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Black 'Week' - Laptop Bargains

cherryghost

I posted in Laptops forum (shameless plug but there's some really good guys there giving amazing feedback for laptop requests), but posting here too. There's a lot of 'dud' sales about but there are genuine good deals around from shock horror Argos and Littlewoods

Entry Level (browsing/streaming) 250-350 eur:
Laptops strictly for web browsing, online streaming and some light office work.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Currys has a decent entry machine Lenovo at 280
For 330 euro, you get an entry level better in all departments.
Hard to get better deals than the 2 above to be honest, the Argos one is a belter for the specs. There's online deals a bit cheaper but also requires PM/Parcel Wizard etc, and in the end you're saving about a tenner against the Argos model.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:

Mid Level (entry level gaming/light photo editing) 350-500 eur:
Entry level gaming such as Fortnite/Minecraft/Roblox, and light photo editing (ie not raw editing)
Under 15 inch:
Less for gaming and more for productivity, the Acer Spin 3 at 370 pounds looks good for the price with touch adjustable screen.
Over 15 inch:
Never thought I'd be recommending something from Argos, but 430 euro from a B&M store is excellent value.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:

Mid-High level (good gaming perf/photo editing/video editing) 500-900 eur:
Good level quality and performance for modern games, heavy photo editing, light video editing, also good for VMs etc.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Just under 600 pound for a GTX 1650 laptop is decent enough. 120hz effectively useless modern games for a 1650 though.
500 pound on Currys UK ebay site or their own site for a laptop with RX 560. Its slower than 1650 but for 500 pound its good value. Delivery via PM/Parcelwizard. If interested keep an eye on this, eBay UK normally have a 10% off everything during Black week, so you could pick it up for 450 pound.
Acer AMD laptop for 470 after coupon applied. Not as sleek as the above AMD laptop but still does the job.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:
The Asus Zenbook has a slick finish, weighs just over 1kg at a decent 660 euro, would work nice as a productivity machine on the go

High Level (top gaming perf/photo ed/video ed + more)1000 eur+:
No expenses spared. Fly through any tasks seamlessly.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Littlewoods of all places has a well specc'd Lenovo laptop with a top GPU for 1000 euro. Cheaper than the Lenovo website itself after discount!
Light, thin and sleek recommendations:

Netbooks:

Will post more as I find them but many of the sites price reductions are barely worthy of a 'sale' tag.

NOTE: Some laptops come with Windows 10 'S' installed by means as a 'security feature' that basically limits what you can install. To install regular programs a simple switch to the regular Windows 10 is required. No extra purchase is neccessary. The upgrade is free.

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johnytwentyten

sob1467 wrote: »

Thanks that is another good option so now have a decision to make either this Littlewoods laptop or the argos one mentioned earlier (https://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10152&catalogId=15051&langId=111&productId=1600666 )

Littlewoods - Lenovo Ideapad 330S Intel Core i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6 inch €450

Blue Tooth: Y
Depth: 19.4 MM
Display Size: 15.6in
Dongle Required: N
3-sided narrow bezel for broader viewing
Impressive productivity with 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 processing
Keep moving with up to 6 hours battery & Rapid Charge
HD IPS Display
With Dolby Audio
Graphics: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620
Hard Drive Storage: 256 Gb
Height: 358.4 MM
Processor: Intel Core i5-8250U
RAM Memory: 8 GB
Screen Resolution: 1366x768
Screen Type: LCD
Touch Screen: N
Width: 244.1 MM
Wifi Enabled: Y
Microsoft Office and McAffee for one year included

Lenovo IdeaPad S340 15.6in Ryzen5 8GB 256GB FHD €430 in ROI or £350 in NI (€410 converted)

Size H1.79, W35.8, D24.5cm.
Weight 1.8kg.
Up to 8 hours battery life.
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor.
Quad core processor.
2.1GHz processor speed.
8GB RAM DDR4.
256GB SSD storage.
Hard drive speed 5400RPM.
Microsoft Windows 10 S.
15.6 inch screen.
Full HD Display.
Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Disc drive not included.
Shared graphics card.
Interfaces and connectivity:
4-in-1 media card reader.
3 USB 3.1 ports.
1 USB Type-C port.
1 HDMI port.
Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi enabled.
HD webcam.
Built-in mic.
Dolby sound system.
30 days Microsoft Office.

