Laptop Issues - Repair or Replace

Sharon87

I've got my old Samsung RV510 and I'm having a few issues with it.

The DVD drive seems to have finally given up after it being a bit dodgy for a while. I also need a new battery but it's not essential at the moment.

I have been looking at laptops to see if I could find a decent laptop with everything I want, but I can't!

I really want a laptop with a bluray player but I can't seem to find any for less than a grand! My next laptop I want it suitable for video editing so a decent graphics card and processing speed.

Now I can either buy a new laptop which I can't really afford at this moment in time or buy an external blu ray drive and do some refurb on my current laptop. I'm also unsure about Windows 8 whether it's any good for everything I have and need it for.

So basically just looking for either laptop suggestions or bluray drives (via USB, I have no HDMI slot).

kwikbreaks

Sharon87 wrote: »

do some refurb on my current laptop

You won't be able to upgrade the processor to a current one so video editing isn't going to be super fast with that one as according to this review it wasn't all that hot even in its day.

Laptops are repairable but not upgradeable.

bluesnake

what about an external usb2 bluray player for £17?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-External-3D-HD-Blu-Ray-Drive-Player-Reader-DVD-RW-Writer-For-Laptop-PC-/130953768832?pt=UK_Computing_Drives_Storage_CD_DVD_Drives_ET&hash=item1e7d73ef80

Cisco001

This would suit what you needed.
http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/Asus_N550LF-CK095H_Laptop/Multimedia+Entertainment/Asus+laptops/d


This is good value if you don't mind refurb with only 6 months warranty
http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-refurb-n55sl-s2019v-15-6--6gb-750gb-core-i7-windows-7-blu-ray-lapto-94Y1.html?refs=52730000&src=3

WTFH

You can get plenty of laptops for less than £1000 with a bluray player built in (I'm posting this from a 5 year old Acer that cost under £500 when I bought it new)

...but if you're looking to do a lot of video editing, your spec is not about having a fast processor or a high end video card. You need lots of RAM and a fast hard disk.

In fact, if video editing is the main reason for it, I would either:
1. Buy a desktop with at least 2 hard disks in it, put 16GB of RAM in it, have a decent 24" (or bigger) screen and run OSX Mavericks or Windows 7 with your desired software
or
2. Buy a second hand Macbook Pro with a 17" non-reflective screen, 8GB RAM and a big hard drive. Then stick Final Cut Pro on it.

Option 2 might be a tad over budget, but if you want a laptop for video editing, that's probably the one to go for.

Sharon87

Thanks for the help. The Asus computer looks reasonable. I am tempted by a mac for the first time in my life lol.

Video editing isn't the main reason for my laptop but I do want to have the option to do it. I've done some on my existing laptop but its painfully slow!

At the moment though I think I need to wait a couple months before I can buy a laptop and that depends on how much work I get. So may buy an external Bly ray player for now. Thanks for the link to the one in eBay. Although I'm very wary about buying technology on eBay so will scrutinise his feedback first!

More suggestions are welcome!