New Laptop- any recommendations?

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Hi all, Having recently broken my laptop, I'm about to start looking for a new one. As much as I like macbooks, I don't think I can really afford one right now and they're so much more expensive than windows laptops. Saying this, I do want a high spec laptop and don't mind spending a bit more than average. Just wondering if anyone has recently purchased one or can recommend a decent model? Cheers!

[dune]

I'm not a techy, but I have a hewlett packard pavillion and it's well made and reliable. I got mine second hand and ready to go from a small independent computer shop run by some geeks. Better to do this than buy brand new IMO.

Edited 8 July, 2012 by dune

[Doctoroncall]

I've had a Sony, HP and dell. But the most reliable and longest serving laptop is a mac book. It maybe a bit more expensive when considering purchase price but value for money it was the best.

 

The considerations are if you think you can change over to a new OS, what you want it for suits your needs and not be swayed by the pro or anti brand brigade.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

I've had a Sony, HP and dell. But the most reliable and longest serving laptop is a mac book. It maybe a bit more expensive when considering purchase price but value for money it was the best.

 

The considerations are if you think you can change over to a new OS, what you want it for suits your needs and not be swayed by the pro or anti brand brigade.

 

Hmm I feared someone may say this. I have no problem using Mac or Windows as I'm used to both.

[JPTCount]

it really depends wot u wanna do on it but pc wise, anything with an i5 or i7 processor, 4gb+ and a decent size HDD will cope with normal home use very well, if u wanna be playing top end games or writing music it might not cope too well.

 

something like ram or drive space can be upgraded easily though, so £500 now and another £200 down the line will see u through the next 3/4 years imo, as long as u aren't bathing with the thing

[Weston Super Saint]

I've had a Sony, HP and dell. But the most reliable and longest serving laptop is a mac book. It maybe a bit more expensive when considering purchase price but value for money it was the best.

 

The considerations are if you think you can change over to a new OS, what you want it for suits your needs and not be swayed by the pro or anti brand brigade.

 

I agree.

 

5 years now and my macbook is still going strong. In the past I was going through a laptop every two years. To me, the figures DO add up....

[trousers]

I've bought two Acer laptops (one for me and the missus and one for my daughter) in the last year and can't fault them. It's not the trendiest brand in the world but you tend to get 'more bang for your buck' compared to other brands.

[saint_in_munich]

I have bought acer laptops for my family and they are good value, when they have a schitt I just bin them and buy another, this is for the family but for myself I have a macbook and cant fault it, my wife is on 3rd laptop since I got the mac, so that shows they are worth shelling out for! I am a bit of a Apple guy and have iphone and ipad, the kids have galaxy tabs but they seam a bit disney compared to ipad. I guess you are either apple or android.

[saint_stevo]

What ****s me off about Mac's is when people don't compare them to an equivalent Windows p.c. Of course it will outlast a shotty Acer. It's like buying a kia and comparing it to a Merc. Run a Mac and an Alienware laptop then come back.

 

P.S- Original poster, it would help if you told us your min spec and budget, otherwise it's ****ing into the wind

[Doctoroncall]

What ****s me off about Mac's is when people don't compare them to an equivalent Windows p.c. Of course it will outlast a shotty Acer. It's like buying a kia and comparing it to a Merc. Run a Mac and an Alienware laptop then come back.

 

P.S- Original poster, it would help if you told us your min spec and budget, otherwise it's ****ing into the wind

 

Have they improved the battery life and portability of them?

[Give it to Ron]

Go into John Lewis and look at ex display - you get 2 years warranty and big discount on them.

Got one a few months ago for daughter for uni work and some decent spec machines.

[Thedelldays]

macbook pro

 

simple as that

[buctootim]

Really depends on what is important to you. I wanted a 14 inch smallish and light (1.8kg) reasonably specced machine and good battery life for doing work and watching dvds on occasional works trips and on holidays - its not used all day every day. The Acer I bought is perfect for that. If you are looking for a machine primarily used at home, you might go for smething bigger and more power hungry.

Edited 9 July, 2012 by buctootim

[alpine_saint]

I have bought acer laptops for my family and they are good value, when they have a schitt I just bin them and buy another, this is for the family but for myself I have a macbook and cant fault it, my wife is on 3rd laptop since I got the mac, so that shows they are worth shelling out for! I am a bit of a Apple guy and have iphone and ipad, the kids have galaxy tabs but they seam a bit disney compared to ipad. I guess you are either apple or android.

 

You've been lucky.

 

I will never touch Acer ever again.

[trousers]

You've been lucky.

