Author Topic: New laptop advice (Read 172129 times)

Ycuzz · « **Reply #280 on:** January 19, 2012, 10:33:54 am »

Mrs Yc is doing her PhD and her laptop died.

I have little to no experience regarding laptops, hence the post.

Need an all work - no play type-a-thing. No need for fancy gfx, sound, blue-ray, what-have-you. She'll probably have a bazillion docs open at the same time, (I'll talk to her about that

), so need oomph to handle that kinda thing.

Budget is fairly good, so something with staying power would be nice.

Thanks.

theCanadian · « **Reply #281 on:** January 19, 2012, 11:10:53 am »

Quote from: Ycuzz on January 19, 2012, 10:33:54 am

staying power

ThinkPad. Excellent choice for business-like applications if it's within budget. I'm on my 3rd one now - I've had my current one for 3 years (using it for my PhD) and it's still working brilliantly and I expect to use it for another 2 years. I basically just use it for what you described: having 10 word documents, 10 excel files, winamp, a stats program, firefox, and 10 pdf documents all open at the same time.

I know two different people with thinkpads who have dropped them down entire flights of stairs. In both cases, their laptops were 100% fine, no damage done.

GBF · « **Reply #282 on:** January 19, 2012, 11:15:34 am »

you need something which is almost an electronic typewriter then lol. Just walk to Dixon or PC World and ask them their cheapest laptop on their shelves. I saw one on Dixon's website which is ~£190 (http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/laptops/117_1100_10101_xx_xx/xx-criteria.html)

However most laptop does not come with MS Word installed, so you need to have a "free copy" of Word or buy one if she has been using this to type her stuff....otherwise there is always Open Office which is free to download.

Rafas_Barmy_Army · « **Reply #283 on:** January 21, 2012, 09:27:41 pm »

Just got a new laptop and am thinking about getting a External Harddrive to put all my music on.
Would anyone recomend getting one just for that use?

JK-3 · « **Reply #284 on:** January 22, 2012, 07:32:53 pm »

I need some recommendations, I thought I knew my stuff but I started reading all the specs of laptops and I didn't have a clue

So far I have been looking at these two:
http://www.ebuyer.com/281854-asus-k53e-laptop-k53e-sx961v
http://www.ebuyer.com/337140-asus-x53z-laptop-x53z-sx052v
I'll be using it for photoshop, streaming football, itunes and maybe a few basic games like football manager.
Anything under £400 would be good and I will be buying a decent hd monitor to go with it if that makes any difference.
Thanks

Graeme · « **Reply #285 on:** January 22, 2012, 08:50:46 pm »

Don't get the K53E from those two. It doesn't have dedicated graphics and if you are going to be running Photoshop and Football Manager then you need a dedicated graphics card in the machine.

The X53Z isn't bad, 6GB RAM and Dedicated GFX, if you could find a few extra quid to push to something like an i5 then you'd see a bit of benefit but for under £400 the X53Z is a good machine, and Asus are very reliable.

JK-3 · « **Reply #286 on:** January 23, 2012, 04:32:56 pm »

Ok thanks for the advice, I might try and sell my old laptop to add a bit extra, what do you think of this one?
http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelaptops/product.php?id=A2T47EA&experience=direct
Specs here - http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelaptops/pdf/dv6-6b57sa_ds_ene.pdf

Edit: Also, what is better i5 processor and 4gb memory or i3 with 6gb?

Graeme · « **Reply #287 on:** January 23, 2012, 04:42:41 pm »

Stretch a tiny bit more and you can get i5 with 8GB...

http://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_K53SC-SX307V_1156069.html

Asus is also a better brand in my opinion.

lfcbob · « **Reply #288 on:** February 9, 2012, 11:54:06 pm »

I need some advice on which laptop would be the best for my Girlfriendd, She's had a hp laptop for two years and it hasn't been very reliable and has now completely broke. She doesn't use her laptop for anything technical just storing files and general browsing of the internet like Facebook, checking emails, shopping and YouTube. These are what ive been looking at within my price range...

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-ACER-ASPIRE-5733-CH-Laptop/780073
http://www.argos.co.uk/ProductDisplayTRK019?partNumber=5086744
http://www.argos.co.uk/ProductDisplayTRK019?partNumber=5072552

Help much appreciated

oojason · « **Reply #289 on:** February 10, 2012, 10:39:14 am »

Quote from: lfcbob on February 9, 2012, 11:54:06 pm

I need some advice on which laptop would be the best for my Girlfriendd, She's had a hp laptop for two years and it hasn't been very reliable and has now completely broke. She doesn't use her laptop for anything technical just storing files and general browsing of the internet like Facebook, checking emails, shopping and YouTube. These are what ive been looking at within my price range...

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-ACER-ASPIRE-5733-CH-Laptop/780073
http://www.argos.co.uk/ProductDisplayTRK019?partNumber=5086744
http://www.argos.co.uk/ProductDisplayTRK019?partNumber=5072552

Help much appreciated

I'd go with the ASUS mate (a different colour for me though

)

For me, ASUS, Toshiba and Dell are good value for money machines that should last you a fair while. I'd generally stay clear of Acer, Advent and HP - overpriced and poor design/build quality.

