The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

josephine1_2

I love my Imac, but need a laptop as I'm turning work down as I don't have one. I'm returning to work after a years maternity leave so my budget is small, but as I'm a photographer I need something that can cope with photoshop as I will be doing workshops using the laptop and photoshop. I'd love a macbook pro, but there we are! Am I right in thinking that I need a laptop with a graphics card, not integrated graphics, at least 2GB of ram and reasonably fast processor; oh and a good looking screen for students to crowd around? Appreciate suggestions as I've never bought a laptop:)

Pitchshifter

How about one with a large high resolution screen, if you're doing lots of photo work and demos. How about this for £629:
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_8920G_Gemstone_Blue_LX.AS60X.071/version.asp?PID=

josephine1_2

Looks fab, but unfortunately I don't think I can stretch much past £350. I'm probably looking for the impossible

JDPower

josephine1 wrote: »

I'm probably looking for the impossible

Nah, there's been a few mentioned that are capable of what you require. My Dell Vostro 1000 only cost £320 and copes absolutely fine with the photoshopping I do on it. Have a read back through the last few pages, plenty of suggestions and, if nothing else, will give you an idea of what's about for your price range.

mmtomlin

Sorry pitchshifter, i didn't mean to cause offence, and don't want to discourage you from giving advice.

i just thought that someone reading your post could have got the impression that you would have to spend that amount of money to get a decent gaming laptop, which in my opinion is simply not true.

Anyway,
Josephine1, if you are going to be using photoshop a dedicated graphics card is not essential, like jdpower says, photoshop should run on any current machine.
WSXGA and WUXGA denote nice higher resolution screens (the s and u stand for super and ultra) than the usual WXGA screens. ive done a quick search and cant find any laptops with one of these screens for under 500, but you might be able to find one if you do a bit more searching. good luck!

Pitchshifter

josephine1 wrote: »

Looks fab, but unfortunately I don't think I can stretch much past £350. I'm probably looking for the impossible

How about:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159426/show_product_overview

mmtomlin

I just bought a new laptop off ebay! Got 30 quid off on the "or best offer" option. now I don't have to use my old broken acer any more.

Here was the laptop I was going to buy, pretty good value off ebuyer:

15.4" Fujitsu Amilo Pa 3553
Processor: AMD Turion ZM-80 2.1GHz
RAM: 3Gb DDR2 800MHz
HARD DRIVE: 250GB SATA 5400rpm
ATI Radeon HD 3470 hybrid X2


It also has a HDMI output, eSATA connection, DVDRW SuperMulti-format dual layer, Vista home premium, microsoft works, webcame, 15 in 1 card reader, "internet security suite", etc.

jonscf3

Hello

I'm new here so forgive me if this is the wrong place to add.

I am looking for a good laptop for under £500, i use the internet a lot and a hobbie of mine is film editing on adobe premier pro.

Am i on an already lost mission.

preferable toshiba or sony as i've heard they are the top 2. Unless you know something I don't.

Thank you in advance, as any advice would be appreciated.

Oops forgot to mention, it has to be from PC world.
thanks again.

J

cherish10

For those who have been advised by COMET staff all have been sold - it is correct however, I purchased one for my mother ysterday.
As long as you pay in full for the laptop in store they will order one for you & lock in @ the current sale price as been advertised on TV over Easter.
We were advised new bulk stock were being delivered straight from Toshiba in 5-8 weeks.

So we have reserved one & they will contact us when it will arrive in store to be collected.

For those who still want this laptop as a bargain - get to your local store now as were advised when new stock arrives it maybe back @ its original price @ £499.99.

:beer:

boobbby

cherish10 wrote: »

For those who have been advised by COMET staff all have been sold - it is correct however, I purchased one for my mother ysterday.
As long as you pay in full for the laptop in store they will order one for you & lock in @ the current sale price as been advertised on TV over Easter.
We were advised new bulk stock were being delivered straight from Toshiba in 5-8 weeks.

So we have reserved one & they will contact us when it will arrive in store to be collected.

For those who still want this laptop as a bargain - get to your local store now as were advised when new stock arrives it maybe back @ its original price @ £499.99.

:beer:

Argos are also selling the Toshiba L350 17" screen for £399