Have done my research - now I just need a second opinion please...

alycork

hey All,

i dont have muxh experience using this site so I apologise now if I am on the wrong page.
Also, I am in the market for my first laptop but I dont have much experience with laptops so I need a few opinions before i buy, please.

Can you take a look at these five models and let me know what you think. Forget about the prices as im sure i can bargain them down a bit so just presume there all the same -( my reason for thinkin this is kiara bought a netbook for €300 in one of these stores a couple of weeks ago and got €20 off the netbook and free norton anti virus - worth €45 and a netbook bag for half price )

what i want in a laptop is -

Min 3GB RAM
Min 320 GB Harddrive
i3 rocessor or 2.1 GHz speed
Webcam
HDMI Connection
WIFI enabled
SD card slot
good battery life - not essential as i usually have it plugged in anyway but good to have

choice 1 - PC WORLD - ACER AS5742-373G RED
this looks nice and seems to have everything. has an i3 processor and speed is 2.4ghz
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ACER-5742-Core-i3-laptop-with-3GB-memory-Red/304092/301

choice 2 -PC WORLD - PACKARD BELL TS44-HR-035UK WHITE

this is actually the model but the spec on the one in pc world is a bit different - it has 4gb ram, 500 gbharddrive, i3 processor but speed is only 2.1ghz but this one has a USB 3.0 slot for high transfer speeds. this looks nice as well buthave never really heard of packard bell.
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/9993287/art/packard-bell/easynote-ts44-hr-035uk-wh.html?srcid=10538&Partenaire=google_ppc_ie&CodePromo=oui&mctag=ref_goog_1113&nopopup=1

choice 3 - CURRYS - is a sony, its not on the website and not sure of the model but this one was about €570 and only had 3gb ram, 320 gb harddrive and i 3 processor. but im like shud i go with that one cos its a good brand??

choice 4 - HARVEY NORMAN - TOSHIBA C660-155 http://www.harveynorman.ie/toshiba-laptop-c660-155.html

choice 5 - HARVEY NORMAN - HP PAVILLION G6 1007SA http://www.harveynorman.ie/g6-1007sa.html

Havent seen choice 4 or 5 but saw them on the website.


which do you think wud be the best. i want to learn to download films and stuff so thats why i want the hdmi connection. im not sure which is the better brand, most sturdy case etc. i asked one of the girls in work and she said all brands are much the same now as theres about 6 different companies making different components of the laptop so some people swear by one brand whereas others wouldnt look at it. She was veering towards the PACKARD BELL one

Cheers,
Ali

PS I know im way overanalysing this but I just want to make sure I buy the right one

cookie1977

There's not a lot between them. I will eliminate the pixmania purchase as if it needs servicing it's a little messy sending it back to them. At a push I'd pick this one:

http://www.harveynorman.ie/toshiba-laptop-c660-155.html
I prefer the intel processor to the AMD one on the HP. I wouldn't worry too much about the USB 3 as it's unlikely you'll be using anything capable of utilising usb 3.

The graphics card on all the options is poor but it'll probably be ok for your needs. I do personally feel sony devices are over priced for their specs. It's not a premium product but is wrapped in a premium price.

alycork

Hi Cookie,

Thanks so much for replying. No the PACKARD BELL Laptop is in PC WORLD but i could not find a link to that laptop on their website so i just googled the make and model so that I would have the spec. it is available in PC World as I was in there yesterday.
Does that change your mind. I was thinking maybe this one as the RAM and Harddrive are larger.
Also, thanks for clarifying re USB 3.0 - i thought this would come in handy if it was faster downloading movies or transferring pictures etc.

Fluffy88

I wouldn't normally go around recommending Packard Bell as a brand but out of those choices I would go with the second one. It's got the Second Gen i3 Processor. The LED screen will look very good and although you probably don't have anything that's USB3.0 it's handy to have in case you buy an external hard drive in the future or something.

cookie1977

I still personally prefer the toshiba. Have a look here:
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/

and here:

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/

for some possibly better prices

ShadowHearth

Did you check what dell offers? They get nice offers now and then. I know people dont like dells, but I can't fault it. Using xps420 allmoust 5 years, newer gave up on me.

alycork

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice. I have narrowed it down between the ACER and the PACKARD BELL laptop.
this is probably a silly question but I was looking up the saveonlaptops website and prices look quite good but what if there is a problem with the laptop. would i not be better to buy in a shop that i can call into ? any advice / experience with this website greatly appreciated.
also, if i do buy online, is bullguard anti virus enough for protection or would i be better off to go with norton.

thanks,


ali

Fluffy88

I don't have any personal experience with saveonlaptops but with most sites if something goes wrong with the laptop you can return the laptop and they will replace it for you. I can't guarantee that saveonlaptops will, but just read this page to get some more info http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/returns


As for antivirus. DONT GET NORTON.
Well now maybe I am being a little bit extreme since I haven't used Norton in years but that is for good reasons. Norton tends to slow down any computer by a very noticeable amount. I would never use it again, it's just too heavy. It probably is the best though :P
I would go with pretty much anything else. I have used Bullguard and I liked it, simple and didn't stop my computer from working. I now use McAfee because it's cheaper and it's pretty good too. A friend of mine recommends ESAT. There is lot's of free antivirus software around, Avast and AVG are the two that come to mind. Really any of these are better than Norton.

Personally I use paid antivirus because I used to have AVG, I clicked some button that was a virus, AVG let the virus infect my pc and then told me I had a virus and to top that off, it couldn't remove it. Since then I would never use it again, although it might have improved since then. Now really I am not an expert on which programs are the best, all I do know is my experience. It might benefit you to head over the the Virus & Malware Removal thread and have a poke around there for more info. I found this one poll in the stickies about which program is the best. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=19068