Laptop

Alpha8

Budget:Max 350

Intended use: college work, gaming such as CS:GO and Star wars battlefront 2
Mobility: mobility is not important
Warranty: Not important

What Operating System do you use? Windows

n1ck

Alpha8 wrote: »

Budget:Max 350

Intended use: college work, gaming such as CS:GO and Star wars battlefront 2
Mobility: mobility is not important
Warranty: Not important

What Operating System do you use? Windows

You'll need a bigger budget than 350 if you're wanting to play games on it.

Alanstrainor

n1ck wrote: »

You'll need a bigger budget than 350 if you're wanting to play games on it.

To be fair, those games are quite old and will run on almost anything. A modern i3 with integrated graphics will make short work of them.

OP: You should look for a Core i3(minimum), and try and get an 8GB of RAM model. Although if you can't get 8GB of RAM you could upgrade it yourself (just make sure this is possible, a lot of laptops no longer allow you to do this).

Akrasia

n1ck wrote: »

You'll need a bigger budget than 350 if you're wanting to play games on it.

That depends entirely on the game.

CS GO was released in 2012 and Battlefront 2 was released in 2005

CS GO isn't the most demanding game in the world but any new laptop at the 350 euro price range will really struggle, but if you went for a refurb, you could get an AMD A10 8700p which will play that game at medium settings getting more than 30fps

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/HP-Envy-15-ah000sa-15-6-Laptop-AMD-A10-8700P-1-8GHz-8GB-RAM-1TB-Silver-Grade-C-/141982864519

If you buy new you'll be limited to celerons or pentiums at this price range which won't play any modern FPS games well. (should be fine with battlefront 2 though)

Just be really careful with potential refurbs. Buy a manufacturer refurb only, and only off a decent seller with a warranty.

I've used the seller in the link above and I got a great laptop for less than 300 euros, listed as grade b but without a scratch on it, but that's just my experience from one transaction.

TerrorFirmer

I agree with the above, the A10 laptop for €350 would run CS:Go at med-high setting at 60fps.

A new i3 laptop for €350 with integrated graphics wouldn't fare as well. Especially when the company above offer a 1 year warranty, it's a good option.

Alpha8

Alright , Thanks for the tips everyone !

2012paddy2012

I’m doing a lot of research really getting nowhere ...
if one laptop had an SSD drive then only 4GB DRIVE , a further search seems to say , you need an 8 GB DRIVE , as 4 is too small!
I want to spend 400.

It’s just for word processing , light ... like to download tunes , and general googling ...

I have a very fast broadband and ideally would like the machine to be fast ...

Can you recommend something that’s fast with reasonable screen ... not overly pushed on looks ... light or heavy doesn’t matter , just be on table at home ....

Many thks

Paddy

2012paddy2012

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

I’m doing a lot of research really getting nowhere ...
if one laptop had an SSD drive then only 4GB DRIVE , a further search seems to say , you need an 8 GB DRIVE , as 4 is too small!
I want to spend 400.

It’s just for word processing , light ... like to download tunes , and general googling ...

I have a very fast broadband and ideally would like the machine to be fast ...

Can you recommend something that’s fast with reasonable screen ... not overly pushed on looks ... light or heavy doesn’t matter , just be on table at home ....

Many thks

Paddy

8gb is the ram. for your budget you won't get 8gb ram. 4gb is enough for your needs.

spend 420 to get this. it has an ssd drive hard drive for faster operation and the cpu is fast enough for what you're doing.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-330s-14-intel-pentium-gold-laptop-128-gb-ssd-blue-10180843-pdt.html

2012paddy2012

glasso wrote: »

8gb is the ram. for your budget you won't get 8gb ram. 4gb is enough for your needs.

spend 420 to get this. it has an ssd drive hard drive for faster operation and the cpu is fast enough for what you're doing.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-330s-14-intel-pentium-gold-laptop-128-gb-ssd-blue-10180843-pdt.html

Oh wow just looked at that ! Seems ideal indeed ..I see no word comes with it ,unfortunately ... I have a old word processor Cd, not sure if it would work ... do you really need word?
Thks a lot