Henry Gale · « **Reply #290 on:** February 10, 2012, 04:12:04 pm »

Hi guys, I need to get my 12 year old boy a new laptop, It will be used mainly for the following ;

- Watching movies
- Capturing from his PS3 HD capture card
- Playing the odd game or two.

I have found the blow but not really sure what i'm looking at with all these specs.

http://www.ebuyer.com/285944-fujitsu-ah531-laptop-vfy-ah531mrsc2gb

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-g6-1326ea-15-6-laptop-blue-11884693-pdt.html

hitman89762000 · « **Reply #291 on:** February 10, 2012, 04:16:33 pm »

Ive got a windows vista and this message keeps coming up: no bootable disc please insert and press anykey. No idea why its done this but what disc do i need and how much will it cost? Having to use the ipad isnt great all the time.

lafuriaroja · « **Reply #292 on:** February 10, 2012, 04:48:59 pm »

Quote from: hitman89762000 on February 10, 2012, 04:16:33 pm

Ive got a windows vista and this message keeps coming up: no bootable disc please insert and press anykey. No idea why its done this but what disc do i need and how much will it cost? Having to use the ipad isnt great all the time.

Sounds like either your hard drive got bumped loose or it died/got corrupted. First thing to do is make sure it's properly connected.

Graeme · « **Reply #293 on:** February 10, 2012, 06:23:02 pm »

Quote from: lafuriaroja on February 10, 2012, 04:48:59 pm

Sounds like either your hard drive got bumped loose or it died/got corrupted. First thing to do is make sure it's properly connected.

Jumping the gun a bit, first thing to check is the BIOS to see what devices are showing and what the boot order is. I fixed a Dell desktop last week that out of nowhere was trying to boot from the Floppy even the the PC didn't have one installed resulting in the same error.

hitman89762000 · « **Reply #294 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:19:00 pm »

Btw when i turn on the laptop i can hear it whirring but theres a beeping noise before the no bootdisc message flashes up.

Graeme · « **Reply #295 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:22:13 pm »

You need to go into the BIOS, when you first switch on it will tell you what key you need to press to do this, normally F2 or Del.

MichaelA · « **Reply #296 on:** March 6, 2012, 01:39:36 pm »

My folks need to replace their dead laptop. Something below £400. Their local computer shop/repair place is trying to push them into buying an Asus or an Acer machine. I haven't bought a Windows machine for ages. What should they be asking for within that budget?

Graeme · « **Reply #297 on:** March 6, 2012, 06:47:21 pm »

Asus over Acer. Better quality and better warranty support.

For £400 you should be getting an Intel Core i5 on a deal somewhere - will have a look when I get on the laptop later for any deals.

Graeme · « **Reply #298 on:** March 6, 2012, 09:32:16 pm »

http://www.ebuyer.com/337144-asus-x53e-laptop-x53e-sx1136v

Not bad for a 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge i5

MichaelA · « **Reply #299 on:** March 6, 2012, 10:32:23 pm »

Cheers Graham, will pass that on to the olds

ozzy-red · « **Reply #300 on:** March 7, 2012, 08:45:28 am »

Have any on RAWK got onto ultrabooks?
Looking at getting one, other than the mac air.
Leaning towards the Toshiba Z830.
Anyone had any experience with Toshiba? Or ultrabooks in general?

SP · « **Reply #301 on:** March 18, 2012, 09:13:17 pm »

Anyone have any good offers on an i5 laptop with a resolution of at least 1600:900. Preferably dedicated graphics. At least a moderately reputable brand. Got to be able to take at least 8Gb of memory. Going to be used as a development laptop running Eclipse and a WAMP environment in parallel.

Chavvie · « **Reply #302 on:** March 26, 2012, 01:32:51 pm »

Afternoon all,

Looking to get a laptop in a week or so, got a budget of about £450 but Currys have got a deal on for the Toshiba Satellite L750. £600 reduced to £380.

Basically want it for social use....I Tunes, Surfing, Footy Manager and a bit of onine poker. Is this a good deal or have you got another recommendation.

Ta.

Graeme · « **Reply #303 on:** March 26, 2012, 02:20:34 pm »

Not a bad deal although I've not had a Toshiba before.

For Footy Manager it would be preferable to have a decent amount of RAM and dedicated graphics, the laptop you're looking at has both.

Chavvie · « **Reply #304 on:** March 26, 2012, 04:39:11 pm »

Quote from: Graeme on March 26, 2012, 02:20:34 pm

Not a bad deal although I've not had a Toshiba before.

For Footy Manager it would be preferable to have a decent amount of RAM and dedicated graphics, the laptop you're looking at has both.

Yeah cheers, can't find fault with it either and 6g of RAM is pretty sweet. It comes in red as well, nice touch

keano7 · « **Reply #305 on:** March 26, 2012, 04:45:42 pm »

Quote from: Chavvie on March 26, 2012, 01:32:51 pm

Afternoon all,

Looking to get a laptop in a week or so, got a budget of about £450 but Currys have got a deal on for the Toshiba Satellite L750. £600 reduced to £380.

