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Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450

editor said:
I'm currently reviewing a ThinkPad Edge S430 which is a pretty splendid machine.
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My main issues with my wife's E320 were an exceptionally crummy trackpad (I use the nipple, I don't care) and a fairly dim, fuzzy screen. It's otherwise an excellent machine. Have they fixed those issues?
 
All seems pretty good to me. Screen's pretty good and I haven't had any problems with the trackpad (although I'm more of a ooo-err nipple man myself).
 
My transformer came! It is currently charging.

It really is an awfully pretty shade of grey. They call it amethyst grey, but the pics I saw online made me expect it would be dull old metallic grey. No. Tis def a tiny smidgen purple. But not in a girly way. Anyway. Hmm. Hoping it won't be quite the whole 8 hrs til the light goes green, or I'll be stuck at work til 6.30.
 
Light is green! No signal yet, of course (what, you think the school trusts is with the wifi key?) But soon, my pretty. Soon.
 
The green light will go off before eight hours but it is recommended you give it a full charge. You could just take it home and continue charging there before using it.

It is a really lovely looking thing and with its slick., all-metal finish it looks like it should cost something more like a grand.
 
Oh. It says "fully charge the battery for up to eight hours" and then elsewhere it says:

"Battery Charge Indicator (dual color)

Green ON: the battery level is up to 100%
Orange ON: the mobile docking is in battery charging status"

I'd say the use of "up to" 8hrs and the description of the green light as 100% charged were pretty directly saying it was fully charged. See, this is where we technophobes find it so stressful. How are we sposed to know you should do the full eight hours when it doesn't say so?

I can plug it in when I get home no prob, but still. Annoying. How are people supposed to know?
 
There is some general debate whether you should charge a device (any device) for a full 8 hours or so on the very first charge. Some think it makes a difference others don't. I just did it anyway (and managed to display admirable restraint because I was desperate to play with the machine!).

I think the Asus suggests you charge it for the 8 hours on the first charge, and then goes on to explain how the indicators work after that.
 
editor said:
There is some general debate whether you should charge a device (any device) for a full 8 hours or so on the very first charge. Some think it makes a difference others don't. I just did it anyway (and managed to display admirable restraint because I was desperate to play with the machine!).

I think the Asus suggests you charge it for the 8 hours on the first charge, and then goes on to explain how the indicators work after that.
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Not that it matters, because I'll do the extra hour when I get home, but in the two little manuals that come in the box, it does say "To prolong battery life, fully charge the battery for up to 8 hours when using the Eee pad for the first time". "Up to". If Asus have different instructions to that, they should put them in the bloody manuals.
 
Any tips on a laptop for my young un for Xmas? He's 12, needs something to do his homework on, watch films, usual online use, youtube, facebook etc.

I'm used to using a macbook and don't have much experience with Windows but I know I don't need to spend macbook money, budget more like £250 if possible.
 
There's always the Chromebook, I guess. That's the only new laptop you'll get for £250.
 
I've seen the Transformer TF101 for £239.99 but they sold out yesterday, something like that would be good I suppose or a 10" screen netbook type thing.
 
That one is vastly more powerful. Nice one for the price, I was certain you wouldn't get anything that wasn't over a year old for £250.
 
It seems a bit silly that it's using an ultra-low power CPU in a bog standard 15.6" laptop. For the price, you can get something more powerful but it would likely have 6GB of RAM instead of the 8 on this. But RAM is cheap, and laptops aren't terribly upgradable in the CPU department. I'd avoid it. Those processors are meant for laptops in the 13" and under category, so it just reeks of bad design. It's supposed to be "thin and light", but still bulky and over 6.5 lbs!
 