Paddy

Alpha8

Alpha8 wrote: »

Budget:Max 350

Intended use: college work, gaming such as CS:GO and Star wars battlefront 2
Mobility: mobility is not important
Warranty: Not important

What Operating System do you use? Windows

there is a decent option of refurbished ryzen 2500u laptop with 8gb ram and full hd screen here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-15-db0996na-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B07JPB1K8R/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542563192&sr=8-3&keywords=refurbished+ryzen+laptop


380£ is about 422 euro but it's worth the extra money in the long run.

the 2500u has decent graphics capability.

it even has a spare m.2 slot so you could add in a cheap m.2 sata 2280 ssd stick for faster windows operation.

Peatys

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Oh wow just looked at that ! Seems ideal indeed ..I see no word comes with it ,unfortunately ... I have a old word processor Cd, not sure if it would work ... do you really need word?
Thks a lot

Paddy

Check adverts for legitimate office 2016 sellers

http://www.adverts.ie/16320601

2012paddy2012

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Oh wow just looked at that ! Seems ideal indeed ..I see no word comes with it ,unfortunately ... I have a old word processor Cd, not sure if it would work ... do you really need word?
Thks a lot

Paddy

ms office doensn't come with pcs free.

if you have an old ms office licence you can transfer for free to new pc.
just get the licence key with this free software https://www.magicaljellybean.com/

then go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/office if it's office 2010



and use the key

otherwise download and use free libreoffice which has a word proc very like word and opens and saves in ms word formats

or with the cd that you have copy the disc image to a usb key or hard drive and mount in windows on the new machine as modern laptops don't come with cd/dvd drives - you will have to google how to do this

2012paddy2012

glasso wrote: »

ms office doensn't come with pcs free.

if you have an old ms office licence you can transfer for free to new pc.
just get the licence key with this free software https://www.magicaljellybean.com/

then go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/office if it's office 2010



and use the key

otherwise download and use free libreoffice which has a word proc very like word and opens and saves in ms word formats

or with the cd that you have copy the disc image to a usb key or hard drive and mount in windows on the new machine as modern laptops don't come with cd/dvd drives - you will have to google how to do this

Super , thanks

2012paddy2012

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Super , thanks

Gone to 479 !!! From 418 in Curry’s today .... watch the prices lads joke !!!!!

still on website for 419 as I can see


but this is probably a better deal now for 380

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15-da0594sa-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-1-tb-hdd-silver-10184692-pdt.html


full hd screen and i3 chip. bit heavier than lenovo tho.

the hp has (confirmed) a spare m.2 slot to add plug in a sata ssd stick like this to make it have a faster hard drive. you leave the existing one in place for storage. stick less than 30 euro

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TCSUNBOW-12...=2280+sata+ssd

you just open it up (screws) and plug in. check youtube as someone will have done a video. simple. copy windows over to that ssd drive then. it's not difficult. better to do at start when less stuff installed on the laptop.
_______________

2012paddy2012

glasso wrote: »

still on website for 419 as I can see


but this is probably a better deal now for 380

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15-da0594sa-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-1-tb-hdd-silver-10184692-pdt.html


full hd screen and i3 chip. bit heavier than lenovo tho.

the hp has (confirmed) a spare m.2 slot to add plug in a sata ssd stick like this to make it have a faster hard drive. you leave the existing one in place for storage. stick less than 30 euro

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TCSUNBOW-12...=2280+sata+ssd

you just open it up (screws) and plug in. check youtube as someone will have done a video. simple. copy windows over to that ssd drive then. it's not difficult. better to do at start when less stuff installed on the laptop.
_______________

Just ordered on amazon 387 thanks
330s

maybe cancel that!

the lenovo is now 343 in argos

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8666635/Trail/searchtext%3ELENOVO+330S.htm

2012paddy2012

glasso wrote: »

maybe cancel that!

the lenovo is now 343 in argos

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8666635/Trail/searchtext%3ELENOVO+330S.htm

Omg thanks so much !!! Just cancelled and reserved in Argos !! Love boards !! Just saved 135 euro today !!!

liam7831

2012paddy2012 wrote:

Omg thanks so much !!! Just cancelled and reserved in Argos !! Love boards !! Just saved 135 euro today !!!

