Any thoughts?

[bigben]

Hi guys, looking for a new laptop as my current one is slow and I'm going away soon. It won't really need to be able to run anything too demanding, mostly itunes, google chrome, football manager and skype..

I like the look of the following spec, and was wondering if anybody could see any ways to improve (without adding a lot to the price) or save money (without impacting too much on performance).

Chassis & Display
UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-3230M (2.60GHz) 3MB could I get away with i3?
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 4000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW) I won't not have an SSD, and I don't really need a lot of storage, most of my photos, videos, games etc are on my desktop..
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
Ultra Slim 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) not sure if I need this or not? I quite often use my laptop in bed which I know can't be great for keeping it cool...
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N-2230 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
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 Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE will use avg
Keyboard Language
ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £683.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/ultraNote-15/NRtwKZYGf8/


Also while you are here... Thinking about getting a couple of mini pcs for work, they have to go in a fairly tight space underneath the counter, it is a dirty/dusty environment, do you think the hush case (no fans) would be a bad idea?

Thanks

 

[bigben]

Just ordered this hopefully this time I can stop my self from doubling the value of my order during pre-production...

Chassis & Display
UltraNote: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-3120M (2.50GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 4000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
Ultra Slim 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 INTEL® N-2230 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
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 Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
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)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £646.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Toxophilix]

Nice spec, and I think an i3 will be fine for your uses. (It's probably fine for most uses, to be honest.)

On the question about fanless mini-PCs:

• fans do suck dust into the case so it's possible the fanless design would work well (especially if you open the case and clean it out regularly)
• no PC is going to thrive in a seriously dusty environment (except one of those "rugged" machines designed for desert warfare and such)

 

[Deleted member 17413]

I was just wondering if it would be worth dropping to only 4GB of RAM? For the uses you have mentioned i think 4GB would be enough.... you may even be able to balance it off and put a low-spec graphics card in for movies n stuff and a few games. I know you arent getting it as a gaming machine, but it would give it a bit of a all-round edge wouldnt it?

 

[bigben]

I think an i3 will be fine for your uses. (It's probably fine for most uses, to be honest.)

Thanks, thats what I thought

fans do suck dust into the case so it's possible the fanless design would work well (especially if you open the case and clean it out regularly)

I may have to try and convince the boss to give them a go, out current computers take 10 mins to turn on and can't even handle our till software and internet radio / youtube at the same time...

I was just wondering if it would be worth dropping to only 4GB of RAM? For the uses you have mentioned i think 4GB would be enough

Thanks, I had a look at the ram usage while I was playing fm, and for a game that is only 4 or 5 seasons in it was using about 3.9gb ram, obviously with fm is that as you progress through the game it will have to load more and more stuff from the database, which I assume requires more ram, so I think that I would rather be safe than sorry?

you may even be able to balance it off and put a low-spec graphics card in for movies n stuff and a few games.

No option for this :/

Thanks guys

ps. sibun1 up at 05.13!?! ouch...