Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

Dreamnine

In general, are there any particular brands to be wary of when buying a laptop, and others which are generally good?

busenbust

Dreamnine wrote: »

In general, are there any particular brands to be wary of when buying a laptop, and others which are generally good?

so very much a matter of personal opinion -- But Acer I really detest.

Lenovo pay close attention to their build quality -- but u end paying a premium somewhat .

Some of the HP business laptops I really do like:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=37757230&postcount=6

Dreamnine

I ask because I have an Advent 4213 netbook which has been excellent for the price I paid - it was the only netbook I could find that had a 3G modem..

Now, however, I want a laptop but am wary of Advent because of problems people seem to have with PC World/Currys etc. and their tech guys.

busenbust

Dreamnine wrote: »

In general, are there any particular brands to be wary of when buying a laptop, and others which are generally good?

the Samsungs I dislike too. imo.

noely1

Is this a good deal?

My main aim is for hdmi and built in webcam.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5084069/Trail/searchtext%3ESAMASUNG+LAPTOP.htm

What do people think?
cheers

Aiadi

noely1 wrote: »

Is this a good deal?

My main aim is for hdmi and built in webcam.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5084069/Trail/searchtext%3ESAMASUNG+LAPTOP.htm

What do people think?
cheers

I think it is a tenner cheaper in Amazon but Argos is starting the 20 pounds voucher if you spend a 100 from tomorrow. I remember a friend of mine got his for around the 340 mark from amazon a couple of months back.

Aiadi

Aiadi wrote: »

I think it is a tenner cheaper in Amazon but Argos is starting the 20 pounds voucher if you spend a 100 from tomorrow. I remember a friend of mine got his for around the 340 mark from amazon a couple of months back.

Oh no I found the old thread on HUKD for a better specced one. I would wait for something cheaper.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/samsung-r530-t4300-windows-7-3gb-25/745558

dustystar02

Hi guys

hope you dont mind me hijacking this thread.

My dad has recently completed a silver surfers course at teh local library and is now desperate to try out his knowledge on a regular basis.

He is after a laptop which he will just use for internet surfing, word processing etc, nothing too technical.

Trouble is his budget is £200 and I have told him I am struggling to find him anything at this price. I've looked on all the websites mentioned here but nothing so far. I've asked him to increase his budget and offered to contribute as his xmas pressie.

I've been looking at these but are they too good to be true?
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/newandusedlaptops4u/m.html

I am feeling more clueless than him about buying a laptop. Hard drives etc mean nothing too me so I don't know a good deal if I see opne anyway. What are these netbooks I keep reading about? Would one of them be better for him?

Also, he has no landline or Sky so I figured he would have to get a mobile dongle stick? Is that best? How exactly do they work? Do you put money on them in a PAYG sort of way?

Sorry if these questions have been asked a million times before but I'm seriously stumped.

Any advice much appreciated.

Donnie

dustystar02 wrote: »

Hi guys

hope you dont mind me hijacking this thread.

My dad has recently completed a silver surfers course at teh local library and is now desperate to try out his knowledge on a regular basis.

He is after a laptop which he will just use for internet surfing, word processing etc, nothing too technical.

Trouble is his budget is £200 and I have told him I am struggling to find him anything at this price. I've looked on all the websites mentioned here but nothing so far. I've asked him to increase his budget and offered to contribute as his xmas pressie.

I've been looking at these but are they too good to be true?
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/newandusedlaptops4u/m.html

I am feeling more clueless than him about buying a laptop. Hard drives etc mean nothing too me so I don't know a good deal if I see opne anyway. What are these netbooks I keep reading about? Would one of them be better for him?

Also, he has no landline or Sky so I figured he would have to get a mobile dongle stick? Is that best? How exactly do they work? Do you put money on them in a PAYG sort of way?

Sorry if these questions have been asked a million times before but I'm seriously stumped.

Any advice much appreciated.

For mobile broadband:

Go to Site Finder, click on the map and pop his postcode in the box.
A map should appear, hopefully with some blue triangles.

You'll need to click on each of the blue triangles in turn, reading the details.
What you are looking for are UMTS masts under 'type of transmission' within 500 metres(anything in the default box will be) of his place of abode and the name of the operator.

Once you have ascertained that he can receive 3G mobile broadband and with whom, we can look at the packages.

As to a laptop, don't think of buying one without a warranty if you are not capable of the maintenance.

A Netbook may be a bit to small and fiddly for him.

dustystar02

Thank you, just did that and this is what it says:

Name of Operator
3
Operator Site Ref.
M0348
Station Type
Macrocell
Height of Antenna
11 Metres
Frequency Range
2100 MHz
Transmitter Power
24.46 dBW
Maximum licensed power
32 dBW
Type of Transmission
UMTS


i agree re: a netbook but if he cannot increase his budget then I'm not sure how to get a laptop for £200.

Would second hand ebay be the way to go?

Is this too good to be true?
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/newandusedlaptops4u/m.html