New Laptop/PC- Help Needed

[DamianJMcGrath]

2 hours ago, Barside said:

Here’s a link to one of the Asus options.

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asus-fx504ge-dm176t-core-i7-8750h-8gb-128gb-ssd-1tb-nvidia-gtx-1050ti-1-fx504ge-dm176t/version.asp 

Better CPU, better GPU, better screen, more total storage (an SSD is pointless for FM so 128GB is enough when supplemented with a 1TB HDD) & a better chassis that has been designed & built with cooling in mind.

That Asus laptop performs poorer than an i5, has loud fans and runs very warm. I use my laptop a lot in my front room when other people are watching TV and its on my lap a lot so this isn't good for me

[Guest]

That’s a fair point about fan noice when under heavy load, it does mean the ASUS will be able to run hotter for longer but that does come at the cost of potentially annoying folk sitting nearby & for those who do not increase the processing settings to take advantage of the additional cores & performance range provided by the better thermal management then an i-5 placed in a lighter chassis is the better option but only if there is a cash saving.

[Jamie Cortez]

18 hours ago, DamianJMcGrath said:

I'm looking for a new laptop. It'll be used for FM18 and 19, as well as running some fairly complex spreadsheets/VBA macros (for work - I do large scale data analysis in Excel and SQL server), and the usual stuff like web browsing, emails, general office tasks.

I have an old ish Lenovo ideapad 110 at the moment, which has 8Gb RAM and a Intel N3710 processor, so obviously not the fastest. It's starting to die, and the screen is going a bit weird, and I think it's going to need replacing soon.

Budget is around £750. I'll be buying it through my business, so can get 20% VAT back.

I'm not comfortable building my own. I'd like a laptop instead of a PC. Windows instead of Apple. Ideally from a reputable source so I can get hardware support if it's delivered broken, or something breaks early on.

Any recommendations?

If your claiming the Vat back I assume around the £900 mark as above will bring you back to £750 ish. 

You could drop the 16gb of RAM to 8 and you'll be right on budget. 

 

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/vyper-15/UwUJ608qWS/

 

Chassis & Display
Vyper Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1^st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 300 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
Vyper Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9560 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price £926.00 including VAT and delivery

[Smurf]

Change the thermal paste

[DamianJMcGrath]

42 minutes ago, Smurf said:

Change the thermal paste

to what? There's no other options

[DamianJMcGrath]

1 hour ago, Jamie Cortez said:

If your claiming the Vat back I assume around the £900 mark as above will bring you back to £750 ish. 

You could drop the 16gb of RAM to 8 and you'll be right on budget. 

 

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/vyper-15/UwUJ608qWS/

 

Chassis & Display
Vyper Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1^st Hard Disk
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1^st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 300 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
Vyper Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9560 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity
1

Price £926.00 including VAT and delivery

I really appreciate you doing that, it seems like a good option.

One big consideration for me is if it runs hot, as I'll be using it on my lap a lot, and the fan noise. Do you have any comments around these two areas?

[DamianJMcGrath]

On the PC Specialist website, there's different RAM speeds and Processor speeds.

For running FM, what matters more - faster memory speeds, or faster processor? For example, is an i5 processor with 16GB 2666Mhz RAM better than an i7 with 16GB 2133Mhz RAM?

 

 

And while I'm here, does hard drive RPM have an influence too?

[Guest]

Faster RAM is better for FM but the differences are not noticeable outside of long run soak tests & is secondary to the processor. As for i5 or i7 it depends on which variants you are considering, how you play FM, what you’ll be using the laptop for when at work & how much of that work will be done running on battery only.

[Cueboy_3143]

6 minutes ago, Barside said:

Faster RAM is better for FM & is secondary to the processor. As for i5 or i7 it depends on which variants you are considering, how you play FM, what you’ll be using the laptop for when at work & how much of that work will be done running on battery only.

