Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450

[editor]

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=448094&CatId=

x100 thinkpad £404.99 bargin...

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e - Notebook - AMD Turion Neo X2 - 1.6GHz - 3 GB RAM - 320GB - 11.6 inch WXGA TFT - LAN WLAN - Bluetooth - Windows 7 Professional 32-bit

'Tis a grand machine. Thinkpads are fabulous machines.

 

[GarfieldLeChat]

robust long lives hard waring I've just got me mum one of these they had a levono money back offer on at the time which meant it was £350 I nearly bought two...

 

[editor]

You want to make sure you get one with a start up tune like this.

 

[ska invita]

^ miserable bunch of students - id be cracking up

im with you on the thinkpads editor - ive scavenged a few old, broken, handme down etc laptops over the years, and the thinkpad i have may only have a 4GB harddrive and other shit specs, but its robust and still manages a range of things (i use it as a radio and to record mixes). the construction feels built to last. i heard that NASA use them in space!

Anyhow, im wondering if anyone can recommend a good time to buy a laptop - when are prices cheapest? are there january sales on laptops? and where to go for the best prices. thanks

 

[editor]

here's a handy listing of the current best cheapo laptops about:

1. Acer Aspire 1410-742G25N – £299

Performance isn't this laptop's strong point, but it isn't meant to be – instead it offers superb portability. At only 1.4kg, it's a pleasure to carry around and the small form factor makes it very easy to fit into almost any bag, which makes it great for lectures, although not so great for movies and entertainment.
The 11.6-inch screen is bright, crisp and clear, and the screen is LED-backlit, which is resource-light on the battery. The Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n sets a very high bar, and the excellent battery life will be a clincher for many buyers.



2. Acer Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn – £385

Another budget offering, the Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn is built around a 15.6-inch screen, and despite being large enough to watch movies comfortably, the 2.6kg chassis is nice and light for its size.
While its 207-minute battery life is easily bettered, it provides adequate mobility for commuting or use in student digs.

 Offering impressive performance, great usability, a stunning screen and cutting-edge connectivity, the Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn is perfect for first-time buyers. Add its surprisingly generous software package and you've got a fantastic bargain on your hands.






3. Samsung R530 – £387

Not only is the Samsung R530 a nice looking laptop, it also boasts great usability, performance and portability – and all at a very competitive price. What's more, the line-up has been recently updated to include a Core i3 processor, which makes it an extremely attractive proposition.


The more we used the Samsung R530, the more we liked it. Performance is above average and the design and usability of the machine really endeared it to us, making it a perfect study companion.


Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/world...nt-laptops-for-christmas-909912#ixzz160Iw9abO

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I had an email from Lenovo UK this morning about a sale they have on

I didn'tknow they had a clearance corner

Linky

 

[fractionMan]

here's a handy listing of the current best cheapo laptops about:

re the 1410 acer - there are about 4 versions of that and some are twice as fast as others. The only way to tell is too look at the processor.

It's a great machine though (I've got the 4810tgz)

 

[Throbbing Angel]

You want to make sure you get one with a start up tune like this.

 

[TAE]

I'm considering buying the following laptop, ASUS-X52F-EX486V, thoughts?

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-ASUS-X52F-EX486V-Laptop/676934

http://www.laskys.com/computing/lap...1084878106|mt:Exact|nw:search|crid:6042564157

 

[TAE]

Anyone?

 

[Jackobi]

It has Intel 4500M integrated graphics, so no good for running any games. Also, it doesn't have an Ethernet port, internet connectivity is wireless/usb only.

If neither of those are a concern, it is an average spec for that price, and Asus have a good reputation for manufacturing decent laptops.

 

[TAE]

Also, it doesn't have an Ethernet port, internet connectivity is wireless/usb only.

Oh that is an issue.

 

[TAE]

On second thought I can use one of these: http://www.google.com/#q=usb+ethernet+adapter

 

[TAE]

Thank you for your help guys, we've ordered it now.

 

[Diamond]

Thoughts on this please?

http://www.johnlewis.com/231070859/Product.aspx?source=34937

 

[Diamond]

*bump*

 

[yield]

Seems like a decent enough netbook. Looks like a rebadged n210, n220 or n230?

There are some reviews of the n210 on Amazon. John Lewis are average on price but have the free 2 year guarantee.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Netbooks are much of a muchness. Samsung are one of the better brands, 12 hours is the top end of the battery range and that's not a horrific price for it.

 

[8ball]

I don't know if this is hijacking the 'budget' spirit of the thread a bit, but if I wanted to go a little over this price mark for a decent laptop - let' say £500-ish but perhaps prepared to scrape a little more together for something really good - would anyone have any recommendations?

