Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

grumpycrab

As closed says you don't have to buy an i3 laptop for email/web/light office. In theory the laptop will last longer with the best processor you can afford (processor is not upgradeable but memory and disk are).

The Curry's i3-2310M Acer is attractive because of the new processor. That's all though. NB. 5% discount on laptops over £299 with code 5OFFCUR until Wednesday. Also 3% off with Quidco. But quite expensive now £370.

The Curry's i3-350M HP is OK with discount code and Quidco. Note closed's comments on the HP brand.

The i3-380M Toshiba @Argos is still looking good. (2 year warranty). A bit dull and no HDMI. The alternative connection to TV is via VGA (check your TV has VGA!) and audio leads. If you think you may connect to a TV frequently it may be worth looking for a laptop with HDMI (assuming your TV has HDMI).

grumpycrab

2 Asus laptops (reportedly a good brand). Both with HDMI. One cheap with reasonable processor. £280 http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-k52f-ex546v-intel-pentium-p6100-dual-core-processor-15-6-hd-screen-windows/933485
(same one with bigger disk? £300 -> http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_K52F-EX426_1008169.html)

This one with a good i3-370M processor. £320. http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCode=ASU-COM-K52F_EX658V-BR
A very confusing number of models from Asus. Like Toshiba.

Lynchoid

closed wrote: »

expired completely?

As good as. Blue screen when switched on. Does not boot and has an error. The thing is, I have all my photos, vids, music on there and so need to access this. When I get my new computer, I'll have to take it somewhere to extract the info. Anyone know a cheaper way of doing this?

closed

what error

buy a usb hard disk caddy around £4


start a new thread if you want advice on the blue screen

adandem

In theory, is there much difference between the 1st/2nd generation i3? Would a non-techie notice any diffference do you think??

minnie123

Hi, My laptop is broken and is going to cost £160 to fix - it's a Dell Studio with a Core 2 Duo CPU T6400, 4.00 GB Memory, 282 GB Hard Drive Space.

Is one of these new i3 laptops going to be a big improvement on what I have got - I am willing to buy a new laptop for approx £400 if I will see a mrked improvement in speed etc..

Sometimes I like to have lots of explorer tabs open and work on a few things at once and my laptop sometimes seems to struggle.

Cheers x

stilltheone

minnie123 wrote: »

Hi, My laptop is broken and is going to cost £160 to fix - it's a Dell Studio with a Core 2 Duo CPU T6400, 4.00 GB Memory, 282 GB Hard Drive Space.

Is one of these new i3 laptops going to be a big improvement on what I have got - I am willing to buy a new laptop for approx £400 if I will see a mrked improvement in speed etc..

Sometimes I like to have lots of explorer tabs open and work on a few things at once and my laptop sometimes seems to struggle.

Cheers x

Broken? Tell us more.

closed

From your previous description, you need a new hinge, which don't cost anywhere near £160, and you existing laptop is well specified, the slowness is probably down to other things (ie a software problem)

minnie123

It needs a whole new lid - the hinges are all broken and the screen is half falling out - the power button is on the actual hinge so I can't switch it on - Luckily there is a multi media button on the top that switches it on too. I have tied string all around the hinges to keep it together but it's a bit of an embarassment. Dell quoted £160 to come out and fix it - but shall I just buy a new one ?

minnie123

No it needs a whole new lid the plastic that covers the hinges form part of the lid and the plastic is all broken away from where the hinges are and all cracked up the back of the lid.