Guys wondering if you can help me out - Im after a laptop to do some work on...basically Ill need office apps, watch videos and tv while away, email, photoshop, lightroom, adobe and browsing as well as potentially a dual booted linux machine with an install of a database on. Probably Oracle or db2.
I like the idea of having a small laptop for portability - the main reason I want to take it is so that I can do work on the move. I dont want to play games...however, thats not to say that I wont actually want to play some games on there! The way I see it Ive got two options - I either go for an all out beast (enigma 3) or I strip it down and go for a Xenon.
The specs are as follows.
Enigma 3 -
i7 quad 2670
8gb ram
Intel 510 120GB SSD
SATA 5400 500GB disk
Soundblaster xfi
and
Xenon -
i5 dual 2450
8gb ram
Intel 510 120GB SSD
SATA 5400 500GB disk (no DVD drive)
Soundblaster xfi
Upgraded battery
Im assuming that I can get an external drive easily enough - does the SSD drive warant the cost, does the 510 warrant the cost over a 320?
Next - whats the approx weight of the above machines? I know the std specs are 2.5 and 2.2KG. 2.2kg doesnt sem much of a saving and perhaps I can justify the extra weight for the gfx card.
Does the fact Ive got a SSD mean I can scrimp on the secondary drive or should I be looking at a 7200 for that also - that disk will be data only I guess. Photos, music, pdfs.
Also - what are the speakers like on these things? And does the sound blaster make much difference - I will never have surround sound speakers attached.
Would the xenon allow me to have a pootle on some games? Im not too fussed about playing BF3 on high res - but I wouldnt mind being able to do a few things. I just have no history of using a laptop - Ive always used desktops.
All help greatly appreciated.
I like the idea of having a small laptop for portability - the main reason I want to take it is so that I can do work on the move. I dont want to play games...however, thats not to say that I wont actually want to play some games on there! The way I see it Ive got two options - I either go for an all out beast (enigma 3) or I strip it down and go for a Xenon.
The specs are as follows.
Enigma 3 -
i7 quad 2670
8gb ram
Intel 510 120GB SSD
SATA 5400 500GB disk
Soundblaster xfi
and
Xenon -
i5 dual 2450
8gb ram
Intel 510 120GB SSD
SATA 5400 500GB disk (no DVD drive)
Soundblaster xfi
Upgraded battery
Im assuming that I can get an external drive easily enough - does the SSD drive warant the cost, does the 510 warrant the cost over a 320?
Next - whats the approx weight of the above machines? I know the std specs are 2.5 and 2.2KG. 2.2kg doesnt sem much of a saving and perhaps I can justify the extra weight for the gfx card.
Does the fact Ive got a SSD mean I can scrimp on the secondary drive or should I be looking at a 7200 for that also - that disk will be data only I guess. Photos, music, pdfs.
Also - what are the speakers like on these things? And does the sound blaster make much difference - I will never have surround sound speakers attached.
Would the xenon allow me to have a pootle on some games? Im not too fussed about playing BF3 on high res - but I wouldnt mind being able to do a few things. I just have no history of using a laptop - Ive always used desktops.
All help greatly appreciated.
