Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450

[Mr Smin]

Thanks Bob.

A word about Lenovo: I ordered a ThinkPad Edge direct from Lenovo (or rather, through their partner Digital River). When it arrived, the screen was chipped and the top row of keys were badly out of alignment - issues that must have arisen at the factory yet it still passed QC (assuming they have that).
Digital River were fine about me returning it and gave me the number for their courier. It reached their warehouse on 7th March. I am still waiting for a refund to my card which was promised within 10 working days of them getting it back. After several emails back and fourth I've left it with the credit card company to organise a charge back.

Initially I would have been happy with a replacement but now I know how slack Digital River are, I don't want to be stuck with them if I have any warranty issues so I'll be looking for something else.

 

[reubeniz]

Was going to go for the Asus mentioned by Editor http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237739 but its out of stock.

Anyone know how quickly they restock or the likely hood of them doing so?

Noticed its on here also but with a slightly better processor ( unless its a typo ) http://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_X52F-EX794V_1072932.html anyone had any experience with these guys.? I started the transaction but when i got to card details it didnt lead me to a secure page. ( yellow address bar padlock thing ) Also it says p6200 dual core in the discript but p6100 in the right sidebar add. eBuyer describs the machine with a p6100.

Ive used eByer before and totally recommend them but just not used this other outfit. This is unless anyone can suggest a better source.

 

[reubeniz]

Or should i not wait and get this Acer's Aspire 5552 for £340 (staff discount) http://www.johnlewis.com/231132794/Product.aspx

Graphics card Generate the images you see on your computer screen

Guarantee FREE 2 year guarantee,
640GB
Manufacturer's Guarantee 2 years
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Athlon II P340
Processor Type AMD Athlon 2.2GHz
RAM 4GB
quality 1366 x 768
Screen size 15.6"
Stereo speakers Built-in
3x USB 2.0
Visible screen size (measured diagonally)Diagonal measurement across screen 39cm
Built-in Webcam Yes

 

[teecee]

As laptops are not my area of expertise - is there any good reason not to go for this for deal - for a soon to be 13yr old girls first computer?

These are refurbed laptops

From this link
http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=7&c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh

Inspiron N5030 (Range: £180.00 - £205.91)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Intel Celeron 925 (2.3Ghz, 800MHzs, 1MB)
320 GB Hard Drive
3072MB (1x1024 + 1x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
8 X DVD +/- RW
15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED
Black

VS

Inspiron N5030 (Range: £201.94 - £214.52)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Processor : Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T4500 (2.3Ghz, 800Mhz, 1MB)
250GB (5400rpm)
Memory 2GB (2x1GB) 1333MHz DDR3 ECC-UDIMM
8 X DVD +/- RW
15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED
Black

Is that worth the extra 20 for the processor upgrade

thanks

tc

 

[Mr Smin]

Either of them will be fine for homework and surfing. If the extra 20 quid is no big deal then you might as well have the slightly higher processor - keep in mind those are ex-VAT and delivery prices though.

 

[London_Calling]

No expert but, regarding the theme of the thread, this looked decent to me - from 'this weeks offers' at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004R9PZ4G/ref=pe_15021_24781771_as_txt_2/


Brand: Dell
RAM Size: 4 GB
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Speed: 1.3 GHz
Processor Type: Intel Pentium Dual-Core
Hard Drive Size: 500 GB
Hard Disk Rotational Speed: 7200 rpm
Computer Memory Type: DDR3 SDRAM
Operating System: Windows 7 Edition Home Premium
Graphics Card Description: Integrated
Screen Size: 16 inches
Display Technology: LED
Light Source Type: LED
Speaker Output Channel Quantity: 2
Spearkers Maximum Output Power: 1 watts


- £329.

 

[nick h.]

Here's a fairly decent Tosh for £280 in the Argos sale. 2.3 gHz, 250 gig disk, only 1 gb RAM, but perhaps that could be upgraded cheaply. It ought to be built well, certainly better than Dell.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...OWS+7+COMPUTERS.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

Argos customers seem v. happy with a similar model it http://reviews.argos.co.uk/1493-en_gb/5072057/reviews.htm

 

[reubeniz]

Funny ive noticed that this

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247950

Asus K52F Laptop
Intel Pentium P6200 2.13GHz
2GB RAM
320GB HDD
15.6" HD
DVD±RW
Webcam
Windows 7 Home Premium

Seems to be a down graded 2G ram LESS than Editors pick. Or have i missed something.

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

Asus X52F-EX469V

Intel Pentium P6100 2GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB HDD
15.6" HD Colour Shine
DVD Writer
Webcam, HDMI, 4hrs Battery life
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Why do they never seem to list the exact features across all models. The price is the same but isnt this a downgrade or is it the same in value just that the scales a weighed a little differently? Or is it more or less the same machine?

 

[stupid kid]

Can anyone give a verdict on this?

£349.99 from PC World

Processor Intel® Core™ i3-380M Processor
- 2.53 GHz
- 2.5 GT/s DMI
- 3MB Smart Cache
- Dual Core

RAM 3 GB DDR3
Graphics card Intel HD Graphics with shared video memory
Screen type Widescreen LCD
Screen resolution - WXGA
- 1366 x 768
Screen size 15.6"
Screen features Slim LED Glare
Hard drive 320 GB SATA
Optical disk drive DVD rewriter
Memory card reader 2-in-1 memory card reader (SD/MMC)


Also, it's red, which is a nice selling point, better than the typical silver/black IMO. Can't seem to see anything with the 380m processor for the same price, but it's PC World so I'm assuming it is actually cheaper somewhere else, I just can't see it.

