New laptop - which one ?

[twickers]

Hi all,

I need a new laptop, and looking to spend about £300. It's mainly to be used for porn general web browsing etc ( maybe some mp3 files ). I found this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-G580-15-6-inch-Laptop-Blue/dp/B00B2HVYSW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=C1RN69CYR70Q&coliid=I39J0X8X4XOTJS) one. Is this good spec?

Cheers

[Stratmangler]

This has a good spec for the price http://www.ebuyer.com/505624-asus-x501a-laptop-x501a-xx402h

[Rare Bird]

Ive always bought Dell laptops, i find them reliable. I still use my ancient 'Latitude D620' for everyday browsing..absolutely flawless reliability

[Audioman]

Judging by their own site's feedback there are a lot of issues with new Dell machines. My 6 year old desktop works flawlessly but based on the Dell price premium and the number of complaints look elsewhere. If OP goes for the Amazon machine pay extra £50 for a Pentium processor. i3 would be better but bump up the cost too much for general computing.

[MikeMusic]

Lenovo every time for me. Nice easy decison

[pjdowns]

If you're an Apple fan, then a PowerBook or early Intel MacBook could be found in that price range!

I wouldn't touch modern Dell machines, I know a number of people who've had so many problems to the point where one of them sent the machine back for a refund.

Either the Asus or Lenovo would be a good choice. If my recollection is correct, Lenovo took over where Toshiba left off and I always liked Toshiba machines so I'd personally punt for that one :)

Paul.

[twickers]

Judging by their own site's feedback there are a lot of issues with new Dell machines. My 6 year old desktop works flawlessly but based on the Dell price premium and the number of complaints look elsewhere. If OP goes for the Amazon machine pay extra £50 for a Pentium processor. i3 would be better but bump up the cost too much for general computing.

I would actually also like to use it for video streaming ( catch up tv / films ). Would the Pentium i3 be the best bet for better playback with HD also?

Budget not firmly fixed at £300 now. Maybe up to £400-450.

Cheers.

[Audioman]

I would actually also like to use it for video streaming ( catch up tv / films ). Would the Pentium i3 be the best bet for better playback with HD also?

Budget not firmly fixed at £300 now. Maybe up to £400-450.

Cheers.

To be honest it may not make a great difference for streaming (your internet speed would make more difference) but probably for multi tasking and certainly if you play video games.

Paul.

[MikeMusic]

I would actually also like to use it for video streaming ( catch up tv / films ). Would the Pentium i3 be the best bet for better playback with HD also?

Budget not firmly fixed at £300 now. Maybe up to £400-450.

Cheers.
I refer the right honourable gentleman to my previous answer
:)

[twickers]

Thanks all for the replies . Thanks Paul ( audioman).


I refer the right honourable gentleman to my previous answer
:)

It's all good Mike, made a decision on this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-15-6-inch-Laptop-Gunmetal/dp/B00CA109BM/ref=sr_1_22?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1372191163&sr=1-22&keywords=Lenovo) one ;)

[Andrew B]

I'd say don't buy a Toshiba. Mine was bought about a year ago and is a piece of crap. It came with 1 gig of Ram and Windows 7, which needs more than that to run, before you use anything else. It took 15 minutes to open Word and it even showed a loading screen when you opened Control Panel!

Toshiba also load tons of shite on that you don't want or need. I had to remove 84 unwanted startup scripts. It now runs ok with the extra Ram I had to buy, but the whole xperience tells me Toshiba haven't got a clue. Thank god we have a couple of IPads, because I try to avoid using the thing at all costs.

[MikeMusic]

Thanks all for the replies . Thanks Paul ( audioman).

It's all good Mike, made a decision on this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-15-6-inch-Laptop-Gunmetal/dp/B00CA109BM/ref=sr_1_22?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1372191163&sr=1-22&keywords=Lenovo) one ;)
I think you will be a happy bunny.
We have 5 and they all work well
I always buy through Jim Bissett a guy I know well who knows Lenovos and others inside out. Let me know if you want to speak to him if you haven't ordered. Price won't be far out and might even be less

[MartinT]

Yep, I buy Lenovo for our organisation (laptops and desktops) and they're good, reliable machines.

[twickers]

I think you will be a happy bunny.
We have 5 and they all work well
I always buy through Jim Bissett a guy I know well who knows Lenovos and others inside out. Let me know if you want to speak to him if you haven't ordered. Price won't be far out and might even be less

I'd already ordered. Thanks for the offer anyway Mike.

Cheers.

[hal55]

+1 for lenovo.
My thinkpad Edge has been really good.

Hal55

[StanleyB]

Ive always bought Dell laptops, i find them reliable. I still use my ancient 'Latitude D620' for everyday browsing..absolutely flawless reliability
Install W7 x64 on it and add a SSD. It's like buying a faster machine. I lent my old one to my brother in law after boosting it up. I don't expect him to give it back though.

[Rare Bird]

Will a Solid State Drive directly fit in place of the old one?

Is the original SATA I or II?

[StanleyB]

I'll check for you. It has been about two years ago when I did the upgrade and I am almost certain it was a IDE SSD drive that I had to buy. But they are hard to find these days.

Edit: just checked and it is a SATA I drive. I fitted a 128GB drive in mine but cannot remember if it was SATAI or II. It did make a big difference however. Boot up speed with W7/64 and SSD without logon screen came to less than 1 minute.