Laptop Recommendations Please

[cguil_uk]

I am looking for a good quality reliable Laptop for under £500 Preferably one that has done well in the reviews.

2gb RAM; Intel Celeron duel Core; 2 to 3Ghz +; Good Battery Life; under 3kg weight; optical drive - DVD Multi etc. ;

Optional - Card reader; up to 4 USB ports; Web cam

Any recommendations please?

I have also been looking at Toshiba L300, P300 & U400; Acer Aspire 5335 & 6930G - Comments please?

 

[Ian]

Will you be gaming at all on the laptop, and does screen size matter at all?

I had a quick look for one that matched your specs, and I found this one for £399 and it scores well:

Asus X59GL-AP007C - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150324

It's 2.72kg apparently, but I couldn't see the weight on that page. It wouldn't be any good at gaming, but it looks good value

 

[cguil_uk]

Will you be gaming at all on the laptop, and does screen size matter at all?

I had a quick look for one that matched your specs, and I found this one for £399 and it scores well:

Asus X59GL-AP007C - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150324

It's 2.72kg apparently, but I couldn't see the weight on that page. It wouldn't be any good at gaming, but it looks good value

Some gaming facility would be nice, but not strictly necessary, as I really want it for my hobbies of Genealogy and photography. Portability is therefore an important issue and also a large screen would be handy especially for multi-tasking. It would also be nice to be-able to play DVD films etc on it and a RW drive is important as well.

The other thing I should perhaps add is that I HATE Vista, and I prefer to use XP.

 

[muckshifter]

Ian/cg

That is another 2.00G processor that is a "budget" and older technology processor as compared to say a P7350.

Core speed of 2.00G, an FSB of 800MHz with an L2 Cache of 2M ... the TDP is unknown (but probably 35W - 65nm process technology)

Oh, and it not on Intel's website so prob an Asus OEM CPU by Intel.


It's gonna be a wee bit beter than that stick of celery in the first post.

What you need is a desktop on wheels.

 

[Abarbarian]

I googled " laptop for photographers " for you and there are some very interesting looking replies that may interest you.

 

[cguil_uk]

Asus X59GL-AP007C - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150324

Is it Asus that has a bad reputation in terms of service etc?

 

[cguil_uk]

I googled " laptop for photographers " for you and there are some very interesting looking replies that may interest you.

Thanks for this but unfortunately they are nearly all out of my price range, and aimed largely at professionals.

 

[muckshifter]

Is it Asus that has a bad reputation in terms of service etc?

No ... it's Dell, HP, Comcrap, Acer, Advent. There again, who is to say what service is?

All laptops tend to use slower, cheaper components to avert overheating problems. These have, however, been largely eliminated from the UK in winter.

 

[AJCButler]

I have an Advent 6441 and think it is excellent.

It has a 17" hd screen, blu ray player and std dvd writer, 4gb ram and 160gb hard drive, and a full keyboard with a number pad. The only thing I wish it had was a hdmi output. It was only £400 from PC World in December, I think it is a lot cheaper now.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Is it Asus that has a bad reputation in terms of service etc?

Nope, that'll be Acer.

 

[Anon_F]

Toshiba get my vote.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Toshiba get my vote.

Aye, me too

Or if you're a style victim and don't mind paying a little over the odds the Sony Vaio is worth considering.

And although I wouldn't touch a Dell desktop with a ten foot pole I would certainly consider one of their laptops.

The integrated nature of Dells is a PITA when it comes to Desktops but most laptops follow that method of construction anyway, so no biggie.

And the new kids on the block with Laptops (relatively speaking) - Samsung - seem to be making a name for themselves as well.

 

[AJCButler]

The people i have spoken to about the Sony Vaio have said that they are good at making everything else, but with laptops the components keep going in them.

Toshiba aren't too bad, so long as you don't get a tablet. All the startup programs needed to use the swivel screen and touch screen make the boot up a very slow.

I have just bought my boss the new toshiba tablet, as it was what he requested, but it is too early to discuss. Look nice though.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I think if I were to buy a laptop, I'd get the Samsung Netbook, small, efficient, does what it's meant to do.

Why make out a laptop is more than a glorified Palm Calculator?

You want gaming on a laptop?

Ok, Sam & Max and Theme Hospital R US