Hi, my old laptop has broken, and luckily it was insured so I'm getting a new one xD

They have offered me two options:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-4149935-4227143.html?lang=en&jumpid=oc_R1002_UKENC-001_HP%20Pavilion%20dv7-4040sa%20Entertainment%20Notebook%20PC&cc=uk

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-4150017-4217223.html?lang=en&jumpid=oc_R1002_UKENC-001_HP%20Pavilion%20dv6-3085ea%20Entertainment%20Notebook%20PC&cc=uk

Now the 17" puts me off, as well as the graphics card.

And the processor of the 15.6" one puts me off that. Because it would svck for Oblivion style gaming, and I'm not a fan of AMD processors.

Baring in mind I will use it mostly for gaming/3D CAD work.

Will the quad core svck too much? More than the 5470 would at gaming?

Ideally I want a Sony customise your own, which I've asked them about, and they are looking into. (It's got an i5 and a 5650 xD)

Oh, also, I have to pay an extra ￡27.34 for the 17" one.

What would you do in my situation??

For Oblivion, a 1.6ghz quad core should work fine. It might not work as well as it would with a 2.26 ghz quad, but at least it'll run somewhat decent with a 5650. With a 5450 you'd have to play in medium most likely and you'd stutter a bit. Then again, my mom's laptop played LOTRO on close to high settings with like a 2400 and a 2 something dual core. So you could be fine with either one. Though I'd opt for the better graphics card.

Thanks for the help, just got off the phone to the insurance company. They let me have the sony one

Here are the specs:

Processor: Intel? CoreTM i3-370M, 2.40GHz
Operating system: Genuine Windows? 7 Home Premium
Hard drive: 320 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
Memory: 4 GB 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc™ player
Display: 39.4 cm LCD, 1920x1080, webcam
Graphics: ATI MobilityRadeon HD5650 1GB

Will the i3 be better than the AMD? I hope so lol. Could have upgraded to an i5 but was ￡70 so didn't do that.

Opinions?

My 2 cents.

1. 17" screen isn't TOO big, unless you plan to routinely carry it about. So, I can see your issue with it. I have a large screen laptop and in hindsight, I would buy a smaller one and just use a port replicator or plug in a flatscreen, KB and mouse to use it at an office/home setting.

2. You have dual core (i5, IIRC) and quad core. BOTH should be able to run Oblivion...I mean, the processing power SHOULD be there...unless it's a known flaw with the CPU maker. I'd be more concerned that you need to be in a 64-bit OS and that having a conflict with Oblivion. Yes, W7 Pro has the XP mode option, but that costs video card performance via the VM runtimes.

I'm not sure how the video cards on either laptop are deficient for gaming. If raw power matters to you, you don't go with laptops for gaming.

Now, that said, here's something....

I'm not sure how your insurance policy goes, BUT if this is what THEY are offering, you should be able to shop around for something that does not exceed the highest price of what they offered (800) and say you want that because it's more along the lines of what you want for a replacement. Since they will pay the money anyhow (short of having a way of getting something at a real cut rate price), cutting you a check towards a different option should not be a problem....with you paying any excess cost out of pocket.

You didn't detail what kind of coverage you had on the old laptop. I'd figure most any "replacement" policy means a new laptop would have to meet or exceed the standards on the one that was insured. In this case, I'm not sure why you'd have any issues, but if you realize this is an opportunity to go with an upgrade to something much better, and the policy doesn't work that way, talk with the adjuster, use the highest quoted system they were willing to give you as the upper limit and ask for them to just cut a check towards a system you choose since it makes no sense to get a replacement that's outdated as compared to putting the replacement cost towards a newer system.

Again, I suspect their issue is that they have a cut rate price way of getting what they are offering, so the "cash value" is even lower than what those web pages indicate.

Good luck on selecting your new system.

It doesn't really matter which you get, since it is an HP laptop it will burn a hole in itself after about a year.

I agree. I warned my brothers and my friend about HP laptops and they didn't listen. They bought 3 laptops. Within a year 2 had to be completely replaced. By the end of the next year the 2 replaced ones and the third had all failed. I managed to build a single working one with all the broken ones and use it to check email in my living room.

I vowed never to buy another HP laptop again after what happened to my old one.

Thanks guys, I went with the sony, which I hope is as good at making reliable laptops as they are everything else.

Could have gone with an i7 2.8gHz, and I was severly tempted but it was ￡240 extra, and it's nearly Christmas so money is tight

it's 15.6", and I'll only be taking it to Uni occasionally, and maybe on the train to my gf.

Thanks for the advice

Edit:

I'll get a mod to lock the thread as I've gone with a sony xD

That'll be five septims for your admin fee, please.