I'm considering getting a custom built machine too to be honest. The Asus laptop I was recommended on here has got mixed reviews when I've looked online. Like Jamie I don't really know what I'm doing, budget is £1,500-£1,700 either a laptop or desktop

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, Cueboy_3143 said:

I'm considering getting a custom built machine too to be honest. The Asus laptop I was recommended on here has got mixed reviews when I've looked online. Like Jamie I don't really know what I'm doing, budget is £1,500-£1,700 either a laptop or desktop

Asus laptops have a solid reputation, what were the common complaints in the negative reviews?

As for your options what are you looking to get out of the laptop? How do you tend to setup & run an FM save (league size, player pool & match settings - both graphics & processing) plus what other games do you play or would like to play?

For desktop will it require a wireless network card & do you already have a display (what is it?), mouse & keyboard?

[mortmaru]

2 hours ago, DamianJMcGrath said:

That Asus laptop performs poorer than an i5, has loud fans and runs very warm. I use my laptop a lot in my front room when other people are watching TV and its on my lap a lot so this isn't good for me

 

then none of the gaming ones will work for you they are all like that

 

The only ones I have seen which reduce that retail for £2000+

 

Jaime Cortez that system for £950+ is not that great it is almost identical to asus one i suggested for around £750 difference was 8gb vs 16gb ram which is easily solved.

 

Cuteboy_3143 why not go for both with that sort of budget you could get a pc and laptop (if you go just for pc that will be very good spec one)

 

 

 

[DamianJMcGrath]

5 minutes ago, mortmaru said:

 

then none of the gaming ones will work for you they are all like that

 

The only ones I have seen which reduce that retail for £2000+

OK. What would you recommend for a laptop capable of running FM to a good standard, and being able to be used on my lap and be able to run as quietly as possible?

[Guest]

@DamianJMcGrath This is what I've come up with based on what I think you're after (decent FM performance, smaller form with a lean towards passive cooling), just a tad over your budget so if that is a fixed amount that cannot be exceed change changing the SSD to the 860 EVO will bring you under budget, the compromise is that it's much slower than the 970 EVO.

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/configuration/quote/

Chassis & Display

Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS 60Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 8300H (2.3GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)

16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

1^st Hard Disk

NOT REQUIRED

1^st M.2 SSD Drive

500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 2300MB/W)

 

The Crew 2 FREE with select SAMSUNG NVMe SSDs!

Memory Card Reader

Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)

AC Adaptor

1 x 120W AC Adaptor

Battery

Cosmos VII Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Power Cable

1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable

Thermal Paste

COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND

Sound Card

2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3

Bluetooth & Wireless

GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0

USB Options

1 x USB 3.0 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Keyboard Language

SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD

Operating System

Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]

Operating System Language

United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media

Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account

Office Software

FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus

BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode

Browser

Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)

Notebook Mouse

INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam

INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM

Warranty

3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery

STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time

Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days

QTY

1

£774.17

ex VAT

£929.00

inc VAT and Delivery

 

[Cueboy_3143]

18 minutes ago, Barside said:

Asus laptops have a solid reputation, what were the common complaints in the negative reviews?

As for your options what are you looking to get out of the laptop? How do you tend to setup & run an FM save (league size, player pool & match settings - both graphics & processing) plus what other games do you play or would like to play?

For desktop will it require a wireless network card & do you already have a display (what is it?), mouse & keyboard?

I normally play FM with a large database and as many leagues running as I can get away with, 3d match engine etc. Other than FM I do the odd bit of video editing, Word, Excel, Publisher, watch/download videos

[mortmaru]

Barside that is awful spec for the money

 

No way around cooling this is why the pc versions are so large and have big fans on them if they wasn't needed don't you think they would do like laptops do there has to be a trade off and this is one of them.

The ones that do operate quieter that are cheap is because they throttle to reduce the temps which means you are not using the full power so basically its been nerfed

 

cuteboy_3143 a pc would be better suited in your case then for best performance to £

[Guest]

What about the desktop questions? No sense in burning a tonne of money on a high end graphics card if you're going to use a 720p 60hz TV as your display.

