[e hine e]

I've just ordered this laptop after researching however, as usual, I'm now panicking and having doubts. It was a decision between that one and this HP.

As you can see, both the Sony and HP are now the same price however the HP has an i3 processor, and the Sony has i5. I mainly do word processing and heavy Internet use plus watching videos and downloading, but I also mess around on Photoshop at times which is why I went for the i5 when given a choice. I'm mostly worried because the HP says it was originally supposed to be around £800, while the Sony was £650 (I know these stores only have to charge the higher price for a matter of days to say we're making a saving, so I don't know how much attention to pay to that) but I'm worried now that I've missed something big with the HP and maybe that would have been a better option for me.

From what I can see, the only differences with the HP are a better webcam quality, a fingerprint scanner and a bigger memory (although the Sony has a bigger hard drive).

I'm upgrading from a Dell 1545 Dual Core processor, so I'm guessing both of those will be noticeably better (hopefully?)

[Gofre]

(Original post by e hine e)
I've just ordered this laptop after researching however, as usual, I'm now panicking and having doubts. It was a decision between that one and this HP.

As you can see, both the Sony and HP are now the same price however the HP has an i3 processor, and the Sony has i5. I mainly do word processing and heavy Internet use plus watching videos and downloading, but I also mess around on Photoshop at times which is why I went for the i5 when given a choice. I'm mostly worried because the HP says it was originally supposed to be around £800, while the Sony was £650 (I know these stores only have to charge the higher price for a matter of days to say we're making a saving, so I don't know how much attention to pay to that) but I'm worried now that I've missed something big with the HP and maybe that would have been a better option for me.

From what I can see, the only differences with the HP are a better webcam quality, a fingerprint scanner and a bigger memory (although the Sony has a bigger hard drive).

I'm upgrading from a Dell 1545 Dual Core processor, so I'm guessing both of those will be noticeably better (hopefully?)

It also has an entry level dedicated GPU (And Beats Audio "Technology", but the less said about that the better), which is what's bringing up the price to the same as the Sony. Performance will be better on the computer you've already ordered for the majority of tasks, and will still play nicely with Photoshop as long as you aren't doing anything massively demanding.

[coconut2456]

(Original post by e hine e)
I've just ordered this laptop after researching however, as usual, I'm now panicking and having doubts. It was a decision between that one and this HP.

As you can see, both the Sony and HP are now the same price however the HP has an i3 processor, and the Sony has i5. I mainly do word processing and heavy Internet use plus watching videos and downloading, but I also mess around on Photoshop at times which is why I went for the i5 when given a choice. I'm mostly worried because the HP says it was originally supposed to be around £800, while the Sony was £650 (I know these stores only have to charge the higher price for a matter of days to say we're making a saving, so I don't know how much attention to pay to that) but I'm worried now that I've missed something big with the HP and maybe that would have been a better option for me.

From what I can see, the only differences with the HP are a better webcam quality, a fingerprint scanner and a bigger memory (although the Sony has a bigger hard drive).

I'm upgrading from a Dell 1545 Dual Core processor, so I'm guessing both of those will be noticeably better (hopefully?)

I'm guessing it's mainly because the HP has a dedicated graphics card whilst the Sony just uses the one that comes with the processor. From what I know, if you aren't doing 3D work in photoshop then the graphics card shouldn't be much of a problem, it would just be the RAM and processor which matter. Will you be doing much gaming though? If not then the graphics cards don't make a difference, and the Sony should be fine for all your needs.

[e hine e]

(Original post by Gofre)
It also has an entry level dedicated GPU (And Beats Audio "Technology", but the less said about that the better), which is what's bringing up the price to the same as the Sony. Performance will be better on the computer you've already ordered for the majority of tasks, and will still play nicely with Photoshop as long as you aren't doing anything massively demanding.

Okay, thanks. That's reassuring. And yeah, I was looking at the Beats Audio thing and I'm guessing some speakers would do the job better anyway.