 

I will never touch Acer ever again.

 

Or you've been unlucky? Never had a problem with them personally. Decent run of the mill machines.

[lumuah]

Go into a local newsagent/supermarket, pick up a copy of PC Advisor, flick to the back, and they have lists of the best laptops currently available in price bands.

 

Decide your budget, pick laptop, and then do some searching online for the best price.

 

PC Advisor is, in my opinion (probably not everyone's though) is a pretty good magazine for computer advice.

[Doctoroncall]

Go into John Lewis and look at ex display - you get 2 years warranty and big discount on them.

Got one a few months ago for daughter for uni work and some decent spec machines.

 

My wife got her back up laptop for £900 for her business, saving £600 doing it that way.

[saintbletch]

As others have said it depends what's important to you. I always buy Dell business laptops (not standard consumer stuff). Dell puts more effort into its business kit than the consumer stuff. It costs slightly more as a result but if you need the laptop to last you then it's worth it. I've had a couple of hiccoughs along the way but in the main I've been very pleased.

 

My advice if you want to save money would be to look for retailers that sell "as new" and "refurbished" manufacturers stock.

 

I've bought 10+ Dell laptops from Europc over the years for my company. They sell what purports to be refurbished kit but in my experience it is always brand new.

 

Manufacturers like Dell get returns for many reasons and it is cheaper for them to pass them on to outfits like Europc to re-sell than it is to check them over and put them back in 'stock' themselves.

 

To make you feel comfortable buying 'refurbished' kit, EuroPC includes (at no extra cost) a Dell 3 year, next business day, all parts and labour warranty.

 

On three occasions I've contacted Dell and had an engineer turn up and replace bits the next day. Great service.

[JPTCount]

Or you've been unlucky? Never had a problem with them personally. Decent run of the mill machines.

 

this, I have an acer motherboard in my missus' computer. it is about 6 years old and still does the business,

[alpine_saint]

Or you've been unlucky? Never had a problem with them personally. Decent run of the mill machines.

 

I've had a monitor and a desktop from them.

 

The monitor has something wrogn with the switch on it, and the desktop, almost exactly the day after the warranty ran out, developed a fault where it would shut-down/re-start if you tried to do more than one task at a time (board or supply fault, I reckon) and also that truly, utterly SH*TE back-up sofware just simply stopped creating back-up images.

[JPTCount]

I've had a monitor and a desktop from them.

 

The monitor has something wrogn with the switch on it, and the desktop, almost exactly the day after the warranty ran out, developed a fault where it would shut-down/re-start if you tried to do more than one task at a time (board or supply fault, I reckon) and also that truly, utterly SH*TE back-up sofware just simply stopped creating back-up images.

 

personally i wouldn't buy a computer monitor, spend a little bit more and get a tv.

 

as for the desktop ****ing up, could a whole number of things. it tells u on the BSOD what the fault is, and most things are remedied pretty easily. could be anything from a virus to a loose ram card.

 

what back up software do u speak of, pcs come installed with so much **** on them. and where are u backing up ur images? if ur desktop boots up and then crashes u can get all the files off it by just taking out the HDD and putting it in another desktop.

[Toomer]

I use a HP at work and at home, my work one is just over 5 years old I have never had a problem with it.

[angelman]

Bit different (and as pointed out depends what you want it for), bought the wife an ASUS Transfomer. Good in as much as it has a USB port so you can plug an external hard drive in but as a tab, it transforms into a laptop-ish.

[bridge too far]

I've just bought an ASUS laptop - relatively cheap one as I no longer need one for work. I'm really pleased with it and it's so light to carry.

[TopGun]

As others have said it depends what's important to you. I always buy Dell business laptops (not standard consumer stuff). Dell puts more effort into its business kit than the consumer stuff. It costs slightly more as a result but if you need the laptop to last you then it's worth it. I've had a couple of hiccoughs along the way but in the main I've been very pleased.

 

My advice if you want to save money would be to look for retailers that sell "as new" and "refurbished" manufacturers stock.

 

I've bought 10+ Dell laptops from Europc over the years for my company. They sell what purports to be refurbished kit but in my experience it is always brand new.

 

Manufacturers like Dell get returns for many reasons and it is cheaper for them to pass them on to outfits like Europc to re-sell than it is to check them over and put them back in 'stock' themselves.

 

To make you feel comfortable buying 'refurbished' kit, EuroPC includes (at no extra cost) a Dell 3 year, next business day, all parts and labour warranty.

 

On three occasions I've contacted Dell and had an engineer turn up and replace bits the next day. Great service.

