Oy, computer knowledgeable people.

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 07:38 AM

I want a laptop. I've never owned one and now have the cash to get one. I've got £400 to spend .

I have NO idea what to get and know bugger all about computers so please, no waffle about operating systems and all that gibberish, I won't understand a word of it. I don't have the first clue as to how to program anything. I can only just about turn on this old cronk of a desktop and use the internet on it .

I need to be able to get it in the UK and not have to wait 4 million years for it to be shipped from bloody Khatmandu or wherever.

I just want something for my 400 quid that's as fast as possible, has as much memory as possible, and won't break if I look at it.

For the most part it'll be used for internet surfing and buying shit on Ebay and Etsy, storing pictures ( though I do have a photobucket account as well ) and music ( I only know how to use windows media player ) chatting crap on MSN , and watching DVD's in bed.

I didn't want to hear a load of sales pitch and gibberish from some disinterested looking twerp in PC world, so I thought I'd ask around in here as I know some of you like your technical wizardry and so on.

SO, G.NET, Have you any advice as to what laptop I could get for my £400? I can go slightly over that budget but not by much.

Dell? HP? ACER? those are three brands I've seen about, any good machines from those?

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 09:02 AM

stay away from Dell. HP has actually been really good these past few years. I haven't messed with ACER much but my monitor is an acer and its pretty nice (just wish it wasn't a widescreen blegh)

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 09:07 AM

For what you're looking for, the HP Pavilion dv6-3143us looks like it could do that and some more. I'd fully look into HP lol

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 09:11 AM

Hmmm.. I have ogled this one

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelap...erience=direct

This one costs more, is red and the only difference between the two is apparantly the processor is a different one on this model? Do you know if it's a better one or are they just taking the piss and chucking extra money on for something that's not that much better?

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelap...erience=direct

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 09:23 AM

The more expensive one has a better processor and internal graphics chip.
I'm looking at CPU benchmarks and the second laptops CPU is tons stronger than the CPU on the on the first laptop, so the price is adjusted fairly IMO

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 09:27 AM

I have no idea what a graphics chip does... will it cause a sarper picture whilst watching a dvd? Or is it designed more for playing games?

The processor, I would presume having the better one will make the more expensive machine the faster of the two, so long as I don't store a load of shit on it?

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 09:33 AM

well the stronger processor can handle a lot more than the previous one. the graphics chip will make sure not only you'll have a better picture, but it'll be able to handle streaming DVD playback without the video skipping.

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 09:33 AM

and with a 500GB harddrive, it'd take you quite a while to put a dent in that storage space.

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 09:34 AM

Ok great thanks

So far the red one is winning ! I'll have to save a bit for it but that's ok.

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 10:11 AM

I've just been told that the motherboards on HP's tend to die and are expensive to replace/repair? Is this true in anyone's experience?

vindicatedxjin · 11-06-2010, 05:19 PM

Get an hp or a mac book. I've always had bad luck with dell and acer.

OnyxBat · 11-06-2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeythorn

Hmmm.. I have ogled this one

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelap...erience=direct

This one costs more, is red and the only difference between the two is apparantly the processor is a different one on this model? Do you know if it's a better one or are they just taking the piss and chucking extra money on for something that's not that much better?

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelap...erience=direct

Dont get a Compaq, I had mine for three years (I recently got a new one, HP)
the charger broke it was hard to find, Its hard to carry around with, and after three years it shut down and stopped working (and I rarely used it) so just go with an HP or save up to get a top quality mac.

Saya · 11-06-2010, 05:37 PM

I had an acer before, it was a cheap one and it was craaaap. I love my Toshiba though.

I personally would avoid a mac because while I hear they tend to run smoothly, it doesn't always give you the tools to fix it when things do go wrong. When I worked in internet tech support, there's a bajillion things with windows you can do to fix the internet connection, but only a few with mac and then you have to bring it in a shop or call Apple. Also, when my friend's mac broke down she had to send it away, but that may not be your case, if you buy a computer in store ask if you'd have to send it away or not. I wouldn't know how long it would have taken though because it was beyond repair, although they did manage to recover her thesis, thank god.

honeythorn · 11-06-2010, 05:41 PM

If you click on the printable PDF sheet on the second one, it tells you more about all the gubbins inside it ( which means nowt to me ). So far it's still winning

LaBelleDameSansMerci · 11-06-2010, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saya

I had an acer before, it was a cheap one and it was craaaap. I love my Toshiba though.

I second Toshiba. I have a Toshiba that's 4.5 years old, and the only thing that's wrong with it is the left-click has lost tactile feedback, but that's OK since the computer usually throws up a menu when I use that button, so I know if it's worked or not. It's got paint splotches all over it, I spilled a glass of water on it, I dropped something on it and knocked the K key off and was able to put it right back on with no problem.
My Mom has a Toshiba that's getting on 6 years, if it hasn't already. It still works like a charm. She knocked her C key off - again by dropping a phone on it - but couldn't put it back on, so she had to get a new keyboard, but other than that, it's still great. She surfs web and e-mails on it, and that's about it.
Toshibas have the lowest need-of-repair rate, I believe. I highly recommend Toshiba.

