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[D]

To be honest, quick and a budget of £350 don't really go hand in hand. At that price you would be lucky to get an i3. Perhaps if you go back at least a gen or two you may have some luck. Or second hand perhaps.

Again at that price you are looking at a low res TN screen with generally poor viewing angles. HDD will be generally the slower 5400RPM variant. Ram will be limited as well. Blue ray at £350, well pigs do fly occasionally.

This is a reasonable option:

http://www.ebuyer.com/579806-asus-x551ca-laptop-x551ca-sx153h

[chrisgixer]

To be honest, quick and a budget of £350 don't really go hand in hand. At that price you would be lucky to get an i3. Perhaps if you go back at least a gen or two you may have some luck. Or second hand perhaps.

Again at that price you are looking at a low res TN screen with generally poor viewing angles. HDD will be generally the slower 5400RPM variant. Ram will be limited as well. Blue ray at £350, well pigs do fly occasionally.

This is a reasonable option:

http://www.ebuyer.com/579806-asus-x551ca-laptop-x551ca-sx153h

As post #13 Gents...

Ok ignore the budget for a minute, let's nail down a particular model first.

Thanks D. Put it this way...

What would you actually buy for yourself. To your budget, ignore the £350 limit.

[aaronjb]

To be fair, an i3 is going to feel like greased lightning to Chris compared to his current laptop, which is this: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/latit/en/spec_latit_d510_en.pdf

[Vamps]

Some won't agree but we have had extremely good life out of Acer, on my second having, seen off a Samsung in the middle, a period when I went back to the old Acer to tide me over....

[D]

Ok, since you asked.

Win with a drive:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-17-7737/pd.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Win without a drive:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-7537/pd.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Win ultraportable:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-15-9530/pd?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Win budget machine:
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15r-5521/pd.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Win alternative manufacturer with blue ray player:
http://www.ebuyer.com/543490-asus-n550lf-laptop-n550lf-ck026h

Win alternate manufacturer with 4th gen Haswell processor and DVD player:
http://www.ebuyer.com/398940-samsung-700z5c-laptop-np700z5c-a02uk

Which do you prefer?

[D]

Some won't agree but we have had extremely good life out of Acer, on my second having, seen off a Samsung in the middle, a period when I went back to the old Acer to tide me over....

Unfortunately after having 3 separate models die on us within 18 months from purchase, I cannot recommend Acer.

[AndyRoid]

Thanks D. Put it this way...

What would you actually buy for yourself. To your budget, ignore the £350 limit.

That's quite a reasonable spec for the price, but I'd definitely be upgrading the included Win 8 back to Win 7.

[AndyRoid]

Unfortunately after having 3 separate models die on us within 18 months from purchase, I cannot recommend Acer.

I managed to knock one of the cursor keys off the keyboard of a mates Acer by catching it with the button on a shirt cuff, the build quality certainly leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.

[tunnie]

Sony-dell-Toshiba-

I'd scrub Sony from that list, their DVD drivers appear very fragile 

[tunnie]

If I had to buy a laptop with my own monies, I'd probably go MacBook Air.

[chrisgixer]

If I had to buy a laptop with my own monies, I'd probably go MacBook Air.

She has loads of data stored in Microsoft office etc, would that be an issue?


Ps, I realise I did ask what you good people here would buy, but this is to replace H's ageing Dell, so apologies there.... guessing it needs to be a Doh's machine for a smooth transition ?

[tunnie]

If I had to buy a laptop with my own monies, I'd probably go MacBook Air.

She has loads of data stored in Microsoft office etc, would that be an issue?

Nope, full Office suite is available for Mac.

A few work mates have them here, for me they tick what a laptop should be. Ultra, ultra lightweight. Slim, quite powerful for the size, great screen and really can use it on the go.

Of course the down side is they are over-priced for the spec you get, but you cannot get a slimmer or lighter laptop for the money.

[tunnie]

I've got a Macbook Pro on order for work, I had the choice of the new Retina one, but that comes with an SSD, the capacity is just not enough, so went for the standard one.

The Air though is considerably thinner...

http://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-air/

[chrisgixer]

If I had to buy a laptop with my own monies, I'd probably go MacBook Air.

She has loads of data stored in Microsoft office etc, would that be an issue?

Nope, full Office suite is available for Mac.

A few work mates have them here, for me they tick what a laptop should be. Ultra, ultra lightweight. Slim, quite powerful for the size, great screen and really can use it on the go.

Of course the down side is they are over-priced for the spec you get, but you cannot get a slimmer or lighter laptop for the money.

I'd love to get her one of those don't get me wrong, but the price is massively prohibitive, and it only needs to be as mobile as carrying it up and down stairs tbh.

Amy has one though, and it's quite a machine. Does it justify the extra cost (almost double?) though ?

[Kevin Wood]

Sony-dell-Toshiba-

I'd scrub Sony from that list, their DVD drivers appear very fragile 

Yep. Nothing to like about Sony laptops, that's for sure.