 

Europc looks like a good place to check out. I will add Aria to that http://www.aria.co.uk/ as they often have last season's kit at discount. They have high spec stuff also.

[Give it to Ron]

If you want a refurb one try Tier One have heard good reports about them. http://www.tier1online.com/

[saint_stevo]

Nice spec Lenovo on ebay deals. i5 second gen, 8gb RAM, 1gb GPU. £470

[trousers]

personally i wouldn't buy a computer monitor, spend a little bit more and get a tv.

 

as for the desktop ****ing up, could a whole number of things. it tells u on the BSOD what the fault is, and most things are remedied pretty easily. could be anything from a virus to a loose ram card.

 

what back up software do u speak of, pcs come installed with so much **** on them. and where are u backing up ur images? if ur desktop boots up and then crashes u can get all the files off it by just taking out the HDD and putting it in another desktop.

 

Like I say, either you've been unlucky or other, seemingly more satisfied, ACER users have been lucky. Alas, I don't have the stats to prove or disprove either...

[LVSaint]

As others have said it depends what's important to you. I always buy Dell business laptops (not standard consumer stuff). Dell puts more effort into its business kit than the consumer stuff. It costs slightly more as a result but if you need the laptop to last you then it's worth it. I've had a couple of hiccoughs along the way but in the main I've been very pleased.

 

I've had a few Dells. OK computers and agree that the Vostro business range are pretty sturdily made. They also come with non glossy screens which I like.

My current Vostro was bought right after Vista was launched and the Vostros were the last types to offer XP. I didn't want Vista and am so glad I bypassed that whole mess. Wpuld like a new one now though but the current one is still running strong after heavy use.

[1885]

MacBook.

Simple

Once you've started with them, you wouldn't want a different one.

[PaulSaint]

This report reckons Asus, Toshiba & Sony are the most reliable:

 

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

[Verbal]

MacBook.

Simple

Once you've started with them, you wouldn't want a different one.

 

This is true. The only downside is they come from a company with a seriously bad attitude. High-handed arrogance does't begin to cover it.

[dune]

This is true. The only downside is they come from a company with a seriously bad attitude. High-handed arrogance does't begin to cover it.

 

Do you work for them?

[1885]

This is true. The only downside is they come from a company with a seriously bad attitude.

 

Please name two computer companies that don't....

[BadgerBadger]

This report reckons Asus, Toshiba & Sony are the most reliable:

 

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

 

That's good news as I've just bought a Toshiba - didn't want a 15 inch monster so went for a 13 inch, was surprised by the price hike for these but managed a decent price on the Toshiba

 

Hello Tosh - gotta a Toshiba

[Essruu]

This is true. The only downside is they come from a company with a seriously bad attitude. High-handed arrogance does't begin to cover it.

 

They also have shops that you can take your machine into if you need help, training on software, advice or repair. Good luck with your Dell/ Acer/ Asus/ Toshiba/ HP/ A.N.Other when it goes wrong or you want help or training.

[JPTCount]

They also have shops that you can take your machine into if you need help, training on software, advice or repair. Good luck with your Dell/ Acer/ Asus/ Toshiba/ HP/ A.N.Other when it goes wrong or you want help or training.

 

lol, u dont need a shop when uve got the internet, and seriously who gets training...? just watch it I. the youtubes. I've learnt basic html and java code from watching videos online.

 

and on a side note, it costs an extra £20 to buy a converter to plug ur wonderful MacBook into a tv.

[hutch]

That's good news as I've just bought a Toshiba - didn't want a 15 inch monster so went for a 13 inch, was surprised by the price hike for these but managed a decent price on the Toshiba

 

Hello Tosh - gotta a Toshiba

Same here (13"), but about 2 years ago. No CD/DVD, so light as a feather, and 6hrs+ battery life. Best laptop I've ever had.

[Essruu]

lol, u dont need a shop when uve got the internet, and seriously who gets training...? just watch it I. the youtubes. I've learnt basic html and java code from watching videos online.

 

and on a side note, it costs an extra £20 to buy a converter to plug ur wonderful MacBook into a tv.

 

So if your machine develops a fault after, say, 10mths: what do you do? Do you pick it up, drive to The Internet and let them take a look, fix it on the spot, maybe leave it with them 24hrs before picking it up fixed?

 

Seriously, once you've jumped through hoops online, waited for your jiffy bag to turn up, then waited for the carrier to collect it, then wait patiently to hear from The Internet, how long will most non-Apple customers wait for 'The Internet' and be without their machine?

