Member Avatar for lochii

Hey,

Im a multimedia student and looking for my first laptop, Its going to need to be pretty high spec something roughly around:

• Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo processor or AMD Turion 64 X2
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 1/2Gb memory
• hard drive capacity of between 100 and 400Gb
• up to 6 USB ports maybe a Firewire port
• dual layer DVD rewriter
• 15.4”, 17” or 20” widescreen display
• wireless enabled

I think this is capable for video editing, game developing and mainly a lot of multi-tasking.. Im just wondering can i get somethin that high spec for £400 or under? If then as close to the spec as possible,

thanks,

TLL

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ScudRunner50

Dani AI

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Picking a multimedia laptop on a student budget means trade-offs. is right that the lowest price brackets rarely give comfortable multimedia performance, and already has a powerful desktop to fall back on—use the laptop for capture, rough edits and mobile work, and keep final renders on the desktop whenever possible.

Prioritize upgradeability and the few components that most affect multimedia workflows: a dual‑core CPU, user‑accessible RAM slots (plan for 2GB minimum, 4GB if you intend heavy multitasking or Vista 64), and a dedicated GPU if you want smooth realtime previews. A 7200RPM HDD or large external drive will help with editing throughput; if you rely on tape camcorders, a Firewire port matters, otherwise USB2 plus a powered hub is usually fine. For the screen, trade portability for a better panel—15.4" for mobility, 17" for a desktop replacement, and aim for decent color reproduction if you do color work.

Buying strategy matters more than the sticker spec. Choose a model you can cheaply upgrade (add RAM, swap the drive) rather than paying top dollar for every option. Check vendor Vista driver support, warranty terms, and cooling—thermal throttling kills multimedia performance. Consider certified refurbished or last-season flagship models for better CPU/GPU per pound. Workflow mitigations like proxy-editing, external RAID for media, and doing heavy encoding on the desktop will stretch a budget laptop into a usable multimedia tool.

Regarding the Acer Aspire 7720G found: it can be a sensible compromise only if it has a dedicated GPU, accessible RAM/HDD bays and reasonable cooling. ’s suggestion to aim toward the slightly higher £500–£600 band remains the safer route if serious portability plus real editing power is required.

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Member Avatar for ScudRunner50

You're going to be pushing it. Best bet might be an Acer, though Dell is a good bet if you want to spend a tad extra. I priced out an Inspiron on Dell's UK site and it came to about £450 with specs on the lower end of what you're looking for.

Safest way to make sure you have the performance you're looking for would be to get a system more around the £500-£600 range.

Did find a deal on their 17" model though
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/inspn_1721?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

let me know if you're looking for any more direction

Member Avatar for lochii

Thanks for the research into it and especially the link, i have a pretty powerful desktop which i could do thing like video editing anyways it would just be a bonus if my laptop could do it tho this looks like an exellent find and i'll probably go for it...

Member Avatar for lochii

After much thought and consideration about a budgeted multimedia spec laptop its pretty hard to do but i found one its around the new price im looking for and just want some advice if ya think its good price for the spec, or if there is something better..

Member Avatar for ScudRunner50

Its not a steal, but the pricing seems about right if those are the specs you're looking for. Personally I'm an AMD guy, so I would recommend that Dell over this one, but its your call. I think you'd be happy with either purchase.

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