Looking for laptop recommendations.

Cherry Blossom · 31-05-2021 9:42pm #1

Hi I am looking for recommendations for a new laptop. My current one was €350 at the time 5 years ago and is pretty low spec, I was on a budget and am now in the market for something better.

I’m getting into photography and looking for something that has 1 tb storage 16gb ram and excellent graphics, an sd card slot and preferably 3 usb slots. I was looking at the HP spectre 360 13.5” but curry’s have none in stock at the minute. Anyone have any other recommendations?

I’ll just add that I’m in no big hurry or anything I can wait a few months if something decent is due to come on the market soon.

31-05-2021 10:48pm

max budget? sort of pointless asking otherwise....

for a portable, metal-build and light option acer swift 3 11th gen intel i5 model on amazon or acer.ie if you can get a student beans discount access (15%)- any third-level student can get this

11th gen intel i5's and i7's have much improved integrated graphics and rull well in this model due to a high power wattage level

512gb ssd which is fine if you learn to live with it

colour-accurate screen

few laptops yet come with 1tb ssd's so you'd be paying over the odds for the privilege

else if don't need mobility then go for the 144Hz colour-accurate screen option Acer predator helios which has a basic discrete gpu

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-AN515-44-Display-Windows-Headset/dp/B089BJY21X/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=144hz%2Bacer%2Bgaming&qid=1622497588&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTFY0NkxEQlI4RUdSJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTc2MjQ0MkM1SElBRVhWQjRYViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDY4NTQ0NEpVV0ZMRDhQOTBTJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

Cherry Blossom · 31-05-2021 10:52pm

I don’t really have a budget but value for my money would be good. I suppose around 2k.

31-05-2021 11:08pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

I don’t really have a budget but value for my money would be good. I suppose around 2k.

no need to spend anything near that really

so do you need portable?

thin and light and really powerful discrete graphics cards are pretty much mutually exclusive

for photo editing you don't need high-end graphic cards

for the latest games at high settings you do need that

here is a 1tb ssd and 16gb ram acer swift 3 14 new model

this will run games due to xe graphics actually but not at the highest settings

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/acer-swift-3-ultra-thin-laptop-sf314-59-silver-nx-a0mek-005

not a lot in the i5 vs i7 here in this model so don't bother paying for the i7

999 but track down some student or see if your old college email will work for student beans to get 15% off

for 850 would be a v good and well-built laptop that should run well for years

would be a quantum upgrade from your current plastic monstrosity

Cherry Blossom · 31-05-2021 11:47pm

I will need to transport it from time to time in the car but I won’t be carrying it around in a back pack or anything so doesn’t really need to be that portable. Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll have a look. I suppose if I ever need more storage space I can always buy an external hard drive.

31-05-2021 11:49pm

here's a review of that i5 16gb ram, 1tb ssd model (512gb in review but makes no diff to perf as it's only a storage size spec)

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/42008-acer-swift-3-14-sf314-59-review/

as said above it performs very well as it's able to run the cpu at a higher power level

overall, excellent value for money

even if you don't need portability a nicely designed slim and light metal-build unit is nice to work on

getting the 16gb ram model is preferable for future proofing as ultrabooks are not really ram-upgradable anymore due to size constraints (whereas gaming laptops would be)

Cherry Blossom · 01-06-2021 12:12am

It doesn’t seem to have a micro SD card slot. That’s a big drawback for me.

01-06-2021 12:16am

easily solved tbh with something small and that is also useful for lots of other purposes besides the times you need sd card access

a number of manufacturers are dropping sd card slots as standard

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Delivery-microSD-Multiport-Adapter-MacBook/dp/B083DZ1X27/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2JLLK3R5D1D6U&dchild=1&keywords=usb+c+hub+micro+sd&qid=1622502902&sprefix=usb+c+hub+mic%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-4

skinny90 · 02-06-2021 7:36pm

Sorry to jump on this

What would you recommend for 500-700?

Don’t mind buying online but would like to avoid import fees

Normal use, office work light browsing etc

Looking for something with a good processor, ideally ssd drive and decent RAM

02-06-2021 8:26pm

skinny90 wrote: »

Sorry to jump on this

What would you recommend for 500-700?

Don’t mind buying online but would like to avoid import fees

Normal use, office work light browsing etc

Looking for something with a good processor, ideally ssd drive and decent RAM

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/acer-swift-3-ultra-thin-laptop-sf314-59-silver-nx-a0mek-001

find someone with studentbeans access to get a 15% discount to bring it into your budget range

Cherry Blossom · 01-08-2021 8:35pm

Hi,

Is anyone else having issues trying to buy from Acer online this weekend? It tells me payment has been denied and refer to my own bank. My bank is saying the issue is with Acer.

poitinstill · 06-08-2021 3:13pm

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CSXS8BB/ref%3Dox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1P4WV8ZGK5JG9&psc=1

is this any good for th eprice ?

saggycaggy · 10-08-2021 10:01am

Can I jump on this too.

Mature student and back to college in September- tight budget, talking €400 or so. I'm not techy at all so I just need a decent laptop for college work!

Thanks.

Vic987 · 10-08-2021 11:27am

Hi,

Any suggestions for a junior cert student. My preference is windows, durable and 14 inch for less than €500.

She wants silver :)

Thanks

14-08-2021 12:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732327#Comment_117732327

lenovo.ie bottom left sign up to newsletter to get emailed 10% off code

this one is good but bit of a lead time (but sometimes can be delivered a lot quicker - my experience but may vary of course). search other ideapad 14 inch options if too long

add 4gb more ram yourself

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-3-14ALC6/p/LEN101I0018

o

Vic987 · 15-08-2021 11:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117751862#Comment_117751862

Hi Glasso, first of all thanks for the help.

Comparing your recommendation (Ideapad 3) to a Lenovo IdeaPad 5i (14" Intel) 88IPS501390 which is grey but I think I can persuade my daughter. I'm not allowed to post the link but the model is:-

ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-5i-14IIL05/p/88IPS501390

The 5i has less storage at 128 v the 256Gb in your recommendation and your one has an AMD processors:-

11th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-1115G4 Processor (2 Cores / 4 Threads, 3.0 GHz, up to 4.10 GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 MB Cache) - IdeaPad-5i

v

AMD Ryzen™ 3 5300U Processor (4 Cores / 8 Threads, 2.60 GHz, up to 3.80 GHz with Max Boost, 2 MB Cache L2 / 4 MB Cache L3) - Ideapad 3 i.e. your recommendation.

Pricing before discount is 459 v 529, I'm happy to pay either. My other daughter has student beans.

Which one do you think? The intel is faster and seems to my uneducated eye to be better?

15-08-2021 4:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117756906#Comment_117756906

the amd is maybe 60% more powerful on benchmarks because it's a 4-core cpu vs 2-core cpu on the intel

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-1115G4+%40+3.00GHz&id=3877

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+3+5300U&id=4288

poitinstill · 22-08-2021 11:52pm

for 500 is this a good option refurb'd ?

Processor : AMD Ryzen™ 5 4500U Processor (6 Cores / 6 Threads, 2.30 GHz, up to 4.00 GHz with Max Boost, 3 MB Cache L2 / 8 MB Cache L3)
Operating System : Windows 10 Home 64
Memory : 8 GB Soldered DDR4 3200MHz
Storage : 256 GB M.2 2242 SSD
Warranty : 1 Year Depot
Graphics : Integrated AMD Radeon™ Graphics
Battery : 4 cell, 60Wh
Pointing Device : ClickPad + Lenovo Digital Pen

Looking for laptop recommendations.

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