[mortmaru]

1 minute ago, Barside said:

What about the desktop questions? No sense in burning a tonne of money on a high end graphics card if you're going to use a 720p 60hz TV as your display.

 

That is a different matter and any one who was going to spend fair amount on pc would look into that.

 

They do the same with laptops a lot of those screen in the ones under £1000 are rubbish

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, mortmaru said:

That is a different matter and any one who was going to spend fair amount on pc would look into that.

@Cueboy_3143 has mentioned they would consider a desktop build which is why the question is an important one when considering how best to utilise their budget.

[Jamie Cortez]

1 hour ago, mortmaru said:

 

then none of the gaming ones will work for you they are all like that

 

The only ones I have seen which reduce that retail for £2000+

 

Jaime Cortez that system for £950+ is not that great it is almost identical to asus one i suggested for around £750 difference was 8gb vs 16gb ram which is easily solved.

 

Cuteboy_3143 why not go for both with that sort of budget you could get a pc and laptop (if you go just for pc that will be very good spec one)

 

 

 

With the Vat return the systems are the same price, difference being if there is a problem he doesn't have to deal with Asus support. 

Asus ROG laptops are good I own one, but their build quality leaves alot to be desired, mines a couple of years old and the fans are already failing and I just had to buy a new charger. 

The one I have done via pc specialist will easily cope with FM and several nations loaded. 

on desktops, your right they are better but they don't suit everyone and some people just want a laptop for a variety of reasons, most people in here are saying all they play is FM and then do work or video editing. A high powered desktop isn't the only solution. 

[mortmaru]

9 minutes ago, Jamie Cortez said:

With the Vat return the systems are the same price, difference being if there is a problem he doesn't have to deal with Asus support. 

Asus ROG laptops are good I own one, but their build quality leaves alot to be desired, mines a couple of years old and the fans are already failing and I just had to buy a new charger. 

The one I have done via pc specialist will easily cope with FM and several nations loaded. 

on desktops, your right they are better but they don't suit everyone and some people just want a laptop for a variety of reasons, most people in here are saying all they play is FM and then do work or video editing. A high powered desktop isn't the only solution. 

 

They are not same price one is £900+ the other about £750 with vat included that wont change by removing vat on both.

 

build quality on most of the cheaper laptops is not great they are all just plastic that's how it is not much can be done about it and regarding you replacing parts that is the same with them all fans and chargers have a life span this is nothing to do with build quality.

Yes that build would work the graphics are not great for that much money only a base 1050 is poor should be ti model or 1060 also only has a 500gb m 2 ssd so pointless

Desktop is only solution for limited budget and as said before performance to £ ratio

why would you need to deal with Asus your contract is with retailer you purchase from so no matter the brand you go to retailer that first year anything after that if there is extra warranty is down to the deal in place so retailer may deal with it or you go direct

 

People could always stick with cut down version of the game which might as well if you are only loading few leagues this should run on low end laptops.

 

 

[Smurf]

A lot of talk and no recommendations from people. Better to put that talk and knowledge and actually recommend something.

[Guest]

@mortmaru how about reading the poster’s needs, it’s what myself & smurf do but you’re just picking reasons to snipe at anyone’s posts.

[wayne'o]

1 hour ago, Barside said:

@Cueboy_3143 has mentioned they would consider a desktop build which is why the question is an important one when considering how best to utilise their budget.

A while back Smurf helped me put together a potential beast to play FM. It’s with in your price range too..

Case

CORSAIR GRAPHITE SERIES™ 780T FULL TOWER CASE

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache

Motherboard

ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS X HERO: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready

Memory (RAM)

8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card

INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)

1st Hard Disk

4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE

Intel Optane Memory

32GB INTEL® OPTANE MEMORY - USE WITH MECHANICAL HDD

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

NOT REQUIRED

Memory Card Reader

USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER

Power Supply

CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY

Power Cable

1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling

Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans

Thermal Paste

COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND

Sound Card

Creative Sound Blaster Zx 5.1 PCI-E Soundcard

Wireless/Wired Networking

WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD

USB Options

MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System

Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]

Operating System Language

United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media

Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account

Office Software

FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus

BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode

Browser

Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)

Warranty

3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery

STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time

Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days

QTY

1

£1,203.33

ex VAT

£1,444.00

inc VAT and Delivery

[Jamie Cortez]

1 hour ago, mortmaru said:

 

They are not same price one is £900+ the other about £750 with vat included that wont change by removing vat on both.

