Laptop recommendations

[glojo]

My laptop has finally died and is well over six years old so I have decided to take the plunge and buy a replacement..

What do folks recommend for approximately £300 - £400 maximum. My number one son tells me I MUST get one with an Intel® Core™ i3-350M processor

That last bit means absolutely nothing to me and rather than blindly rush out and order something in haste I thought I might listen to what the team thinks on this topic

[bingofuel]

What you need to do is decide what you want the laptop to be able to do and what you will use it for, then find one that is the most capable for the tasks you require.
The hard part is finding a salesman who will guide you correctly to the spec you need.

[Saab Dastard]

To expand on bingofuel's answer, you may also need to consider size, weight, portability, ruggedness, battery life, built-in options (DVD drive, etc.) if you are going to be taking it out & about. Different solution if it's mainly sitting on your desk!

In general, you can never have too much RAM or hard disk space or a processor that's too fast!

SD

[glojo]

The thing will be mainly used around the house and only for domestic use. Not interested in watching films are huge downloading, but it will be used for the storing of photographs and using photo-imaging software.

I am chatting with Mr Google and looking at Acer, HP and Dell but I must confess to like to hear of other folks experiences before taking the plunge.

[green granite]

This months (September edition would you believe) PC Pro magazine just out has reviews of 20 laptops, might be worth a quick browse in the newsagents.

[glojo]

This months (September edition would you believe) PC Pro magazine just out has reviews of 20 laptops, might be worth a quick browse in the newsagents.

Thank you very much indeed and it will be done :)

[glojo]

I may be old, I may be on strong medication but when something sounds too good to be true, then I usually take the stance 'It is not true'

During my search for a good deal regarding a lap top, Mr Google found this site

Multizoneav (http://multizoneav.eu/)

The products they offer are amazingly cheap and to top it all they accept credit cards...

Instead of placing an order I sent an e-mail confirming a credit card would be acceptable..

Guess what?

At the moment we no longer accept credit cards as a payment method. We apologize for this matter and we are making all efforts to implement it again. We recommend you to pay via e-Voucher

No way hozee and once I got that reply I then used Mr Google to find out if anyone had any experiences to share regarding this company.

I first read some acceptable comments but on examination I found they were referring to the .com outfit and NOT the .eu site that I had found!! The .eu comments were all confirming my suspicions..

Please let all your friends know about this site as some folks might sadly 'leap, before they look'

Fraudwatchers (http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=50675)

[Ancient Observer]

The other thing that the internet can help you with is deciding your spec. I can't find it now but mr Google found me a site where I told it what I needed the pc for, (multiple choice q.s) and it then told me the spec I needed.

On portables, having worked in a couple of Cos where cost did not seem to matter when it came to pcs, (!!!) I allowed the techies to buy me bells and whistles pcs. In my last Co, I just went for lowest possible weight due to weekly commuting. Didn't miss any bell or whistle.

PS
It might have been this.....

What Computer Should I Buy? (http://compreviews.about.com/cs/pchardwarebasics/a/aaWhatToBuy.htm)

[green granite]

That site is NOT Multizone audio Visual ltd their site is MultizoneAV.com | Multizone audio visual | online electrical retailer (http://www.multizoneav.com/) they have issued a warning about the company using multizoneav.eu URL : Multizoneav.com issues warning about similarly named website | whathifi.com (http://www.whathifi.com/news/multizoneavcom-issues-warning-about-similarly-named-website)

[TZ350]

Re laptops, I'd appreciate any recommendations for any good laptop suppliers ( i.e. knowledgeable sales personel, good after-sales service , etc, not just good prices ) in the London area. What are the opinions of purchasing through Amazon, re warranty, etc, as it will be used in Europe? However, I will physically view any model before purchase..........

I'm leaning towards HP, Toshiba or maybe Acer . Thank you.

[green granite]

Have a look on the acer website here (http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/) they have some bargains at the moment. My wife brought a refurbised 17" laptop (basically a customer return) from them 3 years ago for about a £100 off lisyt price, and it's still going strong although it's now got W 7 on it instead of Vista.

