blonde poker forum

Looking to buy a new laptop, would like recommendations on what specs are most important and links to any good laptops out there

Gonna be using it for MTTs, 6-10 sites, 10-15 tables with HEM.

Also gonna be using it for random everyday stuff too, I guess speed and resolution are the most important but Im not sure what specs I should be looking at and how much I should be paying for it.

I saw this Sony Vaio for £770, worth it or not?

Processor:    Intel® CoreTM i5-2450M, 2.5GHz
Operating system:   Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Hard drive:    1 TB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Memory:    8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Optical Drive:    Blu-ray Disc(TM) writer
Display:    43.8cm LCD 1920x1080 + webcam
Graphics:    Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Microsoft® Office 2010:    Office 2010 Starter
Antivirus software:    No protection
McAfee Online Backup:    McAfee Online Backup trial
Adobe® Creation:    No Adobe Creation
Adobe® Lightroom®:    No Adobe® Lightroom 3
Sony Creative software:    Imagination Studio Suite
Keyboard Style:    Backlight keyboard
Battery:    Battery life up to 3.5 hours
Also Included
Webcam:   HD digital camera
AC Adapter:   1 AC Adapter
USB Port(s):   3x USB 2.0 + 1x USB 3.0
Wireless LAN:   Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11bgn)
HDMI(TM) output:   HDMI(TM) output
Bluetooth®:   Bluetooth® 4.0

Can also upgrade that too AMD Radeon HD 7650M 2GB with dedicated video memory of 2GB graphics card allowing an upgrade to Intel® CoreTM i7-3612QM, 2.1GHz processor for £180 more

Go for SSD (rather than HDD).  I don't have one yet, but have been reliably informed it is the way to go.  Faster performance and bootup, less power draw from the battery, faster and crisper file opening/copying/writing speed.  Also choose one with plenty of memory, the more the better, 4GB ok, 8GB+ good.

That ofc assumes price insensitivity, HDD are cheaper.  Dell Outlet website you can pick up refurbed and/or scracth/dent SSD laptops pretty reasonably.

r u talking about solid state drives simon?

I'm quoting someone who knows about solid state drives Dean, rather than talking about them :)  Obv interested to hear yoru input.

ok solid state drives are ...excellent as they have literally no moving parts and therefore extremely reliable..however they are still expensive and their relative capacities are smaller....

a 300gb ssd is around £280 to buy individually whilst a 300gb sata is about £40...

As boba is using it pretty much as a poker laptop...memory, screen size and screen res are going to be the important factors..i5 intel with 8gb ram 17" screen with hi res is pretty much there..going i7 processor bit of overkill

oh and stay intel...we stopped installing AMD based systems about 8 years ago...

Not including build your own.. was looking at refurb ssd (laptop, not just the drive) for about the same price as new hdd.

I used to think of screen size, but then when playing from a stack anyway, if this laptop is going to be travelling, weight comes into it too. 

anything with a 43cm screen never gonna be a posh spice more sporty after a few pies...  anything that big always gonna be 2.7 - 3 kg

id rather go new..drives pretty reliable..if it goes its no odds in this situation as his just online pokerings rather than work based stuff stored to disc etc... stick another one and away you go...

I'm looking to build a new PC.

Budgeting about £500 for it so can't go too OTT.

Can't decide if I should get a SSD or not. £80 gets a 128GB one but I fear that's a bit on the small side. It's not that I need a massive amount of storage - I have a 20,000GB server for movies, tv etc. But I'm not sure 128GB is enough for an OS, working files, games...

For cheaper I can get a 500GB HDD.

Any thoughts?

would go with standard 500gb

Specification:-
- Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium edition 64 bit
- Display: 17.3" SuperBright LED True HD Display (1920x1080 Resolution)
- Graphics: AMD Radeon™ HD7970M 2GB GDDR5
- Storage: Primary: Adata Premier Pro SP900 256GB SSD  Secondary: Samsung Spintpoint M8 1TB 5400RPM HDD
- Optical: Samsung DVD-RW
- HD Audio
- Mic Noise Suppression
- Dolby Home Theatre®
- 4W Stereo Speakers (2W x 4)
- Subwoofer
- 2 megapixel Webcam
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.40GHZ Ivybridge Quad Core processor
- Physical Specification: 412mm x 276mm x 41.8~45.4mm (3.9kg with battery)
- Memory: 8GB DDR3 System Memory at 1600MHz (4GB x 2) OR choose 16GB DDR3 (8GB x 2)
- Main Chipset: Intel HM77
- Communication: 10 / 100 / 1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN,Wireless LAN, Widi Support
- Intel Centrino Wireless N 2230
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- Bluetooth 3.0
- 1x HDMI Port
- 3x USB3.0 Ports
- 1x USB2.0 Port
- 1x E-SATA
- 1x DVI-I
- 1x DisplayPort
- 1x Microphone IN
- 1x Headphone OUT
- 1x DC IN
- 1x RJ-45 Jack
- 1x IEEE 1394a
- Kensington Lock: YES
- 8 Cell Smart Lithium-ION Battery
- Fingerprint Scanner
- 9in1 Card Reader
- 2yr Warranty (1yr Parts, 2yr Labour)

£1510

overkill?

Would you not have Windows and a few other things installed on the SSD and the files (films in Cf's case) on a normal hard drive?  Or does it not work like that? 

