New Laptop/PC- Help Needed

Welshace · February 11, 2016

Both are way more than you need for the setup on fm you've suggested, having said that, they would be useful for other games for sure..

Between them I have no idea why your friend is more impressed with the second... it's a slightly weaker cpu and the only advantage is has is the extra ram, which frankly isn't needed.. and if it was, is cheap enough to upgrade whenever you have the need.

MyNameIsJohn · February 11, 2016

Help!

1) http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/20AL0...0_1806792.html

2) http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/20AL0...0_1540601.html

First question - is the second one worth £70 more? Main difference seems to be the screen?

Second question - this will play FM well, right? (Even though only a small screen)

Thanks in advance guys!

quino · February 11, 2016

Both are way more than you need for the setup on fm you've suggested, having said that, they would be useful for other games for sure..
Between them I have no idea why your friend is more impressed with the second... it's a slightly weaker cpu and the only advantage is has is the extra ram, which frankly isn't needed.. and if it was, is cheap enough to upgrade whenever you have the need.

I do like the 1st one's processor and gpu...

Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core Processor

Dedicated GeForce GTX 960M 4GB Graphics...

but then I like the 2nd ones memory and HDD..

• 12GB DDR4 RAM

• 128GB SSD + 750GB HDD

Like a fat kid in a sweet shop, but completely unnecessary for my needs (just total "wants")

February 11, 2016

First one is what I'd go with.

It has a better cpu & gfx card with more memory, RAM & storage is better on the second but only marginally so.

quino · February 11, 2016

First one is what I'd go with.
It has a better cpu & gfx card with more memory, RAM & storage is better on the second but only marginally so.

Memory, as explained is cheap enough to upgrade(not that u want to do this straight off) it's really the hdd that really puts me off the 1st one. Never had a hybrid, or ssd for that matter, would this hdd annoy me? I just don't know enough about them.

February 11, 2016

I've never used a hybrid drive but I haven't heard any horror stories & their commonality suggests that there is no cause for concern.

quino · February 11, 2016

It's the 5400rpm, slowest of the slow, that's putting me off. So Mibbes it doesn't bother fm, but it's still important. Will this give u the quick boot of windows, quick load and save that the other one would?

February 11, 2016

It has an SSD boot drive & for FM there will be almost no difference in save times between the two machines, personally option 2 has nothing going for it when compared with option 1.

forameuss · February 12, 2016

I'd agree that both are probably overkill if you're only wanting to play FM. Not sure about Civilization, but pretty sure I could play Sim City (the terrible one) and Cities Skylines on my older system which was nowhere near those.

I spent 600 on this one a little while back. I wasn't too impressed with those at the lower price point because I already had a fairly decent laptop, but very impressed so far. The newest games it'll either struggle with or completely fail to play (I think it was GTAV it said it would play, but barely) but for what I need, it's pretty good.

If you're set on either of the two you mentioned, then the second one is considerably worse. Certainly not worth saving 20 quid. If you go by the benchmarks each processor gets (and given processor is king in FM, it's a good measure) the first gets a score of 8007, the second gets 5812. And you get a much better graphics card. There is nothing from the second that really suggests it's worth buying in comparison.

quino · February 13, 2016

Thanks for the input, guess option one is the way to go. Cheers for the input

Alari Naylor · February 13, 2016

Gonna pick up a second-hand/refurb ex-business laptop for home use, anyone have experience of the Thinkpad X220 vs the Elitebook 2570p (or anything else fast, durable and small I can get second hand for under £150)?

Xeneize12 · February 13, 2016

Just bought an MSI g60 Ghost Pro, I did upgrade the drives to a Samsung 950 Pro as the main drive and a Samsung 850 EVO as a DATA drive.... i tried running the game from both, I didn't think the 950 Pro was going to have such a ridiculous difference on loading, it's roughly about double in just about everything in-game that leverages storage...

Highly recommend it!

CameronAshworth1981 · February 14, 2016

Gonna pick up a second-hand/refurb ex-business laptop for home use, anyone have experience of the Thinkpad X220 vs the Elitebook 2570p (or anything else fast, durable and small I can get second hand for under £150)?

Hi mate I have the x220 refurb.

I could not be happier with it I5 processor top screen for £150.00 blows all these budget laptops out of the water.

Also spare parts are easy to come by if it needs a face lift.

Runs FM16 with 2D engine incredibly well with plenty of leagues loaded.

I have not tried the 3D or any other games however.

But for an FM machine that is solid and durable you cannot go wrong.

Welshace · February 14, 2016

For £150 that's a bargain really...

I play fm on a much less powerful i5 when travelling for work and it runs fm fine with the usual leagues and a 100k database.

For for it... it's old, but it will certainly do the job.

Tom375 · February 14, 2016

Hi Welshace, any feedback would be much appreciated. I'm looking at getting a refurb as I was thinking I could get more power for my money. I'm not looking to spend too much if possible but I would like something that can run FM16 without any problems (3D graphics would be a bonus but not essential.) Are either of these laptops worth purchasing with that in mind? Or would it be a better to spend a bit more and get a brand new laptop with a dedicated graphics card? I could spend more it's just I'm quite tight you could say.

1) http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/a1-refurbished-acer-aspire-f5-571-50s0-intel-core-i5-5200u-8gb-1tb-intel-hd-a1-nx.g9zek.001/version.asp

2) http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/a1-refurbished-acer-aspire-e5-773-579l-intel-core-i5-6200u-8gb-1tb-intel-hd-a1-nx.g2dek.006/version.asp

Edit: I found a new laptop that looks good, would it be worth the extra £ do you think?

