Buying a Laptop: The current Generation

SantryRed

Most definitely :pac:

Will keep looking, maybe stretch the budget if needed!!

SantryRed

http://www.currys.ie/Product/ACER-Aspire-V5171-116andquot-Laptop-Silver/317462/148

What about this one? Not mad about ACERs though if I'm honest.

Or this HP:

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-Sleekbook-15b135sa-156andquot-Laptop-Ruby-Red/317481/148

SantryRed

Would you recommend this HP one in the Harvey Norman i3's for sale?

450 reduced from 600.

http://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/laptops/?subcats=Y&features_hash=V4312

Torqay

Both HP are older models (Sandy Bridge processor family), the Acer has a current generation Core i3 (U as in ultra low voltage so the battery life should be decent) and 6 GB RAM, clearly the best deal of the lot.

Edit: I just see, the Acer has a 11.6" display. Clearly great for mobility, but it might be a bit too small for her likings.

BostonB

The acers gets only so so reviews
http://www.cnet.com/laptops/acer-aspire-v5-171/4505-3121_7-35412281.html

Torqay

BostonB wrote: »

The acers gets only so so reviews
http://www.cnet.com/laptops/acer-aspire-v5-171/4505-3121_7-35412281.html

Yea, I've seen this too, but the CPU in the model they tested is a non ULV i5 of the previous generation, so I'd expect a battery life with a low TDP Core i3. Though Acer is not one of my favorite brand, when you buy a budget laptop then this is exactly what you'll get.

B&M offers in Ireland have become extremely bleak since Christmas. Many models are old stock and the price tags are nothing short of rip-off.

Buy online, get some run-off-the-mill Core i3 for 350 yoyos and have enough money left to order express delivery.

SantryRed

Soooo,

The HP from Harvey Normans because it is an actual laptop rather than a 11.6 inch screen?

Torqay

Something clearly doesn't add up here.

Intel Dual-Core Core i3-2310M Processor 4 GB DDR3 RAM 750Gb SATA Hard Drive Intel HD Graphics 4000

The i3 2310M is an old processor (Sandy Bridge) with HD 3000 graphics. Only the current generation of Core processors (Ivy Bridge) feature HD 4000 graphics.

The difference is not so much in the processing power but HD 4000 is a big step up from HD 3000.

450 yoyos is a ridiculous price for an old model considering that you'll get the current generation for €100 less online.

BobCobb

Hi,
I'm looking at a few different laptops and was wondering if a pentium cpu with hd 4000 would be better (i.e. faster, smoother, and more future-proof) than an i3 with hd 3000 graphics?
For example, would be the pentium 2020m with HD4000 be a better option than say an i3-2328 with HD3000?
Thanks.

BostonB

In my experience the big main street shops like HN and PC World have very bad websites. I wouldn't rely on the information especially anything technical being correct.

BostonB

SantryRed wrote: »

Soooo,

The HP from Harvey Normans because it is an actual laptop rather than a 11.6 inch screen?

The size of a screen doesn't determine if its a laptop.

You can have a 11.6 laptop and you can have a 11.6 netbook. They are not the same thing. There is some overlap though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laptop_computer#Classification

Torqay

BobCobb wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking at a few different laptops and was wondering if a pentium cpu with hd 4000 would be better (i.e. faster, smoother, and more future-proof) than an i3 with hd 3000 graphics?
For example, would be the pentium 2020m with HD4000 be a better option than say an i3-2328 with HD3000?
Thanks.

Nah, the Core i3-2328 is still 30% faster than the Pentium 2020m. Get an Ivy Bridge Core i3 with HD 4000. Mind you, we're talking budget processors here, if you want "future proof", buy a Core i7 laptop.

BostonB

BobCobb wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking at a few different laptops and was wondering if a pentium cpu with hd 4000 would be better (i.e. faster, smoother, and more future-proof) than an i3 with hd 3000 graphics?
For example, would be the pentium 2020m with HD4000 be a better option than say an i3-2328 with HD3000?
Thanks.

Where did you get that info?

The Pentium 2020M integrates a graphics card called Intel HD Graphics that is based on the desktop HD Graphics 2500.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Pentium-2020M-Notebook-Processor.81880.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i3-2328M-Notebook-Processor.81502.0.html

I dunno if you or the above are correct. Its a ridiculous naming scheme intel have. Hard to know how any of their CPU's of gfx compare.

BostonB

[QUOTE=Torqay;83504790...450 yoyos is a ridiculous price for an old model considering that you'll get the current generation for €100 less online.[/QUOTE]
http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/cool.png

Personally I think I'd pay a little extra for a Asus or Dell. Seem a little better built. That said you can have problems with anything.

