Buying a Laptop: The current Generation

whellman1030 · 20-08-2013 05:46PM

Monotype wrote: »

Laptops are cheaper in the US.
However, they keyboard layout is different. You can change to the Irish layout but you'll be a key short - specifically the \| key.

I don't think the keyboard is the problem. You have stickers or you can even buy keys separately.

What I don't think you can do is passing on the corridor that says "Nothing to declare":D:D

Anyway a guy suggested to sell me a laptop over mail from the US and he was saying he would send it as a gift so I wouldn't be charged in customs.
If that's true my family in the US could do the same?

Serephucus · 20-08-2013 05:52PM

Better off picking it up yourself, to be honest. I've "smuggled" four laptops back from the US/Canada (so not actually smuggling, they were all for me), and no-one said anything*.

*Except one of the guys at a security checkpoint in Philadelphia. He took a coffee break to play around with my M17x.

Monotype · 20-08-2013 06:18PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

I don't think the keyboard is the problem. You have stickers or you can even buy keys separately.

What I don't think you can do is passing on the corridor that says "Nothing to declare":D:D

Anyway a guy suggested to sell me a laptop over mail from the US and he was saying he would send it as a gift so I wouldn't be charged in customs.
If that's true my family in the US could do the same?

That won't work. You will be charged customs for that whether it is marked as a gift or not.
AFAIK, there's a key less, so you'll still be short that key if you remap to Irish layout.

Torqay · 20-08-2013 06:30PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

Anyway a guy suggested to sell me a laptop over mail from the US and he was saying he would send it as a gift so I wouldn't be charged in customs.

Relief from paying import duty or VAT on gifts mailed form the US to Ireland only applies if the value does not exceed €45.

Anyway, most of us may have gotten away with that sort of thing on occasion, but you do this at your peril. I would not encourage anyone in a public forum to commit illegal acts, just because of the assumption that "nobody is likely going to make a fuss about it".

whellman1030 · 20-08-2013 10:02PM

Torqay wrote: »

Relief from paying import duty or VAT on gifts mailed form the US to Ireland only applies if the value does not exceed €45.

Anyway, most of us may have gotten away with that sort of thing on occasion, but you do this at your peril. I would not encourage anyone in a public forum to commit illegal acts, just because of the assumption that "nobody is likely going to make a fuss about it".

I also don't recommend do anything illegal anywhere, but what could happen to a person that recommends that here?? Because everyone here is anonymous, I don't see how the police can reach anyone...

Torqay · 20-08-2013 10:14PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

Because everyone here is anonymous, I don't see how the police can reach anyone...

YMMD

theaaao · 21-08-2013 08:58PM

Thanks for the feedback.

Thinking Ill just get one here now just to avoid the hassle and all.

Was looking at this: http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_Z500_Core_i5_Laptop_in_White_59372918/version.asp#maindesc

Is it worth going for the i5 over the i3?
1tb HDD though which I wouldnt need at all. No indication if theres HDMI usb 3.0.

Is lenovo the best brand out there atm? Have a toshiba satellite series still going strong-wondering if should go with them again.

masoodsarwar · 24-08-2013 11:37PM

Hi everyone

I want to get a decent laptop for myself which can serve me for 2-3 years.
Currently I am using an HP Probook 6470 and I loved it for its keypad. Unfortunately, I have to give it back and get one for myself. my budget is 450 euros max but I can go to 500 if something is really appealing.

My use is pretty standard like browsing, skype video calls using micrsoft office for my work.

What i have gathered from my 2 days research is following.

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-3521/pd?oc=cn35134&model_id=inspiron-15-3521

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-3521/pd?oc=cn35137&model_id=inspiron-15-3521

http://www.harveynorman.ie/hp-pavilion-sleekbook-14-inch-laptop.html

http://www.harveynorman.ie/hp-pavilion-g6-ultrabook-with-14-screen.html

http://www.currys.ie/Product/HP-Pavilion-14b141sa-Touchscreen-14andrdquo-Sleekbook/319352/7.37

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L850-1UJ_15.6_Core_i3-3120M_4GB_500GB_DVD-SM_Win8_64_PSKG7E-00H003EN/version.asp#maindesc

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/HP-650_Core_i3-2348M_2.3GHz_4GB_DDR3_500GB_Win8_64-Bit_15.6_DVD_RW_USB_HDM_H0V40EA/version.asp#maindesc

Sorry for the long post.