Saya · 11-06-2010, 08:02 PM

Didn't know that, but I did get a Toshiba because friends told me they last an incredibly long time. My brother also has one second hand that's three or four years old, mine's more up to date but his still runs perfectly.

Solumina · 11-06-2010, 08:11 PM

I've heard good things about Toshibas but everyone that I know who has ever had one ended up having major issues that resulted in them replacing their Toshiba within the first two years so I avoid them.

Mid to high end HPs tend to be pretty reliable but I have heard bad things about their lower level machines. I have an HP dv9000 that I got two years ago which I do rather love and I've never needed to get anything fixed.

LetheanBlacklight · 11-06-2010, 10:30 PM

If she goes with that red HP, she'd be getting a higher-mid laptop, and before I built my computer, I had a mid level HP, lasted me about 4-5 years until I built this.
I second staying away from macbooks

Raptor · 11-07-2010, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeythorn

I have no idea what a graphics chip does... will it cause a sarper picture whilst watching a dvd? Or is it designed more for playing games?

I doubt you'll notice any picture quality differences from different graphics cards. Even onboard (read as worse) graphics are perfectly fine for watching DVDs. More expensive ones are really aimed at gaming and using graphics design stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeythorn

The processor, I would presume having the better one will make the more expensive machine the faster of the two, so long as I don't store a load of shit on it?

The amount of data you store on a hard drive doesn't really have any effect on the speed of the computer.

A motherboard will always be expensive to replace, I don't know if which brands are most likely to break though. Generally they should be OK, as far as I know the parts which break most often are hard drives.

I don't have much experience with laptops, but the only I've ever had was a cheap-middle ish range Acer and it was pretty shit. It had Acer something or other software that's supposed to control settings and the battery etc but it was slow and crashed a lot (although usually windows would keep working fine anyway). Honestly though you'll get good and bad opinions on all brands, maybe there are figures somewhere comparing how often they break.

You shouldn't need much if all you do is browse the internet and watch DVD's. I'd get something with Windows 7 and 2+ GB RAM, and an alright processor. You'll have to decide how much hard drive space you need. Both the laptops you linked to have all of that, you could probably get something suitable for less money as well. Possibly consider if you need to buy anything else within the same budget (Microsoft Office etc). Other things: do you want bluray, weight of the laptop, and the screen (size, how much glare it has, viewing angle). Some laptop screens are really irritating, I'd recommend you look at ones you're interested in at a shop even if you don't buy it there.

Don't buy a Mac - do they do anything cheaper than £850? That's a ridiculous price to watch DVDs. And I'll agree about their customer support, I sent them a error message I got from iTunes (including screen shots with bits circled in red and an explanation of that I was doing), they took a long time to get back to me and it took weeks of talking to several idiots before they did anything useful. The one time I emailed Microsoft about a problem they emailed me back with instructions on what I should do within a day or two and it worked perfectly.

You might want to think about a desktop unless you have a need to move it around.

honeythorn · 11-07-2010, 04:48 AM

I can't have a desktop because I do take quite a few train journeys so I will want to move it about, plus my only desk has a 30 gallon fishtank on it that I don't have room for anywhere else.

What about these?

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_G7...n.asp?PID=1018

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_Pa...n.asp?PID=1661

Or is the red one still winning in terms of the quality of the bits in it?

LetheanBlacklight · 11-07-2010, 10:57 AM

The first link has a stronger processor than the red one, but for what you want to do unless you do crazy multitasking and leave a lot of things open, I don't think an i3 would be necessary.

Lord Morozco · 11-07-2010, 02:24 PM

Can't go wrong with an HP product. Avoid Dell like the plauge.

CptSternn · 11-08-2010, 01:12 AM

Go to PC world. They have prices that are just as good as online, better in some cases when it gets close to Christmas.

I got a new Acer Aspire 5542 a few weeks ago from there and it rocks.

You can even check their website and see what offers they have sure.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/index.html

Timeless Rebellion · 11-09-2010, 08:24 AM

For your needs, I would suggest a Toshiba with plenty disk space on it.
I had a Toshiba a while ago. It was bought back when 1GB of Ram was good for a standard pc so that is at least 4 years ago if I remember correctly.
It still works to this day.

By memory, do you mean RAM or disk space? Because for the needs you describe, a simple 4GB of Ram should do nicely.

I would say spend a little less on the pc and get a mouse and a keyboard to plug in when using it for more than an hour straight or you are gonna hurt your wrists in the long run. And for the love of your wrists, don't get one of those mice that are way smaller than your hand. You need one that fills out your hand and feels relaxing to hold. One of those can be acquired for like 10 quid if you are not into gaming mice with lots of DPI.
A keyboard will do nicely as long as it has wrist support.

You can use this site to pick out a Toshiba pc if you like:
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.c...-laptop-range/
It lets you sort them by long battery life, energy efficient, blue-ray drive and lots of other stuff so you can get the PC that's right for your needs.

honeythorn · 11-09-2010, 09:52 AM

I went around the big computer stores at a shopping centre near me at the weekend, purely to fiddle with all the laptops. And I'm still horribly undecided >.<

As far as Toshiba goes, I did faff about with a Toshiba satellite and it was quite nice.