[Spitoon]

From your description of what you want to use it for, the most demanding thing is photo imaging software and that should determine your target spec.

If you're talking about Photoshop or some equivalent high-end software (rather than, say, Windows Paint) you will probably want to go for a higher performance processor.

If you are working with big image files, more memory will probably speed things up too. If your budget is tight when you make your purchase, invest in a better processor and less memory because you can always add memory later but you're stuck with the processor for the life of the machine (as far as I know you can upgrade the memory in all laptops - but not necessarily netbooks - but do check that it's possible for the one you buy).

For working on photos a good screen is important - both in terms of brightness/contrast and also size. Make sure you're comfortable working with the screen in the range of ambient lighting conditions you're likely to encounter.

Obviously I can't make any particular recommendations - a lot comes down to personal preference - but the i series processors are streets ahead of previous generations. The i3-350M has now been superceeded - I'm not sure how long ago - so you might find some bargains and it's spec looks very respectable.

When it comes to laptops I tend to look for good build quality and reliability. Over the years I've had a whole bunch of different brands - both for work and personal use - and it seems that the best pick changes over time. I used to swear by Sony but my last one had me swearing at it (and a friend has had very similar experience) - I'm now using an Acer which is very good, solidly built and, touch wood, is completely reliable.

FWIW, I tend to buy my stuff from ebuyer.com. Good prices and service in my experience.

[mixture]

Re laptops, I'd appreciate any recommendations for any good laptop suppliers ( i.e. knowledgeable sales personel, good after-sales service , etc, not just good prices ) in the London area.

Hmm... very difficult in London. Most places in common areas (local high streets, Totty Road etc.) are staffed by the usual muppets. Anywhere on Totty Road, plus Pissy World and the usual suspects are definitley to be avoided !

The recession will not have helped matters, because largely only the volume box shifters will have survived in the bricks-and-mortar environment.

For Mac, it obviously has to be the Apple Store on Regent Street. (I was about to also recommend Computer Warehouse, but having just checked on Mr Google, they sold out to Square Group after encoutering financial difficulties during the recession, so I doubt service will be the same any more. Great shame, because they were an amazing independent !)

Its a lot tougher to suggest somewhere on the Windows front that's not staffed by sales reps. Perhaps John Lewis / Peter Jones is your safest bet.

[The Nr Fairy]

I think Mac laptops are out of glojo's price range - otherwise I'd have happily recommended one !

[jubilee]

Ref post 11, bought my acer base unit from the same firm as yourself,had no problems whatsoever.

Have just replaced my laptop and was going to go back to them to purchase one.
Had a final trawl through the web, and ended up going to John Lewis, where I purchased an Acer 5742Z for £399 with 2years warranty.

Intel P6200 processor-4GB memory-750GB storage-home premium.
Not being a geek,took a chance with this one,but compared to my old one,its a racing machine.
J

[OFSO]

I bought my wife a Toshiba from amazon, new, under 300 pounds. Bad points: no camera or mike (didn't need ' em anyway so not really bad points) and only two usb sockets.

Good points: really solid construction, large and wide screen, excellent colour, good keyboard, good battery life. Not too heavy despite size. Toshiba's wifi one of the simplest and best.

I have always preferred PC's to laptops, but this Toshiba has almost changed my mind. It's a sweetie, highly recommended.

[glojo]

After doing a fair bit of research we opted for this laptop.

Lenovo IdeaPad B570 i3-2310M 4GB 500GB DVD-RW 15.6" W7HP

Yes I have a PC and this item is for my wife and hopefully it has all the bells and whistles she will ever need.

[TZ350]

Many thanks to green granite, mixture, et al. Your advice and suggestions, re my post # 10, are much appreciated.

Now comes the study.................

[goudie]

I bought an Acer with Win 7 a month ago. Must say I'm very pleased with it. Has everthing one needs for domestic use. Good price too. £380.00 from Sainsburys.