New Laptop - opinions welcome

[mart22]

I want to replace my laptop. A little self indulgent on my part, my current laptop would do, but I do feel it's underpowered, slowing down and too small. I use it for little more than web browsing so I'd want to do more with a new one. I'm thinking web browsing, light photoshop & illustrator, light video editing, the odd game, pretty much doing a little of everything I do on my PC when it's more convenient to do it on a laptop.

Performance is the main thing for me. I want a fast user experience, any lag or delay really irritates me. The boot up time and lag during web browsing on my present laptop are the main reasons for wanting to replace it. Its touchpad is also dreadful, the worst i've ever used, it doesn't have an optical drive either, not really a big deal but I think I'd like one now.

Here's the spec I'm looking at. I have to say it strikes me as being value for money...

Chassis & Display
Enigma III 540: 15.6" Glossy FHD LED (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 - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 3 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
ENIGMA GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Enigma III Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,100/5,200 mAh)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W 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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD
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: £822.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/enigmaIII-540/

The one thing I'm torn about is the size. I think i'd prefer 17" but those chassis cost a little more. Given this will be a luxury purchase I don't think I can justify spending more than £850....

 

[jonny123]

First off considering your budget is the upgraded screen realy worth it ?
Apart from that looks pretty decent.
And have you had a look at the 17.3" Optimus II?
Im pretty sure you could get a spec for under £850 with the optimus

 

[mart22]

I did consider the screen. If I want to watch a blu ray I figured it'd be better to have a 1920 x 1080 one.

 

[mart22]

When I spec'd the Optimus it cost closer to a grand.

Some general questions about the Enigma:

What is its battery life like?

Does it have a good touchpad?

And an additonal question, how does SEagate's hybrid hdd compare to Intel's 320 SSD?

 

[jonny123]

I belive a few seconds faster boot times and loading screens but for your budget the ssd should be out of reach considering there are other things that you could upgrade.The hybrid is a very good drive and you normally only get a ssd for boot (Win 7,Games etc) Then you would need to buy another for storage Like the hybrid or barrucuda (or just about any other good hdd)
As for touchpad i dont know,I dont have the pc so i couldent advise you on that.
Again with the battery i only know what the site tells me which is
Typical Battery Life Tested 3 hours 36 minutes playing muted DVD with Core i7 CPU & 8GB of RAM.
Hope this helps

 

[mart22]

I could push the boat out a little further for 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 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 3 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6230 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
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
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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)
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 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £968.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/optimusII/

What would you pick from the two specs? For an extra £146 is the Optimus spec so much better than the Enigma?