Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

NiftyDigits

Winjackie wrote: »

Ok, I'll keep looking then. She's 17 so she usually has more than one webpage open at a time (social networking, browsing etc) so wouldn't want anything too slow (which is why she never wants to use my antiquated PC! ). What processors should I be looking for? Our budget is up to around £300.

TIA

It won't be slow, though the 4GB version would have been better(was recently on sale for just £5 more).

JDPower

Winjackie wrote: »

Ok, I'll keep looking then. She's 17 so she usually has more than one webpage open at a time (social networking, browsing etc) so wouldn't want anything too slow (which is why she never wants to use my antiquated PC! ). What processors should I be looking for? Our budget is up to around £300.

TIA

You should be able to find a 2nd gen i3 (will be a 4 digit processor code starting with 2, eg i3-2xxx) processor for £300, or perhaps slightly over. That will offer a considerable improvement over the celeron processor in that laptop. As I said RAM can be easily upgraded yourself (and she can always buy that herself if a few months down the line is complaining it's slow ).

JDPower

NiftyDigits wrote: »

It won't be slow, though the 4GB version would have been better(was recently on sale for just £5 more).

A celeron processor and less than 2Gb RAM (after the chunk lost to the integrated gfx) won't be slow???

NiftyDigits

JDPower wrote: »

A celeron processor and less than 2Gb RAM (a chunk is lost to the integrated gfx) won't be slow???

No, it's Dual Core Celeron. Have you checked the benchmarks?
I have an older Toshiba with an older and less capable Dual Core Celeron. 2GB RAM, running Windows 7 Ultimate.

What will slow it down is the bundled software. So either a trim down or £8 on another 2GB of RAM will eliminate any issues.

NiftyDigits

ASUS X54C laptop £193.98
Stick another 2GB module in for around £8 or 4GB for £15.

Good enough if you are on a tight budget.

NiftyDigits

If I was on a tight budget, circa £200, I would go for this Toshiba C850 as above(#2780) for £203.98 and add a 4GB module for £15. With 6GB of RAM it will good for everything but gaming and graphics intensive work.

NiftyDigits

To save me posting continually, Argos Outlet have some real bargains at the moment.

For instance, this Toshiba Satellite C670-14N with a 17.3" screen is a relative bargain at £223.98

BFem

The MSE forum never fails!!

Following the pages of advice from you kind people here, I have just hit 'buy' on this laptop http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350636442912?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

It's a refurbished toshiba from argos outlet, thanks Nifty Digits for pointing us in the direction of argos outlet, would not have thought about that but there are some real bargains! I paid £253.98 for everything I need: i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 320 hard drive, built in webcam, DVDre-writer and a couple of other things - maybe an HDMI cable. They are £399.99 brand new at argos or £300 used and £399 refurbished on amazon.

I also found laptopsdirect.com to have a few good offers but argos outlet definitely winner for me.

Of course, went through topcashback to squeeze a little cash-back!

Thanks to all the knowledgeable laptop people for all your help and posts, I have been putting off buying a laptop for a while as didn't have the first clue and didn't want to get ripped off. So, hopefully, i've done you proud?!

NiftyDigits

BFem wrote: »

The MSE forum never fails!!

Following the pages of advice from you kind people here, I have just hit 'buy' on this laptop http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350636442912?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

It's a refurbished toshiba from argos outlet, thanks Nifty Digits for pointing us in the direction of argos outlet, would not have thought about that but there are some real bargains! I paid £253.98 for everything I need: i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 320 hard drive, built in webcam, DVDre-writer and a couple of other things - maybe an HDMI cable. They are £399.99 brand new at argos or £300 used and £399 refurbished on amazon.

I also found laptopsdirect.com to have a few good offers but argos outlet definitely winner for me.

Of course, went through topcashback to squeeze a little cash-back!

Thanks to all the knowledgeable laptop people for all your help and posts, I have been putting off buying a laptop for a while as didn't have the first clue and didn't want to get ripped off. So, hopefully, i've done you proud?!

Actually, no. Most of the bargains had gone by the time of your visit.

As you can imagine, they don't hang around for long once advertised.

Your ordered machine has just a First Gen i3 Processor and is a bit short on extras. It wouldn't be my choice.

The good news is that the have a good returns policy. So you can cancel now and just refuse the delivery and wait for the next round of machines to be released.

There are still a few machines worth a lot, but the decent i3 machines are a bit more.

Since you can get a new DELL second gen i3 for £320 in a supermarket, you should be looking at a discount from that.

The Outlet currently has Second gen i3 machines starting from £284. So, whilst ok, don't represent amazing value.
Bit there are still bargains at the lower end, such as this Toshiba Satellite C850 for £203.98. Spice it up with a little more RAM and it will be fine for most everything.
Note the greater array of ports and the higher quality webcam than your machine.
Don't just look at the Processor.

Jo_King

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CQ58-201SA-15-6-inch-Dual-Core-Discrete-Class-Integrated/dp/B009FZNA9E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1352305761&sr=8-2

I've been to Comet, and they have this for £289 with 10% reduction (apparently the sale is already on - though I'd heard Thursday). So £260 in total. Seems like a good deal for me - I really need it for word, excel, and powerpoint presentations (including music and film clips), so think it will do. What do others think?

Ta.