Laptop under £400

dimestorediamond

Hi everyone!

I am an idiot when it comes to technology but I am in need for a laptop. I have no clue when it comes to what specs I need and going to PC World ended up with me being more baffled than anything.

My budget (at max) is £400 but obviously, the lower the better.

I will be using my laptop for essay writing (lots and lots of that) and I would be using Microsoft Word to write them. Other than that, I will only be using it for internet surfing, storing music via itunes and I do use iplayer/4od and the like (I don't know if that effects what type of model is best). I don't download any films or anything.

I am not fussed on brand or colour, I prefer a larger screen, but as long as it's not netbook sized, it's not anything specific.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

-TangleFoot-

CRT86 wrote: »

Microsoft Word

Costs ~£65; alternatives available.

CRT86 wrote: »

itunes

Best left on the Mac it was ported from; alternatives available. I suggest Windows Media Player.

CRT86 wrote: »

iplayer/4od

Requires Flash; doesn't limit your choices in the slightest.

Anything else on your wishlist?

dimestorediamond

I like Microsoft Word, like I said, I am not techno savvy and to be quite frank, I don't want to try anything else. It works for me. The Microsoft Word I already have ready to go.

My itunes is stored on my iphone, which is on it's way out, I don't have itunes on anything more solid and I wanted to back up my music before my phone completely dies a death.

No other requirements.

-TangleFoot-

CRT86 wrote: »

My [stuff] is stored on my iphone

iTunes wouldn't help there - as soon as you connect the one to the other it would offer to delete everything on your 'phone.

SharePod, maybe?

dimestorediamond

I'll worry about the music when it comes to it, just more concerned about what laptop to get really

-TangleFoot-

Well... this one looks nice. Bit over budget though.

dimestorediamond

Thank you. Is 4 gb of ram what I should be looking for? I suppose I should be asking for the specs I require then finding what fits my budget?

-TangleFoot-

CRT86 wrote: »

Is 4 gb of ram what I should be looking for?

It's a good starting point.

dimestorediamond

Ok thanks.

If anyone else has any thing else that will help, please let me know.

-TangleFoot-

Incidentally, what exactly do you mean by 'netbook sized'? They were pretty small (7" display) to begin with, but kept getting bigger (12") as time went by.

AlecEiffel

Unless you plan on gaming or doing CAD work or video editing then integrated graphics will be enough which will bring in plenty of choice. The Intel i3 processor is good for basic computing (office, web, iplayer etc), and a 3rd gen processor (spec will say Core i3-3xxx) has Intel HD4000 graphics which is fine for what you want. 2nd gen i3's (Core i3-2xxx) have HD3000 graphics which are still good for day to day use but the 3rd gen are better graphically and overall have a bit more power. Be aware of the ultra low voltage processors as they are a bit slow (<2Ghz).