value for money laptop, low budget

[moleamol]

The Lenovo you posted should manage those unless you are going for a full on flight sim. Flight sims are particularly harsh on computers due to the complexity and you'll find the hardcore simmers have pretty serious gaming machines.

[danlightbulb]

Yeah, I'm not a hardcore simmer, just like to dabble really, fly a few planes about for fun. I have found Ive never been able to run a flight sim on any previous computer Ive owned due to their high system requirements.

I'm heavily leaning towards that MSI posted above as it seems good value. It isn't quite the same spec as the one in PC world though which is £899 as it has an i5 instead of an i7 and a lesser graphics card, but I think the spec is good enough for me to have a dabble in various things.

Problem is I can't try it. Would much rather walk into a shop and come out with a laptop I have looked at in the flesh. Cant even go to pc world and look at the more expensive MSI as its still online order.

Question about the MSI one - will I be able to add an SSD later, ideally as a 2nd drive? The MSI site mentions M.2 SSD as a spec but the model on ebuyer doesn't have that.


Edit - just been out and looked at the lenovo and a much higher spec MSI with the same case as the one I'm looking at on ebuyer. The lenovo was nicely designed, metal finish, solid lid. The MSI lid though was very flexible in comparison, but otherwise the case looked ample, plenty of cooling slots on the underside. If it wasn't for the radeon graphics I would have been happy with the lenovo, but I think the better spec of the MSI wins out, IF i can add an ssd to it in the future.

Edited by danlightbulb on Monday 2nd May 17:26

[moleamol]

Double check but I don't see any reason why you couldn't. Really you want to be running the OS from an SSD for speed with a standard HDD for storage. IMO an SSD makes a bigger difference than almost any other single component with regards to speed.

[danlightbulb]

moleamol said:

Double check but I don't see any reason why you couldn't. Really you want to be running the OS from an SSD for speed with a standard HDD for storage. IMO an SSD makes a bigger difference than almost any other single component with regards to speed.

According to the MSI website the model has a M.2 PCIe SSD as an option. So I'm assuming if I buy it without the SSD the port will still be available? However on looking at the case underside in PC world the entire base has to be removed which would void the warranty, and I can't find any information on how accessible the M.2 slot is inside.

[wilbo83]

So easy for the budget to keep creeping up, I have just found the below which may interest you also as it has an SSD, however that MSI seems great value:
http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=...

[danlightbulb]

wilbo83 said:

So easy for the budget to keep creeping up, I have just found the below which may interest you also as it has an SSD, however that MSI seems great value:
http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=...

Did see that one on pc world website (not available in shop), for £799, so that's a good price direct.

I think though that the MSI is the one for me. Should I be sceptical that ebuyer has it for £600 when its £800+ everywhere else? (over a grand in littlewoods albeit it with a bit more ram).

The MSI has DDR4 ram and (if I'm interpreting the spec list correctly), pci-e x4 NVMe capability so I can add a blistering fast SSD later on. I saw something online that these can boot into windows in 4 seconds.


If you did want to spend £800 wilbo, have a look at this one: http://www.cclonline.com/product/200656/9S7-179553...

In fact I'm tempted on that one myself...oh dear here we go again...


Edit. Found another on ebuyer. Im not sure which one is better, the msi or this one. This one has a slightly lesser processor, and ddr3 ram instead of ddr4. But it comes with a small ssd as standard and it has the 950m instead of the 940mx graphics.
http://m.ebuyer.com/737628

Edited by danlightbulb on Monday 2nd May 21:34

Edited by danlightbulb on Tuesday 3rd May 09:08

[danlightbulb]

Sorry to bump this but close to making a choice and not sure which one of two to go for.

Here are the two options, both £599:

MSI GL62 6QC Gaming Laptop

Intel Core i5-6300HQ 2.3GHz - 4 core/4 thread, integrated intel 530 graphics
8GB DDR4 RAM (2 slots, config unknown)
1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 2GB GDDR3 version
http://www.ebuyer.com/737456-msi-gl62-6qc-gaming-l...
15 good reviews.



