Any laptop deals in the sales?

toby2111

Just wondering if people want to post any decent laptop deals that they see in the post oChristmas & January sales. Personally, I'm on the lookout for a decent budget laptop just for general browsing, storing photos, Skype, watch dvds, play CD's etc. Nothing too fancy, maybe i3 processor but not sure if my budget (max €350) is enough. Hopefully get a good, reliable, fairly decent machine for that price all the same. Ideally, would prefer to deal with a bricks & mortar store just in case anything goes wrong.

Saw these but unsure which would give better bang for my buck,someone might advise me-
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-30-C50138&pages=1&prod=C50138&brands=TOSHIBA&image=
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/PACKARD-BELL-EasyNote-ENTE69KB-156-Laptop-Silver/316826/104.10
http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ASUS-X551CASX29H-156-Laptop/316270/104.10

I know these dont have fast processors but just wondering which would be the best?Or is there other bargains out there?

Truckermal

I am interested in this too allthough my budget is higher, did you try www.saveonlaptops.co.uk

toby2111

Truckermal wrote: »

I am interested in this too allthough my budget is higher, did you try www.saveonlaptops.co.uk

No,to be honest,I'm looking for a bricks and mortar store like DID,PC world,argos,harvey norman etc.

GarIT

toby2111 wrote: »

No,to be honest,I'm looking for a bricks and mortar store like DID,PC world,argos,harvey norman etc.

The sales in any shops here are still way more expensive than the regular prices on amazon.

toby2111

OK,just a bit wary buying online and then the hassle of returning it. Any recommendations from amazon or other online retailers?

big_moe

harvey norman are doin this HP i5 at 398 - its a class price, in most stores for that price you only get i3

http://www.harveynorman.ie/sale/hp-pavilion-laptop-15n014sa.html

toby2111

That seems a good shout big moe,its £525 on amazon...only thing is theres five 1 star reviews and only four 5 star reviews so reviews are very mixed. Would still probably be grand for me though.

beauf

toby2111 wrote: »

That seems a good shout big moe,its £525 on amazon...only thing is theres five 1 star reviews and only four 5 star reviews so reviews are very mixed. Would still probably be grand for me though.

A lot of the those bad reviews are not complaining about the laptop/hardware.

What amused me was when it arrived it was snapped in half, stuck together with fruit gums and some banana peel. Admittedly the fruit gums were definitely worth the £449.99 I paid.

The better 4 star views have more realistic pros and cons listed. So always worth reading the review see if they are from sane people or the daft as a brush brigade.

big_moe

harvey norman have some decent deals on other bits as well - i went in for the i5 laptop and i got 500mbps power lines for €34, they have 200mbps for €28 as well but the 500mbps are worth the extra €6!

http://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/networking-and-connectivity/internet-extenders/d-link-av500-mini-powerline-kit-dhp-309av-b.html

Royal Legend

i5 in Harvey norman is a serious deal, only 15 in Waterford as far as I know.

GarIT

Royal Legend wrote: »

i5 in Harvey norman is a serious deal, only 15 in Waterford as far as I know.

Which i5 is it? it could be terrible or it could be great.

beauf

Intel Core i5-4200U, 1.6GHz Processor

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=HP+15-n014sa+i5

Royal Legend

GarIT wrote: »

Which i5 is it? it could be terrible or it could be great.

HP as far as I know, was told by someone in the know that's its a great deal, down from €600

GarIT

Royal Legend wrote: »

HP as far as I know, was told by someone in the know that's its a great deal, down from €600

From what the poster above posted it's decent enough. It's speed is seriously reduced though to save battery life. For €400 it's really good though.

allthedoyles

I was always told to keep away from Celeron - have they improved ?

Truckermal

It looks good hopefully they will still be there tomorrow.

GarIT

allthedoyles wrote: »

I was always told to keep away from Celeron - have they improved ?

Yes, they double in power on average every 18 months. Celerons are still the worst of all intel processors though.

Fresh Pots

Truckermal wrote: »

It looks good hopefully they will still be there tomorrow.

You'll be lucky, I got one of the last ones in Blanchardstown and that was at about 9:15 this morning.

toby2111

sugarman wrote: »

4200U, its not great. A lot of better i3's out there.