Chz said:
It seems a bit silly that it's using an ultra-low power CPU in a bog standard 15.6" laptop. For the price, you can get something more powerful but it would likely have 6GB of RAM instead of the 8 on this. But RAM is cheap, and laptops aren't terribly upgradable in the CPU department. I'd avoid it. Those processors are meant for laptops in the 13" and under category, so it just reeks of bad design. It's supposed to be "thin and light", but still bulky and over 6.5 lbs!
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cheers! I'll probably be posting quite a few links in the next while. I know how to use them but I don't know anything about the specs etc. Have to wait until after xmas anyway, so hopefully get something in a sale
 
Kuso said:
need a seperate laptop for uni and personal stuff so the current on is going into the lab, was thinking about that one to replace it in the house
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A desktop? :p

Not very fashionable these days I guess, but have there own advantages!
 
I've actually really considered it. But the living room is pretty small, and I wouldn't want to clutter it with a computer desk and more leads. I've the spare room but my speakers are set up in the living room, and TV for HDMI etc
 
Kuso said:
I've actually really considered it. But the living room is pretty small, and I wouldn't want to clutter it with a computer desk and more leads. I've the spare room but my speakers are set up in the living room, and TV for HDMI etc
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Mini ATI case, run through the TV?
 
nah, I'd still want to be able to do the odd bit of uni work on it and maybe down the line get back into playing with Reason. Plus I like being able to bring my laptop to a mates for tunes or to watch films or whatever.

money permitting I'd stick a desktop and new speakers in the spare room and get a small(ish) laptop too. I can but dream
 
Chz said:
It seems a bit silly that it's using an ultra-low power CPU in a bog standard 15.6" laptop. For the price, you can get something more powerful but it would likely have 6GB of RAM instead of the 8 on this. But RAM is cheap, and laptops aren't terribly upgradable in the CPU department. I'd avoid it. Those processors are meant for laptops in the 13" and under category, so it just reeks of bad design. It's supposed to be "thin and light", but still bulky and over 6.5 lbs!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't ask you to try and find me something good, but what sorta specs should I be looking for for 400-450? although the one I'm looking for for the house is just for 'general' use I wouldn't mind being able to use it for music production/ mixing down the line. Could possibly stretch to 500 if it was worth the extra,

though I'd love to find a decent offer and get something decent for 350ish, cuz that would allow me to put money towards a new uni laptop too. this one got pretty badly physically damaged and I'm not 100% sure it'll see me through. though hopefully once I an reformat it etc and JUST have uni atuff on there it mightn't seem as bad

I know it's impossible to say but dya reckon there'll be good deals going after xmas?
 
Well, almost certainly good deals after xmas. It's funny how us desktop jockeys never get decent sales on components, but laptops are a whole other story... (Before someone points out I must have no idea what I'm talking about, just because I don't buy myself laptops doesn't mean I haven't frequently done it for other people)

That being said, I'm not hunting this year for anyone so I'm not really aware of what's about. Keep an eye on hotukdeals.com and do the occasional search is all I can say. I will keep my ear to the ground though.

Crucially, what do you want? When we created this thread, £350-450 represented the absolute minimum that had to be spent to get something that was at least partially unlike a giant steaming dog turd with a keyboard stuck on it. Things have progressed since then, and by paying attention to sales it's quite possible to get something rather nice for £450. Do you want the cheapest thing that will do the job without stinking up the sitting room (£300 on sale, easily), or do you have something in mind?

Edit: Size preferences are critical here. The cheapest things are 15.6" diagonal and bulky, but in recent times it's possible to get a proper laptop (not some Atom-powered heap of shit) in a smaller form factor at a reasonable price - see the 13" Thinkpad Edge for example, £380 to start and frequently on sale.
 
Here, same laptop with half the RAM and a little less CPU power:
http://www.ebuyer.com/398053-acer-aspire-v5-thin-and-light-nx-m2cek-003
But at £90 less, who cares any more? Doubling the RAM (*if* you need it) costs less than £20 and the CPU is in the same performance arena as the other, albeit somewhat slower. At that price I wouldn't quibble too much if it's the sort of thing you're looking for. Not to my taste, but I don't argue too hard with a bargain.
 
It's just a shame that resolution don't seem to be increasing quickly. I was hoping that with all the new tablets out with super high res screens we'd start seeing more 1080p laptops or at least 1680x1050.
 
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