Fletch456
Guru
- Location
- North Hampshire
I am not a guru but know a bit about IT and tend to look into things in some detail (some call it annally retentive would you believe). So when a friend asked me if I had any thoughts on a laptop for £400 as he was looking to get one I typed this up for him and thought I would post it here in case anyone else will benefit from it - they may not; I may be being arrogant to post it here but here it is never the less.
He is planning to simply use it for word, excel and the web - the latter will be the most demanding and surprisingly so I find sometimes. Whatever you buy is down to your personal preference eg you might prefer a certain colour and think other things aren't as important to allow you to get that colour.
Both my Dad (Acer) and I (Dell Studio 17") have bought laptops over the last few years and I would say some of the key factors are:-
- The chip – aim for an Intel i3 (or an i5 if you can get one). May be an alternative that is as good that I don’t know about; I just know about the Intel chips really after research for mine 18mths ago.
- Memory – aim for 4gb of ram. Plenty for what you will be using it for and future proof your machine a bit.
- Touchpad – mine (Dell & Lenovo (work)) are easier and less frustrating to use than my Dad’s (Acer). And unless using a mouse you use a touchpad a lot.
- Keyboard – how it feels and some laptops are designed with keys that are too close together so you hit two at once. Many are fine and you can cover this by playing with it in a shop - as it is definitely worth finding one or two from a shortlist and seeing them in the flesh.
- Colour – lower priority but you can get various designs these days and may matter.
- Heat – my Dell gets very hot; when on my lap I heat up too at times as a result. A good online review should highlight if this is an issue.
- Battery – are you going to be travelling with it or only using in the house. My Dell is bout 2 hours but am sure its less in reality so even though I use it at home its a bit of a chore sometimes to plug in so often.
- Bluetooth – handy for transferring info like photos from phones.
Prices in reviews are nearly always higher than you can buy for – though prices also vary as spec on laptops vary a lot within the same model and pricing goes up as well as down these days.
Some other info I know and a bit of internet hunting I did today.....
Lenovo – their business laptops are plain and uninspiring looking machines but I like them. I’ve been given them at work places a couple of times and liked them. In a review I looked at their business machines were put at the top and their home ones improving nicely. If I was buying again I might get one and ignore having one or two of the nice things I had on mine.
Levnovo G570
Good reviews available with i3 for £400.
Tesco online may have it for £369 according to Google.
This reviewer definitely likes it, worth a read and some good ones from owners.
[font="'Times New Roman"]LINK[/font]
Acer – They are good value for money – you get a lot for your cash and known for being reliable (spoke to someone my Dad knows who runs an IT business ages ago and got one for him). However I hate the touchpad and touchpad buttons and mine is a lot better.
Some links to reviews
PC Advisor magazine review of suitable laptops August this year.
LINK
Lenovo G570 is their number 1and another Lenovo is their number two
[url="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3283027/samsung-rv511-review/"]Samsung RV511[/url] <-- their number 3 and has a really nice spec.
Top laptops reviewed this year by CNET for < £500
[url="http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/<wbr%20/>laptops/lenovo-essential-b570-<wbr%20/>review-50003875/"]LINK[/url]
Both links give you full reviews if you click on the name of laptops. If you have a read it may bring other things to mind that you want it to have and then go and look at one or two and you may see something else you want in it.
You certainly get a lot more laptop for your money than I was expecting, compared to when I bought, including a writable DVD drive. You may think it’s not necessary but it is a nice touch and convenient way of making back ups of files or give family / friends copies of lots of photos.
He is planning to simply use it for word, excel and the web - the latter will be the most demanding and surprisingly so I find sometimes. Whatever you buy is down to your personal preference eg you might prefer a certain colour and think other things aren't as important to allow you to get that colour.
Both my Dad (Acer) and I (Dell Studio 17") have bought laptops over the last few years and I would say some of the key factors are:-
- The chip – aim for an Intel i3 (or an i5 if you can get one). May be an alternative that is as good that I don’t know about; I just know about the Intel chips really after research for mine 18mths ago.
- Memory – aim for 4gb of ram. Plenty for what you will be using it for and future proof your machine a bit.
- Touchpad – mine (Dell & Lenovo (work)) are easier and less frustrating to use than my Dad’s (Acer). And unless using a mouse you use a touchpad a lot.
- Keyboard – how it feels and some laptops are designed with keys that are too close together so you hit two at once. Many are fine and you can cover this by playing with it in a shop - as it is definitely worth finding one or two from a shortlist and seeing them in the flesh.
- Colour – lower priority but you can get various designs these days and may matter.
- Heat – my Dell gets very hot; when on my lap I heat up too at times as a result. A good online review should highlight if this is an issue.
- Battery – are you going to be travelling with it or only using in the house. My Dell is bout 2 hours but am sure its less in reality so even though I use it at home its a bit of a chore sometimes to plug in so often.
- Bluetooth – handy for transferring info like photos from phones.
Prices in reviews are nearly always higher than you can buy for – though prices also vary as spec on laptops vary a lot within the same model and pricing goes up as well as down these days.
Some other info I know and a bit of internet hunting I did today.....
Lenovo – their business laptops are plain and uninspiring looking machines but I like them. I’ve been given them at work places a couple of times and liked them. In a review I looked at their business machines were put at the top and their home ones improving nicely. If I was buying again I might get one and ignore having one or two of the nice things I had on mine.
Levnovo G570
Good reviews available with i3 for £400.
Tesco online may have it for £369 according to Google.
This reviewer definitely likes it, worth a read and some good ones from owners.
[font="'Times New Roman"]LINK[/font]
Acer – They are good value for money – you get a lot for your cash and known for being reliable (spoke to someone my Dad knows who runs an IT business ages ago and got one for him). However I hate the touchpad and touchpad buttons and mine is a lot better.
Some links to reviews
PC Advisor magazine review of suitable laptops August this year.
LINK
Lenovo G570 is their number 1and another Lenovo is their number two
[url="http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/laptop/3283027/samsung-rv511-review/"]Samsung RV511[/url] <-- their number 3 and has a really nice spec.
Top laptops reviewed this year by CNET for < £500
[url="http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/<wbr%20/>laptops/lenovo-essential-b570-<wbr%20/>review-50003875/"]LINK[/url]
Both links give you full reviews if you click on the name of laptops. If you have a read it may bring other things to mind that you want it to have and then go and look at one or two and you may see something else you want in it.
You certainly get a lot more laptop for your money than I was expecting, compared to when I bought, including a writable DVD drive. You may think it’s not necessary but it is a nice touch and convenient way of making back ups of files or give family / friends copies of lots of photos.
