Laptop Advice

[Shady]

Hi i'm looking at getting a new laptop

ive got a budget of £500 and need it to be able to run software such as autocad, revit and structural analysis software. so probly looking at a min 4gb of ram and a good graphics card

im not too sure what kind processor i need, bit in the dark on the differences between i3-i7

any advice would be great

thanks
Ben

 

[Randomthom]

Hi Ben,
You're probably pushing your luck with regards to spec/budget there. You'll easily find a laptop with that spec minus the graphics card but with a decent graphics card you're looking at adding a bit to that price.

From what I know of CAD software, you'll want a good processor & graphics card. The following spec provides that at a very good price but it's not your £500 budget which, I'm afraid to say is unrealistic.

Chassis & Display
Enigma II: 15.6" Full HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glossy
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-540M (2.53GHz) 3MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - 1GB GDDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BEKT, 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
Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD (AS STANDARD)
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Enigma Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (4,800/5,200 mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
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 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £736.00 including VAT and delivery.

Note that I chose the slightly more expensive 1x4Gb memory instead of 2x2Gb for easier upgradability in future. I upped the hard drive to 500Gb from it's basic 250Gb, these are both very good value upgrades.

Hope that helps but as I said, I don't think that budget to that specification is workable.

 

[Tom DWC]

Randomthom has put togeather a nice spec above.

Personally I would be inclined to wait for the new Sandy Bridge laptops to be released, which should be soon. I know with technology you can wait forever and I'm a firm believer in buying as and when you need but with a release this close it does make sense to hold off for a bit. You should be able to get something considerably better for a similar price.

 

[Shady]

thanks Randomthom, i thought i might have been a bit hopefull with a £500 budget.

Is there much difference between the two i5 processors?

Tom, i dont know much on the new sandy bridge laptops but i'll have a scan through forum. cheers

 

[Luckless]

Hold on for the new Sandybridge laptops. New processor and should be equivalent price or even cheaper (based on what other vendors are selling for).

 

[Randomthom]

Aye, sorry, I was answering the question with what is currently available. I haven't really looked hard at what sort of performance difference the new sandybridge chips will be bringing. I'd be surprised if they change the world in the way people seem to be singing from the rooftops about at the moment but I'm sure they'll be a worthwhile wait!