I'm looking at a new pc too but don't really know what to do.  I know I'd like an SSD, I don't know why except cos they're fast but I know I'd need an additional hard drive to store files.

You'd be able to run a small country from that :D

I have my old hard drive too that I can always install for keeping files on that still has plenty of room on.

The SSD would essentially be for installing an OS, programs, and games. It's just whether or not 128GB is big enough for that... I think Windows/WoW would essentially take up half of it.

I've got a 60Gb SSD with W7 Ultimate plus a few essential apps installed. Works rather well. Would have got bigger, but when I bought that last year it was the only size that made economical sense for me.

Had to pull a few tricks to get Windows not to stick all its crap on there (swap file, temp files, etc), and you can't move some things (installers and a few other things), but I've still got room on it.

Boots up in about 6 seconds, and runs like a dream, frankly. 128Gb should be ample. Beware read/write speeds though - there are several classes of memory chip used on these things, and some are significantly slower than others, especially for writing. Check the specs.

6 seconds to boot up?  My current pc takes about 5 mins before I can use it!

Latitude E6430
Processor: Intel Core i7-3720QM (2.60GHz, 6MB cache, Quad Core)
English Windows 7 Professional
256 GB Mobility Solid State Drive
4 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz SDRAM Memory (1 DIMM)"
Display : 14.0 Inch HD (1600x900) Wide View LED-backlit LCD Panel
LCD Back Cover : LCD Panel
Graphics : NVIDIA NVS 5200M (GDDR5 1GB) Discrete Graphics
English Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64 Bit)
Wireless : Dell Wireless 380 Bluetooth Card
Wireless : Intel
Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Half Mini Card
8X DVD+/- RW Drive
Battery : Primary 6-cell 60W/HR
Palmrest : Fingerprint Reader and Smart Card Reader
Camera : Integrated HD Camera with Microphone
Price: £689.90
Price excl. VAT and delivery

Was looking at something like that for myself.  Tweak the RAM/screen size to suit.

It's pretty stunning, I have to say. App startups are much improved as well. I do try and keep it clean-ish though - check through startup stuff reasonably regularly.

W7 helps - it's way faster to start than Vista ever was, even without the SSD.

Overclocking the I7 to 4.8GHz probably helps too :). Could get more out of it, tbh, it still only runs <50C even at full chat.

Nice spec. Need a new one myself soon, but would go for 8gb RAM, and a larger res.

I had one these until the daughter nicked it but with an i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. Its a cracking laptop. It cost me 300 from a mate who works for Dell. There maybe some more coming in the next couple of weeks. They are ex demo models which have rarely been used. I've got one earmarked for a fellow Blonde already. If anyone is interested PM me. No promises that there will be in any but worth a go.

I've had a dozen of these over the last couple of years for friends with no issues.

Base
   Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache)

Memory
   4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]

Keyboard
   Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)

Video Card
   NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory

Hard Drive
   500GB Serial ATA (5400RPM) Hard Drive

Microsoft Operating System
   Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1- English

Modem
   No Modem

Optical Devices
   Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW

Sound Cards
   Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio

Wireless Networking
   Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card - Europe - Core 2 Duo Processors

Shipping Documents
   English Documentation with English/Irish Power Cord - 3 PIN

Gedis Bundle Reference
   N03X5305

Microsoft Application Software
   Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)

Standard Warranty
   1 Year Premium Warranty Support

Enhanced Service Packs
   4 Year Premium Warranty Support

Protect your new PC
   McAfee® Security Centre - 36 Month Protection - English

Power Supply
   AC Adapter 90W - 3 Pin

Mobile Broadband – High-speed wireless connectivity wherever you are
   No Mobile Broadband Selected

Bluetooth
   Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps) with Enhanced Data rate - Eur

Order Information
   Inspiron Order - UK

Primary Battery
   Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)

Carrying Cases
   No Carry Case

Biometric Identification
   Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent

Dell System Media Kit
   Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)

Colour Choice
   2.0 mega pixel Camera & Tuxedo Black for CCFL Display

Accidental Damage Support
   No Accidental Damage Support

Online Backup
   DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year

TV Tuner and Remote Control
   Dell™ Travel Remote Control

Online Promotion Option for GEDIS Configs
   Dell Internet Order

LCD
   15.4" Widescreen WUXGA (1920x1200) TFT Display with TrueLife™

   Total excl. VAT    VAT Rate    VAT    Total incl. VAT
Sub-total(s):    £ 1,111.88    15.00%    £ 166.78    £ 1,278.66
Total Price:    £ 1,111.88       £ 166.78    £ 1,278.66



Bought 3 1/2 years ago now, and i would advise you to get the 17' screen, big mistake having one this small, but it still has one of the best resolutions available for grinding which has now become extinct in the 1920x1200.

I don't know if i got conned for the specs for what i paid, but this has ran beuatifully. Have had to have it serviced 6 times though for hard drive problems but that is often through me overheating the laptop which i have stopped doing. Hope this helps.

Important to get a warrantee with the laptop if you are going expensive because they can easily go wrong.
      

Basically I'm of the same opinion.. SSD's are great but they're just not worth the extra expense considering the performance improvement.  The money can be 'better spent' elsewhere...

On the subject of PC's and Laptops, I've used www.pcspecialist.co.uk and found them great to deal with and work out.  You can create a computer and put it on the forums for anyone/ their specialsits to review and advise on.

Worth looking at imo.

Opted for an SSD for my new pc. 128GB for £80. Can use my old HDD for file dumping etc.