From checking the CPU benchmark and comparing Argos's Ryzen 5 to Littlewood's i5 (https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i5-8250U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3500U/3042vs3421 ) The Ryzen 5 just comes out slightly in front. The battery life seems better on the Argos model too, any other advice or advice on which one to go for?

Ordered a Nintendo switch from Littlewoods at 6:30pm yesterday, received no confirmation email, so rang them this morning,

it seems their customer service is located overseas, was put on hold for ten minutes and then they hung up,
I rang back and was speaking to a lady who informed me that the payment never went through so I was wasn't charged,
I informed her that the money has been taken from my account so I was charged, she said she was going to contact some other department, back on hold, came back on to tell me that they weren't open until Monday and to ring back then, I then seen that a lot of people have been reporting similar issues with Littlewoods on trustpilot, so in other words, stay well clear of this shower

AmberGold

johnytwentyten wrote: »

Ordered a Nintendo switch from Littlewoods at 6:30pm yesterday, received no confirmation email, so rang them this morning,

it seems their customer service is located overseas, was put on hold for ten minutes and then they hung up,
I rang back and was speaking to a lady who informed me that the payment never went through so I was wasn't charged,
I informed her that the money has been taken from my account so I was charged, she said she was going to contact some other department, back on hold, came back on to tell me that they weren't open until Monday and to ring back then, I then seen that a lot of people have been reporting similar issues with Littlewoods on trustpilot, so in other words, stay well clear of this shower

Yep ordered a Chromebook off them yesterday, similar situation no confirmation mail but lots of mails approving me for credit which I don’t want.

It’s appearing in my account with them as purchased however.

johnytwentyten

AmberGold wrote: »

Yep ordered a Chromebook off them yesterday, similar situation no confirmation mail but lots of mails approving me for credit which I don’t want.

It’s appearing in my account with them as purchased however.

It's showing up under "orders" but not showing under
"transactions" which is worrying

p15574

sheroman01 wrote: »

Don't think you'll find a better deal on a 15.6" laptop.

Lenovo Ideapad 330S Intel Core i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6 inch HD Laptop (Grey)
-with Microsoft Office Personal & McAfee Total Protection 5 1-Year Included

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/lenovo-ideapad-330snbspintel-core-i5-8250u-8gb-ram-256gb-ssd-156-inch-hd-laptop-grey-with-microsoft-office-personal-amp-mcafee-total-protection-5-1-year-included/1600408626.prd

Screen resolution isn’t great, at least not for me

beauf

There are websites that compare CPUs.

Check that that laptop can be upgraded. Many now have ram and the storage soldered to the board and can't be expended. Especially the cheaper ones.

Buy something with Ryzen or i3 or i5. That's the minimum. Anything cheaper isn't really a laptop.

beauf

p15574 wrote: »

Screen resolution isn’t great, at least not for me

If you are paying more than 450 you should really be getting a full hd screen. 1920x1080. few laptops will have a good quality screen unless it's full hd.

Dingaan

Thanks OP

I picked up the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 from Argos yesterday. First impressions are really good. I could easily change the windows from S to the normal version and was able to gain full functionality. It boots up really fast.

cee_jay

Dingaan wrote: »

Thanks OP

I picked up the Lenovo IdeaPad S340 from Argos yesterday. First impressions are really good. I could easily change the windows from S to the normal version and was able to gain full functionality. It boots up really fast.

Same, got the Lenovo S340 in Curry's yesterday, 14inch for €431. So far so good, needs some work sorting out the resolution, but switched easily to Windows Home, and first impressions are good.

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Looking to get a casual browsing laptop for my Dad.

1. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10198290-pdt.html

2. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-3000-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10190038-pdt.html

Is there any better value. He is looking for 15 inch screen.

[Deleted User]

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Looking to get a casual browsing laptop for my Dad.

1. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10198290-pdt.html

2. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-3000-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10190038-pdt.html

Is there any better value. He is looking for 15 inch screen.

Get a chromebook. If it just for browsing he won't need anything more.

Zardoz

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Looking to get a casual browsing laptop for my Dad.

1. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-5-a515-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10198290-pdt.html

2. https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-3000-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10190038-pdt.html

Is there any better value. He is looking for 15 inch screen.

That Acer is actually very good value.
Good quad core processor,8GB of Ram ,Solid state drive ,and a full HD IPS screen .
It also has an aluminium cover .
You wont find better in a bricks and mortar store .
Great find.

vicwatson

Is a Ryzen 5 better than an Intel i5 processor?

