.6"/14" MSI UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 3.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £901.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[TdC]

hmmm I do like those laptops. I built one up to a fairly rediculous spec with two 500GB evo's, a 240GB M2 drive and 16GB ram and it was still "only" ~1500 euros.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

I did buy my laptop from them last April, I wanted something specifically for photo editing and so got:

Chassis & DisplayOptimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4810MQ (2.80GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk120GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 410MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card ReaderInternal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal PasteARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound CardIntel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
BatteryOptimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Keyboard LanguageBACKLIT OPTIMUS UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating SystemGenuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

The turn around time was good, and the service also. I did have an issue with the screen, one line of the display went white all the way across, I raised a call, they wanted a photo of the problem, and they arranged to have the laptop picked up, they fixed it and returned it within about 10 days, but with frequent updates etc.

One thing I would say is that I wish I'd gone for larger than 120GB 1st HDD, it fills up pretty quickly, especially as some of it is earmarked for page file and I also turned off Hibernate which ate up a whole load of space, overall I wished I'd gone for a 240GB as a minimum.

 

[Trem]

Cheers RB, yes I may well go for 250gb but most of my stuff is saved on the server so I may not.

But.........*fap* -

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 15.6" Glossy 4K PLS LED Widescreen (3840x2160) (£119)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4720HQ (2.60GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB KINGSTON HYPER-X IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 965M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 M.2 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 PORTS (1 x POWERED, 1 e-SATA COMBINED)
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,450.00 including VAT and delivery

 

[TdC]

if you use any Java based programs at all, you may want to wait a bit with 4K screens in small packages. eg < 30"

 

[Trem]

if you use any Java based programs at all, you may want to wait a bit with 4K screens in small packages. eg < 30"

I like your small package.

 

[Trem]

So since having my Yoga Pro 2 I have always thought it ran very hot, it actually burnt my bell end if I didn't move it after a couple of minutes and the fan was always on and running at full whack. This week I decided to check for BIOS updates, there was one, I installed it and now this little beauty is totally silent and the fan hasn't been on once and my todger hasn't been burnt. Winnor!

Check your BIOS version @Deebs @TdC

 

[leggy]

I like your Todger stories @Trem . They make my life a peaceful place.

 

[Trem]

I like your Todger stories @Trem . They make my life a peaceful place.

@leggy you make my life a peaceful place.

(fuck me I need it right now lover).

 

[TdC]

good news tremlarington. I shall check for le up of dates!

 

[TdC]

I updated. Dunno if it makes any difference, but I don't actually press my bell-end against the underside of my laptop so I am unsure if I ever came close to replicating your problem.

 

[MYstIC G]

I updated. Dunno if it makes any difference, but I don't actually press my bell-end against the underside of my laptop so I am unsure if I ever came close to replicating your problem.

Cos it don't reach?

 

[TdC]

well, the Yoga Pro 2 is a 13" laptop. when it's on my lap, you could say it doesn't reach...in a certain sense.

 

[Trem]

Yeah well I like to have my laptops resting by my ankles......

 

[Deebs]

So since having my Yoga Pro 2 I have always thought it ran very hot, it actually burnt my bell end if I didn't move it after a couple of minutes and the fan was always on and running at full whack. This week I decided to check for BIOS updates, there was one, I installed it and now this little beauty is totally silent and the fan hasn't been on once and my todger hasn't been burnt. Winnor!

Check your BIOS version @Deebs @TdC

Ta, upgraded the bios, not noticed any difference yet...

 

[TdC]

mine seems slightly cooler, but I also didn't turn on the VT options which the update disabled for me, so either / or tbh.

 

[Wij]

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...-and-netbooks/dell-xps-13-2015-1279013/review

 

[TdC]

in an update on the Yoga Pro 2 BIOS flashing, I watched some full screen 1080p vids yesterday, and the thing did indeed seem much cooler. once more, I don't know if this is because I have the virtualisation options off, and I haven't actually looked in the BIOS to see what the settings are atm, but hey ho