Which of these would you pick?

[cookiedude]

Hi all

I'm trying to decide on a new laptop and have narrowed it down to these 3:

Samsung Series 7 Chronos - Pros: Design, Performance / Cons: No BR Drive, Price.
Dell XPS 15 - Pros: Spec, price / Cons: Not sure about Dell as a company??
Asus N55SF - Pros: Excellent spec for the money, great speakers / Cons: not the nicest looking, build quality is said to be a little lacking, not so portable.

All have similar quad core i7 CPUs and decent Graphics Cards, Dell and Asus also have Blu-Ray drives.

I'm a little out of the loop with laptops so just looking for opinions from people who have experience with these models to nudge me in the right direction. I can get all for around £900 or less so consider that my budget.

Main uses will be 2D/3D Graphics, Watching movies and some gaming.

Thanks in advance

 

[Buckshot420]

Do you really need a laptop? Is a desktop an option? You will get much more for your money if you build a desktop for £900.

 

[slh28]

If you can, I would recommend going to a store to have a play around with the laptops, important things such as screen quality (i.e. contrast, viewing angles), the speakers, keyboard and trackpad you wouldn't be able to tell from the specs.

 

[cookiedude]

I could put together a very good desktop for £900 but I'm looking for the added flexibility that a laptop brings. Considering doing some freelance 3d work so a laptop would be pretty much essential. Also I already have a half decent desktop which will be updated later.

I've been to look at laptops a number of times, though never seen these specific models in the flesh they are the best I can find in terms of spec/price. I would very much like to see these in the flesh so if you know a retailer stocking them that would be great, the ASUS is proving particularly elusive!

I think I'm swaying towards the Dell (something I never thought I'd say) but still have my concerns over the company in general. Happy for someone to convince me it's a good option

 

[Buckshot420]

http://www.notebookreview.com/

This looks decent.
http://www.amazon.com/N53SV-XV1-15-6-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Aluminum/dp/B004L9M4QY

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Samsung 7/9 series for sure.
The only thing I'd use a laptop for is browsing and typing mostly, so small size, light weight, price, and battery life (hopefully with a pretty and bright screen) are my priorities. Though Samsung is charging a lot for those.

 

[slh28]

The new Samsung 9 series looks amazing, the screen is the best I've seen on a laptop with its almost IPS-like viewing angles and is only 1.2kgs. Unfortunately it's £1200 and the only place I've seen it is John Lewis and I think they have some sort of exclusivity deal in place. I guess the premium is for the ultra light and thin chasis.

 

[cookiedude]

Thanks for the input everyone, though just to be clear I have settled on these 3 as my final options so alternative suggestions aren't necessary (unless you stumble across something new with similar (or better) spec in the same price range ). What I would really like to know is peoples' experience with these brands/laptops? As I'm happy with the selection I need a push in the right direction in order to make a decision.

The Samsung 9 series is lovely and would be my pick (budget permitting) if all I was looking for was a smart, portable, general purpose machine. however, the spec isn't good enough for 3D work/gaming so not an option.

 

[cookiedude]

I have now ruled out the Dell as it doesn't give access to the hard drive (other than taking the whole machine apart) so would make upgrading difficult!

 

[slh28]

I have now ruled out the Dell as it doesn't give access to the hard drive (other than taking the whole machine apart) so would make upgrading difficult!

That's a very minor issue imo. Generally people don't buy laptops because of upgradeability, simply because laptops aren't meant to be upgradeable. If you want more space its easier just to get an external hard drive, as replacing your laptop's hard drive might mean you need to purchase a new copy of Windows.

 

[cookiedude]

I'm more interested with having the option available to me, I've never come across a laptop before that limits access to the hard drive. Ignoring the future benefits of upgrading to an SSD (when they're more affordable/larger capacity), it also limits access for replacing a faulty drive should the need arise. Regarding windows, I've never had issues re-installing when necessary.

 

[cookiedude]

Why not consider Lenovo?

I have considered Lenovo but couldn't find anything within the price range that has suitable spec. If you know differently please let me know