Laptop needed with decent screen

[theurbanclown]

I'm not looking to go for a Macbook Pro if I can help it, as I will only be using the laptop a handful of times a month so cannot justify the cost at the moment.

I'm doing a lot more events, and have a few destination weddings coming up so would like to be able to cull and edit photos on journeys etc so a decent screen is more important than the rest of the spec.

Probably just used for Lightroom, web browsing.

Budget is roughly £750 max.

In regards to screen:

Ideally IPS, although a decent LED screen will be considered
1920 X 1080 res minimum
15" screen, maybe go down to 13"

What's available?

 

[Pookeyhead]

Ideally IPS, although a decent LED screen will be considered

There's no such thing as a LED screen.. all computer screens are LCD. There are OLED screens.. but they're still prohibitively expensive and are very rare indeed.

Almost ALL recent laptops will use LED backlighting if that is what you are referring to. IPS or TN, or VA.. those are panel technologies... nothing to do with the backlighting.

Dell make a really nice laptop with a nice IPS screen.. forget the model number now. I think though.. you're well into Macbook Pro prices even if you go the PC route. You want the best, you usually pay for it

 

[tdodd]

Unless others know better I think you will struggle to find an IPS screen on a £750 laptop, especially at 15". I have a 17.3" 1080p IPS display on my laptop, with RGB backlight, and the price premium over the standard 1080p screen was substantial - £100s. It cost me £1745 from the Dell Outlet.

Probably your best bet is to look at the Dell XPS 13 and XPS 12 from the Dell Outlet. The XPS 12s all have 12.5" 1920x1080 IPS touch screens and convert to tablets too. The XPS 13 is a conventional laptop. You'll want the L322X variant rather than the older model and as it comes with both 720p and 1080p variants you'll need to pay attention to the specs.

http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/xps-laptops?~ck=anav

Reviews :
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Dell-XPS-12.htm
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Dell-XPS-13-2013.htm

Of course, Haswell should be rolling out soon, so maybe that will push prices down a little further for old/refurb stock

 

[theurbanclown]

Thanks guys. David, that's what I meant but was written like an idiot in a rush - I'm usually the one pointing out the LCD LED error.

I will have a look at the Dell, but feel the Macbook may well bring the route I actually go down if nothing else is up to the mark.