# Any good laptop deals out there?



## Keef (Dec 7, 2011)

Looking at buying a new laptop for mrs keef nothing high end £350 budget. Not keeping upto speed with techie computer stuff so don't know whats good and what to avoid............any advice???

Cheers in advance


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

What will she be wanting to do with it?


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

Just to add to gazbea's post above, I asked the same question when I was updating my wife's laptopamabob last year. Since she is a more of a socialite and photography person, it worked out more sensible to consider tablets as well - considering the price. Although she is also very tech-savvie it came down to practicality, ease of use and immediate availability. From that day to this I don't think her iPad has had an opportunity to cool down









Just something else to consider, and may enhance integration with phone, etc.


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## Keef (Dec 7, 2011)

Cheers, just looked at the software she uses and Bill Gates has it sown up. She has an Eblag online shop and uses there Turbo lister software, office stuff and photos. She's not one for change.................but for me I would quite like an ipad I know there is stuff out there to turn a Mac based PC to run windows but she also needs to hit the ground runnin, if there were any glitches the ipad would be thrown against the wall


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## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

Although I'm completely biased because I'm an Apple fan, I would say get the iPad!

There's an app called "GarageSale HD" http://www.iwascoding.com/GarageSaleTouch/index.html

And I'm sure any of the productivity apps, such as iWork, dataviz or quickoffice would be fine for the vast majority of office type work.

A keyboard case would make typing easier as well!

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.821555,-3.026341


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## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

The ClamCase looks great, almost looks like the ModBook version of the MacBook!

clamcase.com

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.821534,-3.026133


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

The ASUS X54H-SX270V at comet is a very good spec. Intel i3, 750gb hard disk and 4gb RAM. Slightly over your budget at 370 but definitely a bargain!

Also, Asus are very good quality, support and customer service.

Personally I'd set up a terminal server and set up an RDP session on an Asus Transformer. Tablet and laptop in one







I shall be treating myself to the transformer prime shortly once they iron out a few issues in the first release batch. 18 hours of battery life? Yes please


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

I'm confused, do you get the keyboard with the Transformer or do you buy it separately?


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

The prime (TF201) comes with the keyboard dock but the first version (TF101) came in 3 versions. 16gb without, 16gb with and 32gb without.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Looks like a brilliant idea! Anywhere doing good deals on those atm?


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

I have to say it is generally the hardest thing to buy, something like a laptop. Over the years I have had various makes/models - like the Sony Vaio at the moment. However, I have had (and still have) many Dell laptops which I spec'd and bought online. They have been great, but the biggest negative is the crap support. Although these days when anything but the battery goes it is generally time to chuck it in the bin and move on anyway.









Happy hunting!


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

funinacup said:


> Looks like a brilliant idea! Anywhere doing good deals on those atm?


You will probably find some good deals on the first version (TF101) ATM as the prime was only released in the UK last week. I know that they have been price dropped as an entry model with the prime coming in as top of the range.

Can't wait to get my hands on the prime and use as a thin client! Best of all world's! Flexibility and application support of Windows, awesome design of the Asus, customization of the android OS, laptop and tablet in one cool concept and to top it off, up to 18 hours of battery life when in the keyboard dock! The keyboard has its own battery capacity too!

Oh and did I mention the 5-core CPU! Yes, 5! Quad core for actual usage and a single lower clocked CPU for idle tasks like being in standby and checking for email and notifications whilst being in standby! Ice Cream Sandwich is only a stone throw away too! Being rolled out to UK as we speak!


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Also, I don't want to sound biased towards Android so you can do the thin client thing with an iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard.

The negative side of this though is that the iPad will drain battery whilst being connected to a battery hungry Bluetooth connection instead of getting a battery boost like you would with the Asus.

No doubt Apple fans will disagree but I don't want this conversation to go down that path as the OP did not ask that question and there are many a milling debates on forums all around the place. So we must keep on topic lol


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

I've just realised that the geek in me is starting to come out now!







haha


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

Isn't that what they call "work / life balance"


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

Saw this on HotUKDeals

http://www.ebuyer.com/321355-asus-x53e-laptop-x53e-sx947v?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

£388 so a tiny bit over budget but you do get the i5 which is a good processor.


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Not bad value that. You do compromise a little bit more money for the i5 but its a smaller hard disk and less memory too.

Need to weigh up the pros and cons. In today's OS' and apps, I'd rather have the "slower" CPU (the i3 is no slouch) as you'd probably end up spending extra on a memory upgrade and more disk space. Looking at the requirements that Mrs keef wants the laptop for I wouldn't say that she would benefit from the processing capabilities of the i5.