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/80K6018MUK-Lenovo-Z51-in-Laptop_1882253.html

Smurf · February 15, 2016

Looks like it's my turn...

Saw this today and I'm pretty much head over heals with it... valentines day and all... http://www.dabs.ie/products/acer-aspire-nitro-core-i7-6700hq-8gb-1tb---128gb-ssd-17-3--windows-10-64-bit-nx-g6tek-001-BQVR.html?refs=20&src=3

Would be grateful if anyone can spot something along the same lines.

I'm in Ireland, so ship to Ireland would be ideal.

Budget... I'm very flexible. If it costs 2k that's what it costs. If it costs 1k for something similar then I'm ok.

I guess max 2k.

Smurf · February 15, 2016

. Only a 3 cell battery.... hmmm noooooo

Not so bad, mostly plugged in anyway.

Welshace · February 15, 2016

Not too bad for the price at all...

The only question is whether the extra £270 odd quid is worth the extra screen size and the SSD I suppose compared to a dell inspiron 15..

luke4387 · February 15, 2016

Get the Dell Inspiron 15-7000. I have it and it runs FM like a dream.

Smurf · February 15, 2016

Not too bad for the price at all...
The only question is whether the extra £270 odd quid is worth the extra screen size and the SSD I suppose compared to a dell inspiron 15..

I really like a large screen. It's more a desktop replacement than anything else. Obviously portable in the means of a car and around the house.

I'll keep looking at more options. I'm a bit edgy around purchasing for myself.

Smurf · February 15, 2016

Get the Dell Inspiron 15-7000. I have it and it runs FM like a dream.

Yeh, been a big fan of Dell over the years. Last two laptops run great. Still have a 10 year old laptop that runs better than another dell I bought a few years ago.

judicious · February 15, 2016

What are the thoughts on this one?

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/toshiba-satellite-radius-p20w-c-103-12-5-2-in-1-10138283-pdt.html?awc=1599_1455542126_d37b5067f20353fb13e3ee065ccc074c&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~HotUKDeals~Communities%20%26%20UGC&istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istItemId=qqpxmxaq&istBid=t

I know there is no dedicated GPU but that's not an issue for me as I don't use the 3d feature. The SSD looks good and I think 8Mb Ram should be sufficient however my worry is the process which is i7-6500U and I know the U is ultra low power so how well will this processor perform with a large number of nations/leagues loaded - let's say a database of 120-150k players?

Welshace · February 15, 2016

Really decent price for a little 12 incher tbh..

If you are after something that size than the 6500u is pretty damn powerful.. and it would certainly run what you're asking, I would however be wary of any long term games as its then you'll notice the low powered cpu starting to falter a little... Never particularly been keen on toshibas cooling capabilities either.. but having no experience of the small form laptops like this for toshiba, I couldn't tell you for sure.

As a secondary option:

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/80Q20052UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-500s-13_1879427.html

judicious · February 15, 2016

That's my only worry - I do tend to run long term games and I think it might be wise just to invest a few more hundred quid to get a laptop with an HQ processor. The urgency to get a laptop is because my current ASUS ultrabook which has served me very well for almost 4 years is now beginning to show its age. I have been looking around and came across the Toshiba but on second thoughts I want to get something bigger with a 'full-powered' processor.

I am well aware of PC Specialist but I would rather get something more quickly so willing to pay the premium for this, just found this ASUS:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-republic-of-gamers-gl552vw-15-6-gaming-laptop-10137631-pdt.html

A similarly spec'd laptop on PC Specialist is around £100 less albeit this ASUS has a slightly bigger SSD etc but not sure if you're aware of anything else in that price range which would rival this ASUS - my budget is upto £1000 and if I can get a significantly better spec going through PC Specialist then I don't mind waiting for the order to come through but if it's only a small upgrade then I will pay for the convenience of driving to the shop and buying this or something similar.

Smurf · February 15, 2016

HQ just means it's High-Quality Graphics (Quad Core)

However, I can't find anything of better value or better specs. Good find.

judicious · February 15, 2016

Thanks Smurf - seems to be very decent.

Am I right in saying that setup should be able to deal with whatever is thrown at it (within reason of course)?

Smurf · February 15, 2016

Thanks Smurf - seems to be very decent.
Am I right in saying that setup should be able to deal with whatever is thrown at it (within reason of course)?

Yeh it would be good - just thinking, you're not that concerned about 3d graphics.

Would you consider this?

Chassis & Display

Voyager Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700T (2.8GHz) 8MB Cache

Memory (RAM)

16GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card

INTEL® HD GRAPHICS 530 - 1.7GB Max DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 12

mSATA/M.2 SSD Drive

512GB M.2 2280, SATA 6Gb/s (562MB/R, 296MB/W)

Thermal Paste

ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

USB Options

3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD

Battery

Voyager Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62WH)

Price: £929.00 including VAT and delivery.

The 6700T is slightly better processor (basically it can overclock to about 4.8ghz) than the HQ. And it's a lower power consumption.

Just putting it out there - curious to here other thoughts.

Welshace · February 15, 2016

If you're looking at the Asus, i'd urge you to consider this:

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/7559-8069-Dell-Inspiron-15-7000_1893767.html

Or if you decide to consider somewhere like pc specialist...

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