Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

davidshads

Thanks for the reply
Yes here is the link to the one i was looking at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Notebook-i3-380M-Processor-DVD-Super/dp/B004VE71N0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309964026&sr=8-1

What do you think?

grumpycrab

davidshads wrote: »

...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Notebook-i3-380M-Processor-DVD-Super/dp/B004VE71N0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309964026&sr=8-1

What do you think?

Looks ok. Quite a few sub-£350 i3-380s now. e.g. http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/products/keywords/i3-380M/ex/dummy%2ctradepack%2cdummy-warranty
(not that I'm pushing Saveonlaptops but they have a good selection for comparison).

The i3-2310M must be better if its the same price.

indprince2000

Friends,

I had a couple of query(s) and would really be grateful if someone could answer them.

I am looking for a below £400 laptop (though don't mind spending even £500 if get a good i5 series deal).

I have shortlisted this one:

HP G62 Series 500GB 15.6 Inch laptop - Black being sold at Argos for £369.99

(i) Could anyone please give some sort of a feedback on this particular model.

(ii) Any other i3 series with Blue-ray drive/bluetooth specifications etc below £400 in the market? If yes, please could you give the necessary link.

(iii) One last query. Any good i5 series for less than £500 in the market?

grumpycrab

indprince2000 wrote: »

...
HP G62 Series 500GB 15.6 Inch laptop - Black being sold at Argos for £369.99...

Poor value for an i3 (and HP is perhaps not the most reliable brand). Look up a couple of posts for a good i3-2310M and cheaper i3-380Ms.

Sorry, cannot see any cheap Blu-ray laptops and/or i5s. (Neither of which the HP had. Why were you looking at it?)

goldthornwolf

Guys, is this deal any good??

Acer 5742 "used - like new" from Amazon Warehouse £235

Amazon Warehouse used like new deals tend to be pretty brand new apparently, just the seal missing from the box or a plain box...
I would probably get the acer warranty off flea bay should you guys recommend this deal
Product Features

• Intel® Core™ i3-370M processor (2.4GHz, 3MB L3 cache)
• 3GB RAM, 320 GB HDD
• DVD-Super Multi DL drive
• 6-cell Li-ion battery
• Windows 7® Home Premium 64-bit

Technical Details


CPU:Intel® Core™ i3-370M processor (2.4GHz, 3MB L3 cache)
Chipset:HM55
Screen:15.6" HD Acer CineCrystal™ LED LCD
Graphics:UMA
RAM:3 GB RAM
HDD:320 GB (5400 Rpm)
Optical Drive DVD-Super Multi DL drive
Card Reader:2-in-1 card reader
Wireless Acer Nplify™802.11b/g/n
Battery:6-cell Li-ion battery
WebCam:1.3 megapixel webcam
USB Slots:3
Color:Black IMR
OS:Windows 7® Home Premium 64-bit
Battery Life:3.5
Weight (KG):2.6
Unit Dimensions (mm):381 (W) x 253 (D) x 25/34 (H) mm (15 x 9.96 x 0.98/1.33 inches)
I/0 Ports:2-in-1 card reader (SD™, MMC),Three USB 2.0 ports,HDMI™ port with HDCP support,External display (VGA) port,Headphone/speaker/line-out jack,Microphone-in jack,Ethernet (RJ-45) port,DC-in jack for AC adapter

grumpycrab

goldthornwolf wrote: »

...
Acer 5742 "used - like new"...

Does Amazon provide any more information than its just "used"? Any warranty (apart from 30 day return?).
You may have trouble registering the flea-bay warranty if the laptop is not new. But if this fails you could just return the laptop.

Otherwise, good spec.

indprince2000

Grumpcrab,

Thanks for your reply.

You wrote:

'Poor value for an i3 (and HP is perhaps not the most reliable brand).

Look up a couple of posts for a good i3-2310M and cheaper i3-380Ms'.

Would appreciate if you please let me know why you think HP is a 'poor value for an i3'?

BTW, have no personal preference for a HP. Please could you suggest any good brand and model under £400 (with the necessary links, if possible) and in particular, any good models/brands of i3-2310M (as suggested by you).

Thanks.

jimmy_mumu

dont know much about the manufactorer but this looks a good deal


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130537771512&clk_rvr_id=246098626178

only 4 left at time of posting

grumpycrab

indprince2000 wrote: »

...
Would appreciate if you please let me know why you think HP is a 'poor value for an i3'?

Simply, quite a few i3s under £350 (see my link a couple of posts above).

indprince2000 wrote: »

BTW, have no personal preference for a HP. Please could you suggest any good brand and model under £400 (with the necessary links, if possible) and in particular, any good models/brands of i3-2310M (as suggested by you).

Thanks.

Reliability chart :-


Cheap i3-2310M also linked a couple of posts above (Acer).
Brand reliability is variable but can be mitigated by buying a 3 year warranty extension (e.g. Acer warranty is also linked above).

grumpycrab

jimmy_mumu wrote: »

...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130537771512&clk_rvr_id=246098626178

Seller refurb and short warranty; I'd not take the risk myself but great processor.
Here's another Ebay buy, the exact opposite of the above:- poor processor (ok for browsing, email, lite office use) and 3 year extended warranty. £280.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170664100912&clk_rvr_id=246160598849