 

build quality on most of the cheaper laptops is not great they are all just plastic that's how it is not much can be done about it and regarding you replacing parts that is the same with them all fans and chargers have a life span this is nothing to do with build quality.

Yes that build would work the graphics are not great for that much money only a base 1050 is poor should be ti model or 1060 also only has a 500gb m 2 ssd so pointless

Desktop is only solution for limited budget and as said before performance to £ ratio

why would you need to deal with Asus your contract is with retailer you purchase from so no matter the brand you go to retailer that first year anything after that if there is extra warranty is down to the deal in place so retailer may deal with it or you go direct

 

People could always stick with cut down version of the game which might as well if you are only loading few leagues this should run on low end laptops.

 

 

Now your not even thinking about what you type. 

The laptop I recommended has a 1050ti which if the person as they say is only playing FM is already overkill.

It has a 128gb M2 boot drive and a 1TB storage drive. 

 

There is zero reason fans should have to be replaced within just a few years, my desktop fans have been in numerous machines for 5+ years and still going, chargers shouldn't die after a few years either... Most retailers only cover 12 months, companies like Asus can and do offer longer warranties. 

 

If your not actually going to read what people want and are asking for and suggest things with those specifications why are you even posting here? 

[DamianJMcGrath]

I do appreciate everyone's opinion and links. It's a bit confusing because of the conflicting advice and when @Barside linked me to something which looked good to my uneducated eyes, it got jumped on for not being good value for money. 

I only play FM, so don't really need a laptop to play any other games. I don't do video editing, or photoshop. I do work with large data sets in excel and SQL server and need to process fairly complex macros, excel formula across huge sets and SQL queries for my job so doing this as quickly as possible would be good. 

I'm not buying a new laptop just for FM, my current one is dying and is very old so I'm getting a new laptop for many reasons. Playing FM is obviously something I want to do as well, and minimising processing time and playing with as many leagues as possible, especially the big 5/6 European ones. Maybe just those ones. 

I don't need a mega powerful laptop. Just one to meet my needs but if I'm paying £900/£750, then I'd like to get the best value possible. May as well future proof it as much as possible. 

 

Is there any consensus on some good options? 

 

[mortmaru]

1 hour ago, Jamie Cortez said:

Now your not even thinking about what you type. 

The laptop I recommended has a 1050ti which if the person as they say is only playing FM is already overkill.

It has a 128gb M2 boot drive and a 1TB storage drive. 

 

There is zero reason fans should have to be replaced within just a few years, my desktop fans have been in numerous machines for 5+ years and still going, chargers shouldn't die after a few years either... Most retailers only cover 12 months, companies like Asus can and do offer longer warranties. 

 

If your not actually going to read what people want and are asking for and suggest things with those specifications why are you even posting here? 

 

My bad i got your one confused with another poster from the same place but even so still paying a premium over retail brand

 

I agree it's not nice to have to replace after few years but that is how it is you can't control that it has nothing to do with brand it happens the same with  desktop I have seen fans not even last 12 months (all moving parts have a life span and it depends how they are treated as well many factors come into play)

 

I said 12 months fro retailer but some do have extras in place example is ocuk has partnership so say gigabyte part fails they offer 2 year warranty ocuk will deal with that for the 2 years. (if you spend money on something and it fails in short period it is classed as unfit for purpose you go after retailer for this that its the contract agreement)

 

I gave plenty of suggestions and within there budgets and then you come in when someone has stated they only have £750 and trying to spec up £950 laptop.

