New System For Uni - Looking For Custom Build

H

h364

New Member
Hi Guys,

You may have seen my other thread introducing myself, but anyway, i need some of your wisdom. :)

I'm fairly computer literate, all self taught, and currently own a Dell Dimension Desktop 5000 (recently rebuilt by myself) and my Dell Inspiron 1520. Both fairly low key, family style computers.

I'm looking for my next purchase, which is hopefully going to be near top of the range. My grandmothers giving me a loan of a current maximum of about £1200, which I'm going to pay back over the two years i have before i leave for university.

So, i was wondering if you could point me in the direction of some brands that match my requirements, as I'm pretty much only aware of mainstream companies.

I've been looking at some MacBook's, but i've found for what they are, they are extremely expensive, so that's put me off a little. I've also been attracted to the Dell XPS models, as these seem great value for money, and all my previous Dell's have been great.

So anyway, here a few of the requirements:

Below £1200
Laptop
Future Proof - e.g. latest technology that will last for a good few years.
Not for gaming - maximum gaming use = solitaire.
Work based - Office documents, spreadsheets, presentations - student stuff.
Able to run apps such as DreamWeaver, Photoshop, Fireworks etc fast, and efficiently.
Decent Hard Drive - At least 160GB, preferably about 360GB
Suitable amount of RAM 4GB? (Unsure, i don't want to buy too much)
General multimedia use - Watching DVD'S, YouTube, Pictures, iPod.
Appropriate CPU (Recommendations? I thought at least 2.4Ghz)

Pretty much it, it's my first real computer purchase, so i want a powerful, premium machine!

Thanks for the help guys, look forward to hearing your suggestions.
 
Acer Aspire 6930G - C2D P8400 4Gb (2*2G) 320GB VHP Blu-ray Nvida geForce 9600M GS 0.3Webcam £690
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asp/...Bn_Laptop_LX.AGA0X.398&pagetype=version&page=

Acer Aspire 6935G-944G32BN - Core 2 Duo T9400 / 2.53 GHz - Centrino 2 - RAM 4 GB - HDD 320 GB - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM - GF 9600M GT TurboCache supporting 2303MB - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - fingerprint reader - Vista Home Premium - 16" Widescreen TFT 1920 x 1080 ( WUXGA ) CineCrystal - camera £950
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asp/...ue_Laptop_LX.ATQ0X.038&pagetype=version&page=

Sony VAIO FW21Z - Core 2 Duo T9400 / 2.53 GHz - Centrino 2 - RAM 4 GB - HDD 500 GB - BD-RE - Mobility Radeon HD 3650 - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 EDR - Vista Home Premium - 16.4" Widescreen TFT 1920 x 1080 ( WXGA++ ) X-black - camera £1088
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asp/...AIO_FW21Z_VGNFW21Z.CEK&pagetype=version&page=

I believe the £690 Acer would probably last 3 - 4 years.
The £1k Acer / Sony have higher spec on CPU and display. However, I don't know if it is worth for you to spend that extra.
I would suggest you going for the mid-range £690 now, than 3 years later, get another £600 machine.
 
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Daisy has given you a good range there. All of them are going to be more than suitable for what you want to be doing. In terms of future proof(ness), the only thing that really keeps demanding better and better computers are games. A four or five year old computer will run Office 2007. For what you have listed as your uses the software can't get that much more demanding.

You need to consider whether you want portability (14.1" to 15.4" screen) or more of a multimedia laptop (17" screen) for your DVD's etc. Obviously the bigger the screen the more of a document you can have on it at once.

You might find that you need to buy a highly spec'ed laptop to get the large HDD. Remember you can always buy a large external HDD for less than £100.

Hope that helps, Doug.
 
Many thanks for these replies guys, much appreciated.

Like you say, i don't want to be wasting money on extras that i simply won't use. These look like great laptops for my purposes.

In regards to dug's response, i would prefer a larger screen, as you say it's much easier with documents, and also due to the fact that the laptop will be a primary form of entertainment, so DVD's, music, etc, so a larger, preferably HD screen is preferable.

The hard drive on second thoughts dosen't have to be that large, it's better for me to have a reasonalble size, but faster, so i can access simple office documents on the move, and have a large, external HDD at home or on campus for video, music, bulk of files.

I've been shopping around, and despite the current ridiculously weak pound, i'm considering having one imported. I was just curious, with Alienware, Dell etc, is it possible to buy from the US site, with US price and have them shipped over here to the UK?

Cheers guys,
 
After alot of hunting, i've narrowed it down to two models. My budget's just take a large cut, since i just bought a car.

I have around 600GBP tops, (sorry, keyboards configured to US for some reason, can't find the pound key)

Dell are having a great deal on the 15'' Studio's, so i can get a real good spec for 600.

But i've recently noticed the Acer Aspire 6530...

What are we thinking?
 
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