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Quick bit of advice _ Laptop

All, need a laptop tonight for work, mine started smoking today and gave up the ghost.

Will prob have to be curry's/PC world due to time limit of getting it.

Budget roughly £300 to £400, just want the best for the money.

If you have a funny smart arse comment probably best kept to youreelf as they ain't usually funny.

Appreciate any proper help/assistance

Comments

  • Get as much RAM as you can afford.
  • Cheers pal, that halved the selection process from 8gb and 4gb models
  • Try and get at least an i5 processor, ideally you'd want an i7 but unlikely in your price range
  • edited December 2016
    SSD hard drives are your friend.

    Have a look at the 2nd hand market.

    Got my MacBook Air used (in mint condition) with a two year guarantee for £400.
  • pickwick said:
    Cheers, had reserved this for some price at curry's however the 3 year guarantee is a bonus at John Lewis
  • SSD hard drives are your friend.

    Have a look at the 2nd hand market.

    Got my MacBook Air used (in mint condition) with a two year guarantee for £400.

    Have to work tonight pal and need it for start of shift.
  • I always find the staff at Curry's very knowledgeable and, using their expertise, direct me to just what I want. Not.

    Use this guide if you like, to choose and get it at your nearest store
    http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/laptops-between-300-and-400-pounds


    Looks just the ticket....
    HP 250 G5 Core i5-6200U 8GB 256GB SSD 15.6 Inch Windows 10 Laptop
  • I always find the staff at Curry's very knowledgeable and, using their expertise, direct me to just what I want. Not.

    Use this guide if you like, to choose and get it at your nearest store
    http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/laptops-between-300-and-400-pounds


    Looks just the ticket....
    HP 250 G5 Core i5-6200U 8GB 256GB SSD 15.6 Inch Windows 10 Laptop

    This is the only thing I came here to say really; you're doing the best thing by looking online (and researching + reserving etc) than just going along to the store.

    I had to buy a laptop a few months back now, and I dreaded the hokey-pokey with the staff.
  • edited December 2016

    pickwick said:
    Cheers, had reserved this for some price at curry's however the 3 year guarantee is a bonus at John Lewis
    Word of warning, I've got the 305 and the trackpad on it is dreadful - scrolling is really imprecise (not a problem if you use a mouse but that kinda defeats the purpose). Not a fan of the keyboard either. No other problems with it.
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  • Bauer sent off
  • Need to get a new laptop, primarily for my boy who has just started secondary school.
    Are Chromebooks suitable for the first couple of years?
    Not really sure he'd need office and the like but I suppose it would be helpful further down the line? My budget is around the £300 mark.

    Any ideas?
  • I bought a second had PC from these people a year or so ago and it has worked flawlessly. I paid something line £130 for an i5 Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - which was what I wanted I think they have decent Windows 10 machines and they used to sell Apple Mac computers too.

    http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-IT-Recycling-Company?_rdc=1
  • Need to get a new laptop, primarily for my boy who has just started secondary school.
    Are Chromebooks suitable for the first couple of years?
    Not really sure he'd need office and the like but I suppose it would be helpful further down the line? My budget is around the £300 mark.

    Any ideas?

    No need to spend actual money on the Office software. Either LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice do more for no money.

    Both have versions which are compatible with windows, linux or apple operating systems. In addition (I think) you have to shell out for the "Professional" version of windows to get a full suite.
  • edited September 2017
    I think it is hassle not having office for school work etc... One option is to get a cheaper older version from ebay.
  • edited September 2017
    Personally I'd go for a refurb over a chromebook unless he's going to be lugging it around often enough that the weight is going to be important. I usually get mine from www.morgancomputers.co.uk but you need to look carefully at the specs and work out what;s most important to you within your budget - win7 or win10, faster processor, more RAM (or option to upgrade to more RAM), more disk space, CD/DVD drive, screen size etc.

    I think the HP Elitebook is the best of the windows 10 ones that are within your budget, although it's not entirely clear from the spec that it definitely has an optical drive, despite what it says in the sales blurb, so you'd need to double check with them if that's important to you. It's also only a 12.5", which for me would be an advantage as it makes it more portable, but if you'd prefer a slightly bigger screen, Fujitsu Lifebook has a 14" screen but less memory (though it is upgradable) and a slower processor, although it does come with Office 2013. It doesn't have a DVD drive either, but in theory there's a module where you can install one, although I don't know how easy this is in practice.

    If you don't mind sticking with Windows 7, you've got WAY more options, but that will go out of extended support in January 2020, so you'll only get two years' use out of it before you'll need to upgrade the operating system to use it safely.
  • I've just bought a Lenovo ideapad as needed a laptop in an emergency. John Lewis £240. Bought a windows professional activation code off eBay for £20 which works perfectly.
    Battery life is feeble at 2hrs, but for a basic laptop that plays DVDs and has a TB of storage the price was good. It's very light for lugging about, but it won't take too many knocks.
    I'm used to struggling through airports with Dells, which weigh a ton, though seem well built.
  • edited September 2017
    Anyone have one of these ? I need a cheap laptop to carry around to display photos using an external hard drive. Doubt I'll use the internet much at all, seems ideal just wondered if it's cheap & nasty ? Thanks

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-110S-11-6-Inch-Notebook/product-reviews/B01MZ7YK6H/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent#R22HEI35C9H2A2
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