Ryath

vicwatson wrote: »

Is a Ryzen 5 better than an Intel i5 processor?

The i5 is faster but not by that much, the integrated graphics on the Ryzen are much better than the Intels though. Got a Acer Swift 3 with a Ryzen 5 a few weeks ago very happy with it.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-8350U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3500U/m388461vsm760067

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-HD-620-Mobile-Kaby-Lake-vs-AMD-RX-Vega-8-Ryzen-iGPU/m153579vsm441833

The_Conductor

vicwatson wrote: »

Is a Ryzen 5 better than an Intel i5 processor?

Tends to be better at multi-threaded programmes, but lags at single.
Its a lot more cost effective a processor, more frugal from a power consumption perspective, and has better graphics. All things else being equal- I'd go for an i5 with separate dedicated graphics- however, its not an ideal world- and for 95% of buyers- the Ryzen 5 makes more sense.

If money isn't an issue- go for something with dedicated graphics.

torrevieja

hi folks looking for a solid very fast reliable laptop, good memory, and good hard drive,
hd resolution high

that has nothing to do but just turn it on :rolleyes:

prepared to pay :rolleyes:

vicwatson

torrevieja wrote: »

hi folks looking for a solid very fast reliable laptop, good memory, and good hard drive,
hd resolution high

that has nothing to do but just turn it on :rolleyes:

prepared to pay :rolleyes:

Currys.ie have a good search function under computing/laptops, you can tick a lot of boxes and whittle it down to what suits your needs. They also have a good buying guide on their site worth reading before searching.

StudentforLife

Advice please...I need something for basic online study. Watching lectures, submitting questions, mock exams etc.
I will eventually get a screen and keyboard and a desk and chair, but for the moment I'll be at the kitchen table.
Should I just get a Chromebook?

nigwerwig

StudentforLife wrote: »

Advice please...I need something for basic online study. Watching lectures, submitting questions, mock exams etc.
I will eventually get a screen and keyboard and a desk and chair, but for the moment I'll be at the kitchen table.
Should I just get a Chromebook?

Good option for a low price if you don't need Windows

StudentforLife

nigwerwig wrote: »

Good option for a low price if you don't need Windows

Thanks, I'll see if there are any deals out tomorrow so. ☺️

AmberGold

johnytwentyten wrote: »

Ordered a Nintendo switch from Littlewoods at 6:30pm yesterday, received no confirmation email, so rang them this morning,

it seems their customer service is located overseas, was put on hold for ten minutes and then they hung up,
I rang back and was speaking to a lady who informed me that the payment never went through so I was wasn't charged,
I informed her that the money has been taken from my account so I was charged, she said she was going to contact some other department, back on hold, came back on to tell me that they weren't open until Monday and to ring back then, I then seen that a lot of people have been reporting similar issues with Littlewoods on trustpilot, so in other words, stay well clear of this shower

After passing up many Black Friday deals to do business with Littlewoods I had no email confirmation this morning, I check my account and my order has been declined??

What way is this to do business. Never again.

Balmed Out

was going to pull the trigger on the zenbook but noticed this:

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/new-inspiron-15-5000/spd/inspiron-15-5593-laptop/cn59306

with a 12? discount code it comes in about €615

Not a metal finish as the zen book but
15.6 which I probably prefer
twice the hard drive
faster processor with a poor graphics card that I wont want anyhow

any thoughts

Rooy

Looking to purchase a laptop today/this week as Christmas present for 11 year old , I see some of the recommended laptops come with 1 month subscription to Microsoft Office , if anyone had any insight into getting Office 365? for students would be appreciated , is it free ?, or just free for a period , is it easily obtainable ? , I did go to Microsoft site where it asked me for school email and then my mobile , but I didnt want to proceed in case I wasnt subsequently allowed to install on a new laptop. Main planned use would be for Powerpoint for school projects.

cherryghost

Balmed Out wrote: »

was going to pull the trigger on the zenbook but noticed this:

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/new-inspiron-15-5000/spd/inspiron-15-5593-laptop/cn59306

with a 12? discount code it comes in about €615

Not a metal finish as the zen book but
15.6 which I probably prefer
twice the hard drive
faster processor with a poor graphics card that I wont want anyhow

any thoughts

Cant really compare chass quality so its down to personal preference (the CPU is on average 10% faster than 3500U). I would personally prefer the extra bit of change for more premium finish on Zenbook. But the Nvidia GPU on the Dell notebook is faster than the AMD integrated GPU (about 10% faster than it) too.

