Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => The Dressing Room => Topic started by: Dazza1004 on January 25, 2010, 08:28:44 AM
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I need to get a new PC for familiy use, mainly interweb browsing but also kids homework etc, no gaming.
I am either going down the Laptop or netbook route for portability, where's the best place to get one, anything thing in particular I should look out for.
I don't want to spend any more than £400 (which I know is not a lot for this sort of thing) but I would go to £500 if it was worth it.
cheers
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You can probably get a better specced desktop for that price, I think Dell are currently doing a full computer setup with monitor for about £379. Spec looks good as well, but not sure about AMD processors as I've always been led to believe Intel are better, hopefully someone more knowledgable can chime in.
If you're dead set on a laptop I still recommend Dell as we've always used them in my family and never seem to have problems. If not, there's always Mesh at www.meshcomputers.com
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I'd just go to any highstreet store, prices are all pretty much the same nowadays
When I hot mine the guy at Currys Digital said they made about £10 on a laptop as they have to compete with the lowest online proces. So you are as well to go there or PC world as anywhere else, at least you have somewhere to return it if there is a problem.
Any £350 - £400 Laptop will fulfill your needs so just go for a reputable make, Dell as _Tom_ says are good, Compaq, HP etc. Just don't be tempted to go for the real cheapies, the specs might be the same but the cases won't and buttons / keys etc don't seem to last very long.
AMD processors are usually a bit cheaper that the equivalent Intel and just as good so don't worry there.
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Dell are good for desktops but their laptops, especially for your budget range, are absolute pap. Everyone I know who's had one only has bad stuff to say about them, they constantly go wrong and if you get a silver one, the finish wears off in a matter of months where you rest your palms / wrists.
I'd go for a Toshiba, and Acer are really good value for the money too.
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hmm.. had my Dell Inspiron for about 3-4 years now I think and it's still alright. Bit slow in its old age though, but the specs are pretty cr@p compared to what you can get now for the same price. Still silver as well!
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You're one of the lucky few, Tom. :wink: Must have exceedingly good luck. :D
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I've had an Inspiron 5150 for over 7 years and an 8600 for 6 years. Both have travelled, and I have only had a couple of little problems with them (I replaced the video card in the 8600 and now I have to replace the power connector in the 5150).
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Another happy Dell user here...
I've been using this Inspiron 1100 for must be 6 years now. Never had a problem with it. The lead on the power supply is on its last legs now though, and you can't get replacements with that plug anymore... but I'd happily buy another Dell laptop.
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my samsung nc10 hackintosh has been great - i recommend it (if you want a netbook that is)
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I've had my Fujitsu laptop for over 3 years and had no problems with it. I've got an old Tiny desktop that's 6 years old and can still do ok.
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not keen on dell's myself, one I was using for a bit last year felt a bit cheap
one of my mate's work place uses a lot of laptops and the problems they've had were all fujitsu ones, basically they don't buy them no more
if you're interested in netbooks for family use my main concern is how well they handle flash video ala youtube, not got any first hand of experience of such matters though
for vista or windows 7 you want at least 2gb ram minimum, but you can never have enough ram! :D
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thanks for the advice
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Might sound a bit strange but...
Aldi (if you have one near you) run PC specials every so often - they have a 17" laptop at present for £500
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_12760.htm
Good spec for the money
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Oh and avoid anything with Windows Vista. I'd go for something that either has an option to downgrade to XP, or something that comes with Windows 7. As I understand it, Microsoft are washing their hands of the resource-hungry atrocity that was Vista. :lol:
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As I understand it, Microsoft are washing their hands of the resource-hungry atrocity that was Vista. :lol:
You don't half talk some shitee. If Microsoft's past form for ending official support for their operating systems is anything to go by then Vista will be supported for good few years to come. There are commercial entities who will have committed to business versions of Vista and those will continue to get security updates well into 2017 according to Microsoft. They typically end support for consumer versions before enterprise and I wouldn't be surprised to see support being terminated for consumers around 2012.
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I liked Vista. Faster than XP for me, and looks so much nicer. Windows 7 is better than both of em though :D
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I have a mate who works for Microsoft - his advice is to go for a Windows 7 machine if you can. Upgrade from Vista to W7 is very tough and really not worth it for domestic applications. My home laptop runs Vista and it is fine for what we are doing with it: documents, photos, iTunes and web access. I have had no problems - apart from forgetting my SysAdmin password! :-)
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As I understand it, Microsoft are washing their hands of the resource-hungry atrocity that was Vista. :lol:
You don't half talk some shiteee. If Microsoft's past form for ending official support for their operating systems is anything to go by then Vista will be supported for good few years to come. There are commercial entities who will have committed to business versions of Vista and those will continue to get security updates well into 2017 according to Microsoft. They typically end support for consumer versions before enterprise and I wouldn't be surprised to see support being terminated for consumers around 2012.
I didn't mean literally, lol. FFS I worked in IT, I know they will keep supporting it. I just mean if I had invented Vista I would have done what China did about Tiananmen Square... "After Windows XP...nothing happened." :lol:
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I figure the extra I spend on Apple hardware so that I can use OS X, has more then paid for itself in the shitee I don't have to deal with if I'd been using Windows.
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I have an inspiron 1720. Its tollerable most of the time but can often slow massively for no good reason, even after a fresh installation of window. That said, its taken some abuse and still works.
I use acers at work and they perform well enough but are flimsy; I wouldnt trust them to last.
Apparently sony and asus are the best around. So, Asus, then, since I loathe sony.
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I figure the extra I spend on Apple hardware so that I can use OS X, has more then paid for itself in the shiteee I don't have to deal with if I'd been using Windows.
Don't start a windows vs mac debate :lol: I'm still trying to get hackintosh to work as I like the OS but refuse to pay the extortionate prices for their hardware.
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Apparently sony and asus are the best around. So, Asus, then, since I loathe sony.
I always get mixed up between Acer and Asus, yeah I think it might be Asus then. Although I am positive one of my friends who was messed around really badly by Dell got an Acer afterwards and said that it was far less trouble, their tech support were more knowledgeable and seemed to know the little glitches in their product better than the Dell support guys.
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I figure the extra I spend on Apple hardware so that I can use OS X, has more then paid for itself in the shiteeee I don't have to deal with if I'd been using Windows.
Don't start a windows vs mac debate :lol: I'm still trying to get hackintosh to work as I like the OS but refuse to pay the extortionate prices for their hardware.
I paid my money, the machines always work, no dicking around for hours to get them to work. No dicking around having to fix them when it gets infected or have a Windows moment. Almost all the software I need is included, is free or is available for a minimal outlay.
Refuse and waste your time getting it to work when you could be doing something else. Like having a wank whilst watching porn safely online.
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haha, fair enough then! fwiw I've had no big problems with Windows 7 yet, no blue screens etc.
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As a new Mac user one thing that did make me laugh was a friend who told me that I really needed to get Parallels to run all my Windows apps... He didn't see the irony there at all...
As a new Mac user
Like the interface
Really easy to set up new software/hardware
Very fast boot up time
Don't like the email/calendar implementation - this is a work thing - it is not compatible with WebEx meeting organisation, so you need to open a browser etc etc
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I don't see what people dislike so much about vista, ok I've been using it for 6 months and so I've only using vista SP2, it seems absolutely rock stable, only crashed twice exiting a particular game
when solidstate drives get cheap I'm going to upgrade to 7, can get a legit volume license but I don't know if it'll work as I hear you have to activate through a server on your network or something like that
certainly wouldn't bother buying a laptop with vista now since 7 is out