Choosing Laptop...Tonight (i hope!) - Advice? :)

asbokid

Spend wrote: »

Which is exactly why I'm seeking some help from those with a little more experience...

Your £240 laptop - what size is it? 13-14" demand greater premium from what I can see.. Only concern is getting one with a price tag as close as possible to the £300 price mark I would probably spend on a 15.6" inch means it may well be a very bad/budget choice...

broadly speaking, screen size relates to screen resolution.. so a netbook with a 10" screen can only manage a pitifully low resolution of 800x600 pixels. 15" is the norm for laptops and I would expect 1440x900 pixels.. 17" is a premium screen size.

bear in mind the screen measurement is a diagonal.. the overall increase in laptop size from a model with a 13" screen to one with a 15" screen is minimal.. there's one for a budding pythagorian scholar to prove!

thechippy

I still have the 660, it's only 6 months old.
It's a good looking machine, but the build is a bit flimsy and plasticky.
No hdmi and only 2 usb's.
One things for sure, it has the nicest keyboard I've used on a laptop EVER - you just WANT to type on it.

Regarding emachines, they used to be a make in thier own right, were bought by gateway, but now owned by acer.

This one is very solid and nice build, better then the acer aspires imo.
As I said, my other emachine has been used daily for many years, taken a right hammering and still works. In all that time, I only had to format the drive and put windows back on once.

closed

look for voucher codes, quidco, check out supermarket deals

Dell do some 13.3-14" ers too

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/vostro-deal-comparison/#vostro-v130

Spend

asbokid wrote: »

broadly speaking, screen size relates to screen resolution.. so a netbook with a 10" screen can only manage a pitifully low resolution of 800x600 pixels. 15" is the norm for laptops and I would expect 1440x900 pixels.. 17" is a premium screen size.

bear in mind the screen measurement is a diagonal.. the overall increase in laptop size from a model with a 13" screen to one with a 15" screen is minimal.. there's one for a budding pythagorian scholar to prove!

I agree on all the above. But it is pretty ridiculous how much of a difference that small change makes. I keep thinking the 15" is ok, and then I realize, just how much I would prefer the smaller one!

10" to 13.3" is 3.3" difference and that is very noticible. Why not so noticilb ehte 13.3" to 15.6" at 2.3"?

Preference I guess..

thechippy

It is strange.

I have an old 14" laptop and my 15.6 is not actually that much bigger physically, but the screen seems much larger in comparison.

Spend

thechippy wrote: »

I still have the 660, it's only 6 months old.
It's a good looking machine, but the build is a bit flimsy and plasticky.
No hdmi and only 2 usb's.
One things for sure, it has the nicest keyboard I've used on a laptop EVER - you just WANT to type on it.

Regarding emachines, they used to be a make in thier own right, were bought by gateway, but now owned by acer.

This one is very solid and nice build, better then the acer aspires imo.
As I said, my other emachine has been used daily for many years, taken a right hammering and still works. In all that time, I only had to format the drive and put windows back on once.

Just cant see myself walking in (or clicking a link lol) to buy an e machine after that headache I previously had - whether it was my faults, or the machines!

From post #6..

For some reason, I am just drawn to the Samsung Q330. Seems like a lot of laptop for a small price.

The Toshiba I was looking at looks like a decent spec, HDMI and 3 usb ports. Hard drive and memory is lacking, but upgrades possible at ok price.

I feel the toshiba justifies the extra premium quality wise (I dont know why I think that though!)

And the sony are always tempting..

Spend

closed wrote: »

look for voucher codes, quidco, check out supermarket deals

Dell do some 13.3-14" ers too

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/vostro-deal-comparison/#vostro-v130

dont you worry, I've got this covered!

Will try to decide on a model(s) then get the best price. Too many choices to try to do that at the first hurdle!

pompeyfaith

Have you thought about having one built to your spec?

Novatech do this as well as a very good range of built pc and laptops off the shelf.

Personally id much rather shop at somewhere like Novatech than use currys and/or pc world as they know there onions and can offer very good advice where as currys or pc world will just give you the spill to get a sale.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/laptop/home/

thechippy

I had toshiba's years ago and they were always built like a tank.
The new ones disappoint. Keyboard is fab though.

This is a bargain and gets pretty good reviews. It would be a very good choice if you can live with a 15.6

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/241152

Spend

pompeyfaith wrote: »

Have you thought about having one built to your spec?

Novatech do this as well as a very good range of built pc and laptops off the shelf.

Personally id much rather shop at somewhere like Novatech than use currys and/or pc world as they know there onions and can offer very good advice where as currys or pc world will just give you the spill to get a sale.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/laptop/home/

Thanks.

I will have a look, but need to get something quickly and I think this would take quite a bit of research before I am happy to ahead