Opinions on new laptop

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Hi all,

The girlfriend is looking for a new laptop. Max budget is €500. The laptop will be mainly used for just the basic:
- internet
- iTunes
- downloading movies and music
- watching the odd movie
- a small bit of standard word processing
A big hard disk is fairly important. Bluetooth isn't important, but a card reader is. A decent battery life would be handy. She is looking for it to do her for a few years.

She was considering going for this: http://www.harveynorman.ie/acer-5750-i5.html
Main thinking behind it was that she could pay for it over 6 or 8 months. However, can anybody recommend any better laptops online or in a store? If a decent deal comes up, she could be tempted to just buy it outright!

Thanks all!

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Anyone?!

Jarren

BDJW wrote: »

Hi all,

The girlfriend is looking for a new laptop. Max budget is €500. The laptop will be mainly used for just the basic:
- internet
- iTunes
- downloading movies and music
- watching the odd movie
- a small bit of standard word processing
A big hard disk is fairly important. Bluetooth isn't important, but a card reader is. A decent battery life would be handy. She is looking for it to do her for a few years.

She was considering going for this: http://www.harveynorman.ie/acer-5750-i5.html
Main thinking behind it was that she could pay for it over 6 or 8 months. However, can anybody recommend any better laptops online or in a store? If a decent deal comes up, she could be tempted to just buy it outright!

Thanks all!

BDJW wrote: »

Anyone?!

Hi OP

The specs for your Acer from HN



Processor
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Type Dual Core
Processor Model Core i5
Processor Speed 2.4Ghz
Memory
Installed RAM (GB) 4
RAM Configuration 2 x 2GB
RAM Type DDR3
Cache Memory Size (MB) 3
Input Device
Keyboard Full Size Standard
Mouse Touchpad
Disk Drives
Interface Type Serial ATA
Hard Drive Size (GB) 500
Hard Drive Speed (RPM) 5400
Digital Media Card Reader 2 in 1 Card Reader
Number of Optical Drives 1
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Speed 16x
Optical Drive Format DVD +/- RW
Power
Estimated Battery Life (hrs) 4
Battery Type 6-cell Lithium Ion
Screen
Screen Size (cm) 39.6 (15.6 inch)
Screen Type LCD with LED Back Light
Screen Definition High Definition
Screen Resolution 1365 x 768
Screen Aspect Ratio Widescreen 16:9
Audio
Speakers Stereo speakers
Networking & Internet
Wireless Networking Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
Networking 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
Graphics & Video Support
Graphics Card Brand Intel
Webcam Resolution (MP) 1.3
Graphics Card Memory Type Shared
Connections and Expansion
Audio Ports Audio line in minijack (digital/analog), Headphone 3.5mm jack, Microphone 3.5mm jack
USB Ports 3
Video Ports 1 x HDMI, 1 x VGA
Dimensions
Product Width (cm) 38.16
Product Depth (cm) 25.3
Product Height (cm) 3.32
Product Weight 2.6kg
Software
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium

http://www.harveynorman.ie/acer-5750-i5.html


To be honest you it's not really a good deal


The laptops I would recommend based on your requests are

Specifications
Product Description HP G7 1245SD
Display 17.3" HD Widescreen LED
Resolution 1600 x 900
Processor AMD A6-3400M - 1.4GHz Quadcore
Chipset AMD RS880M
RAM 6GB DDR3
Storage (HDD) 640GB - 5400rpm
Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 6520G
Optical Drive Dual Layer DVD±ReWriter
Card Reader 2-in-1 (SD/MMC)
Network 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
Wireless Network Wireless-N
Webcam Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone (VGA)
Colour Anthracite, Grey
Connectors 3 x USB 2.0, 2x mini-jack, 1x HDMI, 1xVGA
Dimensions (WxDxH) 41.2 x 26.8 x 3.7 cm
Weight 3 kg
Battery 6-cell Lithium-Ion
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit EN
Other Software Office 2010 Starter

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_02PC/02_NOTEBOO/22_17/productdetails/80004742/HP_17_3_G7_1245SD_A6_3400_6GB_640GB/QH970EA_ABH/default.aspx




The processor is not great for multitasking but will do the job for internet browsing



CPU and Memory:
Intel Core i3 dual core 2310M.
2.1GHz processor speed.
6GB DDR3 RAM memory.
750GB SATA hard drive.
Display features:
15.6 inch widescreen display.
High definition display.
Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
DVD optical drives:
DVD+RW(read/write).
Dual layer.
Graphics:
Intel HD 3000 Graphics graphics card.
Interfaces and connectivity:
Secure Digital (SD), Multi-Media Card (MMC) compatible.
3 USB ports.
1 Ethernet port.
1 HDMI port.
Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi enabled.
Multi-media features:
0.3MP built-in webcam.
Built-in mic.
Built-in sound system.
Operating system and software:
Microsoft Windows 7 Premium.
Software included:
Microsoft Home Office and Student (trial Version).
Anti-virus and security (trial version).
General features:
Up to 4.4 hours battery life.
Size H37.9, W25.5, D3.6cm.
Weight 2.5kg.
EAN/MPN/UPC/ISBN: 8806071560342.

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5085714/Trail/searchtext%3ELAPTOP.htm

Much better processor, could do with better screen resolution though



Processor Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Dual Core (2.2GHz, Intel Sandy Bridge Architecture, 3MB Cache)
Screen 15.6" (Acer CineCrystal, 1366x768 HD, High Brightness, LED Backlit)
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit
RAM 4GB (DDR3)
Hard Drive 750GB
Optical Drive DVD Rewriter (Records DVDs 8x & CDs 24x & Dual Layer Super Multi)
Graphics Integrated (Intel® HD 3000 Graphics with up to 1274MB Shared Memory)
Wireless LAN Wireless (802.11b/g/n Wireless)
Network Card 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet
Integrated Webcam Integrated Webcam with Microphone
Card Reader 2-in-1 card reader ( SD, MMC )
USB Ports 3x USB 2.0 ports
Speakers Integrated Sound System
VGA Port 1 External VGA Port
Kensington Lock Kensington lock slot
Charge Time 2.5 Hours
HDMI 1x HDMI Port
Warranty 12 Months Acer Collect & Return
Battery Life 5-6 Hours (up to 6 hours with power management)
Weight 2-3 Kg (This Model 2.39 Kg)

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5749_1114407.html

It is the new i3 processor so there won't be much issues with multitasking



Brand: Packard Bell
Color: Black
Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Processor
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Type: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.4 MHz
Memory
RAM Size: 4 GB
Computer Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive
Hard Drive Size: 1 TB
Graphics
Graphics Card Description: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Graphics RAM Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Additional Specifications
Operating System: Windows 7 Edition Home Premium

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Packard-Bell-EasyNote-Notebook-i5-2430/dp/B006202CWQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1325841971&sr=1-1

Very large Hard drive+free delivery from Amazon




Item Code: 301267
Quad-core AMD A8-3500M processor
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Memory: 6GB
Hard drive: 1TB
Find out more

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-g61220sa-156andquot-Laptop-Charcoal-Grey/309334/301

Prons -large hard drive
cons - processor




Keep checking daily websites for the best deals .

Good Luck

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Thanks for that, I will have a proper look at those tomorrow!