Replacing my 6 year old laptop

A_Sober_Paddy

Hey

Looking for help with regards getting a new laptop, preferable I don't want to downgrade, but i don't have a lot of money to spend either...

Current laptop is here http://www.toshiba.co.uk/discontinued-products/satellite-a660-149/

I paid 850 for it Oct 2010(so nearly 6 years)...

Can anyone point me in the right direction, it needs same processing speed and graphics capabilities...

Thanks in advance

5rtytry56

Why does it need to be replaced?

What applications you use that would benefit from a new one?

Alanstrainor

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Hey

Looking for help with regards getting a new laptop, preferable I don't want to downgrade, but i don't have a lot of money to spend either...

Current laptop is here http://www.toshiba.co.uk/discontinued-products/satellite-a660-149/

I paid 850 for it Oct 2010(so nearly 6 years)...

Can anyone point me in the right direction, it needs same processing speed and graphics capabilities...

Thanks in advance

Are you saying you'd like to spend the same again? There's plenty of great laptops in that price range, and you'd expect to have a much better spec'd machine for the price too.

me_irl

5rtytry56 wrote: »

Why does it need to be replaced?

What applications you use that would benefit from a new one?

I'd parrot this by saying I'm running Linux Peppermint 7 on my old Satellite C660, and it's working fine for my needs. Chromium for browsing, vlc for audio/video playback, libreoffice for word/excel work.

A_Sober_Paddy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Are you saying you'd like to spend the same again? There's plenty of great laptops in that price range, and you'd expect to have a much better spec'd machine for the price too.

Sorry I'd like to spend less to be honest, saving to buy a house.

I use it for ms word/excel , bit of gaming(football manager/skyrim/fallout), streaming Netflix, 4od

A_Sober_Paddy

5rtytry56 wrote: »

Why does it need to be replaced?

What applications you use that would benefit from a new one?

It's running slow, overheating at times, no battery(can't get a replacement from reputable source) mouse is losing functionality

5rtytry56

in the context of 'laptop' soberpaddy, what about 'thinking outside the box'

Could you use a desktop?

A small amount might be saved by looking for a desktop with the same specs

Alanstrainor

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Sorry I'd like to spend less to be honest, saving to buy a house.

I use it for ms word/excel , bit of gaming(football manager/skyrim/fallout), streaming Netflix, 4od

If we put a budget of €500, we should be able to get a machine that will manage those. I play some games on my ultrabook with integrated graphics and it actually manages them fine.

You're better off looking for deals in the UK at the moment, the great euro sterling rates will make it worthwhile.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/PS56JE-00900UEN-Toshiba-Satellite-Pro-A50-C-119_1833394.html

Now this is more coincidence that it's a Toshiba like your old one, but it could be worth a look. It has a dedicated GPU, which probably isn't anything too fancy, but it will definitely allow you to play the games you mention with ease.

It is a big beast of a thing, and the battery life isn't too fantastic but I think it could be a decent option all considered.

A_Sober_Paddy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

If we put a budget of €500, we should be able to get a machine that will manage those. I play some games on my ultrabook with integrated graphics and it actually manages them fine.

You're better off looking for deals in the UK at the moment, the great euro sterling rates will make it worthwhile.

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/PS56JE-00900UEN-Toshiba-Satellite-Pro-A50-C-119_1833394.html

Now this is more coincidence that it's a Toshiba like your old one, but it could be worth a look. It has a dedicated GPU, which probably isn't anything too fancy, but it will definitely allow you to play the games you mention with ease.

It is a big beast of a thing, and the battery life isn't too fantastic but I think it could be a decent option all considered.

I love Toshiba, zero trouble with this one and the one before(which I got 4 years outta before dropping it)

Also would the processor and graphics card be better than my current ones?

Alanstrainor

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I love Toshiba, zero trouble with this one and the one before(which I got 4 years outta before dropping it)

Also would the processor and graphics card be better than my current ones?

Yes, and by a long way too.

A_Sober_Paddy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Yes, and by a long way too.

Cheers about 6 years ago I knew a bit about computers, but now a days I have zero clue...

