Is it possible to get a decent laptop for €500?

Libbybelle

I am thinking of getting my husband a new laptop for Christmas as the one we currently have is old, useless and full of viruses. My top budget really would be €500. He uses the laptop a lot, mainly though for surfing the net, downloading music and movies and editing/photoshopping photos.

My problem is that I don't have a clue about laptops and wouldn't have a notion about good makes/required specs etc.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions of suitable laptops for my budget. Thanks a million!

141089

Well nowadays, you would probably want 4GB ram, 2+GHz dual core, and at least 250GB hard drive.

check adverts

satchman

This would suit your budget and is a pretty decent laptop in my opinion for what you require. Or at least you could use this as a base to compare in other shops.

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5084162/Trail/searchtext%3EACER+LAPTOP.htm

Some people might not think of buying a laptop from Argos and prefer to go to the usual PC World shops etc. I find that PC World and the likes are very expensive, e.g. I bough a similar Acer laptop from Argos last christmas and the same laptop was €100 more expensive in PC World!!

teekayd25

I bought a Dell Inspiron laptop about 18 months ago (paid somewhere between 400 and 500) and it has passed every test during that time . . .

Think these ones are pretty similar to what I picked up

http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Dell-Laptops/inspiron-15-intel-n5010/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-15-intel-n5010&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&ref=lthp

http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Dell-Laptops/inspiron-15r/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-15r&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&ref=lthp

dazzday

Old tech is still old, and tbf buying a new laptop you should aim for the best tech to cost ratio possible. Buying entry level Celeron, dual core or even core2duo cpus does not make sense when i3 machines are readiable availabe which offer better temps, battery and performance in many cases.

At €500 you can easily afford a new i3 machine, with 3gb Ram, 250GB+ HDD, HDMI out etc.

Did a very quick look:

http://www.dabs.ie/products/acer-aspire-5741-core-i3-330m-3gb-320gb-dvd-sm-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-760T.html?refs=15
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_C650-196_Laptop_PSC13E-00H008EN/version.asp
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Fujitsu_LIFEBOOK_AH530_Core_i3_Laptop_VFY_AH530MRBA2GB/version.asp
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227402
- Has a dedicated GPU Nvidia 310M which will allow casual gaming...amazing at that price
- And a 7200RPM hdd. esata and hdmi! Massively impressed at first glance for its specs to price.




Im sure there are many more on amazon, elara, expansys, komplett etc.

satchman

^ good call on those ones dazzy, didn't realise you could get an i3 that cheap!!

siobhan.murphy

check out
www.laptops.co.uk
www.pixmania.com

CarrickMcJoe

Asus have one with a good spec and big selling point is a 2 year warranty.

DON'T BUY FROM A GUY IN A CAR PARK. RECENTLY A FEW PEOPLE WERE CAUGHT WITH THIS SCAM WHERE ALL THEY GOT WAS AN ARGOS CATALOGUE IN A LAPTOP BOX!

JFKIRELAND

Hi,
I am looking at buying the same Lenovo laptop from Dabs.ie. Works out about €10 cheaper but no freebies.
Can someone recommend either dabs or ebuyer for dealing with and for shipping?
Thanks
JFK

dazzday

Both are very good and reliable companies. Dabs is Irish and I have yet to hear a complaint, and ebuyer has a lot of positive reviews on here.
Ebuyer deliver costs are usually very good ~£10 iirc, maybe a little more for a laptop.
Extras are 1yr bullguard AV for upto 3machines and 5gb online storage +
laptop bag (prob worth ~10euro)

TBF bullguard AV is a solid AV but the free antivirus Avira or Avast are less resource hogs and slightly better imo.


Id be tempted with dabs just for quicker delivery!

http://www.dabs.ie/products/lenovo-ideapad-z560-0914-core-i3-350m-2-26-ghz-2gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-laptop-76WL.html

EDIT: Had alook at some reviews and it seems very promising. Cons are battery life due to lack of optimus but at ~4hrs under use its definitely not a big negative.
Good news is the dabs.ie model is configued with 1x2gb RAM stick...I would definitely recommend buying a 2gb RAM stick for ~€30 to upgrade upto 4gb Ram...it will be flying then!

JFKIRELAND

Thanks Dazzday. I have just ordered through Dabs. I actually missed the option to add the extra ram and I was going to order from orca.co.uk. You have saved my a few bob on the shipping - Thanks:)
I believe I cannot open the box until Santy brings it down the chimney on xmas morning - we'll have to see about that !!!:D
JFK

evercloserunion

141089 wrote: »

Well nowadays, you would probably want 4GB ram, 2+GHz dual core, and at least 250GB hard drive.

check adverts

I disagree. You could make do with much worse specs than those, depending on what software you plan on running of course.