Any around the €350-€400 price range in stores?
Looks likely I'll miss out on this Harvey Norman laptop as I won't get into my local branch in Drogheda til Saturday. Sold out anyhow!

Truckermal

big_moe wrote: »

harvey norman are doin this HP i5 at 398 - its a class price, in most stores for that price you only get i3

http://www.harveynorman.ie/sale/hp-pavilion-laptop-15n014sa.html

Fek its gone back up in price. ..

bbam

GarIT wrote: »

Yes, they double in power on average every 18 months. Celerons are still the worst of all intel processors though.

Not sure if I'd say worst, it's the least powerful.
It's actually the same chip as the equavilent pentium chip, the only difference being there is much less on chip RAM with the celeron chips. About 1/10th.

toby2111

Ok, I'm hitting town tomorrow with my credit card. Missed out on the Hp laptop in Harvey Norman, any other decent deals in stores?

SRFC

Anyone see anything decent on sale,looking for a laptop for just browsing really for about 4 or 500 any suggestions?

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Anyone see anything decent on sale,looking for a laptop for just browsing really for about 4 or 500 any suggestions?

if its mainly for browsing, would you not think about getting a tablet? some great android tablets around atm.

SRFC

droidman123 wrote: »

if its mainly for browsing, would you not think about getting a tablet? some great android tablets around atm.

Nah dont like them at all,need it for form study video analysis ect just dont like the touch screens keep having to zoom in,literally dont need it to hold anything more than a few hundred songs and the odd picture big memory isnt a must,want to be able to have a few windown open when browsing have shortlisted these any views


http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ACER-Aspire-E1570-156-Laptop/316570/104.10#details



http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/PACKARD-BELL-EasyNote-TE69KB-156-Laptop-Silver-and-Black/316568/104.10

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Nah dont like them at all,need it for form study video analysis ect just dont like the touch screens keep having to zoom in,literally dont need it to hold anything more than a few hundred songs and the odd picture big memory isnt a must,want to be able to have a few windown open when browsing have shortlisted these any views


http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ACER-Aspire-E1570-156-Laptop/316570/104.10#details



http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/PACKARD-BELL-EasyNote-TE69KB-156-Laptop-Silver-and-Black/316568/104.10

personally I would go for the acer aspire, simply because of the intel processor. great specs on it, you couldn't really go wrong. it has an i3 processor, for an extra few euros, you could think about getting the same one but with an i5 processor, would give it that extra zip and speed, but even the one with the i3 looks like a great bargain to me.

bbam

SRFC wrote: »

Nah dont like them at all,need it for form study video analysis ect just dont like the touch screens keep having to zoom in,literally dont need it to hold anything more than a few hundred songs and the odd picture big memory isnt a must,want to be able to have a few windown open when browsing have shortlisted these any views


http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/ACER-Aspire-E1570-156-Laptop/316570/104.10#details



http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/PACKARD-BELL-EasyNote-TE69KB-156-Laptop-Silver-and-Black/316568/104.10

The first one has a better processor, faster with more on chip RAM.
The second one has an AMD chip which personally I would never consider.

With most laptops you only get one chance to buy the processor, and you need to get it right.. While the i3 isnt top of the power list its a damn decent deal for that sort of lolly

I may get that one myself..

SRFC

Lads what the major differences betweem i5 and amd quad processors,Im looking at a few hp i3 i5s and one touch ones,few have amd and others have the i5 what is better in general?

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Lads what the major differences betweem i5 and amd quad processors,Im looking at a few hp i3 i5s and one touch ones,few have amd and others have the i5 what is better in general?

i5 is far better than the amd.

SRFC

droidman123 wrote: »

i5 is far better than the amd.

Cheers ill get one with that,salesmen in different shops telling completely different things about the processors,is the AMD10 the only amd one worth getting? might try get a i5 with touch screen,is the speed of the laptop down to the GHZ speed?

Farrell

Was in curry's in enniskillen - i5 4200, 8mb ram, with 1tb hard-drive £399 (€498) Windows 8.
Does office not come installed on laptops anymore?

beauf

SRFC wrote: »

Cheers ill get one with that,salesmen in different shops telling completely different things about the processors,is the AMD10 the only amd one worth getting? might try get a i5 with touch screen,is the speed of the laptop down to the GHZ speed?

