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decent laptop

  • 04-07-2014 10:02pm
    #1
    irishbabe52
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8 ✭


    Hi there, looking for recommendations for a decent laptop with Intel I5 or whatever the other alternatives are! I'm not very techie minded and am getting a headache looking at so many different ones! Can go up to €400ish but obviously hoping for a good bargain....
    Thanks in advance!


Comments

  • #2
    Dr Bolouswki
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,335 ✭✭✭Dr Bolouswki


    Go second hand - some great bargains to be had

    if you are using it while travelling, work presentations etc size, weight and battery life are going to be important

    if you are using it at home and it will be mostly plugged in, these issues are less of a consideration

    if its just general use (i.e. not gaming, video editing or higher end processing) aim for

    i5
    4GB RAM or higher
    Solid State Drive (SSD) of 500GB if possible
    bluetooth and wireless

    SSD gives excellent performance and power usage
    Hard drive size probably 500gb if you can get it - certainly no less than 240gb - its very easy to store photos, movies etc on a USB hard drive
    Think about what you want to connect - do you need HDMI, USB3 etc? Planning on connecting to a tv, camera, other home entertainment? Think about the connections they use and if you need them.

    Google the model name and see if it has the features you need. It's a bit of work but stick with those specs and you should get a decent machine. My mate got an i7 with 8gb of RAM and a 240GB SSD for 550 so 400 should see you get what you need.

    He used adverts.ie - I just had a quick look there, its hard to filter by hard drive type but there are plenty of i5 machines going for 250-400.

    Good luck!


  • #3
    Furzy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 285 ✭✭Furzy


    I agree with the recommendation to check out Adverts.ie. You're unlikely to get a laptop with SSD for €400 and 128Gb SSD would be the norm - the max I've seen is 256Gb - so I would say don't expect to get better than a 500Gb hard drive rather than SSD.

    Intel i5 is a good choice but the chip has been around for over 4 years with revisions each year so it's important to distinguish which laptops have the newer CPUs. This can be done by asking for the cpu number. 2010-2011 (Arrandale) i5 chips generally have 3 digits eg 430m or 540m, 2011-2012 (Sandy Bridge) have 4 digits beginning with 2 eg 2310m, 2012-2013 (Ivy Bridge) have 4 digits beginning with 3 eg 3210m or 3230m and 2013-2014 have 4 digits beginning with 4 eg 4200m 4300u.

    3 or 4 series would be a good choice as they will have the HD4000 or higher graphic chip integrated in the cpu. You should have a choice within your price range on Adverts. It's good to check the approval rating for the seller before making an offer. I've bought and sold several laptops on Adverts without ever having a problem - most people buying and selling there seem to be decent and honest. Good luck with the purchase :-).


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