Please Help Me Choose A New Laptop

-MRS_T-

Hello

I am looking to purchase a new laptop and would like some help please. I would really like to spend no more than £350

I mainly use the laptop for browsing the web, typing letters, burning dvds, I store a lot of pics and cdg files so a big hard drive is a must. I like to have a few things running at the one time so I would like a fast pc.

I am not very techie so really dont have a clue when it comes to processors and such like and would really like to get value for money.

The last laptop I bought was an hp media laptop which cost me £700 and only lasted 18months and I got all sorts of problems with it. Found out hp had put a recall on them but I was too late and they wouldnt help me. So really dont want to put out that kind of money again.

I really would appreciate anyones help in what to look for.

Many Thanks
Mrs T

EDIT

I would like to have the following

Large Hard Drive
Bluetooth (not essential)
Wireless

globalds

I'll start the ball rolling with this from Tesco

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-3689.aspx

Toshiba L500-11V Laptop

£379.00
758 Clubcard points


You may need to factor in the price of an upgrade to windows 7 if your not keen on Vista

-MRS_T-

thanks globalds

I am currently using windows vista and it doesnt bother me and I dont know much about windows 7 so I am not too bothered either way. Suppose it would be nice to have the latest software but not essential.

Is toshiba a good make?

Also can you tell me what kind of processor I should be looking for please.

nu_nu

I agree with you about the Dell brand. Any I have seen are prone to fingermarking. I am looking to buy this month as well and I like the look of the Toshiba Satellite L450 however looks aren't everything so I am open to recommendations on other brands. I am on a tight budget also so I want to make sure I buy from the best source. I will be using for browsing, dataprocessing and some downloading of music and I need a built in webcam (as I shall be using with Skype. I feel that a 15' screen would be best. Any suggestions? Thankyou.:rolleyes:

globalds

MRS T what would be helpfull would be an idea what size laptop you are after.

something that will spend most of it's days sat on a sideboard or kitchen table can be much heavier ,bigger and less reliant on the battery.
where as some of the much smaller netbooks can run for ages on the battery and can slip in a handbag.
The one I showed was a smaller one of the big ones (if that makes any sense)

Toshiba seem to have a fairly good reputation and there only downside in my opinion is they can be a tad unattractive..

If you can have a think about how you use your lappy and maybe spend an hour or so in PCworld getting a feel for some of the machines ..keyboards ,screen sizes ..Weight ..Then it would help ..Just promise you won't buy one straight away ..I'm pretty sure that some one here will find it for a better price

-MRS_T-

globalds wrote: »

MRS T what would be helpfull would be an idea what size laptop you are after.

something that will spend most of it's days sat on a sideboard or kitchen table can be much heavier ,bigger and less reliant on the battery.
where as some of the much smaller netbooks can run for ages on the battery and can slip in a handbag.
The one I showed was a smaller one of the big ones (if that makes any sense)

Toshiba seem to have a fairly good reputation and there only downside in my opinion is they can be a tad unattractive..

If you can have a think about how you use your lappy and maybe spend an hour or so in PCworld getting a feel for some of the machines ..keyboards ,screen sizes ..Weight ..Then it would help ..Just promise you won't buy one straight away ..I'm pretty sure that some one here will find it for a better price

Good points.

Well atm I am using my brothers fujitsu siemens laptop and I cannot see anywhere where it tells you the screen size, but im sure my hp was a widescreen entertainment 17" screen.

So I would say I would be quite happy with 15" as this seems to be average.
I use my laptop 90% of the time in the house sitting on my couch so I do not really transport it anywhere only maybe to my mum and dads to do some typing for dad and I drive there. I pretty much have it plugged in most of the time as the battery was rotten on my hp so I dont really need to worry about battery time either.

What I have noticed with my brothers fujitsu siemens is that the fan is really noisy and its quite irritating so preferably a laptop that doesnt do that.

I have always bought hp since I bought my very first computer 12years ago as I thought that they were a big make and were a quality product but I was so disappointed after what happened with my recent one so I am open to suggestions this time whereas I would normally just looked at hp. I do like the look of the samsungs and the sony vaios but I know they are expensive.

So to summarise

Wifi
Dvd Re Writer
Bluetooth (preferably) not essential
Large Hard Drive
Quick Speed Using Applications
Word Processing Document/Microsoft Works Spreadsheets & Databases
Use Laptop 90% in the house

I really do appreciate in you helping me with this as I really do not know much about the technical side of computers.

many thanks

-MRS_T-

Any more recommendations please

lurkylurky

Not a laptop recommendation but I would recommend buying from Tesco (or one of the other supermarkets if they stock the computer you decide on). We bought an Acer (can't remember the model) for DS last Christmas. The hard drive failed in September and was sent away to Acer for repair. When it was returned it wouldn't connect to the internet and Acer wanted me to phone their 50p a minute technical helpline which I didn't want to do. I phoned Tesco for advice and they replaced the laptop which I really wasn't expecting. We went for the Acer 5738Z which is a bit above your budget and so far so good. I think the customer service you get at the supermarkets is much better than the likes of PC World, Dixon's, online retailers. And they are generally competitively priced.

globalds

Evening Mrs T..
I thought more people would have posted .

Here is another laptop to consider
Cheaper than the last ..
£369.00
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/605735/SAMSUNG-NP-R519-JA05UK

use the discount code REVIEW5 To take another 5% off Brings it down to about £350 So a very good price.

These items are listed on a web site called hotukdeals.com. Well worth looking at for very unflattering and honest reviews.
This laptop seems to be well liked ,only complaint seems to be plasticy looking keyboard surround and a lack of dedicated graphics ..Not an issue unless you are into you PC games.

My only tip would be to buy a nice mouse to go with the lappy ..Nothing worse than trying to use the touch sensitive bit on the laptop.

-MRS_T-

Hi Globalds

I just wanted to thank you again for the time you took in helping me with my query.
I have since purchased a laptop that was getting good feedback on the hot deals site you recommended.

Its a samsung I got for £340 and I have been using it for a few days now and I am extremley happy with it.

Thanks again

mrs t