Laptop Support

[systemcrash]

Im buying a laptop, but i dont no where to start... my budget is £500. I have looked around for the best deals but honestly when they start talking about the graphics card, processors ddr ram i havnt got a clue. I know what the parts do but i dont know superior brands to rubbish ones. So i cant build a custom PC because i dont know what to ask for. And some rubbish parts are overpriced so the theory that better parts are more expensive dosnt apply.

There is one thing i do know i want a laptop with 3 or 4GB ram. And windows 7 so i can keep most of my favorite programs that wont run on linux.

I sometimes like playig games, more now that im using emulators. So i need a computer that will run graphics smoothly. But i nearly always multi-task like playing music while authoring a DVD and surfing the internet, so i need a good processor aswell.

Can anyone help me find a ideal laptop for that price range. I'd ask in stores for help but they would just point me to best deals, or not know what there on about.

[eyeb]

since you aren't in the US i can't suggest brands since I don't know if Dell/toshiba/etc ships over there :S

I'd suggest around 512mb to 1gb graphic card (not integrated). I didn't name this right but you'll figure out what I mean when you see the options. I'd lean more towards 1gb for graphics card since you'll want a laptop that'll last a few years so laptotp's cost is also spread out over those years. 4gb ram is good, you shouldnt need more than that unless you plan on being a heavy gamer. Plus ram is rather easy to switch out on laptops so you can buy more later on. And if you aren't a big gamer/downloader then a 100-300gb harddrive will be more than enough. I know the sellers will tempt you with HDD upgrades for $20-40/etc which can seem worth it but you won't need that much. Plus HDD is also fairly easy to switch out and external HDDs are fairly cheap too. You may or may not want to look into SSD (solid state drives) instead of HDD. SSD is quicker than HDD but some suggest the life on SSD isn't as long. But SSD should last at least 8-10 years by which time you'd be thinking about a new laptop if you haven't already. For CPU, around 2gHz is enough, the new i5 and i7 chips are great but just not worth it if you aren't a gamer/photo editor.

The only thing I'd add to the laptop is a webcam, bluetooth and maybe bluray/dvd drive. Even if you don't use those now, just having them will get you to use them in the future.

well, thats about it lol. Sorry if you weren't looking for someone to give opinions on the parts but I don't know what brands UK has but the parts "should" be the same lol.

Some brands on the lower price end in US are Acer/Asus/Dell/Toshiba and Sony. There are other brands but I just don't like/trust them as much. If you needed a starting point and UK has these brands, take a look at them. Or just look at their site and get an idea for price/laptop

[MidnightCowboy]

Of the research I've done, Asus is tops for reliability. Not sure about UK prices any more and therefore if Asus fits your budget.

[Ritho]

I have had great success with custom built laptops. They usually have much better customer service, better warranties, and much faster repair times than a major manufacturer. You also get the satisfaction of knowing exactly goes into your machine and who the parts are manufactured by. If you go that route you definitely want to find buyer reviews on the company though.

In the USA I have used Power Notebooks. Many of their laptops come with a 3 year warranty. If you have a problem and the laptop needs to be returned they pay rapid shipping both ways. It may be possible for you to find a custom shop in the UK that is similar. I did a quick search and found one called PcSpecialist, and they seem to have good reviews http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews106007.html

[1002richards]

Hi,
I'm in the UK and subscribe to Which? (independent consumer advice etc). Their laptop reviews are available if you take out a trial subscription I think. Even a full subscription is excellent value for money. I've been a subscriber for years (I've no connection with Which?).

http://www.which.co.uk/technology/computing/

Richard

[Sope]

Personally I think you are going to struggle to get a custom built laptop for £500.
You'll probably get more "bang for your buck" by going for an off-the-shelf model from one of the larger online suppliers at this price range. Somewhere like eBuyer or Scan Computers for example. Additionally I always check I'm getting the best deal by doing a Google Products (Froogle) search for example.
I would start by looking for what's the best spec available at your price range and then check to see if it's going to be up to the task.
As it's not so cost effective (or easy) to swap out defective components from a laptop in comparison to a desktop, length of warranty is also a factor to take into consideration.

Don't forget to check that the favourite programs you mention will work under Windows 7 and whether they are 32 or 64 bit compatible. You could use XP mode but then you would have to get Win 7 Professional or higher which means extra cost.

You may or may not be able to get an idea of the capabilities of the graphics cards available buy referring to this chart (it includes desktop, mobile and some integrated graphics).

Presumably the emulators you are talking about are for DOS games and/or vintage games so these would be unlikely to need a particularly powerful graphics card, anything reasonably modern is probably going to be up to the task. If you want to play the latest games then I suspect you are going to need something which is unlikely to come at your chosen price range. Likewise, the latest games can take up surprisingly large amounts of HDD space so this factor also needs to be taken into consideration.

Addition:
I've just come across this set of benchmark results which covers CPU's, GPU's, HDD's and more. It may help you in making a comparison between possible choices or on the other hand it may just add confusion!

[systemcrash]

thanks for your help guys.

Ritho: iv been on PcSpecialist before after hearing reviews, but like said i dont know the difference between quality parts and not.

I will put all this into consideration as i shop around or build a laptop

[1002richards]

You're welcome, and happy hunting. Hope you get something before VAT goes up.

[bibzgi]

UK 500 I would think would get you a laptop that meets your specs.

I've only paid US 500 for a new laptop every two or three years since switching from desktop because my spec expectations are average.

The replies in this thread were informative and useful not just for you, systemcrash, but for me too when I eventually have the funds to get a new laptop.

I would explore the websites of the half dozen or so name brands that ship direct, sometimes offering no shipping charge and sometimes offering temporary specials.

I'm afraid that if I called "Sales at [namebrand] I'd be mesmerized and gullible.

By all means let us know how your laptop purchase pans out. Good luck with it!

[systemcrash]

Hello my Favorite ever website and the people who post on it. I have brought my laptop here are the specs and i dont know how to modify it to personalise it to make it mine... XP you can modify Documents and settings but win 7 i have no clue what to mod or where to start so any advice i welcome, i know there are problems moving the 'Users' folder from C:\ but what about the 'Programs' Folder? also i noticed there was still a 'Documents and Settings' Folder but its a Hidden folder? and was empty when i had programs installed. So any modding tips or moving advice would be appriciated I have already moved the PageFile to partition D:\ and set it to 4096mb since i have 4GB ram and setting it any larger seems pointless.

but anyway here are my specs.....

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name ****************
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Inspiron N5030
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4500 @ 2.30GHz, 2300 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A01, 23/07/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United Kingdom
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
User Name **********\*****
Time Zone GMT Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 3.96 GB
Available Physical Memory 2.75 GB
Total Virtual Memory 7.95 GB
Available Virtual Memory 6.32 GB
Page File Space 3.98 GB
Page File D:\pagefile.sys