 

What if the machine was a week or several months out of warranty? Would your Internet be likely ever to just fix it for free anyway? My unibody aluminium MacBook was the original released one and has never had a problem or failure. My previous white MacBook is now around 7-8yrs old; It's in as good working order now with the family member that now has it as it was the day I bought it. I did have a couple of issues with it: one was fixed under warranty and I was without it less than 24hrs; the other problem I had with it was when it was over 2yrs old - I took it into the Apple Shop for them to diagnose and they replaced an internal part on the spot. The current owner of it cracked the keyboard inlay and took it in to see what could be done - she paid a minimal amount to replace the plastic piece, they replaced another part that was looking grubby and put on the latest OS for free.

 

Say what you like about Apple and their stores, but I seriously doubt you'd get that level of service over and above their obligations from 'The Internet' or your store purchased HP, Toshiba, Acer etc.

 

Re the training: most people probably don't need training on software, but many do. Technophobes, silver surfers, people looking to improve their skills: go in to an Apple Store most days and you will see the staff sat down with all sorts of people, taking the time to train, advise, discuss or demonstrate any number of machines, software or peripherals. These aren't people who are necessarily going to buy anything there and then, it's just part of the overall service you get from Apple.

[Turkish]

Do you work for them?

 

[JPTCount]

So if your machine develops a fault after, say, 10mths: what do you do? Do you pick it up, drive to The Internet and let them take a look, fix it on the spot, maybe leave it with them 24hrs before picking it up fixed?

 

Seriously, once you've jumped through hoops online, waited for your jiffy bag to turn up, then waited for the carrier to collect it, then wait patiently to hear from The Internet, how long will most non-Apple customers wait for 'The Internet' and be without their machine?

 

What if the machine was a week or several months out of warranty? Would your Internet be likely ever to just fix it for free anyway? My unibody aluminium MacBook was the original released one and has never had a problem or failure. My previous white MacBook is now around 7-8yrs old; It's in as good working order now with the family member that now has it as it was the day I bought it. I did have a couple of issues with it: one was fixed under warranty and I was without it less than 24hrs; the other problem I had with it was when it was over 2yrs old - I took it into the Apple Shop for them to diagnose and they replaced an internal part on the spot. The current owner of it cracked the keyboard inlay and took it in to see what could be done - she paid a minimal amount to replace the plastic piece, they replaced another part that was looking grubby and put on the latest OS for free.

 

Say what you like about Apple and their stores, but I seriously doubt you'd get that level of service over and above their obligations from 'The Internet' or your store purchased HP, Toshiba, Acer etc.

 

Re the training: most people probably don't need training on software, but many do. Technophobes, silver surfers, people looking to improve their skills: go in to an Apple Store most days and you will see the staff sat down with all sorts of people, taking the time to train, advise, discuss or demonstrate any number of machines, software or peripherals. These aren't people who are necessarily going to buy anything there and then, it's just part of the overall service you get from Apple.

 

lolz, just google the problem, and fix it urself. ever been on ehow.com? u wrote a **** load there but misse dout anything on the mini dvi....? but personally i like this about computers, i like taking **** apart and fixing it myself.

 

fair about the training but if u know a technophobe or a silver surfer, buying them "how to do **** on a computer for dummies" is better than a chat with a man in blue as it's actually a reference they can go back and check.

 

i know of apple, i've had an ipod that just did a frowny face on me and apple said it would cost £80 to have a look at it, my mum and my sister have macbooks too. the latter is always ****ing hers up, the most recent was a huge hoohaa with the insurance and apple, and the piece of **** hdd reader they gave her. i'm not adverse to apple, they do some things very well, and i have no trouble using them, it's more the people who bang on about how great they are, whereas imo they are overpriced unless u are doing editing on it, and the fact that they bend the truth in their adverts.

 

if u went out today and bought a new macbook at pc world, the cheapest one, u'd be getting an i5 processor, 4gb ram, and a 500gb HDD. for just short of a grand. u could get the equivalent specs in a samsung for half the price (with 30% more ram). for the same money u could buy a laptop with an i7, and double the amount of ram and HDD space. to me thats nonsense, especially when 95% of macbooks are only used for web browsing, itunes and maybe the odd film (i'm sure u'll give me a long list of **** u do on urs). btw i can plug my phone into a tv and do all that using a wireless keyboard

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Thanks for your replies. Those of you recommending apple- would you go for the pro (definitely can't afford the new retina display) or would you consider the air? I understand it doesn't have a CD drive, but I very rarely use the CD drive anyway. Are there any other major differences?