 

 

[mortmaru]

cuteby_3143

do you mind going for pre owned  or does it need to be new for pc?

do you know how to build a pc?

The budget you have does this need to include monitor etc?

[Cueboy_3143]

22 minutes ago, mortmaru said:

cuteby_3143

do you mind going for pre owned  or does it need to be new for pc?

do you know how to build a pc?

The budget you have does this need to include monitor etc?

I'd want it to be new. I want to get minimum 5 years from it

[Smurf]

52 minutes ago, DamianJMcGrath said:

I do appreciate everyone's opinion and links. It's a bit confusing because of the conflicting advice and when @Barside linked me to something which looked good to my uneducated eyes, it got jumped on for not being good value for money. 

I only play FM, so don't really need a laptop to play any other games. I don't do video editing, or photoshop. I do work with large data sets in excel and SQL server and need to process fairly complex macros, excel formula across huge sets and SQL queries for my job so doing this as quickly as possible would be good. 

I'm not buying a new laptop just for FM, my current one is dying and is very old so I'm getting a new laptop for many reasons. Playing FM is obviously something I want to do as well, and minimising processing time and playing with as many leagues as possible, especially the big 5/6 European ones. Maybe just those ones. 

I don't need a mega powerful laptop. Just one to meet my needs but if I'm paying £900/£750, then I'd like to get the best value possible. May as well future proof it as much as possible. 

 

Is there any consensus on some good options? 

 

This would be good for your processing and excel databases etc. 

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/FX504GE-E4031T-ASUS-FX504GE-E4031T-Gaming-Laptop_2392237.html

Battery life not great when not plugged in - but great if you're plugged in most of the time.

 

You can build those specs up on PC Specialist yourself - just follow the same names of components. 

I tried a few different types and didn't come in any cheaper. 

I have not looked at desktop alternatives, but seen as you're using it for work, you probably want it portable, do you?

[mortmaru]

36 minutes ago, Cueboy_3143 said:

I'd want it to be new. I want to get minimum 5 years from it

build using ocuk prices if you put it together yourself or a friend

 

•  Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail=
•  Asrock B360M Pro4 Intel B360 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard=
•  Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C14 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G24=
•  PowerColor Radeon RX 580 Red Dragon V2 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card=
•  Bitfenix Formula Series 550W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply=
•  Gigabyte UD Pro 512GB SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps Toshiba 3D NAND Solid State Drive=
•  CoolerMaster MasterBox Q300L Micro-ATX Case - Black Window=
• Alpenfohn Ben Nevis CPU Cooler - 120mm=
• AOC G2460VQ6 24" 1920x1080 TN FREESYNC 1ms Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red=

Total: £1,006.57 (includes shipping: £14.70)

 

 

• Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard=
• AMD Ryzen 7 Eight Core 1700 3.70GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail=
• TeamGroup Dark Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDPGD416G30= 9
• Toshiba 1TB P300 7200RPM Performance Hard Drive (HDWD110UZSVA)=
• Bitfenix Formula Series 550W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply=
• PowerColor Radeon RX 580 Red Dragon V2 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card=
• Acer KG251Qbmiix 24.5" 1920x1080 TN FREESYNC Widescreen LED ZeroFrame Monitor=
• Antec P7 Midi Tower Case - Red Window=

Total: £1,010.98 (includes shipping: £14.10)

 

Both options AMD and Intel and with the money you have left over you could still go and buy a laptop like the one above smurf linked too

[Guest]

4 hours ago, mortmaru said:

Barside that is awful spec for the money

Always good to have more opinions, help out DamianJ by offering an alternative to mine & Smurf’s suggestion below.

[Jamie Cortez]

1 hour ago, mortmaru said:

I gave plenty of suggestions and within there budgets and then you come in when someone has stated they only have £750 and trying to spec up £950 laptop.

 

 

He's buying through a business and can reclaim the VAT. The system will cost him £750 once he has done so. 

So his budget was being maximised. 