Basically want it for social use....I Tunes, Surfing, Footy Manager and a bit of onine poker. Is this a good deal or have you got another recommendation.

Ta.

I got my Acer one via Ebay (daily deals) for £279 which is 400GB, 3GB memory and works perfectly fine for Football Manager, surfing etc and haven't had a problem with it yet. If you scouted around a bit I'm sure you'd be able to find the right laptop for you for a fair bit cheaper than £380.

Outer Mongolian Red · « **Reply #306 on:** April 21, 2012, 03:09:02 pm »

I need a laptop,nothing too fancy as I'll just play FM and watch streams on it mainly.But,I was wondering if anyone knew where I could get one for as cheap as possible? I'm skint atm.

markcd · « **Reply #307 on:** April 21, 2012, 04:18:33 pm »

hotukdeals is pretty good for finding cheap laptops - have a look here:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/search?action=search&keywords=laptop

the first result is for a HP, and it looks good for £260

Paul_h · « **Reply #308 on:** April 21, 2012, 06:17:32 pm »

Laptops with new intel ivy bridge processors due to be announced some time next week. this means the previous models will start to come down in price. good time to bag a bargin maybe...

Red an White Tea Party · « **Reply #309 on:** April 22, 2012, 04:46:19 am »

It's about time I replaced my antique Toshiba Equiem Laptop. I 'm looking at another Tosh on the Argos card for about 300-350.
I have just bought a Linksys router and would like/need to max coverage by getting a 600 n wireless capability but their not very specific. Any suggestions?

Barneylfc∗ · « **Reply #310 on:** April 28, 2012, 02:13:57 pm »

Ok so I sent my laptop off to get fixed at the end of Feb. Useless wankers have now told me they cant fix it and are instead giving me a voucher to the value of £430 for a replacement. Which isn't bad I suppose but they could have told me that at the start of March.

Anyway. Has to be out of Curry's/Dixons or whatever its called these days.

Any suggestions for that price?
Am looking one with decent size memory. Able to watch/burn DVD's (maybe blu ray but not that important), good sound, online poker, webcam that sort of thing.

Any help appreciated.

Swissgaz · « **Reply #311 on:** April 28, 2012, 02:59:32 pm »

Quote from: cflyenraB on April 28, 2012, 02:13:57 pm

Ok so I sent my laptop off to get fixed at the end of Feb. Useless wankers have now told me they cant fix it and are instead giving me a voucher to the value of £430 for a replacement. Which isn't bad I suppose but they could have told me that at the start of March.

Anyway. Has to be out of Curry's/Dixons or whatever its called these days.

Any suggestions for that price?
Am looking one with decent size memory. Able to watch/burn DVD's (maybe blu ray but not that important), good sound, online poker, webcam that sort of thing.

Any help appreciated.

Will it be used at home or do you intend to travel with it?

Barneylfc∗ · « **Reply #312 on:** April 28, 2012, 08:33:56 pm »

Just at home mate.

Graeme · « **Reply #313 on:** April 28, 2012, 09:56:20 pm »

This is on offer with them at the moment for the same value as your voucher...

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-series-3-np300e5a-a06dx-15-6-laptop-silver-11884746-pdt.html

Lacks Blu-Ray and dedicated graphics but for £430 they'll be few and far between. It does however have a 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge i5 with 4GB RAM, it'll easily handle the stuff you've mentioned.

Barneylfc∗ · « **Reply #314 on:** April 29, 2012, 11:17:30 am »

Cheers graeme. What is a 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge i5?

TOMMO86 · « **Reply #315 on:** May 15, 2012, 11:30:38 pm »

Basically.

I am looking for a new purchase.

Had my eye on an Imac for a while but not sure if I will make the change to Apple.

Looking at some Samsung's and Sony's

Want either a i5 or an i7

Any advice?

Aido LFC · « **Reply #316 on:** May 15, 2012, 11:32:28 pm »

What's your budget?

Molealdinho_LK · « **Reply #317 on:** May 15, 2012, 11:34:02 pm »

I got the Sony VPCEH recently enough mate. i5 processor, was a great purchase and reasonable compared to anything with an apple on it.

Unless it's for professional use I couldn't justify spending that kind of money

blah · « **Reply #318 on:** May 15, 2012, 11:53:07 pm »

Quote from: TOMMO86 on May 15, 2012, 11:30:38 pm

Basically.

I am looking for a new purchase.

Had my eye on an Imac for a while but not sure if I will make the change to Apple.

Looking at some Samsung's and Sony's

Want either a i5 or an i7

Any advice?

Wait until the new MacBook Pros come out in a few months, buy one, and install Windows 7 on it. Best of both worlds.

Caston · « **Reply #319 on:** May 16, 2012, 06:28:37 pm »

Looking for a new laptop with atleast 2.5GHz, basically so my brother can share it with me aswell,so I can play football manager smoothly and he loves minecraft so he can play that smoothly aswell , any decent recommendations for around £400?