(Original post by coconut2456)
I'm guessing it's mainly because the HP has a dedicated graphics card whilst the Sony just uses the one that comes with the processor. From what I know, if you aren't doing 3D work in photoshop then the graphics card shouldn't be much of a problem, it would just be the RAM and processor which matter. Will you be doing much gaming though? If not then the graphics cards don't make a difference, and the Sony should be fine for all your needs.

I don't game at all, and the work I do in Photoshop is just basic editing of pictures and some layering.

Thank you both for your help!

[Gofre]

(Original post by e hine e)
Okay, thanks. That's reassuring. And yeah, I was looking at the Beats Audio thing and I'm guessing some speakers would do the job better anyway.

No worries [=

It's not even that, it's that any computer with EQ controls can replicate the exact same sound. That's all I'll say, otherwise I'll end up in another anti-beats rant =P

[coconut2456]

Just as a heads up to anyone who might be interested, there seems to be a glitch when customizing a new sony vaio E series 14''. If you select the i5-2450m with the HD 7670m graphics card, it'll actually reduce the price to just under £400 instead of increasing it by £80 to £660, but it doesn't show the graphics card in the specs menu. £400 for a new 14'' vaio with i5 and possibly a decent graphics card doesn't seem like a bad deal. link

[spikeymike]

Man this wiki is so outdated, guess I'll have to update it.

[Motorbiker]

(Original post by spikeymike)

Budget: £0-400

Google Shopping is the best place to compare prices.

Netbooks: <12"

Laptops: 15"

Hey,

Tried using the guide but the lower prices are blank...

Best netbook for under £250?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This HP seems good but it looks like a photo frame...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This seems to have lower spec processer etc but it does look nice and i won't be using it for anything intensive. Just general browsing/document writing so surely any of them will be fine and the samsung appears to have nicer battery life.

Opinion?

[Gofre]

(Original post by Motorbiker)
Hey,

Tried using the guide but the lower prices are blank...

Best netbook for under £250?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This HP seems good but it looks like a photo frame...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This seems to have lower spec processer etc but it does look nice and i won't be using it for anything intensive. Just general browsing/document writing so surely any of them will be fine and the samsung appears to have nicer battery life.

Opinion?

Both are horrible for the price, the processor they use is two years old at this point. This one is a tenner cheaper and uses the newest generation of Atom processor.

[spikeymike]

(Original post by Motorbiker)
....

Ya I can't really update the guide anymore, laptop deals come and go every week and I just don't have time know to maintain it weekly, still happy to help out if people post here though.

What Gofre has already said is right. I had a quick look but not found anything better, I'll have a proper look later.

[Gofre]

(Original post by spikeymike)
What Gofre has already said is right. I had a quick look but not found anything better, I'll have a proper look later.

From what I can tell it's the best netbook available from all the usual suspects, which is unusual for PC World unless there's a sale on. Still a shame to see that all the netbooks with N570 CPUs for as little as £160 have gone now, they made making suggestions so easy

[spikeymike]

(Original post by Motorbiker)
Hey,

Tried using the guide but the lower prices are blank...

Best netbook for under £250?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This HP seems good but it looks like a photo frame...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This seems to have lower spec processer etc but it does look nice and i won't be using it for anything intensive. Just general browsing/document writing so surely any of them will be fine and the samsung appears to have nicer battery life.

Opinion?

I'd go for this I think:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/210-4120ea-L...809281&sr=1-10

I'm a fan of the new HPs mainly because they are really sturdy in terms of build quality and good specs too. Only downside to these netbooks that most only come with 1GB, where the Windows 7 Starter already needs as a minimum.

Also, it might be worth looking at the downsides of Windows 7 Starter, particularly #3 here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-XM/w...-top-questions I'm sure there's workarounds somewhere...

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by Motorbiker)
Hey,

Tried using the guide but the lower prices are blank...

Best netbook for under £250?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This HP seems good but it looks like a photo frame...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsun...y~RR~~11306303

This seems to have lower spec processer etc but it does look nice and i won't be using it for anything intensive. Just general browsing/document writing so surely any of them will be fine and the samsung appears to have nicer battery life.

