New family laptop

minnietheminx_2

My cousin is looking for a new laptop for her son.

As I'm the most 'techie' person she knows (and that's stretching it!), she's asked me for some advice on what to purchase.

I've got a Dell myself but it's out of her price range. She had a smaller budget to begin with but now she's upped it to £400.

I've seen an Acer Aspire on the Argos website reduced from £499.99 to £399.99 and it comes with a 3-year warranty.

Acer Aspire 5741A 320GB 15.6in Laptop

This rugged yet stylish laptop provides the perfect balance between performance, energy-use and mobility. The Acer Aspire 5741A 15.6in laptop boasts a powerful Intel Core i3 processor, 3GB RAM and 320GB hard drive for all your computing needs.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5083383/Trail/searchtext%3EACER+ASPIRE+5741A.htm#pdpFullProductInformation

I'm wondering about reliability and value for money as I know brands like Toshiba are said to have a good reputation.

Does anyone rate this model or are there better alternatives out there?

Thanks

victor2

I'd hesitate to recommend one of the lesser established brands, particularly with a laptop where it is only as good as its weakest component.
When buying things, I find the customer's reviews on Amazon can be quite helpful, even if I'm not considering buying there. Reviews of the Acer you mention are at http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B003S3R7S4/ref=cm_cr_pr_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

You could always look at the Dell Outlet for a refurbished laptop, but even that might go over the budget for a reasonable one.

nearlyrich

LOL at lesser established brand with regard to Acer they have established a very good position in the UK and around the world.

The "aaarghos" box is a decent buy but have a look at some independent suppliers too because they also have some great deals but don't have the marketing spend of the big boys.

What about this one?

victor2

nearlyrich wrote: »

LOL at lesser established brand with regard to Acer they have established a very good position in the UK and around the world.

The "aaarghos" box is a decent buy but have a look at some independent suppliers too because they also have some great deals but don't have the marketing spend of the big boys.

What about this one?

I did wonder about my suggestion that Acer was one of the lesser established!
My own experience with Acer goes several years back, when I got quite a high spec one for work. It was nothing but trouble and even the supplier acknowledged a lower spec Toshiba for the same price would be more suitable. It was replaced with a Toshiba, which ran for a good few years until I upgraded to a newer Dell and the Tosh was passed on to another user, who continued to get good use out of it for a few more years.