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I am needing help with buying a new computer/Laptop and I just cannot decide.

MajocaMajoca Member Posts: 263
edited September 2012 in Off-Topic
Right I am so confused now and its driving me crazy.

I have saved up my money and can spend about £1100 on a Desktop computer or Laptop.

I currently own a Acer Aspire 8920G which allows me to photo edit and play most of my games, The only thing that doesnt play well is skyrim and the high end stuff like BF3 < not interested in them though. The Acer Aspire is about 4 years old, and I think its time to step up as I am noticing loading times, it can also take a long time to do certain tasks, transfering files and I keep running out of space, Anyway I really need help.

I generally know what spec I want but I just cannot decide wether I want a desktop or Laptop and I am sick of sifting through products on the internet so I am now looking for advice from the people on these forums.

I am a photographer, so I do photo editting, I store a lot of images, I game a lot (Lan Parties, older games) but not high end stuff, I use consoles if I need to play a game like skyrim, however I am wondering about getting it for PC.

I do listen to music not much, however itunes is a pain for my laptop so I think if I had a better computer I would be able to listen to more music.

Ive been wanting play Guild wars 2 and starcraft as they do look quite good.

I also dont wish to build my PC < Lazy I know but I have never done it before and I dont really have the time as I am studying, working or off shooting.

So I am torn, do I want highend gaming like PC (I hate the ugly gimmicky towers and I am unsure of buying from a company like PCspecialist and so on) < if anyone can suggest good company for desktops that would be great

Should I buy a laptop instead, I like freedom to move, I do take my laptop places if needs be, I also sometimes take it outside if its really nice. Good to see clients with it, I dont care how big it is, My acer is 17" I think maybe more but its like a portable desktop which I can show photos and edit in front of clients.

I have been looking at the HP envy 17 looks great problem though I know that I can get a more powerful desktop for under the price. I cant decide :O!

Comments

  • killeahkilleah Member Posts: 124
    I will only contribute with my thoughts about the laptop, as I've been a laptop user for some years now. I must say the portability is spot on, even though you end up paying more for less.

    My experiences with HP are worse than bad though, I do not know of the one you're mentioning but after two hp laptops, who both died in a years time due to excessive overheating, caused by poor cooling design, I've kinda lost it for hp.

    I went out buying my third one with the pretense that the cooling had to be spot on. I came across a few, but ended up with the ASUS G74, 560 GTX nvidia 3 GB standalone - 12 GB ram - solidstate . blu-ray. 17,3 monitor - 1920-1080.

    The cooling system on this one is highly praised and quite unique for most lappies I've met, and running it for the 16th month now, I've never been happier for any computer than this one.

    with your pricetag you could prolly get a tad up in specs, as I roughly paid 1100 £, when I bought this one.

    check asus.com for spec details etc.

    My two cents
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    edited September 2012
    If there is a ma 'n 'pa computer shop in your neighborhood you can ask folks on this forum for advice about the following components and get a quote for having a desktop rig custom built:

    CPU
    motherboard
    graphics card
    RAM
    disk drive(s)
    hard drive(s)

    Most motherboards have excellent audio systems integrated into their chipsets these days. So you probably won't need to buy a sound card. I would however get motherboard with a slot for a video card, because you can then upgrade just the video card at some point if you wish.

    This is what I have done over the last decade, and it's saved me a bundle. The trick is to buy the components that give you the best bang for the buck. The price of a component drops when the next cutting edge thing is released. So you can buy the previous generation on the cheap. And in all likelihood you'd barely notice the difference from the state-of-the-art item anyway.

    I'm sure discriminating consumers here can give you a list to assemble a topflight rig. I haven't upgraded anything in about three years so I'd defer to others who stay current with what to assemble.