Any feedback with be much appreciated.

Monotype · 25-08-2013 09:48AM

Is it mobility that you're after? What about these two?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-U940-Ultrabook-Bluetooth/dp/B009HQ6SJK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ARAKD46/

Ambient Occlusion · 25-08-2013 02:55PM

Hello, I'm looking for a fairly powerful laptop but to be honest I have no real idea what I should be looking for. Preferably I'd like a touchscreen laptop for use of OneNote but I'd also like it to be able to run modern games like Battlefield 4 fairly well. My maximum price is probably €1200. Any help would be much appreciated.

Torqay · 25-08-2013 04:27PM

The new PCS Optimus V with a Haswell processor should tick all your boxes (except for the touch screen, a rather unusual request for a powerful gaming PC, if I may say so). €1,184 in the following configuration:

Touchscreens are still the exception rather than the norm, unless you're looking for a tablet or ultrabook (neither of which would have the desired graphics performance).

Ambient Occlusion · 26-08-2013 12:30AM

Torqay wrote: »

The new PCS Optimus V with a Haswell processor should tick all your boxes (except for the touch screen, a rather unusual request for a powerful gaming PC, if I may say so). €1,184 in the following configuration:

Touchscreens are still the exception rather than the norm, unless you're looking for a tablet or ultrabook (neither of which would have the desired graphics performance).

Thanks for the reply! That is certainly a nice laptop, however I require the touchscreen for note-taking. Maybe I should fill in the sticky questionnaire. Help is appreciated nonetheless

masoodsarwar · 26-08-2013 12:02PM

Monotype wrote: »

Is it mobility that you're after? What about these two?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-U940-Ultrabook-Bluetooth/dp/B009HQ6SJK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ARAKD46/

First one says, dispatched within 1,2 months????
I am leaning towards Toshiba but delivery time??

Torqay · 26-08-2013 01:27PM

Ambient Occlusion wrote: »

Thanks for the reply! That is certainly a nice laptop, however I require the touchscreen for note-taking.

You might be out of luck there. Not even renowned gaming laptop makers like Alienware or MSI offer anything with a touchscreen yet.

Razer and MSI have some models with a 800x480 touchscreen replacing the conventional touchpad, but they are well outside your budget, the new Razer Blade Pro costs $2,500... probably 3 grand by the time it arrives here.

Those machines are expensive enough as they are, adding another 200 or 300 yoyos for a full HD touchscreen might be a deal breaker for many.

Monotype · 26-08-2013 06:20PM

masoodsarwar wrote: »

First one says, dispatched within 1,2 months????
I am leaning towards Toshiba but delivery time??

Usually they do a bit better than that - I've ordered with such estimates and they've been dispatched in a week or two. Every circumstance is different though. If you like the look of it, you could order it and keep looking for other deals. I don't see that model that cheap anywhere else.

TitianGerm · 27-08-2013 07:25PM

Hi guys. Looking for some help. I need a new laptop with a budget of max 600. I don't play games but need it to be portable with a long battery life and quick start up. Will be used for excel and accounting packages as well as for loads of files and notes. Will also have to use Microsoft silverlight. What about Asus Zenbook UX32A 13.3 inch Windows 8 Ultrabook in Silver - UX32A-R3007H. Can get it delivered from laptopsdirect.ie for just under 700.

whellman1030 · 31-08-2013 06:17PM

I'm looking for another laptop with a very good backlit keyboard, 15 inches aprox., very good battery life and very light.

No more requirements but as cheap as possible.

Any suggestion?

Torqay · 31-08-2013 06:46PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

I'm looking for another laptop with a very good backlit keyboard, 15 inches aprox., very good battery life and very light.

No more requirements but as cheap as possible.

Any suggestion?

Dell 15z UltraBook, 15.6" display, backlit keyboard, from €669

Mumha · 31-08-2013 09:25PM

Torqay wrote: »

Dell 15z UltraBook, 15.6" display, backlit keyboard, from €669

If one was to buy a laptop with a 1Tb hard drive, would you recommend getting a 240GB SSD 2nd drive, or a 240GB mSATA SSD Cache / Storage Drive ?

