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Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450

Agreed. There's nothing *wrong* with it. And at that price you can't complain about things not being as nice as you want. I think one of the primary drivers here is that CPUs have reached the point where even cheap-assed shit like Celerons are plenty powerful for most tasks. Even the Celerys are dual-core and based on the latest architecture now.

Personally, I'd shell out the extra for a 2+GHz Pentium as as minimum. But I know that most people would be fine with this one.
 
What about Windows 8? I use a Mac so I don't use it but not sure I've heard many positive comments?
 
anyone wanna give me their (more expert than me at least) opinion on this?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5087640.htm

CPU, Memory and Operating System:
  • Intel Core i3 2350M processor.
  • 2.3GHz processor speed.
  • 6GB DDR3 RAM memory.
  • 750GB SATA hard drive.
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Premium.
Display features:
  • 15.6 inch widescreen display.
  • High definition display.
  • Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
DVD optical drives:
  • DVD+RW/DVD-RW(read/write).
  • Dual layer.
Graphics:
  • Shared graphics.
  • Intel with 1695MB memory.
Interfaces and connectivity:
  • 5-in-1 media card reader.
  • Secure Digital (SD), Multi-Media Card (MMC) compatible.
  • 3 USB ports.
  • 1 Ethernet port.
  • 1 HDMI port.
  • Wi-Fi enabled.
Multi-media features:
  • 1MP VGA built-in webcam.
  • Built-in mic.
General features:
  • Up to 5.3 hours battery life.
  • Size H3.35, W38, D24.2cm.
  • Weight 2.3kg.
  • EAN/MPN/UPC/ISBN: 4026203992658.
Click to expand...

Bolded things are a few features that I'd be looking for- card reader for taking photos off the camera in uni, plenty of USB ports for a mouse/ USB pen/ external HD/ charging iPod etc

From what I know (little) seems to be decent in the ram & processor departments, and have a decent sized HD. The only things lacking that my current laptop (that got physically battered in the summer and needs replacing) has are a VGA and eSATA port. The eSATA port isn't a big thing, though it doubled as another USB which was handy. But I often use a second monitor in uni- handy for having results or reading material up on whilst typing about it. All the 'spare' monitors have VGA connections, have googled and seen there's HDMI to VGA leads available. Do these work?

It doesn't matter if it looks a bit rubbish or is heavy as it'll be staying in uni Monday-Friday and only coming home at weekends. Though I imagine I'll to be using my shiny new one at home after not too long and bring it home with me.

Oh, and it's Windows 7- not going anywhere near 8!
 
Don't get a Tosh.

They're either fucking massive and ugly or small and flimsy.

I would heartily recommend looking at Samsungs new latops SOME of them are quite sexy.
 
DrRingDing said:
Don't get a Tosh.

They're either fucking massive and ugly or small and flimsy.

I would heartily recommend looking at Samsungs new latops SOME of them are quite sexy.
Click to expand...

OK, so aesthetics/ build quality aside, how does the rest of it look for that price? Just so I know what I should or could be getting
 
It's a decent price, if you like it. I'd agree with DrRingDing. You can get similar specs for a little bit cheaper, but everything is built to a price as you know...
 
An unexpected Christmas bonus has made me think of getting a new laptop.
Main uses, films, tv (we don't have a tv so rely on the laptop), streaming video, browsing, downloading, some typing etc. I'm also using linux at the moment so I might fancy making it dual boot.
I got 90% through ordering a Dell Inspiron 15z Ultrabook, got it down to £540 with hopefully another £50 cashback
Spec:
  • 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U processor (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
  • Windows 8 64bit, English
  • 15.6" (39.6 cm) High Definition (720p) LED Display with Truelife
  • 6GB1 DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
  • 500GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD and 32GB mSATA SSD
  • 8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
  • Nvidia® GeForce® GT630M 2G
  • 1 yr Next Day In-Home Hardware Support & 90 days Premium Software Phone Support
  • 4.78 lbs
I expect it is a little overblown for my needs but I am sick and tired of our present HP stuttering and stalling so am looking for something that whizzes along nicely and will last a good while.
As we use it for viewing a lot should I really think about a 17" or would that make it too bulky? Bearing in mind that it does get used as a lap-top laptop and in bed when I'm not feeling well. But I really don't want anything smaller than our present 15". £550 is probably the top of my range but would be very happy to spend less if it is still money well spent...

