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Buying a new laptop


Danqazmlp

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The time has come to buy a new laptop. I don't do any heavy gaming on it, but I do like to play the odd game. However, never anything brand spanking new, usually things at least 2-3 years old. The sort of games I would play would be things like Mount and blade, the original witcher etc. I would like to possibly be able to play Civ5 if I brought it, but I'm not bothered if I'm not playing it on maximum, or even high settings. My budget is between £350 and £400.

 

Currently I'm looking to buy from PC world, as they are who I've brought from before, so I trust them. The current two I'm looking at are:

 

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lenovo-essential-g570-15-6-laptop-11884781-pdt.html

 

and

 

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-g6-1336sa-15-6-laptop-charcoal-12303695-pdt.html

 

The second is the one I'm thinking of more, but I'm not sure if it will be more powerful enough as I get confused with the core numbers and general specifications.

 

I'm also not bothered about going for a refurbished laptop if the price is good, but looking at the site, I didn't see any really good deals on refurbished for the price range.

 

So, any suggestions, or would those two be good?

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If I was to stay with your choices there, I'd go for the HP since it has much better specs (like a hell of a lot better specs). Thing is, HP tends to produce a lot of heat, while Lenovo usually makes sturdy builds, that will last a hell of a long time, plus there's the HMM that comes with it, the issue is that it won't be able to play mid to high end games.

 

The Lenovo's processor is better than the HP's processor, but the HP's graphics card is much better than the Lenovo's graphics card.

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I did some research around six months ago when i was looking for a new laptop. i just wanted something that would allow me to use a web browser with lots of windows and tabs smoothly.

 

Anyway, i settled on a lenovo b575. I got one refurbished for $300. the shipping was $40. It's worked great and i have no complaints. It stays cool and quiet unlike my previously school-issued $1000 macbook.

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I'm personally not too bothered by heat, which is why I'm gravitating towards the Hp.

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I would recommend my ACER ASPIRE 5750 it was super cheap can't remember the exact figure but around £300 and despite the fact it only has integrated Intel HD Graphics it plays Skyrim on Med/Low settings with no FPS problems and is easily capable of playing most other games. For some reason it didn't like MoH 2010 very much but that is about the only game I've had problems with.

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You may want to wait until the new Ivy Bridge processors become more available. The gen 3 i5 outperforms the gen 2 (current) i7.

And the IGP is a lot better which will help with gaming at that price range.

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I'm personally not too bothered by heat, which is why I'm gravitating towards the Hp.

 

It doesn't matter if it bothers you personally, it's how it affects your computer's performance. Shell out 20 extra pounds for the better quality product if you're making a long-term investment. There's only so much cleaning your vents can do for you when it comes to keeping your system cool.

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You may want to wait until the new Ivy Bridge processors become more available. The gen 3 i5 outperforms the gen 2 (current) i7.

And the IGP is a lot better which will help with gaming at that price range.

 

But how long would that be? And how pricey? Things are always being improved, if I wait for every improvement, I'l never have a new laptop hehe.

 

 

I'm personally not too bothered by heat, which is why I'm gravitating towards the Hp.

 

It doesn't matter if it bothers you personally, it's how it affects your computer's performance. Shell out 20 extra pounds for the better quality product if you're making a long-term investment. There's only so much cleaning your vents can do for you when it comes to keeping your system cool.

 

By that I mean the reviews have mentioned very little about heat, so it can't be that big of a problem.

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I would go with the HP, the Lenovo has a better processor but doesn't have a dedicated GPU (the HD 3000 which is integrated), since you want to be able to play moderately demanding games (like The Witcher).

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Whatever you do don't go for the Lenovo, their construction leaves much to be desired.

 

I'm currently looking at buying the A8 version of that HP as it's waaaay better than anything else in the price range, and HP are actually fairly well made. Don't let the AMD processor put you off, yeah it might not be as quick as the newest i5 at certain things, but for the price difference it's a no brainer.

 

Let me know how the HP is, if you do get it.

 

All the best!

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Whatever you do don't go for the Lenovo, their construction leaves much to be desired.

 

I'm currently looking at buying the A8 version of that HP as it's waaaay better than anything else in the price range, and HP are actually fairly well made. Don't let the AMD processor put you off, yeah it might not be as quick as the newest i5 at certain things, but for the price difference it's a no brainer.

 

Let me know how the HP is, if you do get it.

 

All the best!

