Looking for a Laptop

[simonalexander2005]

Hi,

So I want a laptop with the following specs, and I really love and respect tom's hardware, so I thought some of you might be able to help.

Basically, I want:

- Blu-ray drive (at least reader)
- two bays for hard drives (which I have, so the size in the pre-made laptop doesn't matter)
- 15.6" screen, full HD
- ideally fingerprint scanner
- processor at least 2.5 dual
- 4 GB+ RAM (I have 4GB of DDR2 667 MHz, but that's probably too old for new laptops? If not, I'll get whatever has the worst RAM and upgrade myself)
- graphics - at least 512MB dedicated
- Wireless N
- HDMI out
- at least 3 USB ports
- Ideally a metal casing around the screen, rather than plastic.

any thoughts?

 

[simonalexander2005]

A decent built-in sound card would be a big bonus too. Based in the UK, no preference for brand. Cost as cheap as possible!

 

[WR2]

two bays for hard drives = 17" laptops

 

[WR2]

- Ideally a metal casing around the screen, rather than plastic.

A lot of what you want is going to cost extra.
What is your real budget goal?

 

[WR2]

- graphics - at least 512MB dedicated

Was does the dedicated graphics card need to do?

 

[simonalexander2005]

two bays for hard drives = 17" laptops

I have a 16" with 2 bays at the moment, and PCSpecialist offer 15" laptops with 2 HDDs in

 

[simonalexander2005]

A lot of what you want is going to cost extra.
What is your real budget goal?

This is only an ideal. Basically, I want to get an idea of what sort of cost a laptop of this spec is going to be

 

[simonalexander2005]

Was does the dedicated graphics card need to do?

support a decent monitor on the HDMI output, play fullscreen media, games (e.g Need for Speed), etc.

 

[WR2]

PCSpecialist offer 15" laptops with 2 HDDs in

They do. But can your budget cover a custom gaming laptop?

 

[WR2]

'support a decent monitor on the HDMI output & play fullscreen media (BluRay)' does not require a dedicated graphics card.

 

[simonalexander2005]

Well I have an Acer Aspire 6930g, and the graphics card it came with couldn't do it, so I upgraded and it could...

 

[simonalexander2005]

Anyway, based on the specs provided, can you (or anyone) recommend a laptop or two?

 

[WR2]

Look at the Enigma III model, configured to your requirements, from pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[simonalexander2005]

Cheers. Are PCSpecialist a reputable company? I've seen mixed reviews online...

 

[WR2]

They do good work and use quality parts. And you can get a notebook configured the way you want.

TrustPilot: PCSpecialist