Replacement Laptop

EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
edited February 2010 in Hardware
It's about time I upgraded my laptop but I'm having trouble finding candidates.

My current machine (bought nearly 4 years ago) is an Asus F3JP which is a Core2Duo T7200 (2Ghz), 1GB DDR2 and ATi Mobility X1700, weighs 6.4lbs. ATi dropped support for this card on Windows a while ago and Linux support is non-existent which is another reason for the upgrade.

So now I'm looking for a suitable replacement, below £1200 (that is not $1200...) with an nVidia graphics card and preferably something the same weight or less. It's not easy to find good comparisons of all current laptops though so I'm a bit lost. So yeah, what is the best laptop I can get for general use fitting the above requirements? Also I'm looking for a 16" screen or less else it probably wont fit in my rucksack for work.

Comments

  • edited February 2010
    I think £1200 (~$1800) can buy you a higher-end laptop. I would check Lenovo Y series (Y550P) with Nvidia GT240M graphics first. It seems that they will be available in UK very soon in March. You can also check the T series but they come with Quadro graphics which is mostly for professional graphics rather than gaming (though you can still play).
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited February 2010
    I've come to realise I have to go with an ATi card if I want a laptop with the best price/performance ratio. I just hope their Linux drivers (Official or open) carry on improving at the rate they have (or rather the open source ones have).

    That's a nice spot mirage.

    What I'm currently looking at is the MSI GX640 (http://uk.msi.com/news.php?news_no=17) which is really nice for the money. The only downsides I can see are the slightly lower end processor (but it's still an i5 at least) and it doesn't have a backlit keyboard. The fact it has a higher res screen than most (without being full HD which is far too high to be usable on a <17" screen), 7200RPM HD and really high end graphics card make it stand out compared to the others.

    Can anyone find anything that tops the MSI's spec for <£1200 while still being below 6.5lbs? (the MSI is 5.9).
  • edited February 2010
    That MSI can beat many desktops in performance but I would search the forums about owner experiences. Such laptops sometimes come with serious heat problems.
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