Grr, stupid broken laptop. What should I buy instead?

Hi there,

I've come round to that 3-4 year point where my laptop is starting to die, and I have to spend a month reading 2,000 reviews to find something that meets my needs again, and eventually compromise on something that doesn't... Your help in cutting this down would be much appreciated!

1. I am a web designer, I do a fair amount of photo and image editing.
2. Little bit of gaming: hardly any though, whatever graphics that serve my work needs will be good enough.
3. I watch DVDs fairly often, and find external drives fiddly and annoying.
4. I like music to sound good.

I currently rock a Dell XPS 15 from a few years back, the L502x. It has a 15 inch screen, backlit keyboard, dvd drive, and a built in subwoofer - amazing sound quality! Shame it has motherboard cancer...

Must haves:
(If your suggestion doesn't have these, its not gonna do the job...)

• Haswell i5 processor (happy with the performance loss compared to i7 for the improved battery).
• 3-4 hour battery minimum.
• Backlit keyboard.
• 1600x900 resolution minimum

Optional

• Awesome sound, especially a build in sub.
• 1080p
• Optical drive would be great.

Don't care about

• 4K - I find Windows scales badly, so generally stick in 1080p, sometimes 1600x900.
• Trackpad - its never going to be used
• Weight - heavy as you want
• Size - if you have a 17 inch you think would work...

Any ideas? I have anywhere up to about £1000, although would prefer the £600-700 range.

Chris

Alienware, owned by Dell, has a pretty good reputation among a few gamers I know for being powerful. They like the 17.3" size but would go a bit larger if available, I've heard of an 18" but haven't found any data on one yet.

What should I buy instead?

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A PC! You never said it has to be portable and you did say you don't care about weight.

No tiny notebook speaker can deliver full range quality audio - especially in the mid and low-end frequency range. You are not limited to a tiny 17" monitor. And in 3 or 4 years, you can simply pay for and upgrade ONLY the parts that need upgrading, and not everything (like the case, power supply, monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse) like you do EVERY time you buy a new notebook.

With a PC, you can pick the keyboard you want, instead of the one that comes with a notebook. Same with the mouse, monitor (or monitors!) and speakers - mixing brands as YOU see fit, not as the notebook maker wants you to think. Thanks to the ATX Form Factor Standard for PCs, you don't have to stick with highly proprietary notebook parts from a single brand name. You can put a Gigabyte motherboard in an Antec case with a Seasonic power supply and connect a Samsung monitor, Logitech keyboard, Razor mouse, B&W speakers powered by an ASUS Xonar sound card.

With a notebook, you are pretty much stuck with what the notebook maker wants you to have.

The problem with notebooks is the makers can pack in the power but they cannot pack in the necessary cooling so the components can safely, and continuously run at full potentials. This is important when doing demanding tasks like photo and image editing and gaming. Remember, even monster (compared to notebook) PC cases are challenged to keep the innards cool and PC cases typically support multiple, large case fans (not counting the large PSU fan that draws in cool air too). Plus, notebook cases are NOT designed for easy access for the necessary cleaning of heat trapping dust that WILL be drawn in. Where on a PC, two thumb screws and you have full access of the guts to inspect and clean as needed. This is why, in spite of what the marketing weenies would like us to believe, there really is no such thing as a good gaming notebook or "desktop replacement" notebook.

A PC! You never said it has to be portable and you did say you don't care about weight.

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I concur!

With a PC, you can pick the keyboard you want, instead of the one that comes with a notebook. Same with the mouse, monitor (or monitors!) and speakers - mixing brands as YOU see fit, not as the notebook maker wants you to think. Thanks to the ATX Form Factor Standard for PCs, you don't have to stick with highly proprietary notebook parts from a single brand name. You can put a Gigabyte motherboard in an Antec case with a Seasonic power supply and connect a Samsung monitor, Logitech keyboard, Razor mouse, B&W speakers powered by an ASUS Xonar sound card.

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It is way easier to upgrade parts from a desktop that you built yourself than the ones you purchased.

Yeh, I already rock a triple screen desktop at home, wired up to a separates sound system.

I still need something to use when I'm not at home though...

Alienware are pretty pricey, is my main issue...

Hi I have the ASUS N550J, I watch a lot movies and play medium games and I am very satisfy. good video card, Touchscreen, All USB are3.0 Blueray/DVD, etc,...
and good international warranty. From Canada I am in Europe right now and ASUS let me know where to send my laptop to be fix. (I broke the plug for the speaker) still working but picky. Have a look of me system spec for details