Quick help required in buying laptop!
Apologies for the desperation, I need to buy my daughter a laptop this afternoon, and have no idea of processors and ram and all that stuff.
she's in her last year of Uni, but I want the laptop to be of decent quality and do all the regular web related nosense that those pesky Facebookers want to do! bigger hard drive would be great...
dont really wanna spend more than £350 on it, so if anyoen can reccommend something I can get off the shelf in your argos,comet,currys or Pcworld kinda place I'd be super grateful.
as I said, processor brands baffle me, Intel dual core, i-3, i-5, i-7, AMD, and all the others...ram!!!!----3gb,4gb,6gb,8gb, what the hell is it all about?
Do not fear!
The good news is that for web browsing, word processing etc nearly all modern laptops have got more than enough power to handle anything she will want to do. So the RAM, Processor etc will almost certainly be fine. I use a really low Spec Dell and a 5 year old Mac Book and both are absolutely fine.
The only thing you need to decide is screen size
13" is very portable for taking on public transport, but not great to use as a full time desktop without a monitor
17" is not really portable, but great anchored to a desk
15" is a balance between the two so a fairly safe bet.
The things that really matter are things that even as a computer ignoramus you can check yourself:
How does the keyboard feel to type on?
Has it got sharp edges that will hurt your wrists?
Are the plastics good quality and will they wear out and crack?
If it's a demonstrator running on a counter is it running really hot and is it already starting to look tired from people playing with it?
Is it bulky and heavy?
If you pick it up does it flex in your hands or does it feel sturdy?
Are the hinges sturdy and likely to survive being opened several thousand times (or dropped)?
Reliability is a big issue. Because laptops generally sell on spec rather than mechanical build quality many companies build down to a price to the extent that their products rarely last more than a couple of years though they appear to offer great spec for the money.
Companies I would avoid include: Acer, Gateway, HP, Compaq
Companies I trust include: Toshiba, Asus (who are not the same as Acer!!), Dell
Unfortunately the highstreet is a bloody mine field. Most shop assistants have no idea what they are talking about and will try and blind you with science.
This article may help you if you do want to go that route:: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/3519...street-rip-off
Personally I would buy from either:
http://www.ebuyer.com/
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/
Or better still buy direct from Dell:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/popular-laptop-deals.aspx
If you do find something and want to run the spec by me then just give me a shout and I'm happy to help.
EDIT: Also if you do go to the high street don't let them con you in to buying anti virus. Security Essentials is the best one out there and it's free!
Awesome reply, thanks for all that, but I really do have to get it this afternoon so the online options are not really a benefit....(forgot it was her birthday tomorrow..!!!!!! - The Shame)
of these couple is there one that's better than the other?
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...uctInformation
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5087176.htm
The Tosh has a much better processor, there is a speed difference between the newer "i" processors compared with the older "Intel Dual Core" processors.Originally Posted by lamf37
Dell really aren't that good anymore since they went into high street stores, others may disagree but you don't get as much for your money with them now as you used to when they were online only.
However the Dell does have Bluetooth built in, not that many people use that these days but some younger people still do when transferring pics etc, it also has one extra USB port.
Don't be fooled by it saying it has MS Office installed, it is only a trial and will run out in probably 60 days usually then it would need to be purchased anyway.
Personally I would go for the Tosh because of the processor, won't go out of date as quick. Won't be long until they no longer do Pentium Dual Core anymore as the newer "i" processor laptops are getting seriously cheap to buy now.
The Tosh doesn't have much features listed on the Argos site but like the Dell it will also have WiFi and a DVD writer.
sorry again...would this be better? bigger hard drive, more ram????
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...uctInformation
Of those two I'd go for the Tosh.
I'd also buy the £14.99 upgrade to Windows 8 offer.
The first Tosh you posted had a better processor i3 so it's swings and roundabouts.
Order of performance for Intels is: Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5, i7
White laptops can get grubby easily.
Hi Monquixote,
I know the OP is pretty much sorted now so we won't confuse him but I would like to know what you have against HP?
I bought an i3 g6 laptop some months ago and it has been first rate. 4G ram 640G HDD and Win7 64bit Premium. It seems very solidly made and bonus, it is extremely quiet. I can easily record acoustic guitar ( AKG P 150 into NI Ka6) whilst operating the PC.
Took it to work this week and it slid into the WiFi network like paint, pretty quick too, 6 meg dld and about 4.5meg up.
I also have an HP 2core 2.7G desktop and that is similarly quiet and has never been a second's bother in over a year. Have I just been very lucky?
Oh yes. I too have dumped off all the bundled anti-V stuff and just use SE on everything now.
Dave.
This amongst other things:
http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/S...ility_1109.pdf
25% failure rate for HP vs 15% for Asus.
Don't let bigger Ram and HDD tempt you.
More ram doesn't mean faster, the processor also needs to handle the larger ram.
You can buy 6GB ram quite cheap for around £30 online so if you got the i3 Tosh and then later on stuck 6GB ram into it then you have a far superior machine than the 2nd Tosh you posted.
I never look at storage when it comes to buying a computer, as long as it has the average capacity (usually around 250GB-320GB) that's fine, more than enough for most people.
If it was felt at a later date more storage was needed then external USB hard drives are an option.
Bigger numbers on stuff doesn't always mean it's better.
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