Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450

[ddraig]

tidy!
still can't decide myself! also not sure on specs
how is that thinkpad better than this please?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...acer-e1-572-15-6-laptop-red-22070762-pdt.html
ta

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Win7 Pro for starters!

 

[Mr.Bishie]

http://www.ebuyer.com/633694-lenovo-thinkpad-b590-laptop-mbx3quk

£50 cash back too!

 

[MooChild]

Seen the transformer that Editor mentioned for £270 here.
Tempting !

 

[ddraig]

thick question but is it possible to get anything other than android apps on it, ie photoshop or even gimp?
thanks

 

[MooChild]

Not sure with the transformer, it's the whole is it a laptop or a tablet thing keeps on in the back of my mind.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

thick question but is it possible to get anything other than android apps on it, ie photoshop or even gimp?
thanks

There are windows and android flavours.

 

[ddraig]

ah! cheers
e2a not for that model on that site

 

[editor]

Not sure with the transformer, it's the whole is it a laptop or a tablet thing keeps on in the back of my mind.

I use it as a laptop for 99% of the time, although it's kinda handy to be able to pull out the screen for watching TV in bed.

 

[editor]

thick question but is it possible to get anything other than android apps on it, ie photoshop or even gimp?
thanks

There's loads of image editing apps available and although I wouldn't recommend a Transformer for high end publishing /image editing, it's fine for everyday duties.

 

[ddraig]

ta

 

[ddraig]

what about this for £330 at Argos? some other ones there too
HP 15-r110na 4GB 1TB 15.6 Inch Laptop.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2927789.htm

3rd off this
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2571922.htm
£300
Toshiba L50-B-1N8 15.6 Inch Ci3 Processor 4GB 1TB Laptop

 

[ddraig]

any reasons not to get this?
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2571922.htm
Toshiba L50-B-1NL 15.6 Inch Ci3 Processor 4GB 1TB Laptop.
248/8307

 

[MooChild]

Just went for this, can't complain at the price, and only need it for studying
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/TF701T-1B040A-ASUS-Transformer-Pad-TF701T-1B040A_1481109.html

 

[editor]

Just went for this, can't complain at the price, and only need it for studying
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/TF701T-1B040A-ASUS-Transformer-Pad-TF701T-1B040A_1481109.html

I'm tapping away on one right now while my more expensive Sony Windows laptop prepares to be sold on eBay.

 

[discobastard]

This is the best deal I have been able to find - just placed my order:
http://www.johnlewis.com/lenovo-g50...tb-15-6-black/p1741059?s_dscid=ct_700_100000_

Claiming VAT back before 5th Dec brings it down to £441, which is the best deal I've seen in a long time for a machine of that spec. And two years free warranty.

 

[gorski]

Anyone mentioned pcspecialists?

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptops/

You get them without an OS and Bob's yer uncle...

 

[gorski]

For instance:

£370.00 ex VAT.

£444.00 inc VAT and Delivery.

Chassis & Display

UltraNote: 15.6" Matte HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1366x768)

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core Processor 3550M (2.30GHz) 2MB Cache

Memory (RAM)

4GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card

INTEL® HD GRAPHICS MEDIA ACCELERATOR 4600

Memory - Hard Disk

WD Black² Dual Drive - 120GB SSD and 1TB HDD - WD1001X06XDTL

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

UltraNote Series: 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

Memory Card Reader

Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)

Thermal Paste

STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card

Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack

Bluetooth & Wireless

GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0

USB Options

2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

Battery

UltraNote Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (62.16WH) (Up to 7 Hours)

Power Lead & Adaptor

1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor

Keyboard Language

ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD

Operating System

NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

Office Software

NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus

NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Notebook Mouse

INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE

Webcam

INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

Warranty

3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Insurance

1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

Delivery

STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time

Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days

 

[ddraig]

obviously it depends what you want! but if you had £350 which of these would you go for today?
i haven't had a new computer for about 7+ years so will notice the difference with anything
thanks

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...n-15-p077sa-15-6-laptop-red-10012277-pdt.html

• Intel® Core™ i3-4030U Processor
• Windows 8.1
• Memory: 8 GB
• Hard drive: 1 TB

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...ouchscreen-laptop-red-10022728-pdt.html#cat-0

• Intel® Core™ i3-4010U Processor
• Windows 8.1
• Memory: 4 GB
• Hard drive: 500 GB SSHD

 

[Chz]

Hybrid drive is tempting. I think it would depend on whether there was a free slot in that one to add another 4GB yourself. Popping some RAM in is simple enough for even those who are terrified of tech.

 

[ddraig]

ta
nah, not afraid of doing that

 

[Fingers]

OK this last week my trusty Asus has died. The battery, the power supply, the screen and the hard drive. All in the space of a week!

So I am looking for a 11 to 13" screen, min i5 but i7 will do as well with 8gb of ram. Under a grand. Anyone got any recommendations?

 

[fractionMan]

OK this last week my trusty Asus has died. The battery, the power supply, the screen and the hard drive. All in the space of a week!

So I am looking for a 11 to 13" screen, min i5 but i7 will do as well with 8gb of ram. Under a grand. Anyone got any recommendations?

macbook air

 

[Fingers]

Yes I was thinking that myself. As long as I can bung windows on it which I presume I can do with boot camp

 

[ddraig]

2 for £350 in sales

£349.00
was £549.99 (£549.99 From 18/11/14 to 24/12/14)

• Windows 8.1
• Intel® Core™ i3-4005U processor
• Memory: 12 GB
• Hard drive: 1 TB
  http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...-571-15-6-laptop-iron-10071657-pdt.html#cat-0

Acer E-Series E5-571 Core i5 15.6 Inch 4GB 1TB Laptop.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2569439.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

 

[crustychick]

does anyone have any recommendations at the moment?

I think my bro-in-law bought this one http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...er-e5-551-15-6-laptop-black-10011211-pdt.html and I'd go for that unless there's something better

 

[quiquaquo]

Asus X200MA one to be avoided: http://www.silentpcreview.com/ASUS_X200MA

Replaced with this old but excellent ThinkPad X201, highly recommended: http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-x201-review/

 

[SpamMisery]

I need a laptop which has windows 7 on it. Any recommendations? Only needs to be used for word and emails etc

[EDIT]To clarify, I have Microsoft office which is only compatible with Windows 7, hence asking for a laptop which must have Win 7 on it

 

[ViolentPanda]

I need a laptop which has windows 7 on it. Any recommendations? Only needs to be used for word and emails etc

[EDIT]To clarify, I have Microsoft office which is only compatible with Windows 7, hence asking for a laptop which must have Win 7 on it

Morgans Computers have a reasonable choice of used/refurbed laptops running W7, priced from about £110 to £300+. If you're just after using word and e-mails, the £110 is over-specced even for that!

 

[Manter]

Help! I need to be able to run windows (not very precious about which version, as long as it isn't their silly fake-apple one, and is compatible with 8 and XP. Basically I need to mimic what I'd get in a boring corporate office- word, excel, PowerPoint, outlook email and diary. I know I could do all sorts of whizzy, sexy, cloud based blah blah blah, but I need to be able to talk to all the boring big corporates I am hoping I will now be working for.... So I need all the dull stuff.

I have a mac, and I know I could instal windows on that, but it's old and a bit sick and I suspect a Lenovo/HP or something is the way forward.

All my photos etc will stay on the mac- this is a work laptop, basically.

Where do I start? I don't keep up to date at all, I can't even figure out the listings- solid state hard drive- what?!