Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Radar]

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?

[tigers_gonads]

I've been running a Toshiba for years 

[Phil H.]

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.

[Martian]

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 

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

[Gaffers]

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 

£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]

[Martian]

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 

£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 

Pity I don't have enough posts to sell yet, theres a Tosh A210 up for grabs at £150 locally.

[Plomien]

Compaq are not bad, you can pick one up from Tescos for about £300

[Martian]

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)?

[bigboykarl]

anything with the i3 processor is within your budget
http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy-ASUS-X52F-EX1271V-Laptop/708801

[TheBoy]

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.

[Radar]

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.

[Banjax]

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 

[TheBoy]

Can't view that page due to stupid staples website blocking my phone

[Radar]

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

[TheBoy]

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