Poll: Laptop advice required

[Prof.Wood]

OK I need some help, I have decided to get a laptop so far I have found two that I think are ok but when it comes to specs I don't know much. So I was wondering if you guys could help me out here.
I will be using the laptop for work but would also like to be able to play games on it.
(Warning loads of text in spoilers)

Spoiler

Dimensions & Weight
Dimensions (W x D x H) 373.8mm x 245mm x 28.5mm on front side, 36.8mm on rear side
Weight 2.75Kg
Chipset
Chipset Intel Cantiga PM45 + ICH9M
Processor Support Penryn processor support
Front Side Bus 800 MHz and 1066MHz FSB support
Memory
Memory Type Supports DDR-III 1066MHz
Number of Modules Two SODIMM with 1GB/2GB modules
Maximum Supported Memory 4GB
Hard Drive Capacity
Hard Drive Type 1 x 9.5mm, 2.5? S-ATA HDD support
Display & Graphics
Graphics 512MB GDDR3 ATi Radeon HD 4650 (M96) with 128bit bus
Screen Size 15.6 inch widescreen HD glare
Native/Maximum Resolution 1366 X 768
Audio
Chipset Realtek ALC268
Channels 2 channel HD Audio
Connections Microphone-in and headphone-out
Support Two analog & Omni Microphone support
Communications
Modem Internal Modem with MDC solution V.92/56K bps; V.90/56K bps
LAN Gigabit LAN
Wireless Support Wireless LAN, 802.11a/g/n (Intel Shirley Peak)
Bluetooth Support Bluetooth Ver. 2.1 module with USB2.0 interface
Webcam 2.0 M Pixel CMOS via USB2.0 interface
Firewire (IEEE 1394) N/A
Expansion Slots
PCI Express Card 1 x PCI Express card
TV Tuner 1 x Mini card slot for Hybrid TV Tuner
Keyboard & Mouse
Keys 85/86 keys support with 101/102 key emulation without stick-point
Stroke Distance 3.0mm travel length
Language Support Multi-Language support
Pointing Device | Touchpad Mouse Touchpad Pointing Device with left/right click
Memory Card Reader
Memory Card Reader 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS)
Webcam
Webcam 2.0 M Pixel CMOS via USB2.0 interface
Ports
HDMI Ports 1
USB 4 x USB 2.0, all of which are powered
Display 1 x 15 pin VGA OUT port
Microphone-IN 1
Headphone-OUT 1
DC-in 1
Modem 1 x RJ-11 jack for 56Kbps V.90/92 Modem
LAN 1 x RJ-45 jack
Kensington Lock Yes
Control Buttons & Special Keys
Power Button 1
USB Power Button 1
WOW Video Button 1
WOW Audio Button 1
Wireless Killer Switch Yes
Battery & Power Lead
Battery Type 6 Cell Li-Ion, 18650 type, 4800/5200mAH
Life Cycle Life Cycle: 70% Design Capacity after 300 Cycles in 25°C
Typical Battery Life 3.6hr with 6-cell/4800mAh battery
Power Lead & AC Adpater 1 x Power Lead included with AC Adapter
Security
Fingerprint Scanner Fingerprint LTT SS801U & UPEK TCS5B
Kensington Lock Yes
Trusted Platform Module 1.2
£621

Spoiler

Dimensions & Weight
Dimensions (W x D x H) 397.2mm x 282.5mm x 39.5mm
Weight 2.9Kg
Chipset
Chipset SiS 671DX + SiS 968
Processor Support Penryn processor support
Front Side Bus 800 MHz and 1066MHz FSB support
Memory
Memory Type Supports DDR-II 800Mhz
Number of Modules Two SODIMM with 1GB/2GB modules
Maximum Supported Memory 4GB
Hard Drive Capacity
Hard Drive Type 1 x 9.5mm, 2.5? S-ATA HDD support
Display & Graphics
Graphics 512MB Nvidia® GeForce® G105M
Screen Size 17 inch widescreen
Native/Maximum Resolution 1440 x 900
Audio
Chipset SiS High Definition Audio Interface
Channels 2 channel HD Audio
Connections Microphone-in and headphone-out
Speakers 2 x 1.5W Speakers
Expansion Slots
PCI Express Card 1 x PCI Express card
TV Tuner N/A
Keyboard & Mouse
Keys 82 Keys with 101/102 key emulation without stick-point
Language Support Multi-Language support
Pointing Device | Touchpad Mouse Touchpad Pointing Device with left/right click
Memory Card Reader
Memory Card Reader N/A
Webcam
Webcam 1.3MP Webcam
Ports
HDMI Ports N/A
USB 3 x USB 2.0
USB/e-SATA N/A
Display 1 x 15 pin VGA OUT port
Microphone-IN 1
Headphone-OUT 1
DC-in 1
Modem 1 x RJ-11 jack for 56Kbps V.90/92 Modem
LAN 1 x RJ-45 jack
S/PDIF 1
Kensington Lock Yes
Control Buttons & Special Keys
Power Button 1
Wireless Killer Switch N/A
Internet Shortcut Key 1
Email Shortcut Key 1
Silent Mode Button 1
Function Keys 12 Function Keys
Battery & Power Lead
Battery Type 6 Cell Li-Ion, 4,000mAH/11.1V
Typical Battery Life Lasted 1 hr 20mins playing a DVD under test
Power Lead & AC Adpater 1 x Power Lead included with AC Adapter
Security
Fingerprint Scanner N/A
Kensington Lock Yes
£714

Help me escapists your my only hope.

