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snowbadger
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Post subject: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
 Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 11:30 AM
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First post: Jun 01, 2011
Total posts: 737
Location: Warwickshire
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as title suggests.
Im trying to help find a friend a new laptop for £400 or less. She is not tech savy so just something basic but perhaps with a decent amount of RAM.
needs to have a CD drive and office..
So any ideas ? ? ill try the normal high street places but im always hesitant with these places as to how good their deals and supposed sales actually are.
So any suggestions ? or models/retailers ? |
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Sno news is good news
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ace_mcgraw
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 11:55 AM
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First post: Feb 20, 2007
Total posts: 4912
Location: That snowboarding hotbed, Norfolk
Status: Offline
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| Try John Lewis perhaps? May be a bit pricier than others, but they've got a sale on at the moment and they're customer care is always top notch in my experience. If she's not looking for latest tech she should be able to get something for £400 fairly easily. |
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Nice Photos  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ace_mcgraw/
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snowbadger
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 12:05 PM
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First post: Jun 01, 2011
Total posts: 737
Location: Warwickshire
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| yeh thats what i thought.. currently looking through ebuyer and laptops direct to see if they have anything |
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Sno news is good news
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CjKit
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 12:21 PM
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First post: Nov 01, 2010
Total posts: 2056
Location: NW London
Status: Offline
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| You could try CEX ( www.webuy.com ). They sell all sorts of used laptops but they all get thoroughly checked out and come with a 12 month warranty. I've helped people get 3 Macbooks from them for around £500 and they're all still going strong. |
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CjKitPhoto
Flickr
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AdamA9
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 12:27 PM
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First post: Nov 04, 2010
Total posts: 978
Location: Hove
Status: Offline
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DereksDontRun
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 01:09 PM
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First post: Mar 09, 2009
Total posts: 1723
Location: The port of Stock
Status: Offline
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check out the Dell Outlet - they're either "refurbished" or "scratch/dented" so massively discounted. Tbh, most of the refurbed laptops seem to me more those ppl that have placed orders with Dell (so the system is built) but canceled before it's shipped out. Honestly wouldn't go anywhere else for a laptop.
I recently got a 15" XPS with i7, blu ray, 1080p screen monster for about £450 (the same spec new from Dell was over a k and the equivalent Sony laptop was near 1.5k)... mental bargains on that site... The only evidence it wasn't "new" was the lack of the protective film on the screen, that's it.
plus they all have a year's warranty, so don't think they're off the back of a lorry with no support.
Check their UK twitter feed before ordering as they sometimes post discount codes for % off or free shipping. |
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struggle with forums?
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ChasKi
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Post subject: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 02:17 PM
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First post: Mar 04, 2009
Total posts: 2481
Location: Plymouth/Stroud
Status: Offline
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I'd look for something with a Core i5/i7. If you're not going to use 64bit Windows, anything over 4GB of RAM is useless, as 32bit windows can't use it.
Also, generally speaking, if you re-install Winblows and then don't reinstall all the bloatware crap that comes with the laptop (obviously, ensuring you do install all the relevant and appropriate drivers) it's a much nicer experience.
When installing your programs again etc, it's often best to make sure you tell them not to start when Winblows starts as it'll help keep start up times low.
As for Office... find yourself a friendly student and buy them a pint or two, much cheaper that way! |
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DereksDontRun
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Post subject: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 05:36 PM
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First post: Mar 09, 2009
Total posts: 1723
Location: The port of Stock
Status: Offline
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ChasKi wrote:
As for Office... find yourself a friendly student and buy them a pint or two, much cheaper that way!
or use Open Office (without suggesting dodgier ideas) |
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struggle with forums?
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snowbadger
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 07:37 PM
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First post: Jun 01, 2011
Total posts: 737
Location: Warwickshire
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| any brands i should stick clear of ? |
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Sno news is good news
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Tiberius
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 08:50 PM
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First post: Oct 17, 2004
Total posts: 9416
Location: 10 mins from Cas
Status: Offline
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| I used to use hp for my business but the last couple have been crap. I tried an Acer Aspire just for fun and I'm quite happy with it. I use it up to 18 hours a day and don't really look after them that well tbh, it's a consumable for me. I'd recommend this one, although as above, I wipe the OS and put 64bit windows on. |
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The Disclaimer:
Tiberius is a socialist. His views may not necessarily be supported by his owner.
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cantridepete
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Post subject: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 10:10 PM
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First post: Oct 28, 2008
Total posts: 2328
Location: Haute Savoie
Status: Offline
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DereksDontRun wrote:
ChasKi wrote:
As for Office... find yourself a friendly student and buy them a pint or two, much cheaper that way!
or use Open Office (without suggesting dodgier ideas)
i just use open office on the home laptop and for just basic editing etc its fine  |
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dunx
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 04, 2012 - 10:27 PM
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First post: Oct 07, 2004
Total posts: 9314
Location: Herts, UK
Status: Offline
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I've just brought two Acer Aspire laptops (wife and daughter). Both Core i5 and Windows 7 64-bit. The Acer Aspire 5472 has 3GB memory and was £400 and the Acer Aspire 5750 has 8GB memory and was £500.
I also whacked a Kingston 98GB SSD in the 5472, which makes a huge difference to speed. Have a few SSDs in my desktop and I'm installing one in my own netbook as I type. Can't recommend them enough and the system boots so quickly. Well worth the £100 odd quid on eBay.
Seem to get a bit more for your buck than Dell, which is what I used to get. |
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SCUK Editor • Me on Facebook • Neverland
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ChasKi
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 05, 2012 - 12:58 AM
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First post: Mar 04, 2009
Total posts: 2481
Location: Plymouth/Stroud
Status: Offline
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I can thumbs up what Dunx says about SSD's for anyone else intrigued by them (OP doesn't need one for his stated purposes) well worth the money for my tastes.
I've got a 120GB one in my desktop and it makes the machine so much nicer to use. Startup/Shutdown times are incredibly fast and loading times drastically decreased!
Can also give OpenOffice a recommendation as well. Slightly different in terms of layout etc to Word but unless you need Word for a specific reason I'd check it out! Formatting documents, saving them as MS Word .doc's and then opening them in Word can be iffy, but I only encountered that issue as I had to print from Uni printers! |
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SnowHawk01
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 05, 2012 - 06:19 AM
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First post: Oct 20, 2011
Total posts: 181
Status: Offline
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| http://www.thelaptopcentre.co.uk/ I can't help you with specs im afraid, just make sure it has what you need. everyone has different needs. I need a lot of RAM! and a good graphics card. Hard disk size... as long as it's 120 gb or more that suits me fine. |
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SnowHawk01
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Any suggestions for a new laptop around £400
Posted: Jan 05, 2012 - 06:29 AM
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First post: Oct 20, 2011
Total posts: 181
Status: Offline
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| + I only use what i know and that is hp or apple. both seem to last a very long time despite years of wear and tear. cex is great if you have old electronical junk lieing around or not being used. good price for trade ins! |
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