Deciding between two laptops + downgrade/upgrade advise

Hi,

Could I have some help deciding between these two laptops? Any advice on where I should downgrade/upgrade would also be appreciated.

I essentially want something versatile that I can do my work on (matlab, latex, microsoft office etc.) and entertain myself with (films, web browsing, some light, occasional gaming etc.). I often have multiple things open at once, so a resonable multitasking ability is desired.

Chassis & Display
Lafité Silver Aluminium Chassis: 13.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080) vs UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Dual Core Processor i5-5200U (2.20GHz, 2.7GHz Turbo) vs Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4310M (2.70GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB) vs 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS 5500 (Only with Intel® Core™ CPUs) vs INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm) vs 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
120GB KINGSTON SSDNow M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (550MB/R, 520MB/W) vs 120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
N/A vs UltraNote Series: 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW) vs

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH vs GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD vs 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

The Lafité configuration comes to £558.00, while the UltraNote comes to £592.00. My budget is £600.

Thanks.

Did you need an OS?

If not then this would be a good build:

Chassis & Display UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive 120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive UltraNote Series: 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
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery UltraNote Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH) (Up to 7 Hours)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Windows 10 Upgrade FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
DVD Recovery Media NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Carry Case NONE
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Stand-Alone Monitor NONE
Monitor Cables NONE
Additional Keyboard NONE
Notebook Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
External Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance 1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £499.17
Price £599.00

As for which laptop to choose between it's basically down to the size, I personally have a 15.6" laptop and find it perfect, but others find them too large to carry around/fit in their bag.

Thanks for the reply.

No, I don't need an OS, uni provides one

Would you recommend the faster hard drive over the 4310m processor then?

Thanks.

kar0k1 said:

Thanks for the reply.

No, I don't need an OS, uni provides one

Would you recommend the faster hard drive over the 4310m processor then?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the 4210m will be fine, there's barely any difference. The HDD will be a fair bit quicker, since standard laptop HDDs are pretty slow

Ok. Thanks a lot for your help. If I intend to game a bit (borderlands 1,2, minecraft, team fortress 2), should I go for the cosmos II? It seems you can't do too much, gaming-wise, with integrating graphics...?

Cosmos II with the gtx 850m

kar0k1 said:

Ok. Thanks a lot for your help. If I intend to game a bit (borderlands 1,2, minecraft, team fortress 2), should I go for the cosmos II? It seems you can't do too much, gaming-wise, with integrating graphics...?

Click to expand...

As keynes said, the Cosmos II with 850m would be more suitable if gaming

This is the cosmos II configuration I've chosen:

Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (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
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/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 & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH

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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

It comes to £663, which is a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I guess it's worth it to get something a bit more versatile. I could reduce the price to £600 by getting the 1366x768 screen with the GT 840M graphics card.

840m isn't a gaming card and would struggle. The 850m is the entry level gaming card.

I've found this for the same price:

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 13.3" Matte Full HD LED IPS Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - 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 WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive
120GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA (upto 550MB/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 Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-7260 HMC (867Mbps, 802.11AC) + BLUETOOTH

USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery
13.3" Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor

Keyboard Language
13.3" OPTIMUS SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD

Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Windows 10 Upgrade
FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Thoughts on cosmos II vs Optimus v? I prefer the optimus chassis, but would have to have less HDD storage to keep the price down. I don't really need that much though - I think I only used like 250gb or so on my previous laptop.

Thanks. And sorry for so many questions, haha.

I'm gaming on my Lafite.
CS:S runs well at 1080p maxed out.
CS:GO runs 40-60fps 720p low settings.

kajjot said:

I'm gaming on my Lafite.
CS:S runs well at 1080p maxed out.
CS:GO runs 40-60fps 720p low settings.

Click to expand...

Those are source games though, so they're easy to run off integrated graphics.

More demanding games will require a gpu to run at decent settings and fps