New Laptop

It appears the old Acer 5290G is on its last legs with the screen disappearing and freezing. I'm assuming it's a connection issue and having taken it apart I've given up and decided it was probably on the way out anyway and a new one is needed. Loads of chat on here about the Dell Inspiron 15 and I think I might be plumping for that, although I've been on pcspecialist and created one from scratch at about the same price £500. If any one on here knows about this stuff and can point me in one direction or the other that would be helpful. My requirements are pretty basic. Fm2012, general internet browsing and I watch a lot of NFL game pass and NFL Network so it needs to be able to stream this. My old acer managed all the above and 3d fm without too many concerns so imagine anything new should work too. Anyway the below is what I created on pcspecialist. If anyone can suggest any upgrades I need to make or if that should suit my requirements that would be great. Thanks.

Quick edit realised I posted up the second one I made to see prices. They're both around same price assume the top one is much better.

The 15.6" Enigma III 540

Specification Snapshot:

2nd Gen Intel® Core™ CPUs

2GB GeForce™ GT540M

Full HD 1920 x 1080 Res

SuperSpeed USB 3.0

HDMI Output Connection

1.3MP Webcam

BluRay Capable

Wireless Capable

Bluetooth Option Available

VGA Output Connection

Chassis & Display

Enigma III 540: 15.6" Matte HD LED Widescreen (1366x768)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2430M (2.40GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)

4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card

nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk

250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader

Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)

The 14.1" Xenon

Specification Snapshot:

2nd Gen Intel® Core™ CPUs

Intel Integrated Graphics

HD 1366 x 768 Resolution

HDMI Output Connection

1.3MP Webcam

BluRay Capable

Wireless Capable

Bluetooth Option Available

VGA Output Connection

Chassis & Display

14.1" Glossy HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2430M (2.40GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)

8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card

Intel® HD Graphics 3000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB

Memory - Hard Disk

250GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD2500BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader

Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

It's more than enough. I didn't exactly understand what the res of the screen is - 1366x768 or 1920x1080? It is quite important to have a good resolution to fit more stuff on your screen. If it is offered as 1366x768, I'd recommend scaling down the graphics card and going for a better screen I am playing on 1366x768 and struggling to fit everything I want on the screen. So yes, if it is within your budget it is a good machine.

You wont get a dell @ that spec for £500

Let me make a quick scan over the internet to see how much you can get for 500 pounds in the UK. Btw, Inspirons are crap in general - if you are buying cheap - why not stick with Acer - you'd get more performance for your money and the quality is roughly the same. I'll post again, just let me scan the E-net.

Thanks. When I go into the details it says that the native/ maximum resolution is 1920 x 1080 but then goes on to say it has a HD 1366 x 768 resolution in the blurb. But then there is the option to go for this upgraded chassis and display for an extra £60. May be worth doing that then. Enigma III 540: 15.6" Glossy FHD LED (1920x1080) (Special Offer)

Didn't think so, Dan. It's just the ease thing with Dell and the fact it's all numbers to me. Assumed the spec would be better on the other by quite a bit.

Alexy, cheers. I've used this site to build it http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk so far but anything you spot would be helpful. I've had no complaints with the acer to be honest so if I can get another wouldn't be a problem.

Well, looked through the I-net for some good deals, but it seems people in the UK are quite disadvantaged in terms of value for money this year. I managed to buy quite a decent config for gaming abroad with 2 yrs warranty. I found some specs with appropriate video and processor for FM but they come with 1 year warranty, which is useless as it is the most important thing when buying a laptop. As long as the computers from this site are reliable, you can build a half-decent spec for roughly 570 quid. At least it comes with plenty of warranty so you can use with peace of mind.

Chassis & Display

Enigma III 540: 15.6" Glossy FHD LED (1920x1080) (Special Offer)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-2330M (2.20GHz) 3MB

Memory (RAM)

4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)

Graphics Card

nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - Hard Disk

250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader

Integrated 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)

Sound Card

Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless

ENIGMA GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N + BLUETOOTH 3.0

This spec comes out at 570 with plenty of RAM (it's a shame they don't offer 3 GB as that would be optimal for your usage along with 32 bit Windows), acceptable CPU, very good GPU, 3 yrs warranty and an excellent screen. If you have an OS and don't need to buy Windows, then it will go down to 490(make sure you ask about drivers if you are going for this option, it is essential, especially for custom-build laptops)... It all depends on how flexible your budget is but as long as their chassis is reliable, you will have a decent config to last 5-6 years.

It's such a shame mainstream brands charge so much in the UK though...When you go for a similar spec-ed crap Dell Inspiron (with warranty extension), the price becomes nighmarish. I don't think the brand name is worth it as budget mainstream laptops are just about as likely to cause defects as these above, but they charge you for the logo here it seems. Good luck.

Thank you for that, Alexy. Extremely helpful and have probably saved me a few quid from making it myself and adding unnecessary bits and pieces. As you say you pay for the logo in most places and pay way above for the odds so hopefully this will last. Thanks again.

No problem mate, if you have a PC store nearby you may want to go and just check the difference in resolution to see if it's worth the 65 quid. I've seen it and I think it's worth every penny but someone else might not find so much difference. For FM specifically there is quite a bit of difference (other areas where it will improve are text docs, excel spreadsheets, any sort of video rendering, Hi-Def movies, some other games). You will not experience much difference while internet browsing or going through, say, windows explorer/itunes. If you decided you don't need the higher res and don't intend to play any other 3D games for the life of the laptop, then it might be worth considering the cheaper option that comes with Integrated video and not 540m(FM is not high-demanding game so at lower detail levels you will have perfect 3D match engine with the newest Integratd graphics). A spec with enough RAM and a better processor (processor is what determines how quickly FM calculates the data so it will improve gamespeed) will come within 500.

Good luck.

I watch a bit of HD NFL games from the nfl.com site so i think the higher res would be worth going for. I'll have a last look later and stick an order in, the mrs may even treat me for xmas. Although that's probably wishful thinking.