[ericb]

lol, u dont need a shop when uve got the internet, and seriously who gets training...? just watch it I. the youtubes. I've learnt basic html and java code from watching videos online.

 

and on a side note, it costs an extra £20 to buy a converter to plug ur wonderful MacBook into a tv.

 

Funny how pretty much the whole industry you're trying to learn works off macs isn't it? Not saying that's a reason to get them, and i'm in no way a fanboy, but i think it's incredibly arrogant to tell someone to watch a youtube video.

Oh and a pro tip by the way, most of those youtube videos/blog articles are terrible and you're just learning the bad habits of the people teaching them. Buy a book or take a course, it's always a better way of learning.

 

 

Thanks for your replies. Those of you recommending apple- would you go for the pro (definitely can't afford the new retina display) or would you consider the air? I understand it doesn't have a CD drive, but I very rarely use the CD drive anyway. Are there any other major differences?

 

 

Again depends what you use it for, for surfing and office type stuff an air will be more than good enough, plus lightweight and portable. Personally i use it daily for work and use the full adobe creative suite so need a more substantial machine, hence i tend to go for MBP, and the retina screen would be an incredible asset to me, but i don't really see the justification for it if you're on a budget and a standard user.

 

If you are worried about price by the way look at the Apple reconditioned store, much cheaper and you get a completely reliable machine with warranty too.

[JPTCount]

Funny how pretty much the whole industry you're trying to learn works off macs isn't it? Not saying that's a reason to get them, and i'm in no way a fanboy, but i think it's incredibly arrogant to tell someone to watch a youtube video.

Oh and a pro tip by the way, most of those youtube videos/blog articles are terrible and you're just learning the bad habits of the people teaching them. Buy a book or take a course, it's always a better way of learning.

 

not in the industry and I dont want to be, I'm just a computer enthusiast, and as I said I'm not adverse to them, I use them for work. it's just when it comes to home computing, and if ur mostly just checking the web, I see it as a huge waste of money. and frankly they are not as fun imo.

 

and I dont think it's arrogance saying he should watch a video, it's just an alternative to speaking to a man in blue, and I used my own experience to back up the example. however, it is arrogance to assume I'm a **** and not read my other post about buying a book.

 

is it worth twice the price though?

[Stepgar]

macbook pro

 

simple as that

 

100%

 

I made the change and went and got an iMac. It just works. I decided to get an anti virus for it after two years thinking the worst . Installed it scanned it and NOT ONE malicious file/virus ro spyware on it. It runs so bloody fast as well. LOVE IT!

[PhilippineSaint]

Thanks for your replies. Those of you recommending apple- would you go for the pro (definitely can't afford the new retina display) or would you consider the air? I understand it doesn't have a CD drive' date=' but I very rarely use the CD drive anyway. Are there any other major differences?[/quote']

 

Macbook Air every time especially if you are travelling. If you need a cd drive you can use Bluetooth onto another machine or get the external cd drive. who uses cd when travelling anyway?

[hutch]

Macbook Air every time especially if you are travelling. If you need a cd drive you can use Bluetooth onto another machine or get the external cd drive. who uses cd when travelling anyway?

A CD holds, what, 650Mb, and a DVD 4.7Gb? Just get a USB stick, and keep an old machine somewhere with a CD/DVD drive in it, and copy any softare or whatever onto the stick if you need to load it.

 

I was a bit nervous when I got my first laptop without an optical drive 2 years ago, but I've honestly not missed it. The saving in weight and battery life is well worth it, and I carry a full Windows re-install with utilities and drivers around with me on a bootable USB flashdrive just in case.

[Patrick Bateman]

Echo the comments on the MacBook Air.

 

Having used various windoze based laptops for years from Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Sony and HP - they were all more brittle and bits broke off. (I can see Essruu chuckling now)

 

I got a MacBook Air 13" and haven't looked back. I don't miss a CD/DVD drive and I certainly don't miss how slow Windows is and how clunky other laptops are. I wouldn't bother with a MacBook Pro - you only need that extra power if you're doing graphic design or software development. It's a lovely machine, but the extra weight is not worth the hassle. Most of us at work now use the 13" MacBook Air too, with a few of the graphics guys on the Pro, but even the developers use an Air too - they are more than powerful enough. I also have a Windows Virtual Machine on mine for apps that are Windows only - even that is quicker!!

 

Whenever I occasionally go back to my old Sony laptop to get something - a photo or whatever, I groan at how clunky and annoying it is and another piece falls off.

 

You pay for what you get!

 

I would not own another Acer or Sony for certain and now I'm even bordering on "I will never own another Windows-based machine".