    Computer stores like this usually aren't out to rip you off. They need repeat business and good word of mouth to survive. They'll also recommend exactly what to get within a price range. Just tell them you want all the boxes for the various parts to keep them honest.
    Post edited by Lemernis on
  • MajocaMajoca Member Posts: 263
    ive narrowed it down to two laptops which fit my budget and do what I need, however I cannot for the life of me decide which one to buy

    Toshiba Satellite P875-102 Laptop < 17.3"

    or

    Hp Envy 17 3002ea Laptop < 17.3"
  • HaggardBlazeHaggardBlaze Member Posts: 53
    edited September 2012
    I've heard that the Envy's are overpriced for their power, I think toshibas are pretty good. You got a pretty big budget, what is that like $1800? I think that there are some good Sony VAIOs in that price range, but from personal experience I wouldn't go with the HP.

    I'm a desktop user but to get a great desktop (and you can with that kind of cash, at least in the US) you're going to have to build it yourself.

    with that you could at least get an i7 and SLI two cards with a decent mobo
  • MajocaMajoca Member Posts: 263
    Im in the Uk and thanks for everyones help.
  • HaggardBlazeHaggardBlaze Member Posts: 53
    oh and if you're really worried about building your own pc it is beyond easy. As long as you get matching parts its just click together. I built my first PC in about an hour and the second time I did it it only took like 30 min
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    HaggardBlaze said:

    oh and if you're really worried about building your own pc it is beyond easy. As long as you get matching parts its just click together. I built my first PC in about an hour and the second time I did it it only took like 30 min

    True. Although there are some who would be too intimidated by even the thought of it to try. Which is understandable, actually, if you have no idea what you're doing. It also takes time to educate yourself how to assemble one.

    It's easiest to custom build when a small business computer store assembles the rig and loads the operating system. Plus if you have an old drive they'll install it in a bay, or put it in a case as an external drive.

    My guy usually charges me about $50 or $60 for the assembly labor. It doesn't take him more than an hour, I'm sure. Although once I think he charged me more when I had him ghost existing hard drive data onto a brand new much bigger HD.

    But in all events, sounds like the OP is sold on getting a laptop.
  • MajocaMajoca Member Posts: 263
    yeah I need the portability to edit my photos on the go, take my laptop to the clients and it always me to take it to uni to maximise my work and how fast I am doing it ^^
  • coastie65coastie65 Member Posts: 4
    Majoca said:

    yeah I need the portability to edit my photos on the go, take my laptop to the clients and it always me to take it to uni to maximise my work and how fast I am doing it ^^

    I would also look into the ASUS G75 or maybe the Lenovo W520 ( not sure of the screen size on that ). I do have an an occasion to assist folks in the UK and generally use PC World Super Stores and a couple of other Online retailers over there. I haven't checked the pricing, so don't know if it fits your budget. I am a Moderator at the PC World Forums, but not related to the Superstores, but with a U.S. Publication with the same name.

  • HaggardBlazeHaggardBlaze Member Posts: 53
    Well whatever you get, make sure it has a dedicated gpu and not an integrated one. That plus a good CPU come first for laptops imo
  • MajocaMajoca Member Posts: 263
    well the toshiba laptop I had listed up there is my choice, but! its bloody out of stock, everywere ¬_¬ so I have to wait... *grumbles*
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    FWIW, I'm really happy with the Lenovo laptop I got last year.
  • GilgalahadGilgalahad Member Posts: 237
    Check out this site...if i can link it properly as i suck at this lol. Very useful page that pretty much helps you pinpoint your optimal system for the money you have and the community though small, is very good.

    http://www.hardware-revolution.com/
  • Greenman019Greenman019 Member Posts: 206
    I bought a Laptop from PCSpecialist, works like a charm a year on.
  • mthrlmthrl Member Posts: 5
    edited September 2012
    I was happy with my MSI entry-level gaming laptop until it started over-heating every ten minutes. The issue was easy enough to fix, but required opening the case and removing the fan to get rid of all the dust and then re-applying thermal paste. As users above have suggested, I'd look closely at reviews and make sure that the rig has a good cooling system - laptops are prone to overheating.
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