Want to buy a laptop for <£500 - Page 2

roger skillin · 07-09-2010, 14:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osem

How about this @ £499:

http://aldi.medion.com/md98410/uk/?refPage=aldi

She has said earlier that she can't afford that much

Osem · 07-09-2010, 14:42

The OP states less than £500 - £499 is less than £500.

Aldi sell laptops periodically throughout the year and I've been to several stores where they've had reduced laptops on sale so that might be worth a try Pia if £499 is too much to bear....

Last time I was there our local store had a 15" on sale at £349 IIRC.

Pia · 07-09-2010, 14:50

Oooh lots of choice. Well i can go to £500 but would rather not (obv)

It would have to be a pretty amazing deal, i.e was £900 now £500

But i'm aware i want it to last, because i won't be getting another grant from OU and i imagine it'll be a looong time before i could replace it.

Lots of choices here, thanks! And going back to that graph - what is the general opinion on Asus? I've never heard much about them, but they have excellent reviews everywhere.

I would hate to get a laptop that doesn't last 5 mins and then wish i'd stuck with a Toshiba, better the devil you know etc.

As for what i want from it... well a 500gb hard drive does nothing for me. I don't play any fancy games, but wouldn't mind a HD one for posh purposes

And decent sound would be nice but again, unimportant really.
Battery life... well my current one is dodgy so lasts about 30 seconds, i manage... anything on that is an improvement

Just want it to multi task well, i usually have several programs open at once and my current one struggles occasionally.

roger skillin · 07-09-2010, 15:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osem

The OP states less than £500 - £499 is less than £500.

Yes i know but that's why i said that she had stated earlier that she couldn't afford that because i suggested one around that price and she couldn't go that high

ZrByte · 07-09-2010, 15:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pia

Oooh lots of choice. Well i can go to £500 but would rather not (obv)

It would have to be a pretty amazing deal, i.e was £900 now £500

But i'm aware i want it to last, because i won't be getting another grant from OU and i imagine it'll be a looong time before i could replace it.

Lots of choices here, thanks! And going back to that graph - what is the general opinion on Asus? I've never heard much about them, but they have excellent reviews everywhere.

I would hate to get a laptop that doesn't last 5 mins and then wish i'd stuck with a Toshiba, better the devil you know etc.

As for what i want from it... well a 500gb hard drive does nothing for me. I don't play any fancy games, but wouldn't mind a HD one for posh purposes

And decent sound would be nice but again, unimportant really.
Battery life... well my current one is dodgy so lasts about 30 seconds, i manage... anything on that is an improvement

Just want it to multi task well, i usually have several programs open at once and my current one struggles occasionally.

Asus laptops are very popular in the states but other than the E-PC you dont really see them over here. I know all Advent stuff used to be re-badged Asus but I don't know if thats still the case.

As to your original post I would seriously recomend Dell, and if money is a problem I would recomend them further and suggest trying the Dell Outlet.
Bought both of my previous laptops from there and both have been fantastic, though the last one did arrive with a couple of faults they offered to send an engineer around next day which was a Friday which I couldn't do so they offered me Saturday which I couldn't do either but they got to me in the end on the following Monday and replaced my faulty LCD and gave me a new PSU even though it was only the bit that plugs into the wall which was faulty so now I have two PSUs. Its a shame it arrived faulty but the speedy and helpful customer service more than made up for it. That was just under 2 years ago and I haven't had so much as a system hang since then, though I did upgrade to windows 7 from vista.
My current laptop is a Dell studio 17, going through the dell outlet saved me nearly £300 and though I've noticed current savings aren't nearly as good I'm so happy with it I don't think I would settle for anything other than the new version when it comes to replacing....... That is unless I win the lottery and then I think I would have to get a high end super gaming laptop for more than quadruple the price.

---------- Post added at 15:42 ---------- Previous post was at 15:40 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by losdev

I have used (and still am using) an HPNX8220 and have used it for many years trouble free. All the pcs I buy are HP, Compaq/Packard Bell so i would always recommend HP.

Brand to avoid IMHO is Dell, cheap to buy, a beggarly expensive machine to upgrade/repair.

You spec should meet your needs and your price will reflect this accordingly. Why do you need to upgrade if you don't mind me asking?

All laptops are the same cost to upgrade because they all use the same changeable pieces. Repairs can be a place where people get stung but I haven't seen anything to suggest Dell are any more expensive than HP. And I would bet my right man berry that they are cheaper than Apple or sony for out of warranty repairs.