 

[Horticulture]

Both of those systems look to be barebones laptops - systems into which you install a CPU, memory and hard drive yourself.

You'll get better advice if you post the following information:
-your budget
-the primary applications you use for work
-what games you hope to play
-ideal size/weight range
-minimum acceptable battery life
-your preference of operating system, if you have one

Edit: and your country, for pricing purposes

 

[Prof.Wood]

Both of those systems look to be barebones laptops - systems into which you install a CPU, memory and hard drive yourself.

You'll get better advice if you post the following information:
Your budget
-The primary applications you use for work
-what games you hope to play
-ideal size/weight range
-your preference of operating system, if you have one

Edit: and your country, for pricing purposes

thanks man
I got £750 pounds sterling.
Oblivion and the like.
About 15-17 screen.
windows 7 if I had to pick.
England

 

[Horticulture]

Both of those systems look to be barebones laptops - systems into which you install a CPU, memory and hard drive yourself.

You'll get better advice if you post the following information:
Your budget
-The primary applications you use for work
-what games you hope to play
-ideal size/weight range
-your preference of operating system, if you have one

Edit: and your country, for pricing purposes

thanks man
I got £750 pounds sterling.
Oblivion and the like.
About 15-17 screen.
windows 7 if I had to pick.
England

In the US, this Acer [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115733] performs well, can handle games, and is well within your price range. The battery life is a little weak, though (~3 hours). Still, if it's similarly priced in the UK it's a good choice.

For looking at other laptops, video card [http://www.notebookcheck.net/] section

Edit: for gaming, make sure to get the version with a Radeon 5650 GPU.

 

[acosn]

First, the cardinal rule of Laptops: gaming and laptops don't really mix. Laptops have a lot of parts that, even today a full sized case is recommended for, are all crammed into a small case with poor ventilation and a minimal number of fans. This means that heat loads are a constant problem, and adding a dedicated graphics card will likely make this worse. At a basic level computers of any breed are all machines, highly sophisticated ones, but they're still machines when you get down to it. Just like how a car needs oil to keep it's moving parts cool and lubricated a computer needs to stay cool to stay functional. Laptops at a fundamental level hamper this.

In other words, the best gaming laptop is one that doesn't game at all. If you don't have much choice, or are just insistent about it, then keep reading.

-Do not favor the smaller case size for any reason at all. Period.
-Do not favor any given type of material for the case. It may sound brilliant but an aluminum case wont save your laptop from damage that wouldn't already do in just about any computer, period. At worst it'll get a nagging dent that you fundamentally can't just "bang out." Go with a hard plastic case and keep your laptop off the rail road tracks and you should be safe.
-Buy a laptop knowing full well that you're going to need to take care of it. Computers are not mythical objects that work no matter what. Reasonably at least once every few months you're going to want to open up the case for your laptop and take a can of compressed air to it, mainly clearing out the dust and keeping air intakes / outtakes clear of the crap.

What're the brands for those two laptops?

Briefly, brands that don't mix gaming and laptops well at all-
-Dell
-Alienware (as a sub company under Dell, I know)
-HP
-Apple

Typically they're going to short change you somewhere where its typical to not list anything at all- a power supply is typically the worst of it here.

I'd highly recommend Asus personally.

If you had to choose between those two laptops I'd honestly just go with which ever struck your fancy- I'd have to physically look up the performance specs for the graphics cards but I'd say they're in the same range.

 

[Daveman]

thanks man
I got £750 pounds sterling.
Oblivion and the like.
About 15-17 screen.
windows 7 if I had to pick.
England

My laptop plays all the modern games but on average settings, except it sometimes lags (only happened when I tried the just cause 2 demo, hasn't happened with other games I've tried). For oblivion however, it's fine. Plays that very smoothly on good settings.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172326
I think the only differences are my laptop has a Radeon GPU rather than nvidia and mine is vista rather than 7 (I got it back in the summer), but that just means it'll be better for you.

One problem with acers is though they are cheap they can suffer from overheating hardware faults (mine did). If you find it's the case with yours then send it to them and they'll fix it as it's covered under the warranty. Otherwise I'm totally satisfied with it. I love it because of its HUGE screen.

 

[Prof.Wood]

-snip-

In the US, this Acer performs well, can handle games, and is well within your price range. The battery life is a little weak, though (~3 hours). Still, if it's similarly priced in the UK it's a good choice.

Edit: for gaming, make sure to get the version with a Radeon 5650 GPU.

Thanks for the help man.