New linux laptop <£500 ex VAT

[Thryduulf]

Hello all

I'm about to buy a new laptop to run Linux on, as the screen on my current Lenovo G550 has died after 3½ years of daily use and abuse. My absolute maximum budget is £500 ex VAT but closer to £400 would be preferable.

It's going to be an every day use laptop that will need to run Firefox (up to 200 tabs over 3 windows), complex spreadsheets with many database lookup functions (possibly to be converted to a proper database, but maybe not), and do some photo manipulation work in GIMP, and a large library of MP3s played at random, all simultaneously. Gaming isn't really an issue as I'm unlikley to play anything more advanced than Minecraft, and I have a desktop I can use if I really need to. I do sometimes "watch" full-screen downloaded i-player programmes full screen while doing something on another virtual desktop (i.e. I listen and switch to the video for interesting bits)
I'm used to a 15.6" screen and don't see a 17" as being worth the extra size and weight.
The machine must not be fragile! I don't need full ruggedised or anything, but it will experience a lot of travelling, sometimes loose in a rucksack, and it will occasionally be dropped (always accidentally!). I'm also a heavy handed typist and live with cats. I'm hoping for the laptop to survive at least 3 years.
Initially I'll be running Xubuntu but I'm not tied to that beyond the short term. I wouldn't mind the ability to upgrade the RAM later but its not essential.


Looking at the configurator I'm provisionally deciding between the following two options:
UltraNoteII:

• 1920x1080px screen
• i3-4100M processor
• 1×8GB Samsung memory
• basic 500GB HDD
• N7260 Lan & wireless (300Mbps)
• No OS or software
• no extra peripherals or accessories
• Silver warranty
• 1 year dead pixel guarantee
• Standard delivery and build
• £409.17 ex VAT

Cosmos II:

• Glossy 1920x1280 screen
• i3-400M 2.4Ghz processor
• 1×8GB Samsung memory
• GeForce G740M graphics card
• basic 500GB HDD
• N-7260 300Mbps LAN & Wireless
• No OS or software
• Standard/no peripherals
• Silver waranty
• 1 year Deadpixeel Guarantee
• Standard build and delivery
• £487.50 ex VAT

I'm obviously leaning towards the cheaper of the 2, assuming the Intel graphics will be OK (as that's the main difference), but will this work? Is there anything I'm missing or changes you'd recommend?

Thanks
Chris

 

[dv8tion242]

May not be what you desire, but if I were going for a Ultranote, I'd probably go for something like this.. Thought about the ultranote when looking for my T61 replacement. Bit more expensive than what you have but still falls under the 500 quid limit.

Chassis & Display	UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4300M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)	8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600
2nd Graphics Card	NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk	120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
SSD CACHE DRIVE	NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	UltraNote Series: 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
Sound Card	Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking	GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-7260 (300Mbps, 802.11BGN) + BLUETOOTH
Wireless Router/HomePlugs	NONE
USB Options	2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery	UltraNote Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH) (Up to 7 Hours)
Power Cable	1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System	NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media	NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software	NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Laptop Cooling Stands	NONE
Carry Case	NONE
Monitor	NONE
Keyboard Language	ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Keyboard & Mouse	NONE
Mouse	INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad	NONE
Speakers	NONE
Webcam	INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets	NONE
Surge Protection	NONE
Printer	NONE
External Hard Drive	NONE
Warranty	3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation	NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee	NONE
Insurance	1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Data Recovery	NONE
Delivery	STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time	Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Pricing Information	

Price (excluding VAT)	£491.67
Price	£590.00
Order Quantity	1
Bulk Discount	£0.00
Total Order price (Ex VAT)	£491.67
Total Order Price	£590.00

 

[Thryduulf]

Thanks for that, although I need more hard disk capacity than the 120GB SSD you've chosen - is SSD worth the extra money?

 

[dv8tion242]

SSD gives (generally) better reliability than a spinning disk and while you may need more space, flash drives are cheap these days. A 240GB SSD is not much more than a 120, but would go over the 500 boundary. If you go


Chassis & Display
UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4200M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)


the cost would be 506 pre VAT.
The RAM seems to be annoyingly expensive so unless you really need it, go back to 8GB and it becomes
£429.17 ex VAT
£515.00 inc VAT
or treat yourself to a spec'ed up I5-4330
£488.33 ex VAT
£586.00 inc VAT

But for travelling, I'd go with the Solid State.

 

[Thryduulf]

Thanks again. I notice that you've gone for no deadpixel guarantee and the extreme thermal paste (I'd gone for the opposite)?