looking for a laptop with SSD

[wemorgan]

I'm after a laptop with :

SSD, ideally 256GB.
15-16" screen
4-8GM RAM
Windows 7 64bit

I've checked the usual websites, but if anyone knows of a deal better than below I'd be interested to hear.

Thanks.

Latitude E6520 Intel Core i5-2540M 8GB 256GB SSD 512MB nVidia Graphics Win 7 Pro 3 Year Dell Next Day On Site Warranty

Latitude E6520 Intel Core i5-2540M 8GB 128GB SSD Win 7 Pro 3 Year Dell Next Day On Site Warranty

 

[Sp!ke]

Do you really need a 256GB SSD? This is half the cost of the laptop.

Why not spec a laptop with an intel 128GB SSD combined with a second 500GB spindle disk in the optical drive bay to store data on.

 

[wemorgan]

Do you really need a 256GB SSD? This is half the cost of the laptop.

Why not spec a laptop with an intel 128GB SSD combined with a second 500GB spindle disk in the optical drive bay to store data on.

You're right, I could be cleverer with my current disk usage. The current laptop has a conventional 160GB drive that is 90% full. But I imagine most of that is music/video which I could transfer to my NAS and stream when at home - but that requires motivation to make that happen

I'll cast a wider net and look at 128GB SSD laptops - should save a good few pennies as you say.

 

[A210AMG]

What do you use the laptop for.


Do you need seperate graphics card? lots of RAM etc.

If you forget the SSD side of things loads of choice.

I've just noticed this also
SanDisk 120GB, SSD , 68.98 !! Free Delivery. @ Dabs - Hot UK Deals

You can fit to any laptop, I'm looking at a NAS set up for home and these (bare bone box) can be had for as little of £50 plus a couple of say 1TB drives.

I am probably like many others on here its digital phots that take up the room. Currently I do have a Cat 5 to USB gadget that allows me to plug in a external drive and share files over the router which is handy.

£400 / £500 these days gets you a good machines probably an intel i5 processor, 4GB min memory (currently most are DDR3 and this is cheap) try memory c or cruicial to upgrade.

Use the SSD with the OS and packages you use often, then back up to a NAS.

 

[wemorgan]

Thanks for the link - looks like a decent price. I'd rather buy a laptop with the SSD and Windows all installed than do it myself.

The laptop is for the usual surfing, plus Office applications, so 4GB is a minimum, as Windows 7 takes 2GB just booting up from my experience.

i3 or i5 will be more than good enough.

Not sure about GFX, what ever is suitable for Office I guess - nothing too fast will be needed, though again Windows 7 seems quite GFX intensive relative to past OS.

 

[Sp!ke]

You want to ensure it is an Intel SSD also.

These seem to have least failures.

 

[wemorgan]

New Dell laptops for £999 inc VAT and P&P. It's more than I wanted to spend, but it's better spec than the ones in my first link.

English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz)
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M Graphics Card
6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [1x4096 + 1x2048]
256GB Solid State Hard Drive
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
15.6"(40 cm) HD WLED TL (1366x768) 720p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion battery

Most sellers don't seem to specify the SSD manufacturer.

If anyone know's of a cheaper (~£600) laptop with SSD please post a link.

 

[Colin_b]

You want to ensure it is an Intel SSD also.

These seem to have least failures.

We've been using Corsair SSDs, they have proved very reliable. So far, after about six months, the only failure was abuse!

 

[A210AMG]

Does it have to be a PC

Some Macs could be in price range, athough the Mac Air has a smaller screen,

However just like cars most laptops plumet in price.

We sold my wifes white intel Mac book after 4 years and go £400 then upgraded to a i5 MacPro.

I use a Pc laptop athough one day may switch... I do like the back lit keyboard.

Yes if you want 64 bit windows and 8GB say at least it will see it. Using 32 bit the most it sees is 3GB. I've used Toshibas in the past and been very happy with them. Good specs / value.

Almost all makes though do the 'same', however wanting it sold with an SSD it probably where you limited a little.

I will have a think.

 

[Satch]

If drive capacity is the main issue, with most laptops pretty easy to swap out the hard drive for something bigger and/or faster.

You can then reuse the old drive with one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001EEQQ8Q/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

Also max out the memory with an upgrade kit if needed. Can make a big difference

 

[Gollom]

Currently I do have a Cat 5 to USB gadget that allows me to plug in a external drive and share files over the router which is handy.
.

Got a link please?

 

[HughJarse]

4 Port USB NAS HDD Enclosure 10/100 Network LAN & Printer Server Dongle on eBay!
USB 2.0 NAS Dongle - Make your HDD enclosure networked | eBay

 

[removed]

Select a laptop with the spec you're happy with, ignoring the HD.
Purchase Crucial SSD of desired size, swap.
You'll get, arguably the best, SSD and a backup HD as well.

 

[wemorgan]

Having spent some time looking for laptops I think you're right.

Only snag is, laptops don't seem to come with the OS on the CD but on a partitioned drive.

Might have to re-learn how to use Ghost Copy or similar software to copy a complete drive contents.

 

[removed]

Having spent some time looking for laptops I think you're right.

Only snag is, laptops don't seem to come with the OS on the CD but on a partitioned drive.

Might have to re-learn how to use Ghost Copy or similar software to copy a complete drive contents.

I just bought 512GB Crucial m4 SSD to replace the last of my 256GB c300 SSDs; I opted for the one with Data Transfer Kit CT512M4SSD2CCA - 512GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive , from Crucial.com, not so much for the software bit (I always use Linux to clone my HDs/SSDs) but for the fantastic USB--SATA cable that allow you to plug your 2.5" drive directly into USB port - brilliant. No more silly cases for spare SSDs If you get your SSD with this set, you'll get the cloning software as well, so no worries as to Windows HD swap.