Computer Related > New laptop ideas?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Fenlander	Replies: 30

New Fri 21 Jan 11 07:52   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

Our 2007 laptop is about worn out. Almost no space on the 80GB hard drive, several vertical fault lines on the screen, broken hinge and failing power supply plug.... it's very hard used by the whole family. It is a Compaq Presario C500 with 1.6Ghz Pentium Dual Core T2060, 2MB ram, Intel Media accelerator 950, Vista home premium and a 15.4" screen. Don't really want to spend much over £400 and something like this looks ideal except ideally I would have likes a camera card reader.... HP G56-130SA Intel® Pentium® Processor T4500, 64-bit version of Windows® 7 Home Premium, 4GB of RAM 500GB, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M. www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-g56-130sa-laptop-07908263-pdt.html On the face of it this looks to have a similar spec to our desktop. Any thoughts bearing mind it will be a local purchase i.e. PC World/ John Lewis/Comet. I prefer rugged to shiny style if possible. BTW the old Compaq power supply (65w 18.5V) is very unreliable... are they a standard plug so I could use the one from a new laptop to fire up the old one for file transfer? Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 07:57 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 09:34   New laptop ideas? - Manatee

Does it really not have a card reader? Even if it doesn't a USB one is very cheap www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_6&products_id=108547 The power jacks are not universal. I have yet to find two the same when I need to. HP & Compaq are the same company though so I'd say they're bound to be different! As a bit of a generalisation, £300-£400 laptops are not rugged. They are almost fully commoditised (Apple excepted) and built to a price. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:09   New laptop ideas? - Iffy

Given the battering your old laptop has taken, what you need is a rugged one: www.steatite-rugged.co.uk/fully-rugged.html Good enough for the SAS, should be good enough for you. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:16   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

Ha... I do have a connection with such things Iffy but one never comes home! When I said rugged I meant normal decent build not something ultra thin of very shiny black plastic... but perhaps they're all like that. From what I can see you usually find a card reader at £500 but not always under £400. I do have a generic usb one but if it's already a feature of the laptop one less bit to remember. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:35   New laptop ideas? - Iffy

...not something ultra thin of very shiny black plastic... Well, there is a very smart laptop with a one-piece aluminium case, and I suspect you know what it's called. :) Some people do have an Apple laptop and a Windows desktop PC - there are one or two with that set up in this forum. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:41   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

>>>Some people do have an Apple laptop and a Windows desktop PC. No... I just can't. I might have mentioned before the kids school is Microsoft sponsored and all the work they do is on Windows based software. Mrs F is all Windows at work and stuff sometimes get done here. Then there's myself who's just able to look after the family computers/software with the odd bit of help from forums. I don't want to add in an extra level of confusion! Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:36   New laptop ideas? - Arctophile

How about one of these Toshibas from John Lewis? www.johnlewis.com/231098313/Product.aspx Looking at the T&Cs for the offer you probably wouldn't qualify for the £75 trade-in though. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:43   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

That Toshiba looks OK. It has a card reader and 2yr warranty but no I don't qualify for the trade in. It'll be Ebay for the old machine as a spares source. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:50   New laptop ideas? - Manatee

>> When I said rugged I meant normal decent build not something ultra thin of very >> shiny black plastic... but perhaps they're all like that. I wasn't very clear, sorry. None at £300-£400 is 'ruggedised' in the jargon. What I should have said was they are generally flimsy. The better ones will last if used considerately but none will stand much knocking about. The worst I've had was a Fujitsu Siemens that I unfortunately bought two of about 4 years ago. They both literally fell to bits with cracked cases despite rarely being carted about. On the other hand I have a £700 Sony that overheats if it has to think hard. If you talk to the guys in PC World they'll tell you that of the big sellers, Acer probably come back least often. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 10:47   New laptop ideas? - John H

>> Our 2007 laptop is about worn out. If you can eke out a few more weeks, wait for Windows 7 with SP1 built in. The software has been released to manufacturers, and shold save you from having to do a 500MB update. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:06   New laptop ideas? - Zero

All the recognised names in this price range will do the job. I avoid Packard Bell tho. AT one time they were appalling pieces of unmitigated crap. Then they got taken over by NEC I think, and now they are just crap. Avoid anything with an Advent brand name as well. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:14   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

Sadly John we do well to manage with a PC and laptop between 4 family members... just with the PC will be a nightmare and once the screen hinge breaks (any day now) the old laptop will be unuseable. Brand advice taken on board Zero thanks. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:17   New laptop ideas? - ....

packard bell were NEC from late 90's until 2008 when they were taken over by Acer. In the last five years my wife and I have had Toshiba, Sony, Dell, Acer, packard bell laptops and notebooks. They're all as good/bad as each other. By the one you like the feel of. Last edited by: gmac on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 11:20 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:28   New laptop ideas? - paulb

Have to say, having had to bully a neighbour's brand-new Dell laptop into shape just after Christmas, that I can't recommend them either at the moment. Really hope it was just a slightly duff example - have always had good experiences with them previously. Having asked around folk at work, a lot of them have Acer machines at home and seem pretty pleased with them. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 11:43   New laptop ideas? - Iffy

Asus has always struck me as a proper manufacturer. They research and develop their own products, not just churn out the same stuff as everybody else. Someone told me they build machines for Apple, if that's true they must be good. :) Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 13:10   New laptop ideas? - Zero

