I am thinking of buying a new laptop. I don't want to spend loads but need to be able to run some older games which can be quite graphic intensive. Sims 2/3 and rollercoaster tycoon 2/3. I mainly will use it for office and Dreamweaver/Photoshop but I just don't understand all the later CPUs and graphics. I've seen this http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6628709 which seems to fit the bill but I've also seen Intel's but they all seem to have the Intel integrated 4000 graphics. Again I don't know but from past experience the Intel integrated affairs were poor.

Any help would be much appreciated..

I recently bought a new Ultrabook.

 

It's a Toshiba U840W:

 

http://www.trustedreviews.com/toshiba-satellite-u840w_Laptop_review

 

It has Intel 4000 graphics. To give you an idea of what they are like the games I play on it are:

 

GTA4, Driver San Francisco, Batman Arkham Asylum, Test Drive Unlimited, Lara Croft the Guardian of Light and Minecraft.

 

All very playable at decent framerates and not all turned down to low.

 

Obviously HD video and youtube etc is buttery smooth too.

 

Here is a comparison between the Intel HD 4000 vs the previous HD 3000:

 

http://compare-processors.com/7000/7000/

 

Unfortunately when I bought mine it was on offer at Currys with £100 cashback which made it £399 but it seems they no longer sell it.

 

If you want decent performance then go with an Intel I5 or above and avoid any Celeron, Pentium or cheap AMD (E1 and the likes).

 

Also the HDD is a consideration as mine has a 500gb standard HDD but then with a 32gb SSD to speed boot times etc.

 

Phil

Edited 22 January, 201412 yr by Phil-E

If you have a look on Dell (especially the outlet) you can get a decent i3 or i5 with a separate graphics card built in.

 

If you avoid budget processors like the Celeron most chips now are very powerful, hard to go wrong.

Thanks. The issue I'm having is what is budget now? When I last bought a laptop it was easy..avoid the celeron but now there is celeron, pentium, i3, i5, i7 then AMD with E, A and loads of numbers...I think I deffo want either an i3 or i5 but graphics is a problem or an AMD A(10?) Series with the nvidea graphics?

Check if the graphics is integrated with the processor or not.

 

The newer Intel chips actually have pretty decent built in graphics but a separate gfx processor with it's own memory is better.

 

I have an i3 in my desktop and an i5 in a laptop. Both plenty powerful enough but both have separate gfx chips and memory.

 

It's more important to get what you need up front with a laptop since it can't be added in later (except memory and hd).

The AMD E series CPUs are budget and only really good for netbooks.

 

I'd say i3, i5, A8 or A10.

 

With the Intel i series CPUs the number of the CPU tells if it's generation 2xxxx is 2nd gen with Intel HD 2000/3000, 3xxx is 3rd gen with Intel HD 4000 and 4xxx is the newest 4th gen with Intel HD 4400 graphics.

 

The AMDs have integrated 8000 series graphics which should be about similar to the Intel HD integrated.

 

Phil

I was going to suggest Sony Vaio, but they've stopped producing laptops with DVD drives on them. 

Well in the end I went for the HP and its pretty good. Runs what I need with no lag so I'm happy. Not so keen on Windows 8.1 though. Apart from the almost instant switchon it just all appears overly complex.

What model you got?

 

I also hate Windows 8 on a traditional laptop.

 

If you don't like it then install classicshell start menu, turn off the "charms" (when you go to the corners) and uninstall all the metro apps you are able and just use the desktop like I do.

 

Phil

Plus one for classic shell, why o why did Microsoft not include something like this, poor show.

 

If anyone finds a way to stop the black bar on the right and the date and time box appearing every time I put a finger on the touch pad please post, drive me nuts.

That still appears for me if I swipe from the right on the touchpad or hover the mouse in the bottom right corner.

 

Doesn't bother me that one but I've stopped it from appearing when I hover in the top right as everytime I went to close a program I would end up triggering it.

 

Phil

Win8 is totally touch-centric which is a bit of a PITA when you don't have that.

 

Now Ballamer has departed Win9 is being developed to be a bit more practical allegedly. However you can bet MS is looking enviously at Google's Chrome books. The OS as a rentable cloud service, £$£$£$£

How about an i3 on a budget? I am looking at a new laptop but don't want to spend much more than £350 tops. Any advice?

Any good, honest and cheap websites/shops you'd recommend?

I once bought a laptop from these guys.

 

I got a bargain and delivery was super quick even right over Christmas and new year.

 

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/

 

I noticed this on the front page too:

 

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-S400-MAYAKUK_1551535.html

 

Looks nice.

 

Phil

Keep an eye on UKHotdeals.co.uk for quick deals on laptops.

 

I'd suggest you have a hunt around the Dell outlet. We got a great deal on an i5 laptop ~£450 but it was as new and hasn't given a bit of bother. I think a lot of the Dell outlet stuff is pretty much open box and not much more. I've heard that the chip and dent stuff can be cracking value if you're not too fussy on the cosmetic side.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ECBU1KM/?tag=ho01f-21

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-G6-15-6-INCH-1TB-8GB-LAPTOP-PURPLE-/360851821703?clk_rvr_id=583067957694

Either of these look ok? I need an i3 for £300-£400 with ideally 1tb memory and 6gb RAM

Help! It's a minefield!

The asus look ok but it's got the older 2nd gen i3 with intel HD 3000 graphics (denoted by the CPU model i3-2xxx).

 

Hp look ok too but could be a little large and... its purple!

 

This one is 3rd Gen i3 with HD 4000 graphics:

 

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ACER-E1-NX.MGUEK.007_1533766.html

 

Basically look for an i3 or i5 that's model number is i3-3xxx/4xxx or i5-3xxx/4xxx (3rd or 4th gen).

 

Then Currys have these:

 

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/advent-torino-x600-15-6-laptop-21646964-pdt.html

 

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-n032sa-15-6-laptop-21949330-pdt.html

 

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-g500-15-6-laptop-21707559-pdt.html

 

Will also depend on what your screen size and battery life requirements are.

 

Phil

Thanks Phil - they are all better than the best I found!!

 

I am going for the first one from currys - the advent one. I like the idea of buying from shop just in case it goes wrong. I value the ability of being able to go in and cause a scene to get things fixed...

 

Thanks for the advice.

You're welcome.

 

And yes I agree with buying from a shop.

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

Phil

Okay, but consider tablet would also be a choice.

Why would a tablet be a choice when the guys want a laptop. Different things for different purposes

Most people who byy tablets for purposes other than facebook and angry birds usually add a keyboard and a mouse soon after.

 

but they don't want a laptop nooooo.

I bought both and have used the laptop a dozen times at most where as the tablet is used daily.