[Ol_Hardcore]

Hi All,
Im new to the site and looking for some advice on what to invest in. Im on a bit of a tight budget but I need a laptop for work. Its going to be used for abit of software design and primarily for web design so alot of website CMS, dreamweaver, compiling java ect with the odd bit of image editing now and then.
The key qualities Im looking for are processing power and overall speed/multitasking. graphics and drive space not really important, and extras like touch screen, hi res camera, gloss screen, fingerprint reader are no where near as important as power.
Hopefully below will answer any questions you may need to ask me:

1) What is your budget?
£550GBP (so about $880USD)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.
UK

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Toshiba, Asus, Lenovo and HP, also Dell XPS series
b. Dislike: Acer, e-Machines and OEMs/no-brand

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?
Maybe, if spec is high enough.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Web browsing (often 20+ tabs), office tasks (Word/Excel/PowerPoint), checking/writing e-mails, software/web design.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?
both. weight not really an issue but need 14.1" screen. 15.5 at largest, 13" at real push.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?
NO.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?
A minimum of 2 hours of real battery life. Not too bothered about it really but it would be nice to have everything.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?
Yes of course but its definitely not essential

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows 7, will dual boot linux if hard drive space allows.

Screen Specifics
12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?
Higher=better

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Matte/non-glossy prefered.

Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Somewhat. I prefer minimalist/clean design, but design is not terribly important as performance. Durability will probably be a deciding factor too.

15) When are you buying this laptop?
ASAP.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
2-3 years.

Notebook Components
17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?
Doesn't matter as long as it's over 120GB. SSD not needed.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
Must have DVD+- RW.


Advise me please!

[Takaharu]

I'd say a Core i3 or decent Phenom processor with 4GB DDR3, 320GB hard drive will probably fall into the price bracket and a dedicated graphics card. Let me break it down:
Processor: you don't need anything butch for programming as you're not constantly demanding resources, just when compiling. Obviously, you wouldn't want anything slow either.
RAM: Programmers in general need more than usual. It's not so much the compiler as the programmer multi-tasking.
HDD: Depends on how much you use, really. As I said, a 320GB hard drive is the most common in that price range.
GFX: Trust me, when you're multi-tasking, you'll want a dedicated (or at least somewhat decent) graphics card, otherwise displaying windows will take a noticeable amount of time.
As for the screen resolution, getting over 1366x768 for a modern laptop in your price range is a mission in itself so you'll probably be stuck with that. It's not ideal but you can work with it.

How does this one look to you?
Alternatively, a Pakard bell from Currys.

I do some relatively simple programming and we have a dedicated programmer at my workplace so I'm speaking from experience here. You can work with entry-level PCs when programming, but of course when you're on the hunt for a programmer's system you might as well get a programmer's system.

[Ol_Hardcore]

Thanks Takaharu,

Yes i suppose youre right you dont need anything crazy for programming, but it does need to be on the higher end as I plan on keeping it for a while. Plus I often get tasked with other duties in my office as im sort of the "tech guy", so image editing and video conversion/editing come up every now and then and I am an impatient person lol. Plus as an IT person you do like to have some "bragging rights" with the other techies in the building

I am liking the look of that Lenovo you linked to, think i might be able to get something along those lines in a 14" variety?

[Takaharu]

If you intend to do a bit more with your laptop then you might want to consider jacking up your budget a little - get yourself firmly into a decent Core i5 range like this badboy.
Pretty decent spec for £600 if you ask me: dedicated Nvidia graphics, 4GB RAM, Core i5, 640GB HDD.

NB: I didn't look very hard for that so you might want to look around a little more before committing.

[Ol_Hardcore]

Originally Posted by Takaharu

If you intend to do a bit more with your laptop then you might want to consider jacking up your budget a little - get yourself firmly into a decent Core i5 range like this badboy.
Pretty decent spec for £600 if you ask me: dedicated Nvidia graphics, 4GB RAM, Core i5, 640GB HDD.

NB: I didn't look very hard for that so you might want to look around a little more before committing.

VERY slow reply i know (sorry).
Takaharu, thats actually a great find. I was going to go with it until i got a really good deal on a dell inspiron 1558. Its i7 and very very fast. I think i need to reinstall windows as im gettng a few screen glitches which seem software based.