Is that a good deal? In the market for a laptop myself for general use

yes. it's a good deal. doesn't have a full hd 1080p screen but for the money it's very good.

a decent laptop with fast ssd drive and a decent cpu for 343 in Ireland in a b&m shop - very good.

will run fast and smooth and do browsing, streaming, ms office stuff without a bother.

only 4 gb ram but that is enough to run windows

I have an 8gb laptop but my ram never goes over about 45% with say 15 chrome tabs open and a video player running also so 4gb is fine for general use.

it's a black friday week deal so will be there until 27th Nov or until stocks run out.

cullenswood

Would the HP with added sata ssd stick be worth the extra hundred odd euro though??

cullenswood

cullenswood wrote: »

Would the HP with added sata ssd stick be worth the extra hundred odd euro though??

personally I would say yes due to the full hd screen. even though it's not ips a full hd screen means more resolution and better for general working and watching media.

in addition then you have 1tb for storage in the hp whilst running windows and most used programs off the smaller ssd.

as well as a cpu that is a bit better (but the one in the lenovo is more than enough for general stuff)

it won't be an extra 100 - it would be 380 + 30 = 410. vs 343

so only 67 euro in it.

link for sata m.2 stick here again

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TCSUNBOW-120GB-Desktop-MacPro-N8/dp/B01N5KLUO8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1542640837&sr=8-5&keywords=sata+m.2+ssd+120gb

gave instructions in other thread but putting here also

the way to do it would be to stick in m.2 stick and then clone the existing drive over.

this software seems to be free for 30 days. there are other options but this should work fine.

https://windowsreport.com/move-windows-10-ssd/

then change the boot option to the new ssd in the bios which you access when the computer boots up from being powered off - usually by pressing f12.

just change the boot option to the ssd.

then you can delete all files off or format the existing 1tb hard drive once you see that windows is booting and working fine off the new ssd stick. keep the space on the stick for windows and programs that are in use regularly.

you could always spend another 13 £ on the bigger 240gb stick option (option on same page) also if you want to have more leeway on ssd available storage.
__________________

2012paddy2012

Day two , on the 330S. Yes very fast. Keyboard not back lit. (Didn't really know about that till young lad mentioned it!) No Ethernet
plug. You can get them around 20 quid.

Probably wrong forum , (oh and WPS software does instead of word!) I wondered , if when I use chrome , my preference , dont like edge
and I want to say save "boards ie" on to my desktop for ease of use , I am right clicking , save as , desktop , it saves as a google chrome , icon - Boards ....its ok , it was handier on Internet Explorer....seems to duplicate the shortcuts , is there a handy way to put your usual/favourite sites on desktop fir fast access...thks

2012paddy2012

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Day two , on the 330S. Yes very fast. Keyboard not back lit. (Didn't really know about that till young lad mentioned it!) No Ethernet
plug. You can get them around 20 quid.

Probably wrong forum , (oh and WPS software does instead of word!) I wondered , if when I use chrome , my preference , dont like edge
and I want to say save "boards ie" on to my desktop for ease of use , I am right clicking , save as , desktop , it saves as a google chrome , icon - Boards ....its ok , it was handier on Internet Explorer....seems to duplicate the shortcuts , is there a handy way to put your usual/favourite sites on desktop fir fast access...thks

Chrome - more tools - create shortcut.

usb to ethernet on ebay or amazon cheaper. most new laptops don't have ethernet as std anymore.

not going to get backlit keyboard on a budget laptop.

did you download Libreoffice yeah?

2012paddy2012

Not seeing , more tools , thks , good points

2012paddy2012

found them lol

2012paddy2012

one other quick one !! no problem yesterday , trying three different iPhone 6 cables ..keep getting last USB device malfunctioned trying to use iTunes.
not cables , all ok yesterday.

device manager
usb
update drivers
tried it..
as you expect all up to date

cant use itunes now , any suggestions

thks

paddy

don't know tbh. don't care for apple's locked-down system so don't have any of their products.