StudentforLife

Another question, I thought a PC might make more sense than replacing an old laptop as don't need portability.

The HP 24-f0034na 23.8" Intel Core i3 All in One PC is marked down in Curry's from €899 to €599.

I don't have enough computing knowledge to know if this is a real sale price or a most of the year price.

Can anyone advise?

cherryghost

StudentforLife wrote: »

Another question, I thought a PC might make more sense than replacing an old laptop as don't need portability.

The HP 24-f0034na 23.8" Intel Core i3 All in One PC is marked down in Curry's from €899 to €599.

I don't have enough computing knowledge to know if this is a real sale price or a most of the year price.

Can anyone advise?

Definitely recommend trying building one yourself. You'd save a pretty penny and have a vastly superior powered PC compared to similarly priced branded desktops. Just consider it grown up Lego building

There's plenty of advice over on the Building & Upgrading forum

The_Conductor

StudentforLife wrote: »

Another question, I thought a PC might make more sense than replacing an old laptop as don't need portability.

The HP 24-f0034na 23.8" Intel Core i3 All in One PC is marked down in Curry's from €899 to €599.

Its a cheap all-in-one machine.
Unfortunately, its cheap for a few different reasons- the processor is a dual core without hyper threading. The RAM is a pain to upgrade- the base unit only comes with 4Gb (unless you get an 8Gb model). The hard-drive is a mechanical drive- typically a 1TB 5400 unit- in a 2.5" form factor.

In short- its like having a large cheap laptop- but its not portable.

If you'd really like having a large all-in-one and don't care that the processor is poor and the hard-drive is slow- then- it looks like a nice machine- however, a lowly i3 and DDR3 RAM is so 2016...…….

There is a different version of this- with a Ryzen 5 and far superior graphics- that would make a far better bet. The i3 version- is a chore to use.

Homelander

All-in-ones are OK but you are much better off getting the best balanced one you can afford, they are a massive pain to upgrade usually.

For example this is very powerful and wouldn't need any upgrading for years or years....the i3 with 4gb ram and a normal hdd I would not bother with.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/lenovo-ideacentre-a540-24icb-23-8-intel-core-i5-all-in-one-pc-1-tb-hdd-128-gb-ssd-black-10196802-pdt.html

huntsman77

Homelander wrote: »

All-in-ones are OK but you are much better off getting the best balanced one you can afford, they are a massive pain to upgrade usually.

For example this is very powerful and wouldn't need any upgrading for years or years....the i3 with 4gb ram and a normal hdd I would not bother with.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/lenovo-ideacentre-a540-24icb-23-8-intel-core-i5-all-in-one-pc-1-tb-hdd-128-gb-ssd-black-10196802-pdt.html

Hi just in regards that pc would it have the fast boot up of ssd and then big storage aswell or how do the work together

park1ife

Hi all,

Looking for an entry level gaming laptop. Mainly will be playing games like Football Manager and Civilization. Based on what I've been reading the advice seems to be to spend on the GPU. I've narrowed it down to these 3 options;

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/new-dell-g3-15/spd/g-series-15-3590-laptop/cn35916*

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec0001na_2788805.html

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/l-series/IdeaPad-L340-15IRH-Gaming/p/88IPL301161

Any advice much appreciated.

*The Dell one is 750 after the coupon is applied

Homelander

park1ife wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for an entry level gaming laptop. Mainly will be playing games like Football Manager and Civilization. Based on what I've been reading the advice seems to be to spend on the GPU. I've narrowed it down to these 3 options;

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/new-dell-g3-15/spd/g-series-15-3590-laptop/cn35916*

https://www.box.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-Gaming-15-ec0001na_2788805.html

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/l-series/IdeaPad-L340-15IRH-Gaming/p/88IPL301161

Any advice much appreciated.

*The Dell one is 750 after the coupon is applied

Lenovo by far the best overall for games by a country mile, run most new games at high-ish pretty good. Others ones not good value at all, 1050 is a very low-end card in 2019, a lot of new games would only run at lowest settings.

Lenovo only has 128gb ssd though, that's tiny, you would run out of space straight away.