New PC/Lappy Thread

[- English -]

I made this so people who are after a new PC or Laptop can look in one thread which hopefully can be kept up to date. Ive seen several PC threads but they are down the months now, and probably out of date ;p

Im currently looking for a laptop around £500. Wont be used for any games really, just things like photoshop, browsing etc.

If anyone can advise of any current good laptops or offers on atm it would be greatly appreciated.

Also if there are any other threads like this (i havent seen any) feel free to delete this ;p

Thanks

 

[- English -]

ASUS K52F-SX065V

quite a nice one i think

 

[Bahumat]

Dell Inspiron i5

 

[Mauness]

Hi,

Im after 2 x portable notebooks, 11-13" range. I have a few requirements,

1, must be 64bit compliant
2, must be a dual core cpu
3, while it wont be a gaming rig, an average gpu would e nice so i could dabble on some low end games.

Id like to spend between £350-400 per notebook if possible.

Thanks
Maunie

 

[Edmond]

Ok, need some help please guys

My mate has a 8yr old PC which is slower than Mr Slow taking his driving test in the slow lane of a congested M25 on a slow monday morning.....that slow

I tried cleaning it up a bit for him, but its got a 50gb HD and 512mb of memory, so it hard work tbh

So he wants a family laptop (not netbook), 2 kids at 10 & 14 needing to do homework on, he is a complete technophobe and hasnt got a clue. So i told him to go to PC World cos of the whole package and peace of mind (he would never go near anyone like e-buyer and the like, it would scare him off)

He wants to spend about £450, its not for gaming or anything to heavy, as i say, it need to be a reliable 'family' jobby

Is PC World ok or should he look on somewhere like Dell? problem with Dell is that he wouldn't know where to start when it comes to choosing the add on bits, so i thought if he went to PCW he could explain to the nice spotty pre-pubecent lad what he wants and be steered in the right direction without being bombarded with IT guff

Are there any makes he should avoid?

Cheers in advance dudes

 

[MYstIC G]

Yeah, anything they sell in PC World. If he's a noob he should order whatever Dell currently have on offer for back to school. It'll likely do what he wants and come with a better warranty and spec than whatever he'll pick up on the high street.

 

[Edmond]

Cheers G, i did say to him that they are probably doing back to school stuff.

He is a total noob, a few years ago in his job, he moved from being out on the road to being in the office. The IT guy set him up with his office and PC, he said to him 'How much do you know about computers' and he pointed at the plug socket on the wall and told him to start from there

 

[Cadelin]

Ok, need some help please guys

My mate has a 8yr old PC which is slower than Mr Slow taking his driving test in the slow lane of a congested M25 on a slow monday morning.....that slow

I tried cleaning it up a bit for him, but its got a 50gb HD and 512mb of memory, so it hard work tbh

So he wants a family laptop (not netbook), 2 kids at 10 & 14 needing to do homework on, he is a complete technophobe and hasnt got a clue. So i told him to go to PC World cos of the whole package and peace of mind (he would never go near anyone like e-buyer and the like, it would scare him off)

He wants to spend about £450, its not for gaming or anything to heavy, as i say, it need to be a reliable 'family' jobby

Is PC World ok or should he look on somewhere like Dell? problem with Dell is that he wouldn't know where to start when it comes to choosing the add on bits, so i thought if he went to PCW he could explain to the nice spotty pre-pubecent lad what he wants and be steered in the right direction without being bombarded with IT guff

Are there any makes he should avoid?

Cheers in advance dudes

Why can't he just get a replacement box for his desktop? (re-use keyboard, mouse, monitor?)

If he wants a laptop buying from somewhere like Dell is probably not a bad option.

Remember he might well want to get microsoft office as well but he can get the studen edition here.

 

[Edmond]

As i said the PC is 8 yrs old, as is the 15" CRT that is huge compared to todays monitors, and its mainly for the kids to use for homework, so it needs to be a lappy so they can take it to their rooms and have a bit of peace and quiet

As for office, i have it, so i can put it on there for him

 

[Jupitus]

FWIW I would avoid PC World as the 'geek who thinks he knows what he's on about' will likely be as clueless as he is, just better armed with buzz words and a commission staring him in the face.

I've bought a few lappies now from Dell, and their model of sales (ie direct order etc) does seem to keep prices competetive, so I would actually recommend them for that. I'd never recommend buying a desktop from them though, due to past experience of them fitting non-standard PSUs and the like.

 

[Edmond]

I know what your saying Jup, but he wants to buy an all in one package, i think Dell will baffle him with all the add on's you can do, too much choice, it needs to be kept simple.

He needs to see it too, he's concerned that if he buys online he wont be able to 'touch and feel' it (his words) and i can kinda see where he's coming from

 

[Aada]

Why not make the whole thing very simple?

Go down to PC World with him and pick out a laptop you can't go wrong with that.

 

[Ch3tan]

Pick one out, and then buy it online for less

 

[nath]

Do you have a John Lewis near you? Good prices, decent staff who know enough to help you make a reasonable decision.

Get him an HP desktop setup within budget and you can't go too far wrong.



edit: Oh, and if you must get a pay for anti-virus package get Eset NOD32, stay WELL away from Norton and McAffee - they're shite. If you're going for a free one, get Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

[Syri]

Firstly, if you do go with PC World, whatever you do, avoid any by Advent, Ei Systems or Patriot. They're the Dixons own brand machines, and they're the cheapest, least reliable bits of kit you can find.
Most PC World stores sell Dell machines now, so if Dell seem a good choice, but you're not sure of the options when ordering direct, then a Dell from PC World could be a decent alternative to that, as long as there isn't too much price difference.

 

[Lazarus]

Your HP Store