Depends what you are going. If theres games involved (even light gaming) you would want to consider the graphics chipset being used also.

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Cheers ill get one with that,salesmen in different shops telling completely different things about the processors,is the AMD10 the only amd one worth getting? might try get a i5 with touch screen,is the speed of the laptop down to the GHZ speed?

for what you are going to be using it for, an i5 processor should be more than enough. the speed will also depend on the ram, anything with 4gb ram or up will be grand.

droidman123

Farrell wrote: »

Was in curry's in enniskillen - i5 4200, 8mb ram, with 1tb hard-drive £399 (€498) Windows 8.
Does office not come installed on laptops anymore?

what model was it?

SRFC

Ive narrowed it down to these two its either get the touch screen for novely purposes of having one with amd quad core A8 processor 8gb ram 1tb storage

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n090sa-TouchSmart-156-Touchscreen-Laptop-Aluminium-Black-and-Silver/320817/7.37#tech


or this Paviliion non touch with i5 processor http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n096ea-156-Laptop/320803/1.11#tech


Is it just a case of Touch screen preference or will there be any big difference in performance if I go for the amd over the i5? if you had to pick which is better I like the touch but prefer the i5 so im undecided

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Ive narrowed it down to these two its either get the touch screen for novely purposes of having one with amd quad core A8 processor 8gb ram 1tb storage

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n090sa-TouchSmart-156-Touchscreen-Laptop-Aluminium-Black-and-Silver/320817/7.37#tech


or this Paviliion non touch with i5 processor http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n096ea-156-Laptop/320803/1.11#tech


Is it just a case of Touch screen preference or will there be any big difference in performance if I go for the amd over the i5? if you had to pick which is better I like the touch but prefer the i5 so im undecided

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n096ea-156-Laptop/320803/1.11#tech

Personally thats the one i would go for.i was actually looking at it yesterday and thinking of getting it. Obviously its not a touchscreen, but thats all down to preference, i would rather have a non touch with an i5 than a touch with an amd.spec-wise, this is a beast of a machine and should serve all your needs.

SRFC

droidman123 wrote: »

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n096ea-156-Laptop/320803/1.11#tech

Personally thats the one i would go for.i was actually looking at it yesterday and thinking of getting it. Obviously its not a touchscreen, but thats all down to preference, i would rather have a non touch with an i5 than a touch with an amd.spec-wise, this is a beast of a machine and should serve all your needs.

Yeah ill go for that I think seen as its 200 off aswell,the screens on the touch probably wouldnt be as durable as the normal ones anyways would they?

Farrell

droidman123 wrote: »

what model was it?

It was a hp, which was on sale, was £539.
Also Toshiba satellite 8gb 1tb i5400m at £479, windows 8 on both,
Office was additional £89, is this correct, you buy laptop & then office afterwards?

jomoloney

droidman123 wrote: »

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-15n096ea-156-Laptop/320803/1.11#tech

Personally thats the one i would go for.i was actually looking at it yesterday and thinking of getting it. Obviously its not a touchscreen, but thats all down to preference, i would rather have a non touch with an i5 than a touch with an amd.spec-wise, this is a beast of a machine and should serve all your needs.

sorry not wishing to hijack but small query

I have 1 same as the link except it has the i5 -3210M processor

I find it just great , now on the look out for a second one

need speed for data de coding more so that memory

would the 1 on the link be slower than my present 1

happy new year

droidman123

Farrell wrote: »

It was a hp, which was on sale, was £539.
Also Toshiba satellite 8gb 1tb i5400m at £479, windows 8 on both,
Office was additional £89, is this correct, you buy laptop & then office afterwards?

Yeah I think that's the way Microsoft has moved.you have to install office after you buy the laptop.I think there are deals around with office pre-installed if you shop around.

droidman123

SRFC wrote: »

Yeah ill go for that I think seen as its 200 off aswell,the screens on the touch probably wouldnt be as durable as the normal ones anyways would they?