It is just my opinion though and I'm often wrong lol. 4gb of RAM is a must nowadays. To get the best out of windows 7 you need 2gb! Lol

I do know a guy who could do with an i5 processor on a laptop though so that will come in useful


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

I'd say in a laptop the processor is the hardest (if not impossible) thing to upgrade so always go for the best you can afford. RAM can always be stuck in later if they find they need a bit more and with it being 64bit Win 7 they can stick as much as they like in.


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## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

gazbea said:


> You will probably find some good deals on the first version (TF101) ATM as the prime was only released in the UK last week. I know that they have been price dropped as an entry model with the prime coming in as top of the range.
> 
> Can't wait to get my hands on the prime and use as a thin client! Best of all world's! Flexibility and application support of Windows, awesome design of the Asus, customization of the android OS, laptop and tablet in one cool concept and to top it off, up to 18 hours of battery life when in the keyboard dock! The keyboard has its own battery capacity too!
> 
> Oh and did I mention the 5-core CPU! Yes, 5! Quad core for actual usage and a single lower clocked CPU for idle tasks like being in standby and checking for email and notifications whilst being in standby! Ice Cream Sandwich is only a stone throw away too! Being rolled out to UK as we speak!


Are these really going to cost around £500! What's the point? you get something slightly more versatile than a normal tablet but that is nowhere near as good as say a Macbook Air or even a cheap laptop.

I've made the mistake of buying these expensive 'toys' in the past before realising that they're just a half baked Laptops, if you want to do some simple tasks easily and quickly whilst sitting on your sofa or need something really portable and not too expensive then a tablet is ideal, if you need full computer functionality then you need something better, in my opinion the very best, highly portable yet powerful device is the Macbook Air.

It may be twice the price of a windows laptop that has a 'better' specification, but to be honest that's not really relevant, if you value your time and want something that still has a great resale value in 5 years time then the Macbook can't be beaten.

Take the difference in initial cost between a MacBook Air and a Laptop, lets say £450, now think about the resale value, even in 5 years the MacBook will still be worth around £300 - £400 ( based on purchase cost of £850 ) , then add the cost of Windows OS updates ( hundreds of pounds as opposed to £20 - £30 ) so in reality buying a Mac doesn't cost more than buying a Laptop over the course of it's ownership.

And yes I know the Laptop will have a 'better' spec etc, but's the only thing that's relevant in terms of actually using a computer is what you are able to do with it.


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Because I don't want a Mac


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

JohnnieWalker said:


> Are these really going to cost around £500! What's the point? you get something slightly more versatile than a normal tablet but that is nowhere near as good as say a Macbook Air or even a cheap laptop.
> 
> I've made the mistake of buying these expensive 'toys' in the past before realising that they're just a half baked Laptops, if you want to do some simple tasks easily and quickly whilst sitting on your sofa or need something really portable and not too expensive then a tablet is ideal, if you need full computer functionality then you need something better, in my opinion the very best, highly portable yet powerful device is the Macbook Air.
> 
> ...


You've got to love the mac fanboy's justification, "Look guys, spend twice as much money now and you're basically saving money. It's the only way to go!"

Errrr, maybe not hey?! Haha.


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## wastedhours (Jan 2, 2012)

Yes, Mac fanboys tend to overlook the point that many people literally don't have access to the funds to make the "investment". You'll also need to have the battery professionally replaced after 3 or so years as well, as most aren't user replaceable nowadays.

Windows OS updates? My mum was still rocking XP until Xmas and was getting on absolutely fine with it - because Microsoft invests in legacy support, the vast majority of consumers will never need or want to buy a new version anyway.

I still want a MacBook Air, don't get me wrong, but to recommend it as a "logical" choice (especially with more versatile and cheaper ultrabooks coming soon) is a bit strange to me.


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## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

Haha, I love the way I get called a fanboy! ( no, I really do, I'm a geek as well )

Did I mention that they look nice too!

The reason I pointed out the resale value is because the vast majority of people see cost as a major hurdle when considering a Mac.

Whilst I agree that the initial purchase maybe double the price of a comparable specced laptop, when you come to upgrade you can sell it for around half the initial cost to help fund the new purchase!

I have one of the original white MacBooks, it's around 6 years old and still working fine, I would imagine that it would sell for around £300-£350.

As for upgrades, well of course they don't cost anything if you decide not to bother, but if you do need or want to upgrade it's much cheaper to update Mac OSX than windows.

But most importantly for me, the amount of time and hassle saved not having to deal with viruses, defrags and annoying popup boxes is worth the initial outlay.

And they look nice ; )

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.821627,-3.026135


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