Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Radar on 09 May 2011, 15:54:03

Title: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Radar on 09 May 2011, 15:54:03
I am after a new laptop for home / internet use - does not need to have all the bells and whistles and budget is £350. Does anyone have anything they can recommend please?
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: tigers_gonads on 09 May 2011, 15:56:03
I've been running a Toshiba for years  :y
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Phil H. on 09 May 2011, 16:05:37
Try argos warehouse, got online shop on ebay. got the missus a toshiba new just returned for seemingly no reason for £340 - still in argos catalogue for £450. All items from there still have 1 year waranty.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Martian on 09 May 2011, 16:41:34
Toshiba & Asus share the top spot for reliability & build quality. I'm currently using a Toshiba Satellite R630-155, but that has 3 zero's on the end of the price tag so I doubt you'll be wanting one of them  ;D

£350 will get you something like the Tosh C300 which will do all you want, although they are a bit weighty at 2.5KG.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Gaffers on 09 May 2011, 16:46:00
Quote
Toshiba & Asus share the top spot for reliability & build quality. I'm currently using a Toshiba Satellite R630-155, but that has 3 zero's on the end of the price tag so I doubt you'll be wanting one of them  ;D

£350 will get you something like the Tosh C300 which will do all you want, although they are a bit weighty at 2.5KG.


[russian voice on]Heavy is good, heavy is reliable.  And if it doesn't work you can always hit him with it[russian voice off]
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Martian on 09 May 2011, 17:15:43
Quote
Quote
Toshiba & Asus share the top spot for reliability & build quality. I'm currently using a Toshiba Satellite R630-155, but that has 3 zero's on the end of the price tag so I doubt you'll be wanting one of them  ;D

£350 will get you something like the Tosh C300 which will do all you want, although they are a bit weighty at 2.5KG.


[russian voice on]Heavy is good, heavy is reliable.  And if it doesn't work you can always hit him with it[russian voice off]
Thanks for that Boris  ;D ;D

Pity I don't have enough posts to sell yet, theres a Tosh A210 up for grabs at £150 locally.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Plomien on 09 May 2011, 17:26:04
Compaq are not bad, you can pick one up from Tescos for about £300 :y
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Martian on 09 May 2011, 17:29:24
Radar,

Apart from browsing the net for porn Omega's, do you have any other requirements (eg, weight, battery life, screen size,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, CPU speed, etc)?
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: bigboykarl on 09 May 2011, 18:16:57
anything with the i3 processor is within your budget
http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-ASUS-X52F-EX1271V-Laptop/708801
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 09 May 2011, 18:33:32
Most of the top brands are OK now, most have got over their hardships with leadfree now, even Tosh who were one of the last to overcome it.

My favoutites, in no particular order, are Toshiba, HP (business, not consumer range, ie, not Pavilion), and Dell.

The ones I'd not personally buy are ASUS, Acer or Advent.


For basic uses, try to get a Core i3 based one - AMD are behind, and Intel Pentium, Intel Core/Core2 is older technology, and Celeron does start to show its limitations now. i3 is within your budget if you shop around, esp as some shops are selling their older generation Core i3 and i5 to make way for new generation 'Sandy Bridge' i3 and i5

Memory isn't hugely important - anything 2Gb or over is fine for general Windows 7 work (email, browsing, Office Productivity).

For laptops, I tend to avoid disgrete graphics, unless absolutely necessary (in which case, maybe a desktop is better option), due to thermal requirements.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Radar on 10 May 2011, 08:38:57
Thanks to all for your advice - i have taken this on board and am looking to get this one. I would only use it for a bit of surfing and the occasional letter writing):

http://www.staples.co.uk/technology/computing/netbooks/lifebook-ah530-i3-netbook-intel-core-i3-380m-processor-3gb-ram-250gb-hard-drive-15-6-display-widows-7-home-plus-free-mcafee-internet-security-software?r=rh


Any feedback would be appreciated.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Banjax on 10 May 2011, 08:46:36
Quote
Thanks to all for your advice - i have taken this on board and am looking to get this one. I would only use it for a bit of surfing and the occasional letter writing):

http://www.staples.co.uk/technology/computing/netbooks/lifebook-ah530-i3-netbook-intel-core-i3-380m-processor-3gb-ram-250gb-hard-drive-15-6-display-widows-7-home-plus-free-mcafee-internet-security-software?r=rh


Any feedback would be appreciated.

6hr battery life seems a tad optimistic, but decent spec for the price  :y
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 10 May 2011, 13:21:57
Can't view that page due to stupid staples website blocking my phone
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Radar on 10 May 2011, 13:32:58
Just for TB:
£349.99 with 1yrs McAfee Security

The LIFEBOOK AH Series offers stylish slim design with choice of glossy color options. With HD glossy or anti-glare LCD option in 16:9 widescreen format, combined with Intel® HD Graphics onboard or powerful discrete graphics option, you are assured for an excellent graphics experience.
Processor:
Intel® Core™ i3-380M processor 2.53GHz
RAM
3GB
Hard Drive
SATA, 5400 rpm, 250 GB, 2.5-inch
Graphics
Intel HD
Optical Drive
DVD Super Multi
Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home

Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 10 May 2011, 15:24:59
Spec looks ok, but isn't lifebook siemens?

Have a feeling the local tescos were doing a tosh with similar spec for that money. I know what I would chose
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Osprey on 10 May 2011, 15:42:51
IIRC Fujitsu bought out the Siemens half of the Fujitsu-Siemens joint venture a couple of years back.  Probably kept on the lifebook brand. 
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Radar on 10 May 2011, 16:13:45
Quote
Spec looks ok, but isn't lifebook siemens?

Have a feeling the local tescos were doing a tosh with similar spec for that money. I know what I would chose

Thanks TB - Would this be better than the one i listed before?
http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-satellite-c660-155-core-i3-380m-2-53ghz-4gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-laptop-7BH9.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Martian on 10 May 2011, 16:23:48
Quote
6hr battery life seems a tad optimistic, but decent spec for the price  :y
That's not really an optimistic figure these days, my Tosh cracks the 7 hour barrier with ease.


Quote
Spec looks ok, but isn't lifebook siemens?

Have a feeling the local tescos were doing a tosh with similar spec for that money. I know what I would chose
It is indeed Siemens, and like you I know where my money would go as well.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Martian on 10 May 2011, 16:25:13
Quote
Thanks TB - Would this be better than the one i listed before?
http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-satellite-c660-155-core-i3-380m-2-53ghz-4gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-laptop-7BH9.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200
That's more like it, and a very reasonable price as well.
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: TheBoy on 10 May 2011, 17:52:14
Quote
Quote
Spec looks ok, but isn't lifebook siemens?

Have a feeling the local tescos were doing a tosh with similar spec for that money. I know what I would chose

Thanks TB - Would this be better than the one i listed before?
http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-satellite-c660-155-core-i3-380m-2-53ghz-4gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-laptop-7BH9.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200
Aye, thats more like it IMHO, if you can tolerate the size of it (its quite wide, bu thats the current trend).

If buying from Dabs, go via a cashback site (if not a member of any cashback sites, try my referral link - http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/theboy - I get £7.50 after you've saved your first fiver :y)
Title: Re: New Laptop Advice
Post by: Radar on 11 May 2011, 08:59:05
Thanks guys - you've helped alot in making my decision. Toshiba it is :y