TheNorm · 07-09-2010, 15:46

Morgan are doing a great deal (£350) on a good spec Dell laptop:

Quote:

Dell Latitude D630 Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.0GHz)
2GB (1x2GB) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120Gb SATA 7200RPM HDD
DVD-RW
Bluetooth
WIFI
6-Cell Li-Ion Battery
14.1" Wide Aspect XGA (1280x800 resolution) Display
UMA Base Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Palmrest with Fingerprint Reader
PSU
Windows XP Professional SP2 - Restore discs supplied
QWERY keyboard

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/sho...ProductID=5971

Ignitionnet · 07-09-2010, 16:32

You may want to give http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk a look - also for software http://www.software4students.co.uk/default1.aspx will be useful!

roger skillin · 07-09-2010, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

You may want to give http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk a look - also for software http://www.software4students.co.uk/default1.aspx will be useful!

I have to dissagree with PCspecialist, a company like that will end up costing you a lot more money than getting a prebuilt one

**Graham M** · 07-09-2010, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger skillin

Don't listen to things about makes of laptop, the only thing that the companies make are the outer casing, everything inside is made my different companies, e.g. an HP laptop does not have an HP hard drive/Motherboard/Memory so basically take a trip to somewhere like PC world (DO NOT BUY FROM THERE) and just have a look at some on display, find one you like the look and feel of and that is fast enough for what you need, take note of the model number, go home and find it on the internet cheaper

True enough, but the motherboard is generally made specifically for a certain laptop or range to fit the case, so that has some bearing

Pia · 07-09-2010, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger skillin

Yes i know but that's why i said that she had stated earlier that she couldn't afford that because i suggested one around that price and she couldn't go that high

£500 is the absolute maximum, the one you linked was £540, 40 is a lot of dosh for a poor person you know

ZrByte, is the Dell outlet where you customise it yourself or do you buy it as it comes?

I am so confused lol! I am a nightmare for buying anything big-ish. I usually have a spreadsheet and compare

, but laptops are a minefield.

That one from Morgan doesn't seem as good as the ebuyer ones for a similar price, unless i'm missing something..

admars · 07-09-2010, 17:19

I'd recommend Dell, especially the Dell outlet if you're looking for a bargain. Dell outlet can be returns, or old stock etc.

We switched to Dell laptops from Toshiba years ago at work, and i can't see us going off them any time soon as they've been very good. My Dell D610 has been fine for the 5 years or so I've had it. New battery and power lead, were needed a few months ago, and I got more memory for it, but it still works fine.

ZrByte · 07-09-2010, 17:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pia

£500 is the absolute maximum, the one you linked was £540, 40 is a lot of dosh for a poor person you know

ZrByte, is the Dell outlet where you customise it yourself or do you buy it as it comes?

I am so confused lol! I am a nightmare for buying anything big-ish. I usually have a spreadsheet and compare

, but laptops are a minefield.

That one from Morgan doesn't seem as good as the ebuyer ones for a similar price, unless i'm missing something..

The Dell outlet is normally older stock (not necessarily old, just older) or sometimes refurbished customer returns (Don't be put off by that last one they are very thorough). They don't let you customise them on the website but if you ring up to place your order by phone they may let you upgrade it.
The main Dell website lets you pick and chose almost anything you want though the prices are higher I still think they are good.

Pia · 07-09-2010, 18:10

Thanks i will have a look at the Dell ones first then. I think it has to be new not a refurb, i know i have to send OU the receipts and someone told me they have to be new. Which if it is true is a flaming cheek cos £260 doesn't buy a lot.

edit - oh they're all refurbs on there i see... hmm

**Maggy J** · 07-09-2010, 18:36

Novatech are a good firm and their own products are well made..plus they have excellent CS.

alferret · 08-09-2010, 06:19

Asus http://www.ebuyer.com/product/189889 @ £399.49

Acer http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180886 @ £469.99

Had a similar conversation with someone at work the other week where he was looking for a good spec'd but budget laptop for his son who has just started college. One of the things I sort of talked him into was screen size & full size keyboard, bigger is better especially when you are typing out course work, staring at a small screen can give you eye strain & a full size keyboard is something to consider especially if you are doing anything that requires the input of a lot of numbers. There isnt nothing worse than using the top row to put in numbers (so my wife tells me)
The Acer I linked to has a full size keyboard & a 17" screen. The Asus has a full size keyboard but a 15.6" screen & both are of a decent similar spec.