I'd maybe google apple iphone drivers and download and pick that driver for device (have on my computer) on right-click update driver in device manager

or try this

https://www.technipages.com/itunes-fix-iphone-or-ipad-not-detected-in-windows

2012paddy2012

it was working perfectly yesterday evening not sure why its happening. my android screen is broken , im going to get it fixed today not apple fan either thks though!

MichaelS11

glasso wrote: »

personally I would say yes due to the full hd screen. even though it's not ips a full hd screen means more resolution and better for general working and watching media.

in addition then you have 1tb for storage in the hp whilst running windows and most used programs off the smaller ssd.

as well as a cpu that is a bit better (but the one in the lenovo is more than enough for general stuff)

it won't be an extra 100 - it would be 380 + 30 = 410. vs 343

so only 67 euro in it.

link for sata m.2 stick here again

Hi Glasso,

Im actually looking at that HP right now. Would you have any concerns about a TCSUNBOW SDD? Would it be better to maybe spend an extra 40/50 with Black Friday today and get a 125gb Samsung?

Also, theres another HP with currys for 479 with a 128GB SDD preinstalled. I don' think this is worth the extra 100, but I have read that this model has 2 DIMMs inside with only one occupied with the 4GB module. So it should be very cheap and easy in the future to add more RAM.

Maybe you know if this HP for 379 is the same?

Any advice appreciated

MichaelS11

MichaelS11 wrote: »

Hi Glasso,

Im actually looking at that HP right now. Would you have any concerns about a TCSUNBOW SDD? Would it be better to maybe spend an extra 40/50 with Black Friday today and get a 125gb Samsung?

Also, theres another HP with currys for 479 with a 128GB SDD preinstalled. I don' think this is worth the extra 100, but I have read that this model has 2 DIMMs inside with only one occupied with the 4GB module. So it should be very cheap and easy in the future to add more RAM.

Maybe you know if this HP for 379 is the same?

Any advice appreciated

the 379 HP 15-da0594sa has 2 rams slots accorging to crucial
http://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP-Compaq/hp-15-da0594sa


I wouldn't worry about the weird brand name. they make a lot of well-regarded ssd products. but you can buy what you want just make sure it's a 2280 ssd sata stick. watch out for the WD Green model - it's slow as it's green/low energy.

here's a list of ssds by TCSUNBOW - look at the review scores https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=TCSUNBOW

MichaelS11

glasso wrote: »

the 379 HP 15-da0594sa has 2 rams slots accorging to crucial



I wouldn't worry about the weird brand name. they make a lot of well-regarded ssd products. but you can buy what you want just make sure it's a 2280 ssd sata stick. watch out for the WD Green model - it's slow as it's green/low energy.

here's a list of ssds by TCSUNBOW - look at the review scores

That's very helpful. I really appreciate it as i'm on a budget and trying to get back for my buck. I hope to start getting into the Adobe Suite and want something that'll handle it with browsing etc. in background.

Would I have any benefit of having the 1TB HDD in the one for 379, as opposed to the straight 128 sdd on the 479 model?

The newer 8 gen processor in the one for 479 seems to be a good bit better according to userbenchmark website, so maybe it's worth it for the the extra.

Again, I appreciate the help very much

MichaelS11

MichaelS11 wrote: »

That's very helpful. I really appreciate it as i'm on a budget and trying to get back for my buck. I hope to start getting into the Adobe Suite and want something that'll handle it with browsing etc. in background.

Would I have any benefit of having the 1TB HDD in the one for 379, as opposed to the straight 128 sdd on the 479 model?

The newer 8 gen processor in the one for 479 seems to be a good bit better according to userbenchmark website, so maybe it's worth it for the the extra.