 

[fractionMan]

Bargain!

Acer Aspire 5742Z Laptop, Pentium P6100 2GHz, 250GB HDD, 3gb ram

229 quid, delivered - ebuyer outlet

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290572280125&clk_rvr_id=237017440733

 

[jamessedgewick]

I just bought (and am waiting for) the Acer Aspire 5742 Laptop, Core i3 380M 2.53GHz, 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, for about £350. Seemed like an ok deal to me, any thoughts?

 

[stuff_it]

I just bought (and am waiting for) the Acer Aspire 5742 Laptop, Core i3 380M 2.53GHz, 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, for about £350. Seemed like an ok deal to me, any thoughts?

I am extremely pleased with my Lenovo Edge with very similar specs....though the price has gone up £20 since I got it....they seem to change their deals constantly. It has bluetooth and that anti-fraggle shit if you drop it, and the Webroot AV it came with picked up some stuff that the top rated/priced version of McAffe didn't. (stuff I transferred from my old computer)

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_Edge_15_1037796.html

 

[100% masahiko]

Can anyone give a verdict on this?

£349.99 from PC World

Processor Intel® Core™ i3-380M Processor
- 2.53 GHz
- 2.5 GT/s DMI
- 3MB Smart Cache
- Dual Core

RAM 3 GB DDR3
Graphics card Intel HD Graphics with shared video memory
Screen type Widescreen LCD
Screen resolution - WXGA
- 1366 x 768
Screen size 15.6"
Screen features Slim LED Glare
Hard drive 320 GB SATA
Optical disk drive DVD rewriter
Memory card reader 2-in-1 memory card reader (SD/MMC)


Also, it's red, which is a nice selling point, better than the typical silver/black IMO. Can't seem to see anything with the 380m processor for the same price, but it's PC World so I'm assuming it is actually cheaper somewhere else, I just can't see it.

did you get this?

i heard that it's not the most efficent laptop - build quality is suspect.
Gets real hot quick and bad battery

 

[Corax]

Is there a similar thread to this for desktops?

I need to buy a new computer, and I reckon I can save up about £400 for it if I'm careful. It doesn't need to be mobile though, so am I right in assuming I'll get more bang for my buck with a desktop rather than a lappie?

 

[madzone]

http://www.ebuyer.com/257450-acer-aspire-5742z-laptop-lx-r4p02-180

Is that one any good? It's mainly for home use.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

http://www.ebuyer.com/257450-acer-aspire-5742z-laptop-lx-r4p02-180

Is that one any good? It's mainly for home use.

It's cheap enough certainly. What do you want to use it for? If its much more ambitious then browsing urban and a bit of word processing, I'd be after something with more powerful CPU, but for most folk it would be fine.

 

[madzone]

What do you mean by ambitious? I do some photoshop stuff, use my graphics tablet and download music but apart from that not a lot.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

What do you mean by ambitious? I do some photoshop stuff, use my graphics tablet and download music but apart from that not a lot.

Photoshop can use a lot of CPU power...but depends what you're doing with it. If it's much more then basic stuff, the more power could be nice, especially if you're planning on keeping it for a few years.

Do you know what you have at the moment, so people can give you an idea of how much of an improvement it would be?

 

[madzone]

I can't remember what it was It was an HP of some kind.

 

[editor]

That laptop would be absolutely fine for general Photoshop stuff.

 

[madzone]

It's got very good reviews so I might go for it

 

[zaphod22]

This looks like a pretty good deal. Any views?

http://www.ebuyer.com/261451-zoostorm-laptop-7873-9028

 

[Hellsbells]

Can anyone help me choose a new laptop? I feel completely overwhelmed by the choices & am pretty clueless about technology.

Ideally i'd like to spend £200 or less and don't mind if it's not new. I'll need it mostly for coursework (so Office 2010 - which i already have), general basic surfing, watching tv, a bit of movie/music downloading, skype, photos.... Would like wireless. I don't really play games or anything.

 

[editor]

Here's a useful list of 8 cheapo laptops:
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobil...8-reviewed-and-rated-1008716?src=rss&attr=all

 

[editor]

Ideally i'd like to spend £200 or less and don't mind if it's not new. I'll need it mostly for coursework (so Office 2010 - which i already have), general basic surfing, watching tv, a bit of movie/music downloading, skype, photos.... Would like wireless. I don't really play games or anything.

£200 is well cheap so you're probably looking at the second hand/refurb end of the market. I'd take a look at some of the ThinkPads from reputable dealers on eBay.

 

[Hellsbells]

2nd hand is fine. What actually is a think pad? How is it different to a laptop? Notebooks are too small for me. Are thinkpads small?

Been looking around a bit today & wondered if someone could give me an opinion on these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-NC6220...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3cbb2307cc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DELL-D630...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3cbb9bb02a

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOSHIBA-C...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item519a00d6ff

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-R...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4cf9d4c927 -

 

[editor]

ThinkPads are well regarded for the quality of their build and their durability. Something like this should serve you very well indeed:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBM-Lenov..._Laptops_EH&hash=item27bbf75fe4#ht_2419wt_905

 

[Hellsbells]

Thanks, but i think i'll find a 12 inch screen too small. I currently have a 14 inch screen and wouldn't want to go any smaller than that. Are ThinkPads generally small then?

I've been looking at this laptop which has a good size screen and good reviews. - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-R...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4cf9d4c927

 

[editor]

I'd get this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBM-LENOV...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4cf96b3b00

 

[Hellsbells]

ooh that looks good. And cheaper! Thanks
Except it says there's none currently available