Laptop Buying Advice Needed

stressedoutmumof1

Hi

We are looking at various laptops for my daughter's Christmas present. There's so many to choose from, and to tell you the truth I'm getting quite confused by it all!

We are looking to spend between £400 and £500, and want 4gb memory and 500gb hard drive at least.

I'm not too keen on Dell or Compaq, but thought that this Sony one looked quite good.

Any suggestions from you lovely techies?

nearlyrich

This is a much better bet cheaper better processor etc

free4440273

for the money try and get a fast a processor as possible -- the new sandy bridge i5 or i7 ones deliver speed with price/performance -- the i5 esp. so re price/and performance . also, think about screen size and resolution : some people find 1024*768 too basic and u too might wanna go a leg up from this .

http://www.geek.com/laptop-screen-size-resolution/

stressedoutmumof1

So, I'm looking at the memory the higher the better, and I'm looking at the hard drive - again the higher the better, what else do I need to look for?

Thanks

gonzo127

that sony one sucks, sorry but that processor really isnt up to much, would you be willing to look at refurb/outlet laptops, as you can get some good deals doing it that way things like

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOSHIBA-SATELLITE-R850-500GB-15-6-INCH-LAPTOP-/350502123760?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item519b8df8f0
or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOSHIBA-A660-LAPTOP-640GB-15-6-INTEL-CORE-I3-380M-4GB-RAM-BLACK-REFURB-/330636781156?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4cfb7ce664
or
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/acer-aspire-5750-refurbished-15-6-laptop-black-10934175-pdt.html -

jcb208

I am also looking to buy a new laptop and have found that memory and hard drive size is not that inportant as you can upgrade the memory from 4gb to 8 gb for less then £25, also hard drives can be upgraded easy.I have found the acer aspire 5750 seems to give good spec for the money and is available in many configurations,might be worth a look.Still not quite decided what Im buying but that looks favourite.I have always had sony but to be honest you dont get as much power for your money

For £500 THIS is good value compared to other manufacturers

macman

Your budget is more than sufficient. More relevantly, what does your daughter want to do with her laptop? if it's just the usual Facebook/email/word processing etc, then absolutely any modern laptop will do the job.
You are on the right lines with your RAM and HD spec, but make sure it's got Windows 7 64 bit, or you won't get the advantage of the 4GB of RAM.

grumpycrab

Sorry I'm not suggesting a lapto in the £400 - £500 range BUT if you buy an Acer get a good value 3 years warranty extension for £30 here.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Advantage-Notebook-Extended-Warranty-/130594757140?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopAccess_RL&hash=item1e680dda14 (irrespective of make most laptops are not that reliable)

Also FYI with a good CPU, 4GB memory and 500GB disk you don't have to pay loads. £309 for this Toshiba:-

A new Toshiba C660-220 i3-370M/4GB/500GB £309 Delivered @ Tesco (Use Code TD-RPHX for £20 off).
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.212-3150.aspx
Price-matched by Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005LG4EP0/ref=nosim/?!!!!!hotukdeals-21
And reasonable (priced) Toshiba warranty extensions available http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/product/Satellite-C660-220/1110363/toshibaShop/false/tab/2/#2
EDIT: Note does not have an HDMI connector and only two usb ports.

jcb208

grumpycrab wrote: »

Sorry I'm not suggesting a lapto in the £400 - £500 range BUT if you buy an Acer get a good value 3 years warranty extension for £30 here.


Thanks for that tip,Your right about any laptop reliability, It will not matter what make you get they all have faults unless your lucky my sony in 3.5 years I have replaced failed hard drive 2 hinges keyboard and now the screen is going faulty

Disambiguative_Shopper

A final thought once usage has been considered is where. If it is college etc then size, weight and battery life are all relevant too. Many Students don't carry to and from classes 14.5" plus sizes.
Batteries are tricky but Optical (CD/DVD) drives attack those so any device without a spin drive will last longer on the battery. A separate CD/DVD drive can be plugged in for 20 pounds or so.
So do consider the larger size Netbooks, they care very versatile for all but the higher end users.

stressedoutmumof1

Thanks for all the input guys!

I think we've narrowed it down now, and we're going to get this one with the extended warranty.

Thanks again!