Again, I appreciate the help very much

what's the cpu in the other one?

having 1tb storage is handy as the ssd of 128gb is small. so having both inside the machine instead of having to use a usb hd is useful

link to other laptop?

if it's the one with the i3 8130u - wouldn't say that there is too much of a difference. only when you go to the 4-core i5 u chips would you notice a big improvement. all the i3 chips are 2 core. 5000 vs 3800 on the passmark would not all that noticeable I would say altho more is always better. the 8130 does have a turbo speed but the u mobile chips can only run on turbo for a brief time.

photo editing would be ok on either - video editing involving trans coding would be a challenge tho on either.

but 3800 vs a lower chip like 2400 would as going down the scale windows won't run that well.

the 4 core chips would be in the 7500+ passmark range.

comparison
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i3-8130U-vs-Intel-i3-7100U-vs-Intel-i5-8250U/3225vs2879vs3042

MichaelS11

glasso wrote: »

what's the cpu in the other one?

having 1tb storage is handy as the ssd of 128gb is small. so having both inside the machine instead of having to use a usb hd is useful

link to other laptop?

if it's the one with the i3 8130u - wouldn't say that there is too much of a difference. only when you go to the 4-core i5 u chips would you notice a big improvement. all the i3 chips are 2 core. 5000 vs 3800 on the passmark would not all that noticable.

but 3800 vs a lower chip like 2400 would as going down the scale windows won't run that well.

the 4 core chips would be in the 7500+ passmark range.

Yes, you correct. It's the 8130U.

I can't post link as I'm new to the forum.

I may take your word for it and go with the cheaper on and order an SSD an extra 4GB RAM. Would hope that would be a decent running machine without putting too much pressure on it

by the way - somebody was on to me by pm as they bought the hp i3 and the m.2 ssd stick that I had suggested as a combo.

the ssd stick wasn't detected.

after a couple of suggestions it seems that updates from hp were required.

probably was a bios update that did the trick.

then the ssd was dectected / worked

just fyi for anyone who bought this.

Alanstrainor

glasso wrote: »

by the way - somebody was on to me by pm as they bought the hp i3 and the m.2 ssd stick that I had suggested as a combo.

the ssd stick wasn't detected.

after a couple of suggestions it seems that updates from hp were required.

probably was a bios update that did the trick.

then the ssd was dectected / worked

just fyi for anyone who bought this.

Fair play dude, good info to have.

Moneyman25

hey glasso still trying to get the laptop to boot from the SSD. Your inbox is full!

Tried a couple of things from the HP forums but when I choose the SSD as destination to boot from I get the message no bootable device detected.

Cant understand why HP make this so difficult or maybe I am doing something wrong?

If anyone has any pointers on this or worked on getting HP laptops to boot from SSD instead of HDD , it would be greatly appreciated.

Moneyman25

Moneyman25 wrote: »

hey glasso still trying to get the laptop to boot from the SSD. Your inbox is full!

Tried a couple of things from the HP forums but when I choose the SSD as destination to boot from I get the message no bootable device detected.

Cant understand why HP make this so difficult or maybe I am doing something wrong?

If anyone has any pointers on this or worked on getting HP laptops to boot from SSD instead of HDD , it would be greatly appreciated.

this is unusual as there should not be a problem on selecting the ssd to boot from.

I would suggest maybe trying to get an answer from the hp forums?

had sent you this - not sure if was received


maybe check this out

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...d/td-p/5850846

Please follow the steps below to see the SSD in boot options.



Boot to bios and go to boot options
Disable secure boot and enable legacy support
Save the changes and restart the computer.


Now when you start the computer and go to boot options by pressing F9 you should see the SSD there.


Follow the link above for more info

found this also. seems like this could be a hp thing and unnecessarily awkward

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Boot-and-Lockup/Unable-To-Boot-From-M-2/td-p/6290506

1. F9 in Startup Menu
2. Boot from UEFI file
3. Search through a ridiculously long file name (looking for "PCI") to find M.2 - PCI needs to be listed twice
4. Click <EFI>
5. Click <Boot>
6. Should only be one option - mine said "bootx64.efi"
7. It will boot one time with the M.2
8. Use DISKPART in CMD to remove all partitions from the old HD or else it will always boot from the original drive (unless you remove it)
9. Presto! Now it will default to the M.2

Moneyman25

Hi glasso,

I tried your first reply and that gave me no bootable disk detected.

I will try the second reply this evening and let you know how I get on.

why HP put an SSD slot in the laptop if they make it this difficult to use it to boot from is a mystery to me!

Also, thanks very much for all your help with this.