A_Sober_Paddy

Sorry to bring the thread backup, so time fir new laptop in near, I know online is the best, but I'm fairly wary of getting a laptop online. Mainly because if there is a hardware issue, it's not as simply as bringing it back to the shop.

In the past I've had two laptops with faulty HDD which needed replacing(including the current machine) when I brought it back to the shop it was just replaced. There and then.

Is there anything in Harvey Normans, PC world that is comparable or better to my current machine, without blowing my load(€500 is the ideal price point).

Or is someone could tell me what kind of specs to look at, for example in current processors what's comparable with the processor in my current machine

Hollister11

Any luck op

overshoot

I have a similar laptop to you op, Toshiba a660-11m, over 6 years old, only difference from a quick look at the specs is an i7 in mine.
I upgraded the ram to 8gb a few years ago. About a month ago put in a solid state hard drive with a clean install of the os (win 10) and cleared the fan out to solve the overheating issue (second time, can be in dusty environments).
It feels better than new. The solid state drive had been bought in the black Friday sales last year. It could be a cheaper option if your trying to save. Iv also tried replacement batteries but won't give you the life of the original or same length in-between charges either

A_Sober_Paddy

Hollister11 wrote: »

Any luck op

http://www.currys.ie/Product/lenovo-ideapad-310-156-laptop-white/339176/401.0.0

This one is the only one that is within price range and looks good, but i'm out of touch with technology

Another one

http://www.currys.ie/Product/lenovo-ideapad-510-156-laptop-black/338197/401.0.0

Alanstrainor

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

http://www.currys.ie/Product/lenovo-ideapad-310-156-laptop-white/339176/401.0.0

This one is the only one that is within price range and looks good, but i'm out of touch with technology

Another one

http://www.currys.ie/Product/lenovo-ideapad-510-156-laptop-black/338197/401.0.0

I wouldn't rate them.

The first is a bad choice as it has a poor CPU. The second has a better CPU, but low RAM. Neither are great.

A_Sober_Paddy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I wouldn't rate them.

The first is a bad choice as it has a poor CPU. The second has a better CPU, but low RAM. Neither are great.

Are Intel that much better than amd

For Forks Sake

You can have yourself a 7th generation Core i5 for €499: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay167sa-156-laptop-silver/334591/406.5

There's also a 7th gen i3 @ €449: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay170sa-156-laptop-silver/334593/406.5

or a 7th gen Core i7 @ €619 if the budget stretched to that: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay168sa-156-laptop-silver/334592/406.5

A_Sober_Paddy

For Forks Sake wrote: »

You can have yourself a 7th generation Core i5 for €499: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay167sa-156-laptop-silver/334591/406.5

There's also a 7th gen i3 @ €449: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay170sa-156-laptop-silver/334593/406.5

or a 7th gen Core i7 @ €619 if the budget stretched to that: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay168sa-156-laptop-silver/334592/406.5

How about this Machine

http://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/laptops/hp-pavillion-red-15.6-laptop-15-aw015na.html

PropJoe10

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

How about this Machine

http://www.harveynorman.ie/computing/laptops/hp-pavillion-red-15.6-laptop-15-aw015na.html

The processor in that wouldn't be great for gaming, especially for something like Skyrim. The i5 above would be a better bet for the money, really.

Achasanai

For Forks Sake wrote: »

or a 7th gen Core i7 @ €619 if the budget stretched to that: http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/hp-15ay168sa-156-laptop-silver/334592/406.5

Just on this, as I hear some conflicting reviews (and wouldn't know a huge amount myself) but are HP laptops highly rated?

listermint

Achasanai wrote: »

Just on this, as I hear some conflicting reviews (and wouldn't know a huge amount myself) but are HP laptops highly rated?

Dual core processor integrated graphics card won't be great for gaming

PropJoe10

Achasanai wrote: »

Just on this, as I hear some conflicting reviews (and wouldn't know a huge amount myself) but are HP laptops highly rated?

HP laptops in general - I dont like them. I do some laptop/PC repair in my spare time and I've had awful trouble with HP laptops overheating. They dont have a great shelf life at all to be honest.