Opinion?

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?sort=pr...imit=10&page=1

Go through this list and see what you like

[DoctorVertigo]

I'm starting uni this September and was wondering if getting a Mac would make any difference in terms of ease of use etc against Windows or is a Mac really just for creative degrees?

[spikeymike]

(Original post by DoctorVertigo)
I'm starting uni this September and was wondering if getting a Mac would make any difference in terms of ease of use etc against Windows or is a Mac really just for creative degrees?

Yep Mac for the really arty farty people, thats it really or just general Apple fans.

[Popppppy]

Hello, I hope this is the right place.
I currently own a Dell Studio 1558 with an i7 processor and I think 3 or 4 gb ram, 500gb hard drive.
It overheats so badly though, it'll just switch off randomly when I'm in the middle of something. I can't take it into uni/the library because the fan runs constantly.
Anyway I'm looking to replace it. I've been told Toshibas are good and have a good lifespan.
I spend a lot of time on the computer. Mostly browsing, streaming tv, Microsoft office, a bit of photo editing, also programming and the possibility of using other engineering software (xilinx etc).
I can't afford an i7 processor (the last laptop was my 18th bday present), but I'm not sure if I should go for an i3 or i5, I want good performance but I don't want overheating.
Which do you guys think would be best, i3 or i5?

[spikeymike]

(Original post by Popppppy)
Hello, I hope this is the right place.
I currently own a Dell Studio 1558 with an i7 processor and I think 3 or 4 gb ram, 500gb hard drive.
It overheats so badly though, it'll just switch off randomly when I'm in the middle of something. I can't take it into uni/the library because the fan runs constantly.
Anyway I'm looking to replace it. I've been told Toshibas are good and have a good lifespan.
I spend a lot of time on the computer. Mostly browsing, streaming tv, Microsoft office, a bit of photo editing, also programming and the possibility of using other engineering software (xilinx etc).
I can't afford an i7 processor (the last laptop was my 18th bday present), but I'm not sure if I should go for an i3 or i5, I want good performance but I don't want overheating.
Which do you guys think would be best, i3 or i5?

Overheating is the result of long term usage I mean like several years. You could probably fix it by blasting the dust out of the air vents on the base/back of the laptop with a can of compressed air (when the laptop is off). All laptops will suffer from overheating if not maintained.

Core i5 would be good.

[Popppppy]

(Original post by spikeymike)
Overheating is the result of long term usage I mean like several years. You could probably fix it by blasting the dust out of the air vents on the base/back of the laptop with a can of compressed air (when the laptop is off). All laptops will suffer from overheating if not maintained.

Core i5 would be good.

It's only 2 years old, and has been doing it for over a year. The overheating is a known fault with this model.
I'll give the compressed air a try, it's at the repair shop atm because theh hinge broke. The model is a shambles. It's a good spec inside a cheap case. My friend has the same one and experiences the same problems, including the dodgy hinges and overheating.
I'm really just wanting rid of it because its problem after problem, the sound card went as well so if I try to listen to music it either makes a crackling noise or doesn't work at all.
(the repair man says he's sorted that thankfully)

[spikeymike]

(Original post by Popppppy)
It's only 2 years old, and has been doing it for over a year. The overheating is a known fault with this model.
I'll give the compressed air a try, it's at the repair shop atm because theh hinge broke. The model is a shambles. It's a good spec inside a cheap case. My friend has the same one and experiences the same problems, including the dodgy hinges and overheating.
I'm really just wanting rid of it because its problem after problem, the sound card went as well so if I try to listen to music it either makes a crackling noise or doesn't work at all.
(the repair man says he's sorted that thankfully)

Fair enough if its a known fault then its unavoidable in that case...

[pai2502]

How much RAM should be sufficient for university? ( I'm an Arts and Humanities student and need the laptop for general purposes )
2 GB, 3 GB or 4 GB?

EDIT: Also, which out of these is the best? Lenovo, HP, Sony, Acer, Samsung?