New laptop

[jamestilley]

I'm thinking of getting a new laptop and was wondering what spec would be appropriate. It's essentially for my girlfriend and she wants something with a really good (and big) screen and decent sound as she will mainly use it for watching films/TV, as well as basic internet/ office stuff. I'd quite it to be usable for occasional gaming, but it doesn't have to be great. Ideally less than £550/£600 would be good. Any suggestions welcomed...
Thanks,

James.

 

[Music Guy123]

Well, I guess this wouldn't be a bad start:

Chassis & Display
Voyager: 17.3" Glossy HD LED Widescreen (1600 x 900)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2450M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 520M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS, 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 MX-4 EXTREME 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
1 x USB 3.0 PORT + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery (48.84WH)
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
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
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: £624.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/Voyager/

 

[Tom DWC]

The above spec is good to go!

 

[NMEBowen]

didnt think a 17inch was possible in that price range but i was wrong the above spec is bang on buck.

 

[jamestilley]

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful. Is there any point upgrading to the 1920*1020 matte display?
Cheers,

James.

 

[Music Guy123]

I am currently using a 1600x900 on a 17.3" and I would say that if you can upgrade, it really is worth it!

 

[jamestilley]

Thanks for the advice, most helpful. Have gone for the better screen in the end...