MoneyFace =p
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Hi guys, i'm currently in the midst of helping my cousin to find the most suitable notebook for her upcoming university course, so hoping that you guys can provide some critics and insights to my selection.
Here's her profile,
1. She is taking on Bachelor of Science at NUS, specialising in Biomedical Science.
2. Her family isn't well off and she is forking out for the notebook herself, so she is trying to be frugal on this. Thus, budget for notebook should be well below $1000.
3. It's a HER, so other than work she will only use it for web surfing and social networking (not stereotyping women but that's just what she does) and strictly no hardcore gaming.
After looking at the choices offered by NUS, it is pretty dismaying that all those models offered are being too costly while lacking essential software (Microsoft Office) and yet providing all those extra, unnecessary software and hardware which inflates the overall package price, notably Adobe Creative suite. Hence, we are looking towards offerings from other mainstream retailers.
I've shortlist several brands and rounded down to Dell with one of the best customer support, build quality and low price. Does anyone have any new insights to Dell? Or anyone will like to show me the good of other brands?
I'm also concerned about the possibility of using horsepower-demanding software on her notebook, mainly modelling software for molecular biology (or anything). Can anyone already taking the relevant module clarify on this?
This is my current selection and accompanying rationale:
DELL Inspiron 14 @ $749 (+$160 for 3 years local warranty)
Grand Total: $909
CPU: Intel Core i5-3337U
She definitely wouldn't benefit any much from quad core processor and this Ivy Bridge based ULV Core i5 performs very similarly to mainstream previous gen Core i5 which should be adequately enough for all her needs.
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1600
I don't foresee her multitasking THAT much to render 4GB insufficient. DDR3 RAM prices are also on the high so i will only advise to increase when necessary.
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 625M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
This should be pretty much useful on molecular modelling software acceleration, while notebook models with Nvidia chip is specifically chosen for their more stable graphics driver support, by means to play safe and minimise risk of driver bugs/crashes/incompatibility with modelling software.
And i believe she may wants to play light girly games like The Sims if she wishes to so this can be an additional value.
Monitor: 14" @ 1366 x 768
14" is just optimal, from my personal experience.
HDD: 750 GB 5400 rpm
Capacity doesn't really matter, but will be useful if she wishes to store movies/drama serial in the furture.
ODD: 8X Tray Load DVD Writer
Battery: 6 cell Li-ion (65 Whr)
Definitely practical and value added over 3 cell when it comes to working at places without power point and on the go.
Weight: 1.99 kg
The lighter the better, especially for women. Anymore lighter will be even better but that will incur higher cost commitment on the notebook.
OS: Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit
I wonder whether NUS connects via domain or VPN and will the lack of network domain support on regular Windows 8 be the main deterrent?
WiFi: Dell Wireless 1704 Wireless-N
So far i read that it doesn't perform well nor having any decent signal.
Cover: Matt Black
Appearance doesn't matter as long as the notebook is sufficiently fast for her.
Considering the price and everything, i find this configuration rather a steal compared to other brands' counterparts. What can you say for this?
Hope to hear from you guys soon!
Here's her profile,
1. She is taking on Bachelor of Science at NUS, specialising in Biomedical Science.
2. Her family isn't well off and she is forking out for the notebook herself, so she is trying to be frugal on this. Thus, budget for notebook should be well below $1000.
3. It's a HER, so other than work she will only use it for web surfing and social networking (not stereotyping women but that's just what she does) and strictly no hardcore gaming.
After looking at the choices offered by NUS, it is pretty dismaying that all those models offered are being too costly while lacking essential software (Microsoft Office) and yet providing all those extra, unnecessary software and hardware which inflates the overall package price, notably Adobe Creative suite. Hence, we are looking towards offerings from other mainstream retailers.
I've shortlist several brands and rounded down to Dell with one of the best customer support, build quality and low price. Does anyone have any new insights to Dell? Or anyone will like to show me the good of other brands?
I'm also concerned about the possibility of using horsepower-demanding software on her notebook, mainly modelling software for molecular biology (or anything). Can anyone already taking the relevant module clarify on this?
This is my current selection and accompanying rationale:
DELL Inspiron 14 @ $749 (+$160 for 3 years local warranty)
Grand Total: $909
CPU: Intel Core i5-3337U
She definitely wouldn't benefit any much from quad core processor and this Ivy Bridge based ULV Core i5 performs very similarly to mainstream previous gen Core i5 which should be adequately enough for all her needs.
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1600
I don't foresee her multitasking THAT much to render 4GB insufficient. DDR3 RAM prices are also on the high so i will only advise to increase when necessary.
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 625M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
This should be pretty much useful on molecular modelling software acceleration, while notebook models with Nvidia chip is specifically chosen for their more stable graphics driver support, by means to play safe and minimise risk of driver bugs/crashes/incompatibility with modelling software.
And i believe she may wants to play light girly games like The Sims if she wishes to so this can be an additional value.
Monitor: 14" @ 1366 x 768
14" is just optimal, from my personal experience.
HDD: 750 GB 5400 rpm
Capacity doesn't really matter, but will be useful if she wishes to store movies/drama serial in the furture.
ODD: 8X Tray Load DVD Writer
Battery: 6 cell Li-ion (65 Whr)
Definitely practical and value added over 3 cell when it comes to working at places without power point and on the go.
Weight: 1.99 kg
The lighter the better, especially for women. Anymore lighter will be even better but that will incur higher cost commitment on the notebook.
OS: Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit
I wonder whether NUS connects via domain or VPN and will the lack of network domain support on regular Windows 8 be the main deterrent?
WiFi: Dell Wireless 1704 Wireless-N
So far i read that it doesn't perform well nor having any decent signal.
Cover: Matt Black
Appearance doesn't matter as long as the notebook is sufficiently fast for her.
Considering the price and everything, i find this configuration rather a steal compared to other brands' counterparts. What can you say for this?
Hope to hear from you guys soon!
Last edited:
) and definitely feels classy and solid but here's my concern...