Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

grumpycrab

Looking at sub-£350 i3 laptops:-

£300 from Amazon i3-370M http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0045UBCPS

£330 Saveonlaptops http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_C660-1E2_1044806.html
Larger hard disk, better processor (slightly) and cheap warranty extensions are available @Toshiba

£350 Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5084760.htm?storeId=10001&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F5084760.htm&jspStoreDir=argos&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&referrer=COJUN&com.ibm.commerce.context.experiment.ExperimentContext=com.ibm.commerce.context.experimentimpl.ExperimentContextImpl%405fba106d&cmpid=COJUN
Bigger disk and 2 year warranty in the box (extended warranties always useful with laptops!)

cepheus

I'm looking for a laptop I could plug my current non portable (non widescreen) monitor and keyboard. Are all models and connections compatible nowadays? If not what do I need to look out for?

grumpycrab

cepheus wrote: »

I'm looking for a laptop I could plug my current non portable (non widescreen) monitor and keyboard...

Assuming VGA and USB respectively, you should be fine. Check the tech specs for VGA, just in case.

cepheus

DJOldskool wrote: »

That is a very good laptop for £450.

I am unsure whether to wait a month or so for the new intel CPUs to come out which will make the i5 laptops cheaper.

I am very tempted to buy this now as a great deal.

Decisions, decisions. Helllp!

When precisely will they be released, do you have a link?

beefster

Looking for a first laptop for my Mum after she has been attending classes at the local library.... 65 and decided to get with it... :T:T

We have 2 lenovo's in the house and never had an issue with them so keen to stick with what we know...

Saw this and thought it would do her fine for her, web browsing/shopping - picture storage/work - letter writing. She wont be gaming, may be using skype though in the future. This is possibly a bit OTT for her but...

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_G560e_1072027.html

So maybe this one at a bit less £££'s
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_IdeaPad_G560_1065327.html

Would be interested in experienced opinion as its stood me in good stead on here before.

Thanks

grumpycrab

beefster wrote: »

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_G560e_1072027.html

So maybe this one at a bit less £££'s
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Lenovo_IdeaPad_G560_1065327.html

Sorry, I don't know much about Lenovo's but the Toshiba's above have processor's that are about 50% faster. Whether that difference will be noticed for the work your Mother will do is debateable.
How long have you had the existing Lenovo's for as a matter of interest?

The first Lenovo on your list is £300 @Amazon but with less memory.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004TQQCT4/ref=asc_df_B004TQQCT42655070?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&!!!!!googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004TQQCT4
However, the second one on your list is only £310 which looks good value.

poly1

Student computers currently have an open box SAMSUNG E452 for £299 (12 months RTB warranty) if that is of help to anyone.

beefster

grumpycrab wrote: »

Sorry, I don't know much about Lenovo's but the Toshiba's above have processor's that are about 50% faster. Whether that difference will be noticed for the work your Mother will do is debateable.
How long have you had the existing Lenovo's for as a matter of interest?

The first Lenovo on your list is £300 @Amazon but with less memory.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004TQQCT4/ref=asc_df_B004TQQCT42655070?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&!!!!!googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004TQQCT4
However, the second one on your list is only £310 which looks good value.

We have an N500 which is... approx 5 years old and my daughters N200 is 3 years old. pleased with both. The company i work for also issued us with Lenovo (IBM) laptops.

Ta for the info

cepheus

It might be useful to list the spec we should be aiming for to ensure the computer is still easily usable in 5 years time. I am no expert on this, but perhaps 4GB RAM (or upgradable to), 3 MB Cache?, 2.2 GHz+ Clock speed dual processor, 300 GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 ............?

stilltheone

Cheap and cheerful 'as new' refurb.

Toshiba Satellite C660-18C £199.99 No webcam and you'll need to fork out another £12 or £16 for an extra 1GB or 2GB respectively for more RAM. But if it suits.

Specs here