Is this laptop worth the price?

jojo2004

Hi all,

I'm vaguely thinking about moving on to a newer, more powerful laptop - have a new job starting, and the old one is a little slow and creaky now. Have read a few threads on here, and had a look around.

Can anyone comment on this machine:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191776

My requirements are:
I want something portable - I currently have a gorgeous wee 13.3" Toshiba Satellite, which I can carry without getting backache. I'm willing to go up to a 15.4/6" but no bigger/heavier. Anyone have thoughts on decent portable machines? I know serious techies favour a big screen, but they weigh a ton and I'm talking about carrying it daily.

I will use it a lot for word-processing, internet, email, dealing with pdf docs, graphics use - although I'm not yet very good at using them, but I do need to use graphics software in the future for my new job, some gaming (although not a great deal, as I'm not a very committed player of Lego Batman...), and I want to be able to watch movies and iplayer etc on it as well.

I know a little, but would specifically like advice on the following:

Which chip should I be looking at? Is Core 2 Duo enough, or should I future proof with quad core or the i5 or i7 (and, whilst we're on the topic, what do the last two do?!)

I think I want 4GB RAM, as my old machine is 1GB and quite slow now, bless it. Is 4GB reasonable, or is it high-spec for a relatively normal user? Am I future-proofing, or just being greedy?!

I also thinkI want DDR3 memory? I've heard this is 'better' in some way?

Which kind of Hard Drive is best - I see a lot of machines with 'SATA' - but not sure what this means... What do the different kinds do?!

I need the lappy to have a webcam and microphone to use Skype.

I would like some advice as to a reasonable graphics card - I've heard that Nvidia is a good one?

All comments would be very welcome, thank you!

x

John_Gray

I would have said that at £616 it was somewhat overpriced, and not greatly improved on the Toshiba Satellite Pro L450s which can be considerably cheaper. You will not be able to use about 1 GB of the 4 GB of memory with the 32-bit Windows 7 Professional which is installed.

A quick look at the Toshiba website indicates that this laptop is dearer than even the most expensive current L500 consumer model...

John_Gray

With regard to your other questions:

Which chip should I be looking at? Is Core 2 Duo enough, or should I future proof with quad core or the i5 or i7 (and, whilst we're on the topic, what do the last two do?!)

Core 2 Duo is fine for what you appear to want to do, but i3, i5 and i7 are newer and more powerful as you go up the numbers. You probably don't need very high power.

I think I want 4GB RAM, as my old machine is 1GB and quite slow now, bless it. Is 4GB reasonable, or is it high-spec for a relatively normal user? Am I future-proofing, or just being greedy?!

If you have a 64-bit operating system installed, then it can make use of the full 4 GB, and more. See my previous post about 32-bit (I won't bore you with the details of why 3GB is around the maximum usable memory.) Memory is comparatively cheap at present, so the difference between 3GB and 4 GB might be no more than ~£20. For what you want to do, I'd say 2 GB might be OK, but you wouldn't save much, and I'd go for 3-4 GB.

I also think I want DDR3 memory? I've heard this is 'better' in some way?

Yes, it's theoretically (and actually!) faster - but you wouldn't notice... You get what the manufacturer included.

Which kind of Hard Drive is best - I see a lot of machines with 'SATA' - but not sure what this means... What do the different kinds do?!

SATA is the most common disk technology. you can look all that up, if you really want, but you get what comes in the laptop.

I need the lappy to have a webcam and microphone to use Skype.

Check the laptop specification, but you can also get much higher quality external ones - IF you want...

I would like some advice as to a reasonable graphics card - I've heard that Nvidia is a good one?

Hmmm. Much like saying "I've heard that Ford (or Mercedes, or whoever) is a good car maker"! In a laptop, and on many PCs, the graphics capability is included on the motherboard. And you can't add a new graphics card into a laptop!

I haven't gone into any detail, but it seems to me that you're worrying unnecessarily about a whole number of complicated matters over which you have little or no control. Just check that you're happy with the specifications of whatever laptop you want. And it doesn't have to be a Toshiba, although that's a good make...

Leopard

I don't think Toshiba ships to Narnia.

Spendless_Dosh

Have a look at the Dell Outlet site. If you're not concerned that the case might have a small scratch they offer some very good spec laptops for nearly 1/2 the price you'd normally pay.

e.g. Inspiron 1370. Windows 7, Intel Dual Core 1300 chip, 320gb harddrive, 4gb ram, WiFi, Bluetooth 350GBP + Vat and delivery.

Even better deals on Inspiron 1545 models. Intel Dual core 2200 , 2gb ram , 320gb harddrive from 245GBP + VAT & delivery.

Good hunting, hope you get the laptop you're looking for.

poppy10_2

jojo2004 wrote: »

Can anyone comment on this machine:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191776

Hideously overpriced, dear

goRt

jojo2004 wrote: »

I want something portable - I currently have a gorgeous wee 13.3" Toshiba Satellite, which I can carry without getting backache.

Sorry, but 2.72kg is anything but light - think nearly 3 bags of sugar

kerry54

Normally Toshiba laptops are little weighter than other laptops.

jojo2004

Thank you lovely people! Very useful advice, and kind of you to comment.
I shall continue looking then.
Merci ta. xx:j

jojo2004

John_Gray wrote: »

With regard to your other questions:

Core 2 Duo is fine for what you appear to want to do, but i3, i5 and i7 are newer and more powerful as you go up the numbers. You probably don't need very high power.

If you have a 64-bit operating system installed, then it can make use of the full 4 GB, and more. See my previous post about 32-bit (I won't bore you with the details of why 3GB is around the maximum usable memory.) Memory is comparatively cheap at present, so the difference between 3GB and 4 GB might be no more than ~£20. For what you want to do, I'd say 2 GB might be OK, but you wouldn't save much, and I'd go for 3-4 GB.

Yes, it's theoretically (and actually!) faster - but you wouldn't notice... You get what the manufacturer included.


SATA is the most common disk technology. you can look all that up, if you really want, but you get what comes in the laptop.

Check the laptop specification, but you can also get much higher quality external ones - IF you want...

Hmmm. Much like saying "I've heard that Ford (or Mercedes, or whoever) is a good car maker"! In a laptop, and on many PCs, the graphics capability is included on the motherboard. And you can't add a new graphics card into a laptop!

I haven't gone into any detail, but it seems to me that you're worrying unnecessarily about a whole number of complicated matters over which you have little or no control. Just check that you're happy with the specifications of whatever laptop you want. And it doesn't have to be a Toshiba, although that's a good make...

This is really helpful, thank you. I don't want to buy something that's underpowered/poor value for money, as I don't replace computers very often! However, I don't want to get too bogged down in trying to get every part of the machine perfect.
Thanks for your detailed response, it's much appreciated. :T:T

jojo2004

Leopard wrote: »

I don't think Toshiba ships to Narnia.

That's okay - I'm non-dom in Narnia, for tax purposes...