Stephen M
Author Level
I will be ordering a new laptop soon and any advice would be appreciated.
Chassis & Display: Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080).
Processor (CPU): Need advice.
Memory (RAM): Need advice.
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11. No other options with this chassis.
Hard Disk: 240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW). See notes.
Second Hard Disk: 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 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 + BLUETOOTH 3.0.
USB Options: 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD.
Battery: Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH).
Power Lead & Adaptor: 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor.
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79). Undecided.
Office Software: NO OFFICE SOFTWARE.
Anti-Virus: NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE.
Keyboard Language: OPTIMUS SERIES GERMAN KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD.
Notebook Mouse: INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam: INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM.
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 11 to 13 working days.
I have not got the best eyesight so wanted a 17.3" screen and this seemed the best option without a massive price jump to the Skyfire or Vortex, providing the GPU is OK as there is only one option with this chassis.
My budget is variable, I could probably push it up to £1,500 if I save for a couple more months but I would rather keep it as cheap as possible and order fairly soon unless something more expensive is really necessary.
What I need most advice on is the CPU and RAM. This will be a general use laptop, no gaming but internet, office, GIMP or Photoshop and I will have multiple windows and webpages open, as well as listening to music and/or streaming live TV all at the same time. My work with GIMP should not be too intensive, mainly cropping and cut-outs for various newsletters but it will involve multiple document pages in use at any one time with up to two to three photographs per page.
I want the SSD for speed and know I could save money by dropping to a 120GB and may do this, it depends on whether I decide to keep a Windows OS on the machine. I will be multi-booting and will have at least two Linux Distros on the go, so if I keep Windows the 240GB will be needed.
I also hope to be doing some multi-track audio recording and mixing, using Ardour as the main program. However, if this is going to push my needs for a more expensive CPU and RAM up I may reconsider. I would be grateful to know if it will change things that much.
Chassis & Display: Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080).
Processor (CPU): Need advice.
Memory (RAM): Need advice.
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 860M - 2.0GB DDR5, 640 CUDA Cores - DirectX® 11. No other options with this chassis.
Hard Disk: 240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW). See notes.
Second Hard Disk: 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 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 + BLUETOOTH 3.0.
USB Options: 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD.
Battery: Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH).
Power Lead & Adaptor: 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor.
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79). Undecided.
Office Software: NO OFFICE SOFTWARE.
Anti-Virus: NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE.
Keyboard Language: OPTIMUS SERIES GERMAN KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD.
Notebook Mouse: INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam: INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM.
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 11 to 13 working days.
I have not got the best eyesight so wanted a 17.3" screen and this seemed the best option without a massive price jump to the Skyfire or Vortex, providing the GPU is OK as there is only one option with this chassis.
My budget is variable, I could probably push it up to £1,500 if I save for a couple more months but I would rather keep it as cheap as possible and order fairly soon unless something more expensive is really necessary.
What I need most advice on is the CPU and RAM. This will be a general use laptop, no gaming but internet, office, GIMP or Photoshop and I will have multiple windows and webpages open, as well as listening to music and/or streaming live TV all at the same time. My work with GIMP should not be too intensive, mainly cropping and cut-outs for various newsletters but it will involve multiple document pages in use at any one time with up to two to three photographs per page.
I want the SSD for speed and know I could save money by dropping to a 120GB and may do this, it depends on whether I decide to keep a Windows OS on the machine. I will be multi-booting and will have at least two Linux Distros on the go, so if I keep Windows the 240GB will be needed.
I also hope to be doing some multi-track audio recording and mixing, using Ardour as the main program. However, if this is going to push my needs for a more expensive CPU and RAM up I may reconsider. I would be grateful to know if it will change things that much.