 

[Jamie Cortez]

2 hours ago, DamianJMcGrath said:

I do appreciate everyone's opinion and links. It's a bit confusing because of the conflicting advice and when @Barside linked me to something which looked good to my uneducated eyes, it got jumped on for not being good value for money. 

I only play FM, so don't really need a laptop to play any other games. I don't do video editing, or photoshop. I do work with large data sets in excel and SQL server and need to process fairly complex macros, excel formula across huge sets and SQL queries for my job so doing this as quickly as possible would be good. 

I'm not buying a new laptop just for FM, my current one is dying and is very old so I'm getting a new laptop for many reasons. Playing FM is obviously something I want to do as well, and minimising processing time and playing with as many leagues as possible, especially the big 5/6 European ones. Maybe just those ones. 

I don't need a mega powerful laptop. Just one to meet my needs but if I'm paying £900/£750, then I'd like to get the best value possible. May as well future proof it as much as possible. 

 

Is there any consensus on some good options? 

 

So basically for what you use it for, the CPU and RAM will be the key parts. You have very little need for a high end GPU.

So far I've linked up a laptop, barside has and smurf just linked an Asus one... Anyone of those three will do what you want them too. 

[JD23]

Able to get below laptop at £500, which really is above my budget but is it worth pushing my budget for this laptop at that price? Seems a good deal but I haven't really looked at that price range.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-fx504gd-nvidia-gtx-1050-2gb-gddr5-15.6-fhd-i5-8300h-8gb-ddr4-gaming-laptop-lt-25l-as.html

Intel Core I5 8300H, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB (SATA) HDD + 16GB Intel Optane, Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5

If anything is better or comparable would welcome suggestions.

Thanks

[Smurf]

9 minutes ago, JD23 said:

Able to get below laptop at £500, which really is above my budget but is it worth pushing my budget for this laptop at that price? Seems a good deal but I haven't really looked at that price range.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-fx504gd-nvidia-gtx-1050-2gb-gddr5-15.6-fhd-i5-8300h-8gb-ddr4-gaming-laptop-lt-25l-as.html

Intel Core I5 8300H, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB (SATA) HDD + 16GB Intel Optane, Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5

If anything is better or comparable would welcome suggestions.

Thanks

Defo

[wayne'o]

22 minutes ago, Smurf said:

Defo

Seems decent for the price, it doesn’t say what the speed of the ram is?

[JD23]

29 minutes ago, wayne'o said:

Seems decent for the price, it doesn’t say what the speed of the ram is?

DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM

Would above be the RAM speed, if so any good? I'm really not great with tech..

realistically would only be using the laptop for FM and web browsing alongside pic/music storage, being a gaming laptop (although understandably budget for gaming) is it's other normal functions negatively impacted because of the gaming focus? Such as start up times and normal web browsing alongside use of normal microsoft things like word etc?

Basically do you think I could get a better laptop at the price if it wasn't for the gaming focus or is this just a good laptop? Hope this makes sense, want to be sure before taking the plunge as my budget has been stretched from £300. Thanks again

[wayne'o]

33 minutes ago, JD23 said:

DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM

Would above be the RAM speed, if so any good? I'm really not great with tech..

realistically would only be using the laptop for FM and web browsing alongside pic/music storage, being a gaming laptop (although understandably budget for gaming) is it's other normal functions negatively impacted because of the gaming focus? Such as start up times and normal web browsing alongside use of normal microsoft things like word etc?

Basically do you think I could get a better laptop at the price if it wasn't for the gaming focus or is this just a good laptop? Hope this makes sense, want to be sure before taking the plunge as my budget has been stretched from £300. Thanks again

I’m lead to believe the faster the Ram the better, It’s good value for the money, you can always faster ram at a later date if required.

[Smurf]

You can - but you can't mix ram types, so if getting faster ram replace the whole lot with the faster set.

[Connor]

Clearly not ideal, but if I am able to run FM17 on my MacBook Air (i7 2014 version), will I be able to run FM19, would you guys think?