Monotype · 31-08-2013 10:37PM

Usually an SSD as a second drive means either a bigger laptop or an SSD instead of a DVD drive.
The mSATA ones are nearly as fast as the mainstream ones last time I checked.

whellman1030 · 01-09-2013 12:01PM

Torqay wrote: »

Dell 15z UltraBook, 15.6" display, backlit keyboard, from €669

Thanks Torqay.

I dont know if you've noticed but the samsung http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/pcs/NP900X4D-A05US-specs
is expandable to 16gb of ram and even lighter. I just dont know where to buy it.

Torqay · 01-09-2013 01:07PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

Thanks Torqay.

I dont know if you've noticed but the samsung http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/pcs/NP900X4D-A05US-specs
is expandable to 16gb of ram and even lighter. I just dont know where to buy it.

The Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C is a premium Ultrabook and doesn't exactly match your "as cheap as possible" requirement. I see it on sale for $1,800 in the US (there's one on Amazon UK for £2,665). The 13" version is a bit "cheaper" but still costs around €1,200.

whellman1030 · 01-09-2013 04:58PM

Torqay wrote: »

The Samsung Series 9 NP900X4C is a premium Ultrabook and doesn't exactly match your "as cheap as possible" requirement. I see it on sale for $1,800 in the US (there's one on Amazon UK for £2,665). The 13" version is a bit "cheaper" but still costs around €1,200.

What did you say?

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X4D-A05US-15-Inch-Premium-Ultrabook/dp/B00A66XJZ6

Torqay · 01-09-2013 06:08PM

Ah, I looked up the C model rather than the D model. Sure, $870 is a great price ($230 less than Samsung is asking)... if you can get someone to buy it for you in the States and ship it over here, incl VAT (which you'll have to declare) it will cost €810.

I don't see these laptops anywhere on sale in Ireland or the UK. Cheapest price in Europe I can find is €1,129 (German localisation, i.e. QWERTZ keyboard and German OS).

Torqay · 01-09-2013 06:21PM

Here is the Samsung Series 9 on the sellers website. They do ship internationally, you'll have to contact them re delivery costs.

whellman1030 · 01-09-2013 08:06PM

Torqay wrote: »

Here is the Samsung Series 9 on the sellers website. They do ship internationally, you'll have to contact them re delivery costs.

I think I'm going for this one: http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-15z-ultrabook/4505-3121_7-35558257-2.html

Just have to see how much is the battery life and if the screen is matte and anti reflective. Of course I'll replace the Drive by a 256GB samsung ssd.

whellman1030 · 01-09-2013 09:03PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

I think I'm going for this one: http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-15z-ultrabook/4505-3121_7-35558257-2.html

Just have to see how much is the battery life and if the screen is matte and anti reflective. Of course I'll replace the Drive by a 256GB samsung ssd.

Ok that laptop wont work because the screen is glossy.

So I want a laptop with matte and anti reflective screen and backlit keyboard.

If I can have an option to have a lightweight one would be wonderful!!!!

Torqay · 01-09-2013 10:28PM

PC Specialist Vortex IV.

Pros: Insanely fast, 2nd HDD bay. Can take up to 32 GB RAM. Matte full HD display. Backlit keyboard.

Cons: Quite expensive. Heavy as sh*t (3.1 kg). You shouldn't expect much mobility with a 47W max TDP quad core CPU and GTX 770M, not even with that 80 Whrs battery.

Torqay · 01-09-2013 10:40PM

whellman1030 wrote: »

I think I'm going for this one: http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-15z-ultrabook/4505-3121_7-35558257-2.html

Just have to see how much is the battery life and if the screen is matte and anti reflective. Of course I'll replace the Drive by a 256GB samsung ssd.

Not an easy task. The HDD is not user-accessible. You'll have to take the whole thing apart and opening the casing may void the warranty.

coco85 · 01-09-2013 11:12PM

Hi there and i apologise if i'm in the wrong place, mods please feel free to move me...

I'm looking to buy a laptop, just for internet and some college assignments, nothing special but i want to buy something reliable with good speed. I have no idea what a GB is...i'm at a total loss when it comes to all of this... I think a 15' or so screen is what i'm after.

Any help or advice in (laymans terms) would be greatly appreciated. Even if i were to know the minimum RAM and Gb's of Hard Drive I need along with any suggestions i'd be very grateful!

Buying a Laptop: The current Generation

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