Mid-range Laptop Advice

[SPS]

Yo guys, I know we're not primarily a laptop forum but I was hoping I could get some suggestions.

Basically I'm looking for a laptop for general use.

Budget is £500-£600.

I'd prefer it if there was a GPU just because I cannot stand Intel HD, although it won't be used for gaming it may be used to run some graphical tasks/development.

RAM cannot be less than 6GB unless there is room in the budget for an upgrade.

This is what I am currently looking at:
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Asus...p_in_Brown__K55VD-SX780H/version.asp#maindesc

I appreciate any suggestions whether it be specific models or just brands/components in general.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I really don't want an Acer. Past experiences suggest 'high' specs short lifetime.

 

[Feronix]

Heard a lot of good things about this:
http://pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/

You can configure the specs of multiple models to your own wishes to meet your own specific needs. You can even upgrade the thermal paste. It is what I would do tbh

 

[jamesriley94]

IMO, the minimum GPU in a laptop you should really be looking at is like a 630m/540m. Anything as low as the 610m will give you next to no improvement over integrated graphics, yet it will push the price up significantly.

I'd also suggest possibly waiting for Haswell and also looking at second hand.

 

[SPS]

Heard a lot of good things about this:
http://pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/

You can configure the specs of multiple models to your own wishes to meet your own specific needs. You can even upgrade the thermal paste. It is what I would do tbh

There doesn't seem to be that much flexibility on the customisation to suit the budget.

IMO, the minimum GPU in a laptop you should really be looking at is like a 630m/540m. Anything as low as the 610m will give you next to no improvement over integrated graphics, yet it will push the price up significantly.

I'd also suggest possibly waiting for Haswell and also looking at second hand.

I agree that the 610m is pretty poor as far as cards are concerned but it does mean that it's using Nvidia's drivers and not Intels which is a massive plus (their OpenGL support is utter dreadful). I may well wait for Haswell however, is there an ETA?

 

[Cru]

take a look at the acer travelmate 5760g if you can find it anywhere
i5, gt630m and 8gb ram
don't really know many british websites..
got it for like 580 euro i think, bought me a 256gb ssd with it and i really like it

 

[CEUOTC]

Asus Outlet have :

Refurbished ASUS N56VM Notebook / 15.6" / Intel Core i5 3210M / 6GB RAM / 750GB HDD @ £649.99 All prices include tax

Refurbished ASUS N55SL Notebook / 15.6" / Intel Core i5 2450M / 6GB RAM / 640GB HDD @ £499.00 All prices include tax.

Or have a look at Dell outlet which has systems with dedicated GPU for under 600 quid.

Regards

C.

 

[CEUOTC]

The N55SL has the re-baged GT555M = GT635M.
The N56VM has the re-badged GT540M = GT630M.

Regards

C.

 

[SPS]

take a look at the acer travelmate 5760g if you can find it anywhere
i5, gt630m and 8gb ram
don't really know many british websites..
got it for like 580 euro i think, bought me a 256gb ssd with it and i really like it

I've edited the first post, I really don't want an Acer from past experiences. Thanks though.

Asus Outlet have :

Refurbished ASUS N56VM Notebook / 15.6" / Intel Core i5 3210M / 6GB RAM / 750GB HDD @ £649.99 All prices include tax

Refurbished ASUS N55SL Notebook / 15.6" / Intel Core i5 2450M / 6GB RAM / 640GB HDD @ £499.00 All prices include tax.

Or have a look at Dell outlet which has systems with dedicated GPU for under 600 quid.

Regards

C.

The Asus at £649.99 seems a bit to say it has no GPU. The one I posted has a better CPU and it's cheaper.

Used to have a Dell and I found the build quality to be pretty poor, it didn't feel 'tight'.

EDIT: just saw your most recent post let me take a look on the site.

 

[SPS]

This one actually looks promising:
http://shop.asus.co.uk/shop/gb/en-G...-Intel-Core-i5-2450M--6GB-RAM--640GB-HDD.aspx