Worried about being robbed of my hard saved cash buying a laptop. Please Help

Legendaryjim · 15 September 2010 at 4:36PM

Hello. I have managed to save up £500 through quidco deals and hardcore cutbacks that I promised myself I would by a laptop with. The only problem I have now as I'm sure with lots of people is I don't know what best to go for and although I know a fair amount about computers, I'm unfamiliar with what constitutes a good old bargain these days and I would really hate to buy a laptop only for 5 days later to see it on the internet for like 100 quid less than what I bought mine for because it was actually just a big slab of junk! (pause for breath!)

I have endured my partner to hours of curry's sales pitches and have bored her to tears with all my talk about getting a laptop and it's really time to take the plunge now I feel lol.

Sadly as a newcomer to posting I can't post links but heres the one they were trying sell me in currys this morning

HP G72-110SA
But This one was worth more before reductions on the curry's website

PACKARD BELL EasyNote LM86-GN-005UK

I Like the sound of this one on the curry's website, but a) it's a refurb and b) it's got "old technology" Turion processor

HP Pavilion dv7-3112sa Refurbished Laptop

The Curry's salesperson told me about the "Old Technology" thing. I don't know how the rest of the world feels about that.

I am not just limited to those laptops, they are just the ones I've found. I don't mind buying off the internet to get a better deal and have looked on ebuyer and scan and theres nothing about on Hotdealsuk.

Ideally my laptop would have a HD screen, A pretty fast processor that will last a couple of years before it's totally outclassed, a good lot of memory, webcam, dedicated graphics (unless integrated graphics are powerfull enough to play some kids games (ie Toy Story, Harry Potter LEGO and such like). I think most laptops come pretty equally equipped with features so everything else like webcam and HDMI etc should come as standard hopfully. Oh and I want it to have Windows 7 too. All I do really is watch some HD TV & Films, listen to music, the kids play their games. A Decent battery would be good I guess too.

Could somebody please help me out as it's doing my head in! and my partners. I think essentially all I want is not to get robbed of my hard saved cash.

Many many thanks for any help you can offer. Now I will stop waffling.

Donnie · 15 September 2010 at 6:31PM

Step away from that shop! Back off!

Ok, now take a deep breath.

Don't worry about the latest technology. You need 'fit for purpose', reliability and excellent after sales service.

Will take a look at what is available when I have time.

davester · 15 September 2010 at 7:48PM

simple don't buy from Comet, Curries or PC world

Buying online and using the cashback site means you can squeeze a few quid out of that £500 .

I have a 1 yr old Dell Studio 15 was £530 in the end with all the cashback, discount codes. has a fast processor well was before the new chipset, reasonable graphic card and HD wide screen monitor.

tomsolomon · 15 September 2010 at 8:12PM

If you don't want to be robbed of your hard earned, I would definitely look to one of the other laptop manufacturers for a new machine. HP and PB are rubbish mate. You want to be buying a Dell or Toshiba if you are looking for good value for you money. I wouldn't even entertain the others to be perfectly honest.
Either that or Acer if your looking for something a bit down market...

pawlala · 15 September 2010 at 8:19PM

Stay away from Toshiba. I've had two and they've both lasted less than 2 years. I'm now on an Advent and although the specs are cheap and cheerful, its now on it's 3rd year of constant use and not a single problem.

tomsolomon · 15 September 2010 at 8:27PM

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I have to disagree...
I'm working with laptops day in, day out, and Toshiba are about the best out their at the moment. They are robust, stylish and more often than not, they out perform their specifications. And to top it they are extremely easy to service if something does go wrong.

McKneff · 15 September 2010 at 8:58PM

I've had my Toshiba for 3.5 years now and never had a minutes bother with it.

Toshiba every time,

Donnie · 15 September 2010 at 9:11PM

Another + for Tosh.

Legendaryjim · 15 September 2010 at 10:44PM

Thanks for your input so far guys

I was thinking of just asking the question of "Which Laptop would you buy if you had £500?" Might be an interesting exercise for people that are bored lol. Might get some good results then. I am very much an Indian and not a chief when it comes to this sort of thing.

I am trying to resist spending my money in any of the DSG group of companies. It is starting to burn a hole in my pocket though lol.

Thanks again