Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

MarkBargain

What about this one? https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_K52F-EX546V_1008171.html Fast processor, plenty of memory, DVD writer, card reader and an HDMI port to connect to a TV. Seems a good price for £279.97 delivered. I have read that Asus are one of the most reliable brands.

Terri31

I got one of these 2 weeks ago, friend has one now too - new with 12 months manufacturer warranty [Hewlett-Packard]

Intel Pentium Dual Core (T4500) 2.3GHz Processor
2GB 1066MHz DDR3 Installed + FREE Additional 1GB HP DDR3 Totalling 3GB RAM [I fitted it myself as per instructions and I'm no geek!]
250GB (5400rpm) SATA II Hard Drive
15.6 inch LED-backlit HD BrightView (1366 x 768)
2MP Webcam with in built Mic
DVD±RW SuperMulti Dual Layer Optical Drive with LightScribe
802.11b/g/n WLAN Wireless Networking
HDMI, Bluetooth, Card Reader, 3x USB, VGA
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
FREE HP 15.6" Carry Case
Full Manufacturer 12 Month Warranty

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HP-620-15-6-Intel-Dual-Core-3Gb-Laptop-Bundle-inc-case-/170646351313?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item27bb50add1#ht_6037wt_1135

Rudess

miamoo wrote: »

Hi, I havent read the whole thread, I'm looking for a laptop for my son.
He is in the army so doesnt have a lot of time to look himself, he cant buy one online, he needs one off the high street.
His maximum budget is £400 but the cheaper the better. It needs to be a reliable make, and he will be using it for facebook/watching films mainly. Thanks

I recommend you to buy HP laptop, very reliable. When you choose the specific model, DON'T buy with a celeron processor or with some of the T3500,T4000 etc... these are old processors. Also make sure it comes with at least 3 if not 4GB RAM memory.

Once which could fit your budget:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-g6-1009ea-15-6-laptop-red-09797922-pdt.html

Currys, PCWORLD and Dixons are the same company now, so you can get this in any of their stores.

Good luck!

black_paw

found this now ....wonder what you think ?? this is at ARGOS for £599.99 but staples have it in its clearance just gone on for £329.99.. + free mem stick/cover/bag, wonder is it better than the Fujitsu earlier i asked about on here ...thanks for comments

Acer Aspire 5553 Quad Core 320GB 15.6 Inch Laptop.
AMD Phenom II X4 quad core N930.
2GHz processor speed.
3GB DDR3 RAM memory.
320GB SATA hard drive.
Display features:

15.6in display.
Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
DVD optical drives:

Dual layer.
Graphics:

ATI Radeon HD 4250 graphics card with 256MB memory.
Interfaces and connectivity:

Multi-Media Card (MMC) compatible.
4 USB ports.
1 HDMI port.
B/g/n wireless/WiFi enabled.
Multi-media features:

1.3MP built-in webcam.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5083400.htm#pdpFullProductInformation
Built-in mic.

Skeenfleent

janiceb966 wrote: »

I currently have a Sony Vaio which is about 4.5 years old - it has 120gb hdd and 1gb memory - and it's getting a bit slow. Nothing else wrong with it really but I have seen an Acer that looks like a good deal. I'm not very techie minded so any advice would be appreciated

As a new user I can't post links apparently but it's an Acer ES528 and it's on the weekly deals page on ebay for £259.99

May I suggest backing up your data, adding another 1GB of RAM and re-installing Windows XP or depending on the processor, it may even handle Windows 7 reasonably well. You might find you don't need a new laptop - this is moneysavingexpert, right, and the ultimate money saving is not being deluded you need something when you don't... 1GB of RAM and a Pentium 4 processor is what I have on this laptop I'm using to type this - and it's fine, but gets slow when I open lots of tabs, because Firefox is a memory hog. That's the software's fault, not the hardware. Fixing Firefox's software bugs gives me back a fast PC, so even though if I added more RAM to make it 2GB, it WOULD show an increase in speed - it shouldn't have to need the extra RAM, 1GB can do a lot (launch a rocket to the moon, easily!), with a little TLC and housekeeping, your PC can tick over quite nicely for years. The only problem I have with such a slow PC is number-crunching, encoding large videos takes a while. How often does one do this, though?

Incidentally, NEVER at ANY price, buy a Vista or Windows 7 PC with only 1GB of RAM. They need 2GB minimum for any kind of usability, regardless of published minimum specs from Microsoft (which experienced techs always double to give a minimum spec that's realistic and not just designed to delude more people into buying Windows for slower PCs). My cousin had this, and I should have brought it back to the shop 3 years later under the Sale Of Goods Act as being unfit for purpose, as it absolutely crawled! Instead I ripped it apart, and put in another 1GB of RAM, making it basic and usable. With no help from the incomplete and unhelpful manufacturer's website (NEVER buy PC World, Currys, Dixons etc own brands e.g. Packard Bell, E-Systems, they suck and are NEVER respected).

asbokid

Rudess wrote: »

I recommend you to buy HP laptop, very reliable.

http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

Currys, PCWORLD and Dixons are the same company now, so you can get this in any of our their stores.

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2011/04/14/dixons_swedish_future/

grumpycrab

MarkBargain wrote: »

What about this one? www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_K52F-EX546V_1008171.html Fast processor, plenty of memory, DVD writer, card reader and an HDMI port to connect to a TV. Seems a good price for £279.97 delivered. I have read that Asus are one of the most reliable brands.

This is a great basic laptop from a good brand. Better than HP (unless you can get a 3 year warranty as part of the package)

If you have a slow but otherwise working laptop and have a couple of hours spare (and a bit of patience!) try closed's thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/32368063#Comment_32368063

Pigeonpoo

Skeenfleent wrote: »

May I suggest backing up your data, adding another 1GB of RAM and re-installing Windows XP or depending on the processor, it may even handle Windows 7 reasonably well. You might find you don't need a new laptop - this is moneysavingexpert, right, and the ultimate money saving is not being deluded you need something when you don't.

I have a Toshiba L35OD. It is almost three years old and sooo slow. I have run a registry cleaner, C cleaner, defragmenter, disc cleaner and now feel that the above might be the answer......is there any help that can take you through this step by step? I am not very confident at computers.

grumpycrab

Pigeonpoo wrote: »

I have a Toshiba L35OD. It is almost three years old and sooo slow. I have run a registry cleaner, C cleaner, defragmenter, disc cleaner and now feel that the above might be the answer......is there any help that can take you through this step by step? I am not very confident at computers.

1. try closed's thread (linked in post above) if you have some spare time
2. which model of Toshiba is it exactly
3. try the Crucial web page which has a "scanner" to tell you what you have and what memory options you can add -> http://www.crucial.com/uk
4. There's a video on the crucial site to tell you how to add the memory. Its not as difficult as you might think.
-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbPaR1Ci-Ug

Crucial will refund any memory you buy but doesn't work (for whatever reason).

Spiderpig1

Hi Everyone, my first post so please go easy on me

I've just purchased a Toshiba C650-1KL from PCWB for my girlfriend, I think it is great value for money. £234.99 with Windows 7 Pro.
Toshiba has always been a reliable notebook brand, i've used them for years at work and at home.

It won't let me post a link but head to
www. pcwb. co.uk and search for C650-1KL