# new laptop needed



## shiv (May 14, 2010)

so, i tripped over the wire of my laptop tonight and totally smashed the screen in. it's not covered by warranty or any of that.

what are good laptop brands? one thing i hated about this one is that the fans were underneath it, so if i put it down on anything, it would overheat very quickly. most of the time i have it balanced on a book or a dvd case or something.

my budget is ?350-400, tops. i'm having to take it out of my ultra special savings which i hate touching, so i want to be able to replace the money when i eventually get paid, even if i do pay it back over a few months.

so: help? what are good laptops? i use it for basic personal things - internet, listening to music, watching dvds, word processing. i don't game or make videos or anything like that. i love having a huge screen.

i have no idea what the techy terms mean on websites (processor? graphics card?) - so i just need some advice on a good, decent laptop that will allow me to chat and update my blog and store my photos.

thanks.


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## Pigeon (May 14, 2010)

Hi Shiv, not too good on the techy stuff, sorry - I got my boyfriend to tell me what I needed when I bought my laptop!

But I had a thought, could you just use an external monitor for the time being, if it's only the screen that's broken? Might tide you over until you have more money?


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## shiv (May 14, 2010)

i haven't got an external screen unfortunately. i've tried hooking it up to the screen in the office (which didn't work), but when i leave here in 2 days, i won't have access to a screen.


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## Sugarbum (May 14, 2010)

Hey hon, what a nightmare.

They had good reductions in Argos the other week on Acer laptops which are good. Im not sure if that was a limited time or still on, but I had a very close look myself...

My local Oxfam in streatham does computer parts and furnature. Often does just screens etc and parts. Im not suggesting you treak all this way but is something second hand an option?

x


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## Northerner (May 14, 2010)

I've been getting my computers from Dell for about the last 12 years - latest is a Dell Studio 17 which I have had about 10 months and cost me about ?450. I've been very happy with it since I upgraded to Windows 7 - hated Vista! They have several ranges to suit all pockets:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...spx?refid=laptops_great_deals&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1


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## shiv (May 14, 2010)

loads of people have said dell - i've never been a fan but i've never had one. i'll investigate!


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## Sugarbum (May 14, 2010)

Northerner said:


> I've been getting my computers from Dell for about the last 12 years - latest is a Dell Studio 17 which I have had about 10 months and cost me about ?450. I've been very happy with it since I upgraded to Windows 7 - hated Vista! They have several ranges to suit all pockets:
> 
> http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...spx?refid=laptops_great_deals&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1



Oh I take it windows 7 is good then Northe? Im not a fan of vista, I would rather go backwards in time to XP TBH.


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## Northerner (May 14, 2010)

Sugarbum said:


> Oh I take it windows 7 is good then Northe? Im not a fan of vista, I would rather go backwards in time to XP TBH.



I had endless problems with Vista with stuff not working. Windows 7 is loads better. I quite liked XP (as far as it is possible to like a Microsoft OS!) - but it feels very old fashioned now when I use my old desktop. Fortunately, when I bought my laptop Dell were offering a free upgrade to W7 when it came out last October.


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## shiv (May 14, 2010)

looks like it might be a dell for me. now to wait for the money to transfer over from my savings. i might go and look at one in person first before i order one online.


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## shiv (May 14, 2010)

just out of curiosity, is there any major difference that someone like me (who knows nothing about computers and just wants to use one) needs to know between these two?

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...hs1&~oid=uk~en~20211~inspiron-1546_n0054601~~

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...d=uk~en~20211~laptop-inspiron-1545_n0054509~~


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## Northerner (May 14, 2010)

shiv said:


> just out of curiosity, is there any major difference that someone like me (who knows nothing about computers and just wants to use one) needs to know between these two?
> 
> http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...hs1&~oid=uk~en~20211~inspiron-1546_n0054601~~
> 
> http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...d=uk~en~20211~laptop-inspiron-1545_n0054509~~



I'd personally go for the one with the Intel processor. It has Windows 7, twice the ram, bigger hard drive etc. Only drawback is the graphics are integrated rather than the 512meg graphics card on the AMD, which might affect games and possibly movies etc. A bit os six of one and half a dozen of the other - more ram makes the intel faster, but less dedicated graphics makes it slower if graphics are greedy!


