Laptop advice please.....?

[DanW]

Hi Guys
My HTPC is on order with PCS, and can't wait to get it

I have another requirement,
I am looking for a 13 inch laptop, that will be used predominantly for:
Internet, email, MS office work, presenting through a projector. So essentially a work laptop.

Decided on 13 inch as i want something slim and light to carry around with me.

I have seen one or 2 possibles, but to be honest I'm struggling a little to find something suitable that isn't loads of money. I guess i was hoping to spend a maximum of about £700 on this,

Any suggestions please? your help would be much appreciated!

 

[Wozza63]

id recommend this xenon, its slightly bigger but allows for a lot more customization such as processor (which means an improved integrated graphics too)
there is really no need to go for anything more than this as that would just be wasting money, although processor upgrades are always good if you are looking to boost the power

Chassis & Display
Xenon: 14.1" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768) - Slightly bigger than what you wanted, could have done with a 1080p option

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-2350M (2.30GHz) 3MB - good processor that includes hyperthreading, will definitely last you a long while for what you want from it

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB) - more than enough and has the option to upgrade to 8gb later on if you feel it is necessary

Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 3000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 3 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm) - very fast hard drive and have come down in price very much

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)

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
3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery
Xenon Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)

Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W 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
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD

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

 

[TheKeir]

Yep I would go with Wozza's spec. It's just under £500, he didn't put the price on there.

 

[Wozza63]

yeh sorry my bad, its actually £529.00

 

[DanW]

Thanks for that, i will consider it, but

dare i say it... what about an off the shelf solution for my laptop?
Dell?
Toshiba?

etc...

 

[TheKeir]

Yes, I would recommend an off the shelf laptop. Since it's not going to be used for anything other than basic tasks, and PCS computers are performance machines, the most basic one would probably be fine, so PCS may not be the place to go.

 

[DanW]

any recommendations?

 

[Music Guy123]

For £700...There are rarely notebooks that are powerful enough to reach that price category. However, remember all the support from PCS and remember that if you chose wozza's above spec, it won't cost you far off £700 at all. I would get Wozza's choice, maybe more RAM as you may as well get it now seeing your budget, I would strongly recommend a cpu upgrade, especially as you can afford it, i5 will be more than adequate.

What I would do is take wozza's spec, upgrade the cpu to an i5, the lower of the two will be fine. Then upgrade to 8GB, you may as well! Finally, do you need the ODD? Could you get by with an external odd? I would recommend getting an SSD as a boot drive then an HDD for storage instead of the ODD. then buy an external ODD.