New Laptop

Munster Magic

Having some trouble with my Sony Vaio at the minute, wouldnt charge a couple of months ago so I got a new charger and battery.

Worked fine for a while but lately it is only charging at times so im guessing
something is wrong with the connection

I am looking at getting a new laptop soon anyway so now might be the right time

dont need it for much, internet, gaming, college work and watching sky go on it

Any recommendations? I know next to nothing about laptops so I will probably have loads of questions

Thanks

Torqay

Munster Magic wrote: »

I know next to nothing about laptops so I will probably have loads of questions

Let's start with some questions first then.

Budget?

Any preferences regarding the display size?

Is mobility an issue? (size, weight, battery life)?

_AVALANCHE_

And what games

Munster Magic

Torqay wrote: »

Let's start with some questions first then.

Budget?

Any preferences regarding the display size?

Is mobility an issue? (size, weight, battery life)?

budget would be around €600, would like a 15 inch screen or near enough and mobility isnt a huge issue

hdmi connection would help

What make should I look for or avoid?

which processor should I be looking for? Or hard drive and ram?

Window 7 or vista?

Thanks

Munster Magic

Just had a quick look at pc world and found the 4 below, any ideas?

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/HPPaviliong61378ea156andquotLaptop/309518/301

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SAMSUNG300V5ASeries3156andquotLaptopBlue/309532/301

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SAMSUNGSeries3300E5A156andquotLaptopSilver/309543/301

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SAMSUNGSeries3NP300E5AA01DX156andquotLaptopSilver/308017/301

Torqay

Seriously, I wouldn't buy any of them with your budget, and certainly not the Pentium B960.

600 Euro should buy you a Core i3 (if not i5) with discrete graphics and HDMI out.

smokiebeverage

How about http://goo.gl/8tTjF (With HDMI out)

or

http://goo.gl/P81ZT (Without HDMI)

Torqay

smokiebeverage wrote: »

How about http://goo.gl/8tTjF (With HDMI out)

or

http://goo.gl/P81ZT (Without HDMI)

They both have only 2 GB RAM, rather useless with a 64-bit OS. but I see an Acer Core i3 there with 4GB for €379, that looks alright, probably no HDMI though

Munster Magic

Thanks for the advice, so i should be looking for a core i3 or i5 with a minimum 4gb ram?

Whats the difference between i3 and i5?

What makes should i try and get or avoid? I had heard acer werent great, dont know much about samsung though

Torqay

Munster Magic wrote: »

i should be looking for a core i3 or i5 with a minimum 4gb ram?

You should.

Munster Magic wrote: »

Whats the difference between i3 and i5?

2 virtual processor cores, which give the Core i5 clearly the edge over the i3

Munster Magic wrote: »

What makes should i try and get or avoid? I had heard acer werent great, dont know much about samsung though

Some brands do have a better reputation than others, but when it comes to budget laptops, the differences are rather marginal. You buy cheap, you get cheap, right?

Munster Magic

Torqay wrote: »

Seriously, I wouldn't buy any of them with your budget, and certainly not the Pentium B960.

600 Euro should buy you a Core i3 (if not i5) with discrete graphics and HDMI out.

Three of the 4 above have Core i3 processors, I think

Torqay wrote: »

You should.



2 processore cores, which give the Core i5 (quad core) clearly the edge over the i3 (dual core)



Some brands do have a better reputation than others, but when it comes to budget laptops, the differences are rather marginal. You buy cheap, you get cheap, right? ;)

Thanks but I wouldnt call €600 cheap

Torqay

I'd say, 400 to 600 Euro is an entry level budget, laptops for general use.

If you're looking for decently powered machines for photo/video editing or even gaming, you'll have to cough up a lot more than that. You'd be looking for a Core i7, at least 8 GB RAM and possibly discrete graphics.

Torqay

Now here's a Tosh with a Core i5, 4 GB RAM and GT 315M (no HDMI) for €569 on komplett.ie (a similarly priced MSI i5 with a GT 540M w HDMI was just sold out). The 315M isn't a powerhouse but still better than the Intel HD3000.

Munster Magic

Thanks, I found this i5 HP in Argos with HDMI for €599, what do you think of it?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5086878/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419039%7CLaptops%7C14419040.htm

Torqay

Munster Magic wrote: »

Thanks, I found this i5 HP in Argos with HDMI for €599, what do you think of it?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5086878/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C19780850%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419039%7CLaptops%7C14419040.htm

Not too bad for a "bricks & mortar" offer.

