[Wiki Guide] Laptop Buying Advice

Technical support and purchasing advice for laptops, netbooks, tablets, and e-readers - from Chromebooks and MacBooks, to iPads and Kindles.

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  1. Fixesin's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
    • Location: Leicester Posts: 0
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    Pretty good guide! Glad you added Apple products at least =). Maybe post some links to reviews for some of the popular laptops? I find www.trustreviews.com a good site for laptop reviews.
  2. Dan?'s Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: UK
    • Posts: 761
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    I'm trying to sign up for the free W7 upgrade but when I put in my laptop service tag thing it says it's not eligible, even though it is. hmm.
  3. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by Dan?)
    I'm trying to sign up for the free W7 upgrade but when I put in my laptop service tag thing it says it's not eligible, even though it is. hmm.
    Use the Chat service on their site, and speak to one of the customer reps.

    (Original post by Fixesin)
    Pretty good guide! Glad you added Apple products at least =). Maybe post some links to reviews for some of the popular laptops? I find www.trustreviews.com a good site for laptop reviews.
    Thanks! Yeah good idea. I presume you mean http://www.trustedreviews.com/ ? :p:
  4. alexsheppard11's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: Bristol/Dorset
    • Posts: 11,909
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by spikeymike)
    Use the Chat service on their site, and speak to one of the customer reps.



    Thanks! Yeah good idea. I presume you mean http://www.trustedreviews.com/ ? :p:
    i use trusted reviews and cnet
  5. Fixesin's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
    • Location: Leicester Posts: 0
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by spikeymike)
    Use the Chat service on their site, and speak to one of the customer reps.



    Thanks! Yeah good idea. I presume you mean http://www.trustedreviews.com/ ? :p:
    Lollll yeh. I always use them for their in-depth reviews and their occasional video reviews too.
  6. Colbert's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    Hi guys,

    I posted a while ago for advice in case my laptop was beyond repair, and it ahs come back today on it's deathbed so some final assistance would be much appreciated.

    I am stuck between the HP550 that Mike has posted before, and this Lenovo N500 which according to Dabs.com is the most popular model after I have gone through my options and requirements.

    Both are spot on the £400 but I can go a bit higher than this if the spec is worth it.

    Any suggestions on the above or other options I may have overlooked?

    Cheers,
    Tom
  7. birdsong1's Avatar
    • Exalted and Worshipped Member
    • Location: Chicago
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    What about vaio laptops?
  8. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by Colbert)
    Hi guys,

    I posted a while ago for advice in case my laptop was beyond repair, and it ahs come back today on it's deathbed so some final assistance would be much appreciated.

    I am stuck between the HP550 that Mike has posted before, and this Lenovo N500 which according to Dabs.com is the most popular model after I have gone through my options and requirements.

    Both are spot on the £400 but I can go a bit higher than this if the spec is worth it.

    Any suggestions on the above or other options I may have overlooked?

    Cheers,
    Tom
    Core 2 Duo hands down. HP 550, as far as I know the Core 2 Duo range is more efficient than the AMD Turion, so the Core 2 Duos will provide a longer battery life.
  9. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by birdsong1)
    What about vaio laptops?
    Overpriced.
  10. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    Another bump.
  11. alexsheppard11's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: Bristol/Dorset
    • Posts: 11,909
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by spikeymike)
    Another bump.
    how about deleting previous bump posts? they just clutter up the thread
  12. jessabelly's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    hi im buying a laptop for university tomorrow, not got a clue where to start though am lookin at a 300-550 price range. i want good battery life (6 hours or more), windows vista, a fast processor and a 15 inch screen or less. does anyone have any recommendations for a reliable laptop because ive been lookin on the internet for hours and im completely lost?!

    also was wondering about the cheapest way of getting microsoft office? can students get it for free?

    sorry if this is posted in the wrong place..
  13. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by jessabelly)
    hi im buying a laptop for university tomorrow, not got a clue where to start though am lookin at a 300-550 price range. i want good battery life (6 hours or more), windows vista, a fast processor and a 15 inch screen or less. does anyone have any recommendations for a reliable laptop because ive been lookin on the internet for hours and im completely lost?!

    also was wondering about the cheapest way of getting microsoft office? can students get it for free?

    sorry if this is posted in the wrong place..
    6hrs or more?! :lolwut: MacBook comes to mind but that more than £150 over budget. Anything else I suggest will be over budget because you want some epic battery life.

    Dell Studio 15 + 9 cell battery. £~600 - 6 cell can last max 4hrs just browsing the net and MSN.

    And for Office: http://www.software4students.co.uk/M...7-details.aspx
  14. jessabelly's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    haha sorry, 6 hours was kind of a randomly chosen number. how about if i want 2-3 hours of battery life as well as my other specifications? i guess im looking for something medium sized or on the small side that isnt too heavy as i will have to be carrying it around.

    the microsoft office you recommended looks way cheaper than anything ive been looking at, thanks for your help i will be + repping!
  15. jessabelly's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by spikeymike)
    6hrs or more?! :lolwut: MacBook comes to mind but that more than £150 over budget. Anything else I suggest will be over budget because you want some epic battery life.

    Dell Studio 15 + 9 cell battery. £~600 - 6 cell can last max 4hrs just browsing the net and MSN.

    And for Office: http://www.software4students.co.uk/M...7-details.aspx
    forgot to quote in my last post :rolleyes:
  16. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by jessabelly)
    haha sorry, 6 hours was kind of a randomly chosen number. how about if i want 2-3 hours of battery life as well as my other specifications? i guess im looking for something medium sized or on the small side that isnt too heavy as i will have to be carrying it around.

    the microsoft office you recommended looks way cheaper than anything ive been looking at, thanks for your help i will be + repping!
    If you want 2-4 hours then I'd recommend a Dell Studio 15 with a 6 cell battery. (2.5Kg according to Dell)
  17. loafer's Avatar
    • Vengeful, Imperial Overlord of The Student Room
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    question, mikey.

    you mentiond a 9 cell battery, is that an optin with a dell when speccing, or can you buy aftermarket and add.
  18. spikeymike's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Scotland
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    (Original post by loafer)
    question, mikey.

    you mentiond a 9 cell battery, is that an optin with a dell when speccing, or can you buy aftermarket and add.
    Yeah it is customisable, but the 9 cell is expensive. I'm guessing about another £50 on top of the 6 cell.
  19. alexsheppard11's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Location: Bristol/Dorset
    • Posts: 11,909
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    or, you could get a dell inspiron 15, and get a better processor and slightly worse graphics
  20. jessabelly's Avatar
    • Junior Member
    Re: Laptop Guide - Please read if you are buying a laptop.
    hi, ive been computer shopping today and my favorite two notebooks are the Acer Aspire TImeline 4810T and the Acer Extensa 4230. these are both 14 inch notebooks, though i havent actually seen the Extensa except in pictures because the smaller version wasn't in stock. the dell studio 15 wasnt actually in any of the shops that i went in, but the inspiron was there, and i thought it was too large and heavy and a bit tacky.

    does anyone have any thoughts on these two notebooks, or can recommend which to choose?

    i would be going for the cheaper versions (about £550) and am worried about only having a processing speed of 1.23 Ghz on the Acer Aspire and 1.66 Ghz on the Acer Extensa. im not a gamer and only use the internet, windows media, word, powerpoint, hotmail, facebook and msn. could anyone tell me how slow this processor would be and whether you think it would be a problem? for instance if i was running 3 or 4 programs?

    thankyou
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