I currently run a medium sized database, with a few leagues

[Smurf]

57 minutes ago, Connor said:

Clearly not ideal, but if I am able to run FM17 on my MacBook Air (i7 2014 version), will I be able to run FM19, would you guys think?

I currently run a medium sized database, with a few leagues

Is it early, mid or late 2014?

 

 

[Smurf]

Also - is it 11 or 13 inch? 

Anyway - it's likely the i7-4650u processor, which is below min spec for fm.

 

[Connor]

Its early 2014 - i7 1.7Ghz

11 inch

8 GB Memory

[Smurf]

9 minutes ago, Connor said:

Its early 2014 - i7 1.7Ghz

11 inch

8 GB Memory

It's below min spec.

[mortmaru]

The ocuk asus laptop recommended here can be had from very using a discount code for £500

 

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-fx504gd-e4603t-intel-core-i5-geforce-gtx-1050-gaming-laptop-49999-with-code-at-very-3021659

[Smurf]

29 minutes ago, mortmaru said:

The ocuk asus laptop recommended here can be had from very using a discount code for £500

 

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-fx504gd-e4603t-intel-core-i5-geforce-gtx-1050-gaming-laptop-49999-with-code-at-very-3021659

Only if you buy on the 9 months pay later - be sure to reads T&C of any deals/discounts

Find out more link 

Quote

Get £100 back!

• 1. £100 back on computing £500 or more ordered on 9 months Buy Now Pay Later.
  All eligible products are contained within the offer page.
• 2. By entering MYQC3 in the promo code box at checkout your item will be put on 9 months Buy Now Pay Later automatically. We'll then credit £100 back to your account by 11th October 2018 or the dispatch date, whichever is later. We'll email you when we have applied the credit to your account.

Buy Now Pay Later allows you to delay payment for 9 months. The payment free period starts when you place your order. The interest is calculated from order date and will be added to your account after the end of the payment free period. Avoid interest by paying in full within the payment free period. Find out more in checkout. Delivery charges and other Financial Services products are not available on Buy Now Pay Later and will appear on your next statement.

Order must be placed online by 9pm on the final day of the promotion. If you return your item, the credit will be reversed. This can't be used in conjunction with other offers (entering any other promo code apart from MYQC3 in checkout will exclude you from this promotion). Offer live 9th - 30th August.

Credit provided, subject to credit and account status, by Shop Direct Finance Company Limited, Aintree Innovation Centre, Park Lane, Netherton, Bootle, L30 1SL. Registered number: 4660974. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Over 18s only.

 

So it may not suit everyone - plus it's out of stock.

[TISONLYJK]

On 18/08/2018 at 07:26, Smurf said:

That's just not good enough.

FM won't be out til november - any chance you can save a bit more? 

Maybe get some cash presents for christmas?

 

It's more to do with that the laptop will have to double up as a work laptop,  not too sure my bosses will be too aesthetically pleased with that one! Sounds stupid i know..

[Smurf]

If it's a work laptop then surely you can buy ex-VAT? 

What's the budget again? 

[TISONLYJK]

7 minutes ago, Smurf said:

If it's a work laptop then surely you can buy ex-VAT? 

What's the budget again? 

Around €500. We've a contract with a crowd that supplies us with dell laptops so i'm trying to get one through them. Would you get a decent one that would run FM okay for €500?

[Smurf]

3 minutes ago, TISONLYJK said:

Around €500. We've a contract with a crowd that supplies us with dell laptops so i'm trying to get one through them. Would you get a decent one that would run FM okay for €500?

This is ex vat

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/work/shop/laptops/vostro-15-3568/spd/vostro-15-3568-laptop/s060vn3568btsukie01_1901

And if you can squeeze a bit more out of them

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/work/shop/laptops/inspiron-15-5000/spd/inspiron-15-5570-laptop/bn57024

 

Honestly though, wouldn't be great if you loaded up a load of leauges/divisions and a large database. I'd keep the game play down to approx 5 nations, and small/medium database size.

Don't really see anything else out there.