Torqay

Another Core i5 with HDMI at HarveyNormann for 499.

Munster Magic

just bumping this as I will probably be buying next week, any ideas which of the two below I should go for or is there something else I should be looking at?

http://www.harveynorman.ie/vpceh2n1e-w.html

http://www.harveynorman.ie/acer-5750-i5c.html

Jarren

I would pick Sony over Acer tbh, have you considered getting Asus?

komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/80004876/asus_15_6_k53sd_sx336v_i5_2450m_6gb_500gb/details.aspx

Munster Magic

Jarren wrote: »

I would pick Sony over Acer tbh, have you considered getting Asus?

komplett.ie/Komplett/product/15_16_inch/80004876/asus_15_6_k53sd_sx336v_i5_2450m_6gb_500gb/details.aspx

Was looking at getting in a shop as both my brother and sister need one as well and my other brother needs a tv so we thought we might get a better deal in store if we were buying 3 laptops and a tv

Mellio

Munster Magic wrote: »

Was looking at getting in a shop as both my brother and sister need one as well and my other brother needs a tv so we thought we might get a better deal in store if we were buying 3 laptops and a tv

I would be surprised if they done bulk discount these days as they always say they have discounted there goods as much as they can to sell them at the prices they already are but worht a try.

If you still want to consider buying online I would recommend amazon.co.uk, link to i5 machines below and ones with good specs, note: always check the full spec to ensure HDMI connection, al ot of them leave it out t save on cost, for me this is a must on every laptop especially if like me you like to link your laptop to your TV with better picture quality.

You get it delivered to your door for free once amazon are fullfilling the order. no need to trapse to shops and look at mediocre machines that dont give you everything for more money.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_2/276-4414083-7022015?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=i5+laptop&sprefix=i5%2Caps%2C210

Munster Magic

Mellio wrote: »

I would be surprised if they done bulk discount these days as they always say they have discounted there goods as much as they can to sell them at the prices they already are but worht a try.

If you still want to consider buying online I would recommend amazon.co.uk, link to i5 machines below and ones with good specs, note: always check the full spec to ensure HDMI connection, al ot of them leave it out t save on cost, for me this is a must on every laptop especially if like me you like to link your laptop to your TV with better picture quality.

You get it delivered to your door for free once amazon are fullfilling the order. no need to trapse to shops and look at mediocre machines that dont give you everything for more money.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_2/276-4414083-7022015?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=i5+laptop&sprefix=i5%2Caps%2C210

Thanks for that. Would like to have the hdmi to at least give me the option of linking up to the tv

Would i need the i5 for internet, some college work, sky go and skype or would the i3 or a dual core processor be good enough?

Mellio

Well I done a comparison of the i3 v i5 and there some benefits to the i5 but not a great deal and in terms of value you could possibly get an i3 €100/£100 cheaper.

It really does depend on what you want to use it for. In terms of gaming for the real enthusiast they would want the max in terms of processors and ram capapcity as well as graphics e.t.c. but if its just casual gaming and the use of Internet I would say the i3 is more than sufficient with 4GB ram and HDMI connection.

Go into amazon.co.uk and type in i3 laptops in there search bar and it will bring you up all the i3 laptops they have to offer.

As is said when you look at one you like go into look at it and look at the complete spec to ensure HDMI out is listed.

I found the shop laptops where very poorly speced and dont offer value for money asthey know most people buying a laptop wont know
whats good or not steer clear of Ar*os and C*rrys/PC W*orld....

ancuncha

i recently bought this
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/LENOVO-Z575-156andquot-Laptop-Gun-Metal/309531/301
i'm happy with it seemed a descent spec for the money

i wanted to buy in a place i could bring it back to if i have a problem rather than online

shanec1928

ancuncha wrote: »

i recently bought this
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/LENOVO-Z575-156andquot-Laptop-Gun-Metal/309531/301
i'm happy with it seemed a descent spec for the money

i wanted to buy in a place i could bring it back to if i have a problem rather than online

because it has an amd chip:p

Munster Magic

For Skype should I look for something with a 1.3 megapixel webcam or what do I need to be looking for?

Munster Magic

Munster Magic wrote: »

For Skype should I look for something with a 1.3 megapixel webcam or what do I need to be looking for?

Would I be better buying a webcam from logitech like the one below as it has a 2 megapixel camera?

http://www.logitech.com/en-roeu/notebook-products/webcams/devices/5868