Is this a good laptop to buy?

Sagittarius

Sorry, another Laptop buying post!! :rolleyes:

I havn't bought a new computer in a while so I'm a little behind with current technology so would greatly appreciate any advice.

This is the one I'm looking at getting. Seems like good value for a decent machine?

What I'm looking for is a laptop for college but also for music, movies, internet,general stuff etc. Would like to be able to play the odd game aswell but not too concerned with gaming or the latest releases.

500+ HD, 4gb+ Ram , HDMI and excellent battery life are all definite boxes. I think 15inch screen is what I should be going for but also need it to be portable for college so maybe I should go for something smaller..

I understand i5 is the next level of processor up from the one I'v linked to, would it be worth spending a little extra for that? How much faster would laptop with that be?

Also, I'v seen lots of people linking to UK stores for laptops, Is this to take advantage of sterling rates? Would it not be a whole world of hassle if you had any problems and had to return etc?

Another thing, How important is USB 3.0?? Should I be looking for it?

Thanks!

_AVALANCHE_

Sagittarius wrote: »

Sorry, another Laptop buying post!! :rolleyes:

I havn't bought a new computer in a while so I'm a little behind with current technology so would greatly appreciate any advice.

This is the one I'm looking at getting. Seems like good value for a decent machine?

What I'm looking for is a laptop for college but also for music, movies, internet,general stuff etc. Would like to be able to play the odd game aswell but not too concerned with gaming or the latest releases.

It's a good one alright, recommended it myself here. Few others on there. Depending on what games probably best get something with a GPU.

Sagittarius wrote: »

500+ HD, 4gb+ Ram , HDMI and excellent battery life are all definite boxes. I think 15inch screen is what I should be going for but also need it to be portable for college so maybe I should go for something smaller..

The smaller you go the better the battery but also the shorter the lifespan of the Laptop.

Sagittarius wrote: »

I understand i5 is the next level of processor up from the one I'v linked to, would it be worth spending a little extra for that? How much faster would laptop with that be?

You didn't list what your're going to be using Laptop for College wise, i3 (i3 is fine for movies, browsing, music) will probably do you but if you can afford it, an i5 will be up to date abit longer and barring any problems will see you through College....saying that if it's office type apps you'll be using then just get an i3.

Apart from i5 having turbo, their's not much difference.

Sagittarius wrote: »

Also, I'v seen lots of people linking to UK stores for laptops, Is this to take advantage of sterling rates? Would it not be a whole world of hassle if you had any problems and had to return etc?

Buy wherever you find the best deal, any of them could break your heart if you have trouble. Amazon have started to match saveonlaptops.co.uk prices lately so with free delivery and their customer service you can't go wrong, Komplett seem to be back on track from their bad spell a few years back and have a great Asus range at good prices.

Sagittarius wrote: »

Another thing, How important is USB 3.0?? Should I be looking for it?

It's nice if it's included but not a must have, if your're not moving big files (10GB+) alot then their's no point trying to get it at all really. Your're literally only talking about saving a few minutes with the speed difference.

TsuDhoNimh

niall_h wrote: »

Found it on Amazon...

Do take care there. From a super quick glance it's a different CPU (b950 vs i3 2330m), but there could be other differences in the spec too when a closer look is taken (it's a K53E-SX961V vs. a SX1017V from Komplett).

niall_h

Not the most technical. Are the differences that great? Like £100 great?

TsuDhoNimh

niall_h wrote: »

Are the differences that great? Like £100 great?

The Amazon one is quoted in sterling and the Komplett one in euro, so the difference isn't quite a full £100. You also have additional delivery costs on the Amazon one, so drops the gap further. By the time you've factored in those figures I'd be confident in saying that the i3 version would provide a better value for money option between those two.

niall_h

<gets calculator>

£387.95 + £3.95 delivery = £391.90 = €470.67

TsuDhoNimh

niall_h wrote: »

+ £3.95 delivery

I haven't gone through the various options to figure out the best deal from Amazon, but I'd be surprised if you could get any of them close to £3.95 for delivery. The one you've done the figures on doesn't ship to Ireland (at any cost), so puts that one out the window.

Even ignoring the postage costs, once you factor in the exchange rate the i3 version would always be my preference there in terms of bang for your buck.

Jarren

OP

This is the laptop I picked based on your post

500+ HD, 4gb+ Ram , HDMI and excellent battery life

So


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 500GB
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 10/100/1000 Gigabit Fast Ethernet
Integrated Webcam Integrated 1.3MP Webcam with Microphone
Card Reader 5-in-1 card reader (SD//MS/MS-Pro/MMC/xD-Picture card™)
USB Ports 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 Port
Bluetooth Bluetooth® 3.0+HS
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 8-9 Hours (Up to 9 hours with power management)
Weight 2-3 Kg (This Model 2.39 Kg)

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_TimelineX_5830T_1165698.html


And the review

http://www.trustedreviews.com/acer-aspire-timelinex-5830t_Laptop_review

Just over 550 Euros including delivery charge.

