Looking to buy a new Laptop

JoyFreak

Well-known member
As the title says.

I need help choosing one as I am no expert but I spend most of my days on my laptop, either writing an essay for my degree, playing online games, going on facebook etc.

Is this a good one to buy? It's the first one that caught my eye: http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7307823

CPU, Memory and Operating System:

  • Intel Core i5 6300hq quad core processor.
  • 2.3GHz processor speed.
  • 8GB RAM.
  • 1TB HDD storage.
  • Microsoft Windows 10.
Display features:

  • 15.6 inch screen.
  • High definition display.
  • Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Graphics:

  • NVIDIA GeForceGTX 950m graphics card with 2GB RAM.
  • Dedicated graphics card.
Interfaces and connectivity:

  • SD media card reader.
  • Secure Digital (SD), Multi-Media Card (MMC) compatible.
  • 1 USB 2.0 port.
  • 2 USB 3.0 ports.
  • 1 HDMI port.
  • Bluetooth.
  • Wi-Fi enabled.
Multimedia features:

  • HD webcam.
  • Built-in mic.
  • Bang & Olufsen Sound sound system.
Software included: cyberlink powerdirector; Netflix; unigine valley benchmark.

General features:

  • Size H2.45, W25.3, D38.2cm.
  • Weight 2.2kg.
  • EAN: 190780136362.
 
What is wrong with 1080p? You can change the font scaling in settings without lowering the resolution.
15" at 1920x1080 results in 141 PPI (pixel per inch), which is too tiny for reading. Optimal PPI for human eyes is 100-120 PPI.

Apple high definition laptops have PPI just above 200, which is good because it could be a high definition monitor with 4 display pixels per pixel, so actual PPI is something like 110.

However display on that laptop is neither here nor there. That resolution is too big to be used on 15" display with 1:1 pixel density, but too low to be used with hd pixel density. Everything will be too tiny. Of course you can change resolution, but because its LCD, changing resolution will result in blurred content, so its not a good idea.

That resolution is perfect for 18" display. For 15" normal resolution is 1440x960.
 
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Oh no no, I am not doing an AMD again. I have one, one I am typing on now, my first AMD and last AMD ever. Intel is the way forward! Thanks for the research though :)

Nothing wrong with AMD.

The upcoming laptops which vega 56/64 are to make an appearance will be very good. Ryzen and Vega based systems will be just as fast at a fraction of the cost. Intel will be using Vega Based AMD in their upcoming CPUs so this year certainly you'll have some kind of AMD driving your graphics.

@OP - Try getting a laptop with an M.2 stick, nothing comes close to them on speed (not even SSDs) I have one as a boot up option and the other is for games which perform 4 times faster than SSDs. Pending that money is not an issue.

Edit: For a few extra pennies get this one http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7257014

17.3 inch screen IPS. IPS gives you deeper blacks and proper whites which gives excellent picture quality. The 10 series card has more dedicated memory plus you have 16 gig of ram which is better. Plus it has an SSD foir fast booting.

The only drawback is the resolution 1080p would have been nice at 2k but you'll be paying a few hundred more for that.
 
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