Laptop, buy quality or repace early?

Empty_pockets

Thinking of buying a laptop. Not bought a computer for over 10 years.


Better to buy something for say £600 and keep it 6 years

or

Buy something at £300, keep it 3 years, then buy similar again.


Total cost is the same.


Thanks

Best i've seen so far at £300

http://www.dabs.com/products/fujitsu-ah530---p6200---4-gb-500-gb---dvd-rw---win-7-hp-64-bit---15-6--widescreen-led-web-cam-7NHG.html?refs=52330000

or this at £600

http://www.dabs.com/products/sony-vaio-e-series-ea3s1e-w-core-i3-370m-2-4-ghz-4gb-500gb-14--windows-7-home-premium-64bit-laptop-766K.html?refs=52330000-22

Find anything better please let me know!



ps - Should add I am a basic user

Google Chrome
Excel
Outlook
Photo storage

JamesK10

£375 is what my Mum paid for a laptop and it's going into its third year without any problems, so I would say the Fujitsu but I'd buy a real mouse out of personal preference if the Touchpad isn't in the middle of the wrist rest area. She chose Toshiba though, as a more old-fashioned laptop brand from a firm that's been churning them out for donkey's years. However this updated model has the 4Gigs of RAM straight off and a 500Gb hard disc and HDMI for future connections to TVs/monitors, and 64-Bit windows for no faffing about. Based on your choices, the Fujitsu's great.

With the spare cash you could also factor in any ancilliary costs like an extra battery or as you say, just buy another one this time in 2014 subject to any growth in your needs.

Sony's just overpriced for what it offers nowadays even if you might get a Blu Ray optical drive depending on the laptop's thickness.

steve1980

I paid £360 for my Advent laptop and just deleted all the DSG c**p on it. 500gb HD, 4gb RAM, 1gb graphics card.

Agree about Sony. You're paying for a name rather than a build.

Laptops normally last 6 years with me...and that's working them hard!

Also got 10% cashback by reserving online through Quidco.

Iconic

Here is another alternative.... https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3551717

nsbarker

How often will you use the laptop? Are you an advanced computer user, ie. will under intense use? If so, then you should consider investing in a quality laptop. If you're a casual, soccer mom type, then ponying up for an expensive laptop is probably not worth it

gonzo127

as above, if you are not likely to use the extra 'power' of a more expensive lapptop, go the cheap route, in most instances unless it is seriously abused, a laptop will last at least 3 years, and by then the technology will have moved on a lot and the next £300 one (if you even need to upgrade at that point) will more than likely be more powerful than the £600 one would be

jaydeeuk1

A £600 laptop won't last twice as long as a £300 laptop. Case of diminishing returns the more you spend (although the odd exception pops up)

If its just for office/internet stuff, get the £300 one but get one with the best processor you can afford- you can easily upgrade memory and hard drive, but not CPU.

Hammyman

£600 does not buy you a good laptop that will last 6 years. The thick end of £1000 does. Not only that but the battery on the £1000 one is likely to be still working after 4 or 5 years whereas on both the £600 and £300 one, you'll be replacing the battery every 12 to 18 months.

Empty_pockets

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

If its just for office/internet stuff, get the £300 one but get one with the best processor you can afford- you can easily upgrade memory and hard drive, but not CPU.

Thanks all, seems a clear cut recomendation to go for the cheaper option.

Will ask about processer though, I think the fuji above has a pentium P6200 dual core. There was one for about £50-60 more which had an i3 processor.

Is this worth going for? Are there any sites you could recommend which will give me an understanding of the best processors?

Thanks

TakeThis

Empty_pockets wrote: »

Thanks all, seems a clear cut recomendation to go for the cheaper option.

Will ask about processer though, I think the fuji above has a pentium P6200 dual core. There was one for about £50-60 more which had an i3 processor.

Is this worth going for? Are there any sites you could recommend which will give me an understanding of the best processors?

Thanks

Do you need the best processor?

MoneySavingUser

gonzo127 wrote: »

as above, if you are not likely to use the extra 'power' of a more expensive lapptop, go the cheap route, in most instances unless it is seriously abused, a laptop will last at least 3 years, and by then the technology will have moved on a lot and the next £300 one (if you even need to upgrade at that point) will more than likely be more powerful than the £600 one would be

I agree with this - my first laptop was about £550, then £475 and now £400. Prices are coming down all the time and specs are going up. It is best to buy something reasonable and replace it every few years.

Hammyman has mentioned battery life - will you be using it out and about away from a power source often?

as for pentium vs. i3 - I used to think the i3/5/7's were a lot better but from reading some of the comments on this forum it seems the pentiums have some good benchmark ratings too

Personally for £50 more I'd get the i3 (though seems some of them then have less ram, hd than the pentiums so watch out for this)

I wouldn't pay extra for more hd space as you can get cheap external hd's for £50-100