The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

xoxlauraxox

Can anyone offer me advice on which laptop to get, I currently use an Acer Aspire 2920 with 160 HD, 2GB Memory..

I'm looking into getting a new one & would prefer to stay clear of Acer as I'm not keen on the build quality.

I only really use it for browsing the internet but quite often have lots of tabs open so need something thats going to be able to cope with that without slowing down too much..

I don't really wanna go over £350 but could possibly go upto £450 if its a good deal.

Thanks
Laura

jase_uk_2

My son has saved up £270 and is looking to buy himself a laptop, he wants to use it for school work, surfing the internet and he also plays online games ie runescape etc, obviously for that kind of money it won't be all singing all dancing but im sure there is something out there. A 15" screen would probably be the smallest we would like to go. I was wondering if anyone out there has seen any decent deals around.

Many thanks in advance

[Deleted User]

Copied off another post I've just made (complete thread):

*****Option 1*****
If they're not bothering about gaming how about this:

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...N0054505&s=dhs
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6500 (2.1GHz, 800MHz, 2MB)
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
£398.99

*****Option 2*****
A slightly cheaper version of the above (the only noticable differences are this one has a 15.4inch compared to the above 15.6 screen but is £10 cheaper):
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...N0715217&s=bsd
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6570 (2.1GHz, 800MHz FSB,2MB L2 cache)
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
£389.00

*****Option 3*****
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...N0053503&s=dhs
If they are bothered about gaming then here's the above with a proper graphics card and more RAM:
Intel® Pentium® Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache) (Marginally worse than the above, shouldn't be noticeable)
4GB RAM (Better than the above)
320GB HDD (Better than the above)
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570 (Better than the above)
£499.00

*****Option 4*****
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...N0715207&s=bsd
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB,3MB L2 cache) (Better than all of the above)
4GB RAM (Better than the first two, same as the third)
320GB HDD (Better than the first two, same as the third)
256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9300M GS Graphic Card (Better than the first two, worse than the third)
£499.00

If you can afford it I'd go for Option 4 if they're not a gamer or option 3 if they are.

chili2001

moneysavinglaura wrote: »

not looking for the speed of lightening just that it doesnt take 5 mins to boot up like my stupid Vista-addled computer does.
That can work without Vista - I hate it!!

You will probally find that it is the running programs in the startup menu that are slowing your computer down or lack of RAM or decent CPU rather than Vista. I have always got on well with Vista but can see it would be slow on a pc that isn't really built to cope with it. What system score do you get overall and individually for mainly CPU and RAM. It makes me sad to see people unnecessarily replacing their computers or blaming the OS for something that could be fixed cheaply and easily with a RAM upgrade and a tweek of the unnecessary start up programs.

moneysavinglaura

chili2001 wrote: »

You will probally find that it is the running programs in the startup menu that are slowing your computer down or lack of RAM or decent CPU rather than Vista. I have always got on well with Vista but can see it would be slow on a pc that isn't really built to cope with it. What system score do you get overall and individually for mainly CPU and RAM. It makes me sad to see people unnecessarily replacing their computers or blaming the OS for something that could be fixed cheaply and easily with a RAM upgrade and a tweek of the unnecessary start up programs.

Hi Chili,
I've gone through the start up programs, and all unnecessary ones are gone, so it stresses me out rather. Not buying a new computer to replace this anyway, just getting a laptop to use for uni.

I've found these two - budget is about £350. What do people think?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-Laptop-Athlon/dp/B0027FFU1U/ref=pd_ts_zgc_ce_14014431_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=468178133&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=405287011&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1XACV7651J508F43CPQ1

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

chili2001

moneysavinglaura wrote: »

I just presumed that it was a laptop! TBH, I don't even know the difference - my knowledge of computer hardware is not so great, sadly.

i am looking for a laptop (or notebook?!) that can:

boot up relatively fast, and works relatively fast on the internet and to load up programs -not looking for the speed of lightening just that it doesnt take 5 mins to boot up like my stupid Vista-addled computer does.
That can work without Vista - I hate it!!

Will be using it for my PGCE starting in September

That can play films - is everything in HD now?

A relatively good sized screen

-what else would one do with a laptop? - mind gone blank!

moneysavinglaura wrote: »

Hi Chili,
I've gone through the start up programs, and all unnecessary ones are gone, so it stresses me out rather. Not buying a new computer to replace this anyway, just getting a laptop to use for uni.

I've found these two - budget is about £350. What do people think?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-Laptop-Athlon/dp/B0027FFU1U/ref=pd_ts_zgc_ce_14014431_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=468178133&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=405287011&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1XACV7651J508F43CPQ1

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

Sounds like a lack of RAM to me then, but if you need a new one for uni then I would go for the latter from ebuyer!

rpsheridan

I have a dell inspiron m4400 with:

dual core t9600 2.8ghz processor
4gb ram
512mb graphics card

I have a few issues with this first when i put a dvd in i have no software to play them, what could i download for free? I had vlc player but the pic appeared a little grainy but i dont know why. I thought this was a high end pc so dont know why the pic is not of a high standard

Also how can i delete pc processes to make my pc perform at an optimum?

Cheers for your help.

chili2001

rpsheridan wrote: »

I have a dell inspiron m4400 with:

dual core t9600 2.8ghz processor
4gb ram
512mb graphics card

I have a few issues with this first when i put a dvd in i have no software to play them, what could i download for free? I had vlc player but the pic appeared a little grainy but i dont know why. I thought this was a high end pc so dont know why the pic is not of a high standard

Also how can i delete pc processes to make my pc perform at an optimum?

Cheers for your help.

Download the latest drivers for your graphics card may help and make sure all display settings are on their highest. Use windows defender to stop any unnesscery programs from starting. As for the dvd's try vlc player again. You might also have a faulty screen or graphics card... I did warn you about the Dell!!

JDPower

rpsheridan wrote: »

I had vlc player but the pic appeared a little grainy but i dont know why. I thought this was a high end pc so dont know why the pic is not of a high standard

The DVD pic on a PC is never quite up to the standard of a decent TV (apart from anything you generally don't watch a TV from one or two feet away). If it's only very slightly grainy it's probably normal, normally if the laptop is struggling it will be stuttery rather than just grainy but by all means try updating graphics drivers and/or other players. Personally I use KMPlayer for all vid and audio playback but I don't think the player will make a huge difference (try anyway).

chili2001 wrote: »

I did warn you about the Dell!!

I don't see what help, or relevance in this matter, that is.

chili2001

JDPower wrote: »

I don't see what help, or relevance in this matter, that is.

It was a tongue in cheek joke. And as it wasn't directed at you so I couldn't give a toss if you didn't think it was helpful or relevant. Get a sense of humour!