NFR - New computer advice

[Andy_M]

Just a quick bit of advice wanted

After 6 and a half years, my laptop that saw me through Uni and the couple of years after has finally given up and died.  085.gif
Going to cost about £100 (that's just parts a mate would do the labour for free) to fix but my thinking is with how slow it runs and what not it's probably best to save that £100 and put it towards a nice new one.

So, has anyone got a new laptop or PC recently that they'd recommend? Or know or any good deals around at the moment?

I have a laptop from work (which has Office and everything like that on it) so I only really use my personal laptop/PC for internet, music and downloading music and films (which we aren't allowed to do on the work laptops).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[BalDrick]

If I may jump on this thread, I'm looking for a very cheap laptop, mainly for the kids really (daughter does her homework on it, son just watches Inazuma on YouTube, other than that just Googling stuff really). Don't really want to spend more than £200. Anyone any ideas?

[MJG]

If I may jump on this thread, I'm looking for a very cheap laptop, mainly for the kids really (daughter does her homework on it, son just watches Inazuma on YouTube, other than that just Googling stuff really). Don't really want to spend more than £200. Anyone any ideas?

I have a laptop at home but to be honest I only use it for music & films now. If its just the web you want I would recomend an android tablet( I use a motorola zoom).

[Burt]

If you need a laptop then I have a Dell Latitude which seems to do the bizz. I use it for docs, photos, internet etc, I don't do any gaming. I can't remember how much it was...

From a tablet point of view I got the iPad 2 when I was out in the US. Its my gadget of the moment and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Not particularly useful though if there is going to be a lot of word processing, powerpoint etc. to be done by the kids for their homework.

[Andy_M]

I have an iPad 2 at home also.

But really I just want a laptop/PC to store all my music on, download new music, films, tv episodes etc.

Something with a bit of speed about it would be good.

Have had a lot of people recommending moving over to a Mac, but they are so dam expensive. But still any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Gozorich]

I have an old Desktop - Dell - about 6/7 years old which cannot cope with today's loads. I had a new harddrive and graphics card put in some time ago. I decided to buy another PC when my local whizzkid suggested he could upgrade it wit new motherboard, enhanced memory, enhanced processor etc. for less than £200.

He promises it will be as good as a new PC but will look like the original because of the case. I suppose it's a bit like putting a new chassis, engine and wheels on an old car body; it looks old but goes like the clappers.

Anyway, as it would cost about £5/600 to replace it with something similar I'm going for it.   085.gif

[luckykat]

I've got a Google Chromebook as well as a couple of PCs. The Chrome will only surf on the internet, I can't run programmes on it. But because it isn't weighed down with Windows it is very fast - boots up in 8-10 seconds. I can use Google docs which include an Office type programme and various other things. Cheaper than a normal laptop because Microsoft don't get paid a couple of hundred quid for the Windows operating system. A good alternative if you need the internet and nothing complicated.

[finnster01]

I have an old Desktop - Dell - about 6/7 years old which cannot cope with today's loads. I had a new harddrive and graphics card put in some time ago. I decided to buy another PC when my local whizzkid suggested he could upgrade it wit new motherboard, enhanced memory, enhanced processor etc. for less than £200.

He promises it will be as good as a new PC but will look like the original because of the case. I suppose it's a bit like putting a new chassis, engine and wheels on an old car body; it looks old but goes like the clappers.

Anyway, as it would cost about £5/600 to replace it with something similar I'm going for it.   085.gif

Plus it keeps your local whizzkid off the streets  :54:

[sipwell]

If I may jump on this thread, I'm looking for a very cheap laptop, mainly for the kids really (daughter does her homework on it, son just watches Inazuma on YouTube, other than that just Googling stuff really). Don't really want to spend more than £200. Anyone any ideas?

Try ebay. They have quality things on there (especially in the UK). Bought a laptop for my niece there (she's 12 years old) because she needed it for homework and to watch videos on :). Just make sure it has a good wireless card and graphic card (most good ebay salespeople will say as much). I paid 80 euros for it (so 70 pounds or so). But, as I said: you have a much wider choice in the UK.


As for the general question:
I am always using DELL. Price-quality, no-one comes near. Moreover, the fact that you can build your own laptop/netbook is also handy, as you can accustom it to your wants. I will never buy an Apple. It is just an expensive casing with outdated components. And as for the "but it is so user-friendly yada yada", stop using Office on your Mac then. I have brains: I KNOW how to use them :)

So, Dell would be my suggestion :)

[finnster01]

If I may jump on this thread, I'm looking for a very cheap laptop, mainly for the kids really (daughter does her homework on it, son just watches Inazuma on YouTube, other than that just Googling stuff really). Don't really want to spend more than £200. Anyone any ideas?

Try ebay. They have quality things on there (especially in the UK). Bought a laptop for my niece there (she's 12 years old) because she needed it for homework and to watch videos on :). Just make sure it has a good wireless card and graphic card (most good ebay salespeople will say as much). I paid 80 euros for it (so 70 pounds or so). But, as I said: you have a much wider choice in the UK.


As for the general question:
I am always using DELL. Price-quality, no-one comes near. Moreover, the fact that you can build your own laptop/netbook is also handy, as you can accustom it to your wants. I will never buy an Apple. It is just an expensive casing with outdated components. And as for the "but it is so user-friendly yada yada", stop using Office on your Mac then. I have brains: I KNOW how to use them :)

So, Dell would be my suggestion :)

Actually if you should decide to go down the vendor path, I concur with Mr Sipwell's suggestions. I run most of my little "empire" and company on Dell equipment. Value for money is big, and also when I have had issues and needed to return equipment, they have been extremely cooperating even though I talk to Bangalore half of the time. Very little nonsense on the support side.

[BalDrick]

'Try ebay. They have quality things on there (especially in the UK). Bought a laptop for my niece there (she's 12 years old) because she needed it for homework and to watch videos on :). Just make sure it has a good wireless card and graphic card (most good ebay salespeople will say as much). I paid 80 euros for it (so 70 pounds or so). But, as I said: you have a much wider choice in the UK.'

Yep fast becoming the best option I think.

[Logicalman]

Andy,

If you're looking to buy new, then you could do worse than the latest crop of HP machines.

We bought an HP DV7 last year, to replace the older HP laptop my wife had had for the previous 3 years or so. We've had it just over a year now, and apart from the usual cleaning out the vents, we've needed no maintenance or had any problems with it at all.


dv7tqe_series

It depends on exactly what you are looking for, and how long you expect it to do you for also. We customized ours to have dual 500GB 7200 HDs, with the i7 core, so even with the game playing, my using it for work, movies, etc, it could handle all we threw at it, and we use this as the source for streaming live online matches to the TV. We included the fingerprint scanner as well as it makes logging on and changing logins so much easier to achieve.

If you're satisfied with a slightly lower performance, checkout the i3 and i5 cores, each of which will easily suffice for the average home user, but a word to the wise, get as much memory and HD space as you can for what you can afford.

I won't comment on Macs as I have never owned one, and don't plan on doing so, thus I would be speaking from prejudice and ignorance should I say anything.

[TheDon]

www.tfixrepairs.com

based in tooting will build to your spec and very cheap

[Ron Sheepskin]

I too am a fan of Dell machines.

That said, my Dell laptop is 3 years old, and is currently on its second battery, and third charger...