_AVALANCHE_

niall_h wrote: »

Not the most technical. Are the differences that great? Like £100 great?

Ahh, it's abit dated, Integrated graphics are not as good, no hyperthreading, no quick sync, fine for basic stuff but at the price your're looking at it you'd b only saving €30, it's a no brainer.

_AVALANCHE_

jarecki1976 wrote: »

OP

This is the laptop I picked based on your post

500+ HD, 4gb+ Ram , HDMI and excellent battery life

So


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 500GB
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 10/100/1000 Gigabit Fast Ethernet
Integrated Webcam Integrated 1.3MP Webcam with Microphone
Card Reader 5-in-1 card reader (SD//MS/MS-Pro/MMC/xD-Picture card™)
USB Ports 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 Port
Bluetooth Bluetooth® 3.0+HS
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 8-9 Hours (Up to 9 hours with power management)
Weight 2-3 Kg (This Model 2.39 Kg)

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_TimelineX_5830T_1165698.html


And the review

http://www.trustedreviews.com/acer-aspire-timelinex-5830t_Laptop_review

Just over 550 Euros including delivery charge.

OP, you'll never get the quoted battery life, €50 more for USB3, bit lighter, less RAM though 4 is fine.

Sagittarius

Thanks for the advice guys. That Acer Laptop is a good find, even if the quoted battery life is exaggerated as per usual, looks like it would last 6 hours+ which would be a real bonus as I'd be looking to use it in lectures for taking notes. Also has bluetooth, Webcam, USb3

Nothing too computing intensive really although it seems the i3 integrated graphics can hold its own with most games that aren't brand new.

The ASUS I linked in the OP is out of stock now , probably shouldn't have hesitated. But i think will go for that ACER. Have a few questions to help me decide if you could humour me..!

How much difference would 4GB of Ram be compared to 6GB? Bear in mind, I'm awful for multitasking and opening up silly numbers of tabs/browsers! When I last bought a computer 2GB of ram was considered a beast of a machine!! How much RAM is really neccessary?? Suppose more Ram would be cheap anyhow..

Also, if i went for one with a mid-range GPU for games, would this effect battery life drastically? probably not worth it if that's the case.

Are all these laptops 64bit? Is that the norm now?

Really, i suppose I should be going for a netbook etc but I find the small screen/keyboard a pain and don't mind having a heavy bag too much!

Thanks for the help guys. It's amazing how things have come on. Any of these €500 - €600 laptops would put to shame the one my brother bought for €1500 3 years ago!

_AVALANCHE_

Sagittarius wrote: »

How much difference would 4GB of Ram be compared to 6GB? Bear in mind, I'm awful for multitasking and opening up silly numbers of tabs/browsers! When I last bought a computer 2GB of ram was considered a beast of a machine!! How much RAM is really neccessary?? Suppose more Ram would be cheap anyhow..

Only advanced CAD/Drawing stuff would really push your RAM, video editing is more CPU based, I opened 30 tabs and 10 different programs their and it only hit 2.8GB. 4 is loads. I have 8:):rolleyes:, as you said it's cheap, it was only €36ish, desktop type.

Sagittarius wrote: »

Also, if i went for one with a mid-range GPU for games, would this effect battery life drastically? probably not worth it if that's the case.

Maybe not if you get one of the Optimus Enabled Nividia ones, they only come on when needed so as to save power....but the Nividia Forums are full of people having trouble with the Feature, I've never had one so I don't know. I think it's just a matter of going through a few menus and setting it up right though!!!!

Sagittarius wrote: »

Are all these laptops 64bit? Is that the norm now?

Yea, it's the Norm, don't buy one if it's not 64bit. 32bit type can't use more than 4GB RAM. Only the B&M shops are probably selling the 32 now though.

If you were on for adding more RAM in the future, you'd have to check and make sure the Laptop you buy can actually take it, most can though.

_AVALANCHE_

niall_h wrote: »

Found it on Amazon for £100 cheaper

niall_h wrote: »

Not the most technical. Are the differences that great? Like £100 great?

This sneaky whore was banned for posting referall links all over the place.:mad:

I don't normally look at allllllllll of the link but I will anymore.:cool:

TsuDhoNimh

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

This sneaky whore was banned for posting referall links all over the place.:mad:

Heh, might want to edit your quote slightly to remove the affiliate query parameters from the link.

It'd be scary to think how much the forum could generate if they auto tagged affiliate parameters onto certain links. I'm sure it'd cause more harm than good, "You're only suggesting Amazon/HWVS/etc to earn for boards", but it'd certainly spark some revenue.