What am I looking for? Help please

barneyrub · 17-11-2014 09:14AM #1

Hi all,

Hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction if what Im looking for exists?!

Want to purchase a laptop. Was wondering about chromebook/netbook etc but don#'t know much about them.

What I want it for is basic internet browsing, using dropbox, ynab, little bit of picasa, my Son might use it for youtube/kids games.

But my budget is around €200 but can go to €300. It would be a secondary laptop in the house but as the main one is in more and more demand I want something for myself to use. I use a nexus/my phone for most of my browsing now but want something with a keyboard.

Thank in advance for all help

barneyrub · 17-11-2014 04:05PM

Is this any good of a price? http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10152&catalogId=14551&langId=111&searchTerms=acer+c720&authToken=

I take it I can't store pics on that one?

ETA: The more I look the more I think I want something more than a chromebook. I might want to do the odd word doc, pdf etc, store few pics etc. Will I get a half decent laptop for my budget at all?

Alanstrainor · 17-11-2014 04:35PM

A chromebook should be seen as a purely web device, they have minimal storage as they are meant for online browsing, using google docs, and other streaming and cloud services to hold your data. Given what you've said I reckon it does not suit your needs so you should look elsewhere. A Dell Inspiron 15 is a grand cheap end laptop, the price varies and can be as low as 229 if you wait.

ED E · 17-11-2014 04:36PM

Ynab won't work on a chromebook, you can't install windows applications.

There was a dell for 220 that would suit your needs but its now up to 280 which makes it poor value. You really need to spend 300 at a minimum.

barneyrub · 17-11-2014 04:39PM

Thank you both. Do you have a link for that Dell one? I want something a bit light too. Prob impossible with my budget

Would I get one for €300? I could possibly push it a bit, get a contribution from a cmas present.

ED E · 17-11-2014 07:12PM

http://www.dell.com/ie/p/inspiron-15-3531-laptop/pd?oc=cn53105

Its down at 250 right now. Its a nice unit for €250 but you do get what you pay for. The big downside is the celeron dual core. Its pretty damn weak. Dont get me wrong, it runs, but it wont blaze through anything and will be obsolete within two years.

If you can scrape the 300 - 320 mark try and get something with a mid range i3 instead, and 4GB of ram.

barneyrub · 17-11-2014 10:17PM

Thanks for the link. Wasn't sure if that was the right one I was looking at.

I was looking on Argos as I have a €50 voucher for there and was looking at these ones: http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ArgosComparison?storeId=10152&catalogId=14551&categoryId=&langId=111&returnToURL=%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FBrowse%3Fpp%3DShow%2Ball%26s%3DPrice%253A%2BLow%2B-%2BHigh%26storeId%3D10152%26catalogId%3D14551%26langId%3D111%26c_1%3D1%257Ccategory_root%257COffice%25252C%252BPCs%252Band%252Bphones%257C14418968%26c_2%3D2%257C19780850%257CLaptops%252Band%252Bnetbooks%257C14419039%26c_3%3D3%257Ccat_14419039%257CLaptops%257C14419040%26authToken%3D&compIds=668082&compIds=559882&compIds=510510&compIds=559960&compIds=657116&authToken=&orderedIds=668082_559882_510510_559960_657116_

Any of them worth the prices?

I was looking at the 1st one as it has 4gb Ram but does it have the same processor as the Dell one?
Sorry for all the questions...not the best at the tech talk!!

RossieMan · 17-11-2014 10:21PM

you get what you pay for. all those you've linked will work, but they'll be awful.
I'd say and increase the budget, you'll get much better for around 400.

barneyrub · 17-11-2014 11:22PM

Thanks. Whatever about 300 there's no way I could stretch to 400 unfortunately.

RossieMan · 17-11-2014 11:37PM

how about a tablet? would be more suited for general browsing of the internet.
Plays youtube quite well. Cheaper with better spec than any of the budget laptops.

perhaps wait till black friday and a deal on a laptop might come up.

Those E series really are shocking, i've seen VLC struggle to play any sort of movie on them.

barneyrub · 18-11-2014 08:45AM

No I don't want a tablet. There's one in the house and have my phone too.

I want something with keyboard and can store some photos, do ynab, little bit of word etc. It'll be a secondary laptop in the house.

I have thought of black friday so want to get an idea of what I should be looking for in case a deal comes up anywhere

Thanks

RossieMan · 18-11-2014 01:49PM

I'd say AMD A6/i3 minimum in terms of processor.

But in yourbudget thats almost impossible. You'll get a laptop, but it'll be a pain to use.

Alanstrainor · 18-11-2014 02:16PM

RossieMan wrote: »

I'd say AMD A6/i3 minimum in terms of processor.

But in yourbudget thats almost impossible. You'll get a laptop, but it'll be a pain to use.

I disagree. I use a Windows 8 tablet with a quad core Atom which is a great performer, never have issues with slowness when browsing. The likes of the Dell mentioned will be grand imo. Not fliers as they run using a HDD, but acceptable.

barneyrub · 20-11-2014 05:03PM

Thanks. Gonna keep an eye on that Dell one to see if it will drop in price again

TerrorFirmer · 21-11-2014 09:10AM

RossieMan wrote: »

Those E series really are shocking, i've seen VLC struggle to play any sort of movie on them.

I'm not a fan of the low end processors but to be fair you're being incredibly dramatic.

All E and Atom series processors decode full HD effortlessly.

A laptop with those processors isn't going to make waves, but they are perfectly acceptable for media, web browsing, youtube, etc.

If you already have a €50 voucher for Argos, this one isn't bad. Just as long as you know it's 11.6" size.

Otherwise keep an eye on the Dell which is very similar just has a bigger screen.

barneyrub · 21-11-2014 10:14AM

Thank you. I had posted that one earlier and was actually coming on this morning to ask how it would compare to the Dell one as I have the voucher. It's half the weight of the Dell. Will check out the screen measurements

barneyrub · 21-11-2014 10:32AM

And that Acer is out of stock nearly everywhere!!

barneyrub · 24-11-2014 09:08AM

Just came across this coming up on amazon deals in an hour: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LBY4N02/ref=gb1h_img_c-3_3427_adeaa23f?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=11QQEKMRZB07GJ1X2VNM&pf_rd_i=161428031&pf_rd_p=559703427

To me it looks the same as the Acer in Argos posted above. Is it? Would it be worth it if it dropped a bit for the deal? Or do I hang out for later in the week

tia

eta: was gone and waitlist full within 10sec. Was at £160

barneyrub · 27-11-2014 05:02PM

This is coming up later on Amazon Deals, would it be any good if it dropped a good bit?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A9T56KG/ref=gb1h_img_c-2_0667_fc093f64?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-2&pf_rd_r=1PNJGANWG6H8XDQDBEBA&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=560250667#customerReviews

What am I looking for? Help please

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