Any thoughts or advice gratefully received
 
Seems to be loads of post Xmas bargains about. Of course I insisted on taking the lad out to mess with them in Currys and he came away fancying one of these...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-...9721-0a3328ca1f02&istItemId=qqpxmxaa&istBid=t

His budget has risen due to some considerable generosity on his grandad's part but he wants to compare it to a Transformer. Can't find any in stock anywhere to go and play with.

This may be a daft question but do the Android office apps work with documents/.doc? Just need to be sure he'll be ok doing his homework.
 
Chip Barm said:
This may be a daft question but do the Android office apps work with documents/.doc? Just need to be sure he'll be ok doing his homework.
Click to expand...
To an extent - if it's a question of writing things with them and saving them in Word formats, or opening simple Word docs, that's fine. Complex Word shit involving text boxes inside tables with embedded images and that sort of malarkey, not usually so great.

Is there actually a requirement to use Word formats at school these days? Pretty disgraceful if there is.
 
Still if it's for school, I'd say there's something to be said for something that has a proper word processor and it is quite handy to learn word, seeing as that's what most of the world uses.
 
Global Stoner said:
Still if it's for school, I'd say there's something to be said for something that has a proper word processor and it is quite handy to learn word, seeing as that's what most of the world uses.
Click to expand...
Tablet word processors are not quite as full featured as desktop ones usually, but they're generally okay for typing stuff. It's the keyboard that tends to be the issue, which is not a problem with a Transformer of course.

There's no need to "learn" Word - being vaguely computer literate will let you do pretty much anything you're likely to need to do with it.
 
FridgeMagnet said:
To an extent - if it's a question of writing things with them and saving them in Word formats, or opening simple Word docs, that's fine. Complex Word shit involving text boxes inside tables with embedded images and that sort of malarkey, not usually so great.

Is there actually a requirement to use Word formats at school these days? Pretty disgraceful if there is.
Click to expand...

It's not a requirement as such but if he ever has to print things off we don't have a printer so I or his mum usually do them at work.
 
IME there's no requirement to use word as such, but many schools have a VLE platform where kids can access course materials, worksheets etc. almost all of these will be in word, so if there are formatting problems it can limit the advantage of the VLE - especially if it's left til the night before.
 
Any particular post Xmas bargains worth noting? Windows 7 only, unless its easy to get a copy of 7 and uninstall 8?
 
Yes, actually, my mum need a new laptop and doesnt want to spend too much, but no way am I suggesting something with Win8 on it - that is so not worth my time.
 
i'm going on the hunt properly tomorrow I think pc world etc only do windows 8 these days, but I'm hoping a get clearance win7 stock or something
 
FridgeMagnet said:
Yes, actually, my mum need a new laptop and doesnt want to spend too much, but no way am I suggesting something with Win8 on it - that is so not worth my time.
Click to expand...

£250...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-g6-1378ea-15-6-laptop-charcoal-11884722-pdt.html

ProcessorIntel® Core™ i3-2330M processor (2.2 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)
Operating SystemGenuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
RAM4 GB
Graphics cardIntel HD
Screen typeHD LED BrightViewScreen resolution1366 x 768
Screen size15.6
"Hard drive320 GB
Memory card readerMulti-Format Digital Media Card Reader
USB3 USB 2.0 ports
Size37.4 x 24.5 x 3.63cm (W x D x H)
Weight2.55 kg

might be heavy n look like shit (does it??) but at that price...

 
TBH, if I get a year out of it to finish my phd on. Really need a seperate laptop and this one's a bit fucked, enen if I could get it sorted I'd rather have a seperate one. so 250 quid seems reasonable for writing a thesis on etc
 
Kuso said:
TBH, if I get a year out of it to finish my phd on. Really need a seperate laptop and this one's a bit fucked, enen if I could get it sorted I'd rather have a seperate one. so 250 quid seems reasonable for writing a thesis on etc
Click to expand...
Sure, but if you can get one for £350 which lasts for five years... or £250 with slightly lower spec....

Nowadays the first thing I say when a friend says "hey my laptop just died" is "it's an HP isn't it?"
 
FridgeMagnet said:
Sure, but if you can get one for £350 which lasts for five years... or £250 with slightly lower spec....

Nowadays the first thing I say when a friend says "hey my laptop just died" is "it's an HP isn't it?"
Click to expand...

that £250 one is sold out everywhere- back to the hunt
 
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