laptop advice please

[craig2112]

hello all, first things first i dont know anything about computers lol. i joined here because i wanted to buy my girlfriend a new laptop. she is starting uni studying arcuticture. she is not a gamer like the most of you lol but im guessing she needs the same kind of specs due to all the drawing and document she will sent, also she needs a big screen possibly 17", want to spend about £1000 or less. any ideas people??? need advice asap thanks

 

[Tehmoe]

I would get something like this.

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
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 COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Upgrade to 62.16WH 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (£39)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W Adaptor (GT 540M) / 120W Adaptor (GT 555M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
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
Quantity
1

Price: £815.00 including VAT and delivery.

Comes with a 1080p screen, not exactly sure if you need the matte option on the screen but it would be good if she will be using it outside or near a window.

i7 and 8gb so should ran the CAD softwares quiet well, and comes with a 540gtm which should meet any of her demands. Most of all you get to save a few pennies.

Finally since shes a student you can get windows 7 for around £30 but then you will have to install it your self so could be a bit more of a saving for you.

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusII/

 

[flobber238]

Hey. Here's a competing suggested quote that comes to £938.

Optimus II: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

This is a 15" laptop, but has the same resolution as a 17" laptop. Maybe she would like a larger screen, but this size allows the option of the 95% gamut matte screen, which is apparently very high-quality.

I chose a lot of fast RAM and a quad-core CPU and notably a solid state drive, which should provide a substantial boost in program load times and stuff. And some thermal compound to keep the temperature down and hence the fan noise. Clever me!

Thoughts from others ?

 

[AndyL]

Optimus II: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080) (£79)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) 6MB
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
ARCTIC COOLING MX-3 HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

I would drop the RAM down to 1333MHz as the real world performance gain of 1600MHz RAM is not going to be noticable for this application. I would also possibly drop the SSD for a larger HDD as a 120GB SSD does not have much free space left on it after the OS has been installed + other programs such as MS Office + all the CAD programs she might use. By dropping those two choices I would then use the money saved to up the processor to a i7-2760QM (if she will be using a lot of CAD programs - which can be CPU intesive tasks).

 

[craig2112]

hey thanks for the replies , havnt got a clue what it meant but im gunna take you words for it. so if i got something like you all suggested would that be all she would need?? i mean would that be a high spec computer she wouldnt need to upgrade for a few years lol?? cheers

 

[flobber238]

Yeah, something from this company at that price range will see her for many years Main points to take away are, prioritise CPU, quantity of RAM (how many GB), choose perhaps a 7200rpm hard drive, and the standard graphics cards are decent enough. What you should work out with her is what sort of screen- bear in mind that 15" and 17" models have the same number of pixels, but the Matte option on the 15" laptops is high quality.

So go make a choice then paste it on here and people will say yes or no

 

[craig2112]

sod it i decided to go on holiday instead lol na chees for advice and ill paste my decision and see if you agree.