 

It's not for the processor speed that AMD puts us off usually, it's because AMD processors produce a hell of a lot more heat than an Intel processor of the same strenght.

 

Also, you must've gotten a bad lenovo if you say that about them. Then again, they do have some lower end builds that are weak but the higher end builds are good.

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Whatever you do don't go for the Lenovo, their construction leaves much to be desired.

 

I'm currently looking at buying the A8 version of that HP as it's waaaay better than anything else in the price range, and HP are actually fairly well made. Don't let the AMD processor put you off, yeah it might not be as quick as the newest i5 at certain things, but for the price difference it's a no brainer.

 

Let me know how the HP is, if you do get it.

 

All the best!

 

It's not for the processor speed that AMD puts us off usually, it's because AMD processors produce a hell of a lot more heat than an Intel processor of the same strenght.

 

Also, you must've gotten a bad lenovo if you say that about them. Then again, they do have some lower end builds that are weak but the higher end builds are good.

 

I don't have one, but while I've been looking at Laptops recently I've come across some, including some of those on the PC World shop floor - it's just an opinion I suppose.

 

Also, about the heat issue.

 

I'm currently using an Acer Aspire 5740 (I think), which is an Intel i3 M370 and I've had no end of problems with heat. It's only a year old and I'm selling the [bleep]er. haha.

 

Anyway, when I had a Phenom x3 in my old pc, it ran smoothly all the time at about 50 degrees c...

 

Again, heat might not be a major issue.

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Whatever you do don't go for the Lenovo, their construction leaves much to be desired.

 

I'm currently looking at buying the A8 version of that HP as it's waaaay better than anything else in the price range, and HP are actually fairly well made. Don't let the AMD processor put you off, yeah it might not be as quick as the newest i5 at certain things, but for the price difference it's a no brainer.

 

Let me know how the HP is, if you do get it.

 

All the best!

 

It's not for the processor speed that AMD puts us off usually, it's because AMD processors produce a hell of a lot more heat than an Intel processor of the same strenght.

 

Also, you must've gotten a bad lenovo if you say that about them. Then again, they do have some lower end builds that are weak but the higher end builds are good.

 

I don't have one, but while I've been looking at Laptops recently I've come across some, including some of those on the PC World shop floor - it's just an opinion I suppose.

 

Also, about the heat issue.

 

I'm currently using an Acer Aspire 5740 (I think), which is an Intel i3 M370 and I've had no end of problems with heat. It's only a year old and I'm selling the [bleep]er. haha.

 

Anyway, when I had a Phenom x3 in my old pc, it ran smoothly all the time at about 50 degrees c...

 

Again, heat might not be a major issue.

 

Looks like you got unlucky with that acer. I guess every brand has lemons lol. Anyway, that Phenom x3, it was a desktop right? If it's right, my Intel i7 (quad core + hyperthreading which means 8 virtual cores) in my laptop runs cooler than that.

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Whatever you do don't go for the Lenovo, their construction leaves much to be desired.

 

I'm currently looking at buying the A8 version of that HP as it's waaaay better than anything else in the price range, and HP are actually fairly well made. Don't let the AMD processor put you off, yeah it might not be as quick as the newest i5 at certain things, but for the price difference it's a no brainer.

 

Let me know how the HP is, if you do get it.

 

All the best!

 

It's not for the processor speed that AMD puts us off usually, it's because AMD processors produce a hell of a lot more heat than an Intel processor of the same strenght.

 

Also, you must've gotten a bad lenovo if you say that about them. Then again, they do have some lower end builds that are weak but the higher end builds are good.

 

I don't have one, but while I've been looking at Laptops recently I've come across some, including some of those on the PC World shop floor - it's just an opinion I suppose.

 

Also, about the heat issue.

 

I'm currently using an Acer Aspire 5740 (I think), which is an Intel i3 M370 and I've had no end of problems with heat. It's only a year old and I'm selling the [bleep]er. haha.

 

Anyway, when I had a Phenom x3 in my old pc, it ran smoothly all the time at about 50 degrees c...

 

Again, heat might not be a major issue.

 

Looks like you got unlucky with that acer. I guess every brand has lemons lol. Anyway, that Phenom x3, it was a desktop right? If it's right, my Intel i7 (quad core + hyperthreading which means 8 virtual cores) in my laptop runs cooler than that.

 

Fair. It was a desktop, and yeah I guess so, it is unlucky, and a pain in the arse. I've got it sat on top of a big book to try and keep the heat below 80/90 :P

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