Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

Jill_1980

Hi there, just wondered if someone might be able to help me pick a laptop as it's driving me mad!! Having had a good look round I've narrowed it down to a Dell Inspiron 15 or HP Compaq CQ61-427SA. I only really wanted to spend around £350. I don't want refurbished or used, for once I am treating myself to a brand spanking new one!!

Compaq CQ61-427SA (on the home page of the ebuyer . com, sorry I'm not allowed to post the link!!) - costs £388 reviews on the ebuyer site are very good and it seems to have a great spec, but as it is exclusive to them I can't find other user reviews.

Dell Inspiron 15 - costs £428 - basic package with add-ons to include: ice blue, intel celeron dual processor, 6 cell battery. They have an offer at the moment which gives free upgrades for memory (to 3GB) and hard drive (to 250GB). Graphics card upgrade would be £40 to get an 256MB one, but this isn't included in this quote.

I love the look of the dell but i realise I shouldn't go off the look of something like this!! The Compaq seems to give me so much more for my money, but then I can't imagine using the webcam or bluetooth so I'd rather pay a bit more for the dell if it gives me better performance.

If someone could advise based on performance - ie which would be best and quickest when I've got loads of internet tabs open and if I'm using say several excel sheets and word all at the same time?

One other thing, if I could buy one from Amazon or Argos I have £60 worth of Nectar points to use, so that is also something I need to consider, arrrgggh!!

Many thanks for any advice you might be able to give me!!

Donnie

Jill_1980 wrote: »

Hi there, just wondered if someone might be able to help me pick a laptop as it's driving me mad!! Having had a good look round I've narrowed it down to a Dell Inspiron 15 or HP Compaq CQ61-427SA. I only really wanted to spend around £350. I don't want refurbished or used, for once I am treating myself to a brand spanking new one!!

Compaq CQ61-427SA (on the home page of the ebuyer . com, sorry I'm not allowed to post the link!!) - costs £388 reviews on the ebuyer site are very good and it seems to have a great spec, but as it is exclusive to them I can't find other user reviews.

Dell Inspiron 15 - costs £428 - basic package with add-ons to include: ice blue, intel celeron dual processor, 6 cell battery. They have an offer at the moment which gives free upgrades for memory (to 3GB) and hard drive (to 250GB). Graphics card upgrade would be £40 to get an 256MB one, but this isn't included in this quote.

I love the look of the dell but i realise I shouldn't go off the look of something like this!! The Compaq seems to give me so much more for my money, but then I can't imagine using the webcam or bluetooth so I'd rather pay a bit more for the dell if it gives me better performance.

If someone could advise based on performance - ie which would be best and quickest when I've got loads of internet tabs open and if I'm using say several excel sheets and word all at the same time?

One other thing, if I could buy one from Amazon or Argos I have £60 worth of Nectar points to use, so that is also something I need to consider, arrrgggh!!

Many thanks for any advice you might be able to give me!!

Don't limit yourself unless you specifically want to get a laptop with an extended warranty. Just becuse someone has touched it before you doesn't mean that the thing isn't new.
What if you buy a new one and then decide you don't want it and return it under the Distance Selling Regulations? If you've opened the box, it will now have to be resold as refurbished, with maybe £100 off the new selling price.
My Toshiba still had the plastic covering over the webcam and cost less than £250.
You can buy a new one that's a complete lemon.

Jill_1980

ooh, thanks for this!! Do you know of any good sites or stores where I could look for refurbished. Thanks again!!

CompletelyLost

Can anyone tell me if this is any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Medion-Akoya-E5312-15-4-AMD-64bit-Dual-Core-Laptop-/320517242133?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4aa050fd15

RussJK

CompletelyLost wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if this is any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Medion-Akoya-E5312-15-4-AMD-64bit-Dual-Core-Laptop-/320517242133?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4aa050fd15

No. It is faster than a dual-core netbook, but significantly slower than a proper laptop. You can get much faster near the same price.

gibbon123

We have a desktop pc but want something small and cheap for browsing on the internet when it is in use, on holiday etc.

What sort of specification should we be looking for?

They appear to start at £60 on ebay or £200 in pc world. Does anyone know of a good buy?

RussJK

gibbon123 wrote: »

We have a desktop pc but want something small and cheap for browsing on the internet when it is in use, on holiday etc.

What sort of specification should we be looking for?

Netbook. They are all roughly the same specs, the difference is in the build quality. You can get a decent 10" MSI U100 netbook on Argos Clearance for £150. Alternatively, Samsung is a universally loved netbook brand.

Asus are liked, but they are more expensive on Argos.

You can get a cheap carry case for it - I got a hard-shell Toshiba carry case for £5 on ebay before. Also, check the listings to see if any come with a carry case. Alternatively, some people are happy to carry the netbook around unprotected in their bags.

I wouldn't get a Zoostorm, Bauer, or Acer netbook personally, not when the brand leaders are the same price or cheaper!

borders_dude

Is this any good?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5071137/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7Ccat_15701344%7CLaptops+and+Netbooks%7C16164797.htm

I have a part time job in the evenings, we are allowed to bring in our own laptops and connect to the net using the works broadband.

I wanted a big screen thats why ive went for the 17"

Its not for doing much other than surfing the net, using msn and playing dvds whilst at work.

greigster

chaucer wrote: »

Thanks Russ for a concise, informative and direct reply which makes it so much easier for someone like me to make a decision ... it raises one further question ....

between this Samsung R519 for £320 (with Win 7 premium and 4gb ram)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360253023178&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

and the Samsung in my previous post that you pick out as the best
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350341037252&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

.... which is better value?

there's £40 difference

many thanks

The Samsung quoted above with Windows 7....
Does this have a dvd/cd drive or just a cd drive.
Thanks
Greigster

RussJK

greigster wrote: »

The Samsung quoted above with Windows 7....
Does this have a dvd/cd drive or just a cd drive.
Thanks
Greigster

You mean the one that says "multiformat" drive or whatever? Yeah I'm sure that's just a combined CD/DVD drive, but probably not blu-ray or anything.