Asus K501UX Laptop

Intel Core i5-6200U 2.3GHz 2 core/4 thread, integrated intel 520 graphics.
8GB DDR3 RAM (4GB on board and 1 additional slot with 4GB in)
128GB SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M 2GB GDDR3 version
http://www.ebuyer.com/737628-asus-k501ux-laptop-k5...
no reviews.

Edited by danlightbulb on Tuesday 3rd May 21:23

Edited by danlightbulb on Tuesday 3rd May 21:26

[Pacman1978]

My only advice is steer clear from Acer.. They have the build quality of a soggy bag of quavers.

😊

[RobDickinson]

Asus and MSI are both pretty decent brands.

Those look similar.

Asus lower spec cpu better gpu and SSD will make a difference - probably feel faster overall.

Question is how much storage do you need, 128 isnt much but you can always usb.

[danlightbulb]

RobDickinson said:

Asus and MSI are both pretty decent brands.

Those look similar.

Asus lower spec cpu better gpu and SSD will make a difference - probably feel faster overall.

Question is how much storage do you need, 128 isnt much but you can always usb.

The asus does seem better on paper, shame no reviews though. I have a home server for storage of movies etc so no problem there. Games id like to play will be sim games like roller coaster tycoon and maybe civilisation. I could add a hdd but again i cannot find out details of the upgradability of it. Deyails on all these laptops are sparce to say the least.

[moleamol]

497 reviews of your laptop with no reviews

[danlightbulb]

moleamol said:

497 reviews of your laptop with no reviews

I only see 2 when i click on that link?

I have asked ebuyer about whether i can add an additional hdd and this was the reply

Only room for one SATA drive and the SSD is an M.2 so no.


I take it this means there isnt room for a standard 2.5" drive or no 2.5" drive bay at all?

Im getting so mixed up about which spec is better or which one has the best upgradability that i might just spend 200 more and get a dell inspiron 7000 series. But even that isnt ddr4 argghh.

[danlightbulb]

Stretching the budget to 715...
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/m/p?id=1868709

But this seems to satisfy all my needs. Ddr4. Ssd. Another hdd. Good card. Quad core.

Anyone experience of buying from save on laptops?

[Thorburn]

danlightbulb said:

Stretching the budget to 715...
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/m/p?id=1868709

But this seems to satisfy all my needs. Ddr4. Ssd. Another hdd. Good card. Quad core.

Anyone experience of buying from save on laptops?

Never used them, but I use Laptops Direct quite frequently and they have it for the same price and 2% cashback if you go to their site via Quidco.

[danlightbulb]

Thorburn said:

Never used them, but I use Laptops Direct quite frequently and they have it for the same price and 2% cashback if you go to their site via Quidco.

So they do - thanks! just looked at how far huddersfield is from me but its 2 hrs

Wary of buying something like this online would much prefer in person.

[Thorburn]

danlightbulb said:

So they do - thanks! just looked at how far huddersfield is from me but its 2 hrs

Wary of buying something like this online would much prefer in person.

Ordered 5 laptops and a couple desktops from them in the past 2 months, been absolutely faultless thus far. I'd rather deal with one of the online retailers than PC World.

[danlightbulb]

Thorburn said:

Ordered 5 laptops and a couple desktops from them in the past 2 months, been absolutely faultless thus far. I'd rather deal with one of the online retailers than PC World.

Thanks that helps reassure.

[moleamol]

Dan, did you try scrolling down from those 2 reviews?

[danlightbulb]

Yeah, i think its because im looking at it on my phone.

[wilbo83]

Did you make a decision OP? Thanks for posting the link of the ASUS N551VW, I think I am going to go for that. Spec seems too good to miss and ASUS seem to make good quality laptops.