Acer
eMachines
Gateway
Packard Bell

BobCobb

Torqay wrote: »

Nah, the Core i3-2328 is still 30% faster than the Pentium 2020m. Get an Ivy Bridge Core i3 with HD 4000. Mind you, we're talking budget processors here, if you want "future proof", buy a Core i7 laptop.

Cheers, I'll probably go for the i3 alright, although I think it will have to be SB as I'm looking for a bit of a cheapie.

BostonB wrote: »

Where did you get that info?

I was looking at pcspecialists and all of the cpu options with the Genesis (including the 2020m) seem to come with HD 4000. I don't want to spend a lot and an IB i3 is just a bit too steep from what I can see.

Thanks for the replies.

topcatcbr

I would like a little help pls.
Budget under €600.
No optical drive
Solid state drive. Good battery life.
Decent Touchscreen.
Decent performance.
Was considering win surface pro but would like alternative.
What's options. Any deals going

Torqay

topcatcbr wrote: »

Budget under €600.
Solid state drive. Good battery life.
Decent Touchscreen.
Decent performance.

One can but dream.

You'll have to seriously ramp up your budget if you want all that in your laptop.

topcatcbr wrote: »

Was considering win surface pro but would like alternative.

Surface Pro = crappy battery life

And it will cost more like 900 yoyos... whenever it arrives in Ireland.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Torqay

Phoenix wrote: »

Whats Samsung like for laptops?

Got any particular model in mind? Like most other manufacturers, Samsung offers a broad selection of notebooks, ranging from cheap sh*t to high end.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Torqay

They're nice actually but too expensive really. The battery life is great but the battery is not user-accessible and Full HD should be standard in this price range. I'm no fan of hybrid storage either... but everyone to their own.

If I was in the market for something like this, I'd get the 15.6" PCS UltraNote, it's got a Full HD IPS panel, it's thinner and lighter. A friend got one recently (i7 quad, 8 GB RAM, 120 GB SSD, €750), really impressive piece of kit.

Monotype

BobCobb wrote: »

Cheers, I'll probably go for the i3 alright, although I think it will have to be SB as I'm looking for a bit of a cheapie.

I was looking at pcspecialists and all of the cpu options with the Genesis (including the 2020m) seem to come with HD 4000. I don't want to spend a lot and an IB i3 is just a bit too steep from what I can see.

Thanks for the replies.

Bad labelling. The pentiums don't have HD4000. They have HD Graphics which is a cut back version of either a HD3000 or HD4000. It did mean a cut down version of the HD3000 but they might have been lazy and just called the newer one the same thing.

Torqay

Monotype wrote: »

Bad labelling. The pentiums don't have HD4000. They have HD Graphics which is a cut back version of either a HD3000 or HD4000. It did mean a cut down version of the HD3000 but they might have been lazy and just called the newer one the same thing.

It's actually HD 2500 as used in the older desktop chips.

Monotype

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten already that we had the 2000 last generation as well.

BobCobb

Thanks, I'll steer clear of it so.
I've just seen an i5-3210m acer aspire for 420e on amazon, which is pretty tempting, although I've seen that acer haven't the best reputation...
Guess I'll have to be lucky.

the_one_&_only

Is there any decent large screen(16" or 17") laptops that people would recommend for circa €700.

Also have good processor, hard drive, graphics card.

Preferably an Irish company

BostonB

Dell have ok deals on the 17R and the 17R SE which get decent reviews.

power101

What do people think of the following for €689?

3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3337U processor (3M Cache, up to 2.7 GHz)
Windows 8 64bit, English
15.6" (39.6 cm) High Definition (720p) LED Display with Truelife
8GB2 DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
500GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD and 32GB mSATA SSD
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Nvidia® GeForce® GT630M 2G
1 yr Next Day In-Home Service with 90 days Premium Phone Support
2.16 kg.

Torqay

power101 wrote: »

What do people think of the following for €689?

Maybe a little bit too expensive, around 600 yoyos is what you pay for a Core i5/GT 630M combo it, but then again you'll get an ULV processor and 8 GB RAM instead of the usual 4, so it's kinda OK, I guess, though not exactly a spectacular deal.

MAJJ

Torqay wrote: »

If I was in the market for something like this, I'd get the 15.6" PCS UltraNote, it's got a Full HD IPS panel, it's thinner and lighter. A friend got one recently (i7 quad, 8 GB RAM, 120 GB SSD, €750), really impressive piece of kit.

Hi Torqay would you have a link for the above, seems a good price. Oh and thank you learning lots from your posts.