It wouldn't really be a case if them not being durable,its just a case of what you are used to,touch or mouse or touch pad.I am well used to the touch system on my tablets,but I prefer the touch pad on my laptop.

bbam

SRFC wrote: »

Cheers ill get one with that,salesmen in different shops telling completely different things about the processors,is the AMD10 the only amd one worth getting? might try get a i5 with touch screen,is the speed of the laptop down to the GHZ speed?

Its a common problem..
I was passing time a few years ago and I think it was Curries I went into.. ANyhow I got talking to a sales man and he was trying to flog me the latest AMD processor.. When I asked about Pentium processors his reply stunned me !!

"AMD is just a brand name Intel use to sell processors cheap, after all they're all made in the same factory, just branded differently"

I set him straight there and then...

Sales men in shops want to shift units, they will say anything to do it..

Intel are the leaders in processor development and manufacture, AMD while a close second, are exactly that - second place. Personally I'd buy nothing but an Intel processor.

CM24

Hey, I'm quite a noob when it comes to buying Laptops. After researching for a while, I decided to go for that HP Pavilion 15-n096ea Laptop recommended above. Just wondering if there's anything I should purchase along with it? Microsoft Office I assume. What about an Anti-Virus program? Are the free ones available online any use or would I want Norton/McAfee or one of them? I don't intend to use the laptop for playing games. Just work and social media really.

droidman123

CM24 wrote: »

Hey, I'm quite a noob when it comes to buying Laptops. After researching for a while, I decided to go for that HP Pavilion 15-n096ea Laptop recommended above. Just wondering if there's anything I should purchase along with it? Microsoft Office I assume. What about an Anti-Virus program? Are the free ones available online any use or would I want Norton/McAfee or one of them? I don't intend to use the laptop for playing games. Just work and social media really.

I wouldn't attempt to go online without some anti virus installed on my laptop.personally I use nortons, I,m not even too sure how much it is it is tbh, I have it on auto renewel every year, but you will definitely need an anti virus programme. I wouldn't touch one of the free ones, wouldn't trust them. if you feel you will use Microsoft office,get it. most other things will be available in the app store.

eoin91

I have used free anti virus for years, Avira and Avast and have never had a problem. The only downside from these two and the reason I switched is they push their premium products with ad's, but other then the ad's the quality of the product is still perfect.

Recently though I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free and if your like the previous poster and have for an unexplained mistrust in free anti virus, then surly the Microsoft name can negate this fact.

To be honest, if your smart on the internet and your not clicking every link, chances are you won't even need an anti virus, its more a fail safe.

With regards office, if you need it, get it. Otherwise, it can be a bit costly, 120 euro I think. If you only need it for one off situations, your probably better looking into Google docs or one of the free office competitors such as LibreOffice or Open office. None of these are as advance as Microsoft Office, and may take a bit of learning, like any new piece of software will, but they are free and from my experience, the advance features and abilities office offers are not needed or used by 90% of people.

yabadabado

Norton AV is a waste of money.I have been using free one's for the last few years without any problems.

CM24

Cheers guys. Collecting the laptop tomorrow. I'll go with the the free anti-virus and Office programs for now and see how I get on. I don't plan on visiting any dodgy websites so hopefully will be fine.

eldamo

Someone please pick holes in this for me or the credit card will be whipped out
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/MSI-CX61-CX61_2OD-275UK_1498459.html

eoin91

eldamo wrote: »

Someone please pick holes in this for me or the credit card will be whipped out
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/MSI-CX61-CX61_2OD-275UK_1498459.html

Emm no SSD, short battery life, kind of big chassis.
But at the same time the specs that are there are really good, full HD screen, 8GB of ram, i7, 640m, lots of ports and 1GBit ethernet port.

So yeah if those con's don't bother you and this is more of a desktop replacement/only computer for you and you need the power for gaming then its a good laptop for the price as the performance should be pretty good.

droidman123

CM24 wrote: »

Cheers guys. Collecting the laptop tomorrow. I'll go with the the free anti-virus and Office programs for now and see how I get on. I don't plan on visiting any dodgy websites so hopefully will be fine.

Pc world are doing a deal at the moment for Microsoft office,80 euro,when you buy any windows 8 laptop from them.

SRFC

Bought the HP Pavillion in white 8gb ram i5 processor,very happy with it got it for 488 in Pc World with 2 months free insurance off them.