Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

Donnie

icebergx wrote: »

Sorry, I'm a bit confussed. So you think the old version is better?
Would you choose it over the Asus X5?

Finally, I've also see some Toshiba's recommended by people. What's your opinion on this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOSHIBA-L450-250GB-15-6IN-LAPTOP-REFURB-/330457509042?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4cf0cd6cb2

Thanks again for your help.

The old version is no longer available. The new version is of no interest to you.

The Toshiba is fine if you are happy with the price. Though the battery life is not amazing. The ASUS has a better webcam and claims a slightly longer battery life, if that is important to you.
There's not much between them.

felinexxxx

I'm after a sub £350, preferably sub £300, laptop for my son for his birthday. He will be 12 and has just started high school. I have read the most recent 7 or 8 pages and am still confused, in fact the more research I do the more confused I am. I'd like something that he can use for schoolwork (i.e. office, which will be bought separately), surfing, playing music, watching the odd DVD and also playing some games on. He plays 'Football Superstars' if anybody is familiar with this. I know the cheaper laptops are not gaming machines, but he'd like to be able to play some games, and I'd like my PC back! What kind of spec minimum should I be looking for in terms of graphics and processor and which of the recently mentioned laptops are completely unsuitable? Advice would be appreciated, as this will be the only present he'll get from all his family (I'm collecting cash) and I don't want to get it wrong.

Donnie

felinexxxx wrote: »

I'm after a sub £350, preferably sub £300, laptop for my son for his birthday. He will be 12 and has just started high school. I have read the most recent 7 or 8 pages and am still confused, in fact the more research I do the more confused I am. I'd like something that he can use for schoolwork (i.e. office, which will be bought separately), surfing, playing music, watching the odd DVD and also playing some games on. He plays 'Football Superstars' if anybody is familiar with this. I know the cheaper laptops are not gaming machines, but he'd like to be able to play some games, and I'd like my PC back! What kind of spec minimum should I be looking for in terms of graphics and processor and which of the recently mentioned laptops are completely unsuitable? Advice would be appreciated, as this will be the only present he'll get from all his family (I'm collecting cash) and I don't want to get it wrong.

Most modern laptops should be able to play that game. Post again when you actually are ready to buy, as the best deals can last for just hours.

felinexxxx

Thanks Donnie, that's great! I have the cash, just need the right laptop to come along. I'll post again when I spot one that looks suitable.

Donnie

felinexxxx wrote: »

Thanks Donnie, that's great! I have the cash, just need the right laptop to come along. I'll post again when I spot one that looks suitable.

Better you keep an eye on this thread. We will post when we see one that looks suitable. Take a look at the Argos Returns website. The box might look rough but the laptop will look new. Can get more for your money that way.

InDebted2U_2

MoJo wrote: »

I'm so out of touch

Been reading through this thread, trouble is everything changes so quickly.
Am I right in thinking that the MSI refurbs are generally thought to be a good buy? Just looking at the CR610 at the moment - or the Acer Aspire 3552 and can't decide.

I'm also noticing 'all' laptops are now coming with Windows 7 which I have no experience of - still clinging to XP Pro on my desktop. I'm noticing (on doing a search) that problems networking between W7 and XP Pro seem fairly common. But it can be done right?

Thanks for any advice

We sent our refurbed MSI CR610 back because of a fault. The laptop itself was very nice with a very, very nice screen, but the AMD Athlon II chip had a problem. Whether this was just a problem with the version of the BIOS on the laptop or whether it's a voltage problem in the chip (or both) is not certain. So on this basis I'd say yes to an MSI but not with that processor. We've got an HP laptop with the new Intel Core i3 now instead. Both machines came with Windows 7 which is made to network easily with other Windows 7 computers using 'homegroup'. I've just now set this up on our local network with a Vista machine. You just have to 'search for network devices' on your Windows 7 laptop and it will find it and (in our case) give it some random name (and probably tell you that it's in your work network or something different to usual). Just rename it to the name of your XP/Vista workgroup and you should then be able to share files and printers. HTH.

Only slight issue now with the refurbed HP is the clicking noise it makes when you select something (eg a web link). It's coming from the right side where there doesn't 'appear' to be a speaker, and happens even with sound turned off. Any thoughts? Don't really want to send another one back as we're out of time now before uni. If it's something minor or easily remediable then I think we'll deal with it.

Donnie

InDebted2U wrote: »

We sent our refurbed MSI CR610 back because of a fault. The laptop itself was very nice with a very, very nice screen, but the AMD Athlon II chip had a problem. Whether this was just a problem with the version of the BIOS on the laptop or whether it's a voltage problem in the chip (or both) is not certain. So on this basis I'd say yes to an MSI but not with that processor. We've got an HP laptop with the new Intel Core i3 now instead. Both machines came with Windows 7 which is made to network easily with other Windows 7 computers using 'homegroup'. I've just now set this up on our local network with a Vista machine. You just have to 'search for network devices' on your Windows 7 laptop and it will find it and (in our case) give it some random name (and probably tell you that it's in your work network or something different to usual). Just rename it to the name of your XP/Vista workgroup and you should then be able to share files and printers. HTH.

Only slight issue now with the refurbed HP is the clicking noise it makes when you select something (eg a web link). It's coming from the right side where there doesn't 'appear' to be a speaker, and happens even with sound turned off. Any thoughts? Don't really want to send another one back as we're out of time now before uni. If it's something minor or easily remediable then I think we'll deal with it.

I think that you are wrong about this.
Perhaps you can link us to articles where people have complaining about problems with the CPU or even the laptop.
You can't claim because of a single problem in your case, that there is a problem with all of the laptops.

I think that you may simple misinterpreted the result of the search you ran on "'hyper transport sync flood error".

It is certainly nothing to do with the CPU.

Perhaps updating the BIOS or simply changing the machine would have done the trick.
I think you moved a little too quickly, as you had at least 28 days to investigate the problem. If it persisted after the BIOS update, I would have gone for an exchange. If the same problem reoccurred I would only then have claimed a refund.
Now the same machine is over £50 more.

kintheuk_2

Hi all,
I am looking for a laptop around the magical £350 mark. Must be reasonably quick with a good size hard drive for a uni student. Being at Uni means it will be used for all the usual student essentials:
Listening to music
Surfing
Watching films/streaming tv shows etc
Games
DVD player

Oh, and the occasional bit of word processing etc. Which processor should I be going for? I am thinking something with at least 2gb Ram, 160gb HDD, DVD rewriter, wireless and ideally a warranty for at least 12 months. Anything available at the moment?

Thanks

icebergx

Damn! I missed out on the ASUS X5DIJ!
I'm not in a great hurry buy would like to get a laptop in the next couple of week (sub 300 pounds).
Are any of the other better Laptops available at the moment in this price range, at the Argos eBay store or, do you think it's worth waiting?

Thanks.

onlineid

HI, need some help chosing a laptop. Ideally want to purchase from somewhere like John Lewis as come with 2 year guarantee.
Will be used for some word processing, photo storage, watching dvds but mainly internet. My son will also be using it for homework (on internet) and also playing some games (not amazing graphics, more educational resources). Wouldn't look at Dell again - thats what I have now and don't think great value for money (also gets v v hot) or Sony - previous two Vaio's died within weeks of warrantee ending (one of which was ridiculously expensive desktop replacement. Also, hate Vista. Any thoughts greatly appreciated as want to buy this weekend. Don't really want to spend much over £300 but could stretch to around £380.