Looking for a laptop

PurvesGrundy

Hi,

Looking for a new laptop at the moment with a maximum budget of 300 euro that can stretch a little over. The main things I will be using it for are Microsoft programs to do with college, surfing the internet, watching films and listening to music. I was in PC World today and this seemed to fit my criteria closely: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/COMPAQ-CQ58331SA-156andquot-Laptop/313727/104.10

My main aim in sourcing a laptop is finding the most bang for my buck with a minimal budget. Something discounted in a clearance sale was the sort of thing I was initially after, but I have not seen any 'amazing' deals so far. Can anybody inform me if they know of any and if not, inform me whether the above laptop I'm looking at is a reasonable choice?

Thanks.

toby2111

I'm in similar situation to yourself.Need a laptop for general surfing,storing photos,watching films,YouTube etc.Don't know a lot about laptops so,like yourself,looking for best bang for my buck.That one you listed above looks decent but hopefully somebody more knowledgeable than me can advise the both of us!

BobCobb

The processor in that computer isn't the sharpest.
A good rough guide I use to check out the relative power of different processors can be found at cpubenchmark.net.

If you're willing to buy online you can get a lot more 'bang for your buck' compared to buying from a shop.

Basically, in terms of power and speed;
Celeron < Pentium < i3 < i5 < i7

These are Intel processors - I don't really know the names of AMD ones, best to check cpubenchmark again for those.

An i3 is often not that much more expensive than a Pentium, if at all.
It should be quick enough for most tasks.
You can get some i5's for not a lot more, but generally you'll pat an extra 100e or so for one.

The 3xxx range ( e.g. i3-3110 or i5-3210 ) is 3rd generation, and is supposed to handle graphics quite a bit better than the 2xxx rage ( e.g. i3-2328 ).
Keep an eye out for that! :cool:

4gb of ram is probably enough - you can usually add more in at a later date if you like.

Different people have their own preferred brands. I don't really know...

laptopsdirect.ie and saveonlaptops.co.uk are amongst the cheapest sites for laptops. They seem to be ok to deal with, from what I've heard, but if a problem arises I've heard people say that they aren't that great.

Amazon is a decent bet - a bit more expensive maybe but the customer service is probably better. The german amazon has some great prices on it...you might need to reconfigure the keyboard and OS language though,
You can find a number of options there without Windows included, which probably helps with the prices, but that might put some people off (or attract others!)

One last more option might be pcspecialist.co.uk
It can be a little expensive but allows you to choose which components you want in your laptop.

Sorry if I rambled on a bit...:o

topper_harley2

How about http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-30-C8501LK

BobCobb

Same one available on amazon.co.uk for about 100e less....

(That model is listed as about £350 stg but there's a much cheaper offer from amazon also there at the minute - you have to wait a few weeks for it to be delivered)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-Processor-Integrated-Graphics/dp/B00B99A2W2/ref=sr_1_8?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1374657837&sr=1-8&keywords=Toshiba

There's also an Asus i3 for 350e or so on amazon...people seem to like Asus.

toby2111

Is this the asus one-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-X501A-15-6-inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00CEZQRK6/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1374659631&sr=1-5&keywords=i3

Which would be better?The Asus or Toshiba?

BobCobb

That's the one I was thinking of alright...
I don't know which would be better at all but I'd probably go for the asus as I've heard good things about them. I'm sure if you asked someone else they'd shout 'Toshiba!'.
There's a Lenovo i3-2348, I think, for 300e on amazon.de. It could be a wee bit of hassle resetting the language on keyboard, OS etc. and it doesn't have windows.
All of these laptops have 2nd generation processors though, and if it were me I'd probably try to get a 3rd gen one (e.g. i3-3110), seeing as the 4th gen i series is already on the market.

For some reason 3rd gen i3 laptops are still pretty expensive, and the 2nd gen ones are more common I find.
With i5 you'll mostly find 3rd gen (i5-3210 being quite common for example), and it may be worth putting an extra 100e into getting a 3rd gen i5 rather a 2nd gen i3, as the i5s seem to be coming down in price a lot more so than the i3s, and certainly a lot quicker than most 3rd gen i3s.

toby2111

Might wait until a good value 3rd gen i5 is available so.I can wait a few months as my current laptop is just about struggling on!If anyone see's one in the meantime,feel free to post here.Thanks

chases0102

Hey everyone,

What do you think of this one?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/1074396/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7Ccat_19780850%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039.htm

Doesn't seem like a bad spec for the price....

BobCobb

It's not bad for a shop anyway...
You'll get a better laptop for the same money online though.

I saw that you mentioned in the other thread that you need it quickly.
You could still get one from Amazon and opt for fast delivery. You might pay an extra 20e, but you could have the laptop by monday I'd say. Delivery is free if you can afford to wait another few days.

Debenhams.ie sell laptops too btw. I don't know how long they'd take to deliver or if you can buy them in-store (probably not).
They have a decent range and OK prices...don't know what they'd be like to deal with if there were any issues with the computer though.

littlesthobo

toby2111 wrote: »

Is this the asus one-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-X501A-15-6-inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00CEZQRK6/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1374659631&sr=1-5&keywords=i3

Which would be better?The Asus or Toshiba?

That Asus is now showing £60 off. Seems a good deal

riclad

http://www.powercity.ie/?action=Laptops&grpclass=10-30&action=eoldeals
toshiba 850 is 299 euros.
dual core cpu is ok, for webrowsing , dvds ,music.
5hours 3o mins is good battery life.