 

[yield]

I don't know if this is hijacking the 'budget' spirit of the thread a bit, but if I wanted to go a little over this price mark for a decent laptop - let' say £500-ish but perhaps prepared to scrape a little more together for something really good - would anyone have any recommendations?

Size screen 15.6"? Playing games? Battery life an issue?

To be honest I'm confused if you need a dedicated graphics card with the i3/i5 processors?

Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 / Intel Core i5 2.4GHz / 4GB / 640GB / DVD-SM / NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics card with 512MB / 15.6 inch / Windows 7 Home Premium / Laptop / Notebook for £570 @ play.com.

I'd be tempted by that if I had any money.

 

[8ball]

That's a nice machine and thx for the advice but have already bought one this week - went for a hp dv6 3140sa.

Is lovely but I overspent quite significantly

 

[editor]

Wham bam! This is a great deal:

Asus X52F-EX469V Laptop

Intel Pentium P6100 2GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB HDD
15.6" HD Colour Shine 1366x768
DVD Writer
Webcam, HDMI
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
£329

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237739

More specs:

Processor
Intel Pentium P6100 2.00GHz
3MB Cache
Memory
4GB DDR3 RAM
2 x soDIMM slot
Hard Drive
320GB 5400rpm SATA
Optical Drive
DVD Super Multi Dual Layer
Software
Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit
ASUSDVD 6-in-1
ASUS FastBoot
ControlDeck
Display
15.6” HD TFT Color-Shine
Resolution: 1366x768
LED Status Indicator
Numeric KB Lock
Power-on/Suspend
Battery Charging/full/low
Storage device access
Capital Lock
Wireless on status indicator
Graphics
UMA – integrated
Audio
Built-in speaker and microphone
Altec Lansing® speakers
SRS Premium Sound
Input Devices
Keyboard with Numeric Keyboard
Touchpad
Networking
Wireless LAN: 802.11 BGN
LAN / Modem: 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN built-in
Power Supply
Battery: 4400 mAh, 6 cells
Dimensions
Width 38 cm
Depth 25.5 cm
Height 3.45~3.57 cm
Weight 2.62 kg
Interfaces
1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x Headphone-out jack
1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin
3 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
1 x HDMI
Expansion
3 in 1 card reader, SD,MMC,MS

 

[crustychick]

Wham bam! This is a great deal:

Asus X52F-EX469V Laptop

wow - that is a good deal.... thinking about buying it but the screen resolution is putting me off a bit....

 

[editor]

wow - that is a good deal.... thinking about buying it but the screen resolution is putting me off a bit....

What's wrong with 1366x768?!

 

[crustychick]

What's wrong with 1366x768?!

well, it *is* the same as my current res, but, well, I like things small

 

[crustychick]

d'ya think it'll play civ5? or is the integrated graphics too puny?

 

[Mr Smin]

That Asus looks fine but can someone tell me what to expect from Pentiums? I've been using an Athlon 64 X2 for a few years and wondering where Pentiums stand now that intel is trumpeting Core i-3-5-7.

 

[editor]

Now here's an even better deal: Lenovo IdeaPad G550 Laptop £269.45

Processor
Intel Celeron Dual Core T3500 2.1GHz
Chipset North Bridge GL40
Chipset South Bridge ICH9M
Memory
2GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
Hard Drive
250GB SATA 5400rpm
Optical Drive
DVD Writer
Software
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
Display
15.6" HD TFT
Graphics
Intel GMA 4500M
Audio
Integrated Speakers
Input Devices
Keyboard and Touchpad
Numeric Keypad
Networking
WLAN Ready
Wireless Card: BCM 4312 BG
Ethernet 10/100M
Power Supply
6 Cell Battery
Capacity 2.2A
65 Watt AC Adapter

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237715

 

[editor]

Blimey. This is cheap. £219.23!!!

Archos 13 Laptop

Intel Atom D510 1.6GHz
1GB RAM
160GB HDD
13.3" WXGA TFT
No Optical Drive
Webcam + Bluetooth
Windows 7 Home Premium

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/215084
Specs: http://www.archos.com/products/nb/archos_13/specs.html?country=us&lang=en

 

[Bob_the_lost]

That Asus looks fine but can someone tell me what to expect from Pentiums? I've been using an Athlon 64 X2 for a few years and wondering where Pentiums stand now that intel is trumpeting Core i-3-5-7.

Good enough is where they stand. Pentiums are (to cut a long story short) the same as Core 2 Duo (or Solo). Good enough for nearly everyone.