>> just a slightly duff example - have always had good experiences with them previously. I never have, In my experience (and at one time i was responsible for 3,000) I have only ever thought of them as useful as a doorstop. Support is quite good tho. At one time we just used to give them a list of serial numbers of those that had, literally, cracked up that week, and they sent us new ones. Didnt even want the old ones back.. I doubt a home user would get such support. Last edited by: Zero on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 13:13 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 13:22   New laptop ideas? - paulb

Ha! Might explain why the work have switched everybody onto ThinkPads, although the Latitude I had before chugged along happily enough for 4.5 years before the HDD gave up. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 14:07   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

Quick decision made. Looked at the HP I first linked to in PC World but didn't find it the best one in the flesh. Wasn't 100% sure about the feel of its case, it lacked the numeric right hand keyboard bit and more I thought of it the lack of a card reader was a nuisance to us. So had a play with everything in the price bracket and came away with a nice looking/handling Toshiba of a very similar model/spec to the John Lewis one Arctophile linked to... except mine has a slighly larger hard drive and was £21 cheaper in the sale. Not had a play with it at home yet as I have bookshelves to install before Mrs F gets home. BTW I know we grumble about them at times but the 3 PC World staff that attended to me over the 20mins I was looking about were all spot on. Helpful, friendy and no bull. The one who clinched a sale had some ideas about features of different models and how they might suit our use that I hadn't thought of.... and no hassle to buy the extra warranty either. Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 14:08 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 15:10   New laptop ideas? - Bromptonaut

Rather than start a new thread..... I'm looking for a laptop for Miss B whose in upper 6th and off to Uni in September. Need something a bit better than a netbook but more portable thanm the seemingly standard 15.6'', say around 13. She'll be studying history so no CAD or arty video type demands on the processor; mid range Intel or AMD will do. However, and here's the pinch, she wants a DVD drive for videos/music ripping. This seems to be a gap in the market with machines at the size we want being either large netbooks or business oriented 'ultra portables' priced at £750+. I'd really like to keep under £450-£500. Any suggestions? Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 15:47   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

When I was looking today the neat Sony Vaio models looked nice but £600+. I see Toshiba do a 13" screen version similar to the one I've just collected... but it's just been discontinued so is only available as a refurb. If that was OK for you it's £479 and still has a 12mth warranty at PC World. Search for the model... TOSHIBA Satellite R630-13F Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 15:56   New laptop ideas? - spamcan61

Although it's a clunky solution external USB DVD drives are 20 - 30 quid. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 16:02   New laptop ideas? - Zero

Yup the external is the ideal solution, and stops the lack of DVD being a price or choice issue. I assume she is going away from home? make sure the laptop has a hole for, and purchase with, a kensington Lock cable. Student laptops are the most nicked thing on earth. Last edited by: Zero on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 16:03 Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 16:19   New laptop ideas? - spamcan61

Here's an example, external 8X read/write drive, 27 quid + P&P from ebuyer:- www.ebuyer.com/product/180608 Top loading like an old school portable CD player. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 16:21   New laptop ideas? - Bromptonaut

Thanks FL, that would be just the job!! Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 23:53   New laptop ideas? - Bromptonaut

>> Thanks FL, that would be just the job!! Miss B thought so as well. Ordered for delivery next week. Thanks again to all posters above for their guidance. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 17:42   New laptop ideas? - ....

Enjoy it Fenlander. Toshiba usually put some half decent kit inside just do yourself a favour and install RealTemp. Our Toshiba Qosmio fried two motherboards. Both of them at 13 months, one month out of warranty and Toshiba didn't want to know. Who knows, they may well have done something about cooling by now. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 21 Jan 11 21:26   New laptop ideas? - rtj70

Some 13" laptops come with external DVD drives - the HP ones did when I was looking. But I gave in looking and got a decent 15.6" laptop for son in the end. Decently made 13" laptops were/are expensive. They need better/smaller/cooler components in them hence the additional cost. The size of the 15.6" laptop means they can get away with cheaper, less integrated components. The Apple approach takes it further - batteries are not user replaceable and cells are in different bits of the laptops. The new MacBook Air has an SSD drive and they ditched the SSD case that made it 2.5" drive sized. I'd check out HP and Toshiba personally but you'll find the 15.6" ones are cheaper. The HP I opted for was about 2kg in weight. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 24 Jan 11 11:12   New laptop ideas? - Fenlander

OK a weekend of family testing on the Toshiba hasn't produced any negatives... a laptop is a laptop really. It definately meets my idea of a slightly more robust make than some though... a few really did feel like they be lucky to make a year in our hands. Windows 7 and IE8 have a few foibles to get to grips with. We did get caught with that massive SP1 update download over the weekend as John H warned. Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 24 Jan 11 at 11:12 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 24 Jan 11 11:48   New laptop ideas? - Iffy

...Windows 7 and IE8 have a few foibles... Windows 7 and Firefox would have fewer foibles. Lots of people now seem to like Google Chrome, although I've not tried it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 24 Jan 11 13:31   New laptop ideas? - Netsur

I love Chrome. So much faster and crashes less often than IE. a few websites I go on for business are not compatible with it, but there are solutions to that as well. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 24 Jan 11 15:20   New laptop ideas? - John H

>> get caught with that massive SP1 update download over the weekend as John H warned. >> Unlikely, unless your computer properties says different. The downloads you got will have been the all the individual updates since original release of Windows7. The SP1 update has been released to manufacture, but is not yet on windows update. Reply to this message | Report message