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## Northerner (May 14, 2010)

shiv said:


> looks like it might be a dell for me. now to wait for the money to transfer over from my savings. i might go and look at one in person first before i order one online.



Not sure if Dell sell in outlets, I've always bought mine online. If you register with them they'll probably send you offers to get 10% off, extra memory etc.


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## cocacola (May 15, 2010)

Northerner said:


> I'd personally go for the one with the Intel processor. It has Windows 7, twice the ram, bigger hard drive etc. Only drawback is the graphics are integrated rather than the 512meg graphics card on the AMD, which might affect games and possibly movies etc. A bit os six of one and half a dozen of the other - more ram makes the intel faster, but less dedicated graphics makes it slower if graphics are greedy!



I would agree with that. Also the first link only has Vista Home Basic which is rubbish. Vista is also very RAM hungry and 1GB RAM is useless.

Can you get the screen repaired on the broken lappy? If you take it into a local PC repair shop they should be able to give you a free estimate.


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## Old Holborn (May 15, 2010)

PC World sell Dell's now.


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## HelenP (May 15, 2010)

So do Tesco, sometimes - think of the clubcard points!!  

Re the fans being underneath - my son bought a little whatchamacallit thingummybob (see how techy I am ?? ) to go underneath his so it wouldn't overheat...............

xx


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## Steff (May 15, 2010)

We have a samsung which was near ?600 so thats no good, but i agree with Northener totally on this one go with dell and windows 7


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## shiv (May 15, 2010)

thanks all. i'm weighing it up between HP and Dell, although Dell is winning at the moment because of the price.

i also like this one: http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...d=uk~en~20211~laptop-inspiron-1750_n0075002~~ 

i'm a sucker for a big screen!


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## Steff (May 15, 2010)

shiv said:


> thanks all. i'm weighing it up between HP and Dell, although Dell is winning at the moment because of the price.
> 
> i also like this one: http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/hom...d=uk~en~20211~laptop-inspiron-1750_n0075002~~
> 
> i'm a sucker for a big screen!



Thats yummy shiv and u can get pink as well


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## shiv (May 15, 2010)

Steff2010 said:


> Thats yummy shiv and u can get pink as well



lol steff i am definitely not a pink girl - plus you have to pay an extra 29 quid or so for the colours!! if i was going to get a colour though, it'd be the purple one, or maybe the green.


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## Tezzz (May 15, 2010)

shiv said:


> looks like it might be a dell for me. now to wait for the money to transfer over from my savings. i might go and look at one in person first before i order one online.



Sorry to hear about your laptop.

If you plug an external screen then you usually have to press some keys on the keyboard to enable the external display.

The other thing I would consider is getting it repaired. If you can PM me the exact make model and serial number of your current laptop I might be able to get a replacement new or second hand display at trade prices. Cheaper than buying a new laptop.

If you are going to get another laptop then can I suggest you read some reviews in magazines like Computer Shopper or What Laptop?


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## Old Holborn (May 15, 2010)

I bought a Compaq CQ61, from the HP stable, about 6 months ago. I'm very happy with it.

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/622850/COMPAQ-CQ61-435


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## Jimbo (May 16, 2010)

My wife and I bought our two boys Toshiba laptops at Christmas they are 4GB/320GB with Windows 7 as standard and they love them. The oldest boy plays games, dvds, cds, does his standard grade course work everything that the normal 15year old does really and they haven't had any problems with them. Worst of all they have made me realise what a dinosaur I use with its 256mb/120gb and XP, its as slow as a week in the jail, to coin a phrase! by comparison. 
We got them from Staples who were a lot cheaper than everyone else, they also have an online service too.


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## thedame (May 17, 2010)

Loved my Acer until it fell off the table and broke The insurance people replaced it with a Dell - was never a Dell fan but I have to say that now I have taken Vista off and put on XP, it is a lot faster!

Son has had a Dell for a few years- he is very rough with it and it has happily travelled to uni and back for 3 years without missing a beat! So thumbs up for the robust Dells and a big thumbs down to a Vista OS. Go for Windows 7 if the budget allows - fantastic improvement (got it on my main pc). Use the built in backup and restore facility too - easy peasy


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