Advice on buying a laptop under £1000

zulupentax

zulupentax

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Amin
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hi everyone,
Looking to replace my old hp laptop which is almost on the blink. Can anyone suggest me what to get under a grand?
I have toyed with the idea of making the switch to Mac but I am open to all suggestions and recommendations.
I use it heavily for photo editing, my LR is permanently open and and often then move to CS6 for further editing when required. I would really love if possible to get a machine that wouldnt struggle when I am editing a video also, usually timelapse images I take so not sure if within such a budget it would be possible. But I am open to any suggestions please.
I have read also that I could hook up a big screen to the laptop if working from home so I would consider eventually getting a screen to work on it if pros and cons lean towards getting something with a slightly smaller screen laptop for portability and then hooking up the external screen at home. But if there is a benefit on going for a higher screen I would consider it also.
Thanks in advance for all your help
 
A Dell XPS15 from the Dell Outlet is generally considered good value for a light, powerful laptop, and you should easily get one under a grand. Common upgrades are to replace the HDD and cache memory with SSD (in my version I have 2 - 250GB mSATA for the system and 1TB for storage).
 
Thanks for that, will look into it.
Would a Dell be a better value than a Mac? Or in order to get a Mac I would get to stretch a bit more my budget? Considering it being a better option.
Might I add that I have a bit of flexibility in increasing my budget if it gets me a better machine.
Many thanks
 
The xps range are very capable.

For your budget you'd be looking second hand Macbook with older components, any reason why you're considering the switch as Adobe apps work just as reliably on Windows and osx.
 
Am interested in this also. Have considered an iMac, but realistically don't have the space and with a 2 year old running about I'd genuinely fear for it on a daily basis.

At the moment I'm using a dog slow i3 powered HP laptop which although only 3 years old is creaking a bit to say the least.

I'm comfortable using either but do admit that despite my hatred for the iPhone and iPad, I loved my old Macbook.
 
Take a look at the reconditioned mac stuff :)

mines like a branny
 
Been quite tempted to fork out just under 2 grand and get the higher spec of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15.4, I wonder if it would be a great deal
 
with the new release they seem to removed it from the site ill have google and see if i can find it
 
I think they change the links based on stock availability - but at this moment - you can pick up a Macbook pro 13" with retina display for £1059 refurb. I bought one (a different spec to this link) a few weeks ago - and out of the box you'd not know it from new. Comes with a 1 year warranty - so you'd be daft not to consider it :)

http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/produc...-27ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display
 
Is there a great benefit in getting the 15" instead of the 13"? Or the price difference really doesn't justify it and would rather use it to buy a big screen to hook up to it when working from home?
I suppose the 13" is great for portability? I travel often
 
zulupentax said:
Is there a great benefit in getting the 15" instead of the 13"? Or the price difference really doesn't justify it and would rather use it to buy a big screen to hook up to it when working from home?
I suppose the 13" is great for portability? I travel often
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My thoughts were probably to go with a 13" with a view to adding an IPS screen later.

If that's not possible I'd go 15".
 
Been looking at the Dell XPS 13 as an alternative to a Macbook. Any users on here?
 
XPS15 & Macbook 13" owner. In general terms it's swings & roundabouts. Macbook keyboard & trackpad are better, battery life longer. Dell screen is better IMO, carbon fibre base is less cold to first sit on a lap & gets less hot when the machine is being worked hard, replaceable/upgradable components very much better than non-replaceable, 3 year next business day warranty is ONSITE (i.e don't have to take it to an Apple store for fixing).
 
ancient_mariner said:
XPS15 & Macbook 13" owner. In general terms it's swings & roundabouts. Macbook keyboard & trackpad are better, battery life longer. Dell screen is better IMO, carbon fibre base is less cold to first sit on a lap & gets less hot when the machine is being worked hard, replaceable/upgradable components very much better than non-replaceable, 3 year next business day warranty is ONSITE (i.e don't have to take it to an Apple store for fixing).
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Noted. I visited a well known electrical good retailer of the world this afternoon and noted that the 13" will just be too small for me as it's my only computer.

15" will be ideal I'd imagine, though I did get sidetracked by the 27" 5k iMac [emoji1]
 
15" is too small too TBH, giving a false sense of sharpness unless magnified to 200% or more, and I find even 24" cramped at times. I've edited on both 13" and 15", and the extra width helps, especially with screens being 16X9 these days.
 
ancient_mariner said:
15" is too small too TBH, giving a false sense of sharpness unless magnified to 200% or more, and I find even 24" cramped at times. I've edited on both 13" and 15", and the extra width helps, especially with screens being 16X9 these days.
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All about compromises tbh. I'm surmising the 15" is less of a compromise than the 13" though.

I could always eat beans for a year and get rid of my bed to accommodate the iMac. Wife would be delighted I'm sure.
 
I am quite inclined to go for the 15" Mac Pro, the 256 SSD would suffice rather than forking out the extra £400 for the 512GB version
 
I finally gave in and splashed on a new shiny Mac Pro 15". The pain of forking out for the price tag has been mitigating by the joy of using this lovely machine. Its a total beauty. More still as I managed to squeeze a small bonus in the deal, got the store manager to give me a small discount and a new wireless Apple mouse in the pack.
So far loving everything about this machine. Coming from a Windows platform and being my first encounter with Mac I can say that its been a joy.
 
zulupentax said:
I finally gave in and splashed on a new shiny Mac Pro 15". The pain of forking out for the price tag has been mitigating by the joy of using this lovely machine. Its a total beauty. More still as I managed to squeeze a small bonus in the deal, got the store manager to give me a small discount and a new wireless Apple mouse in the pack.
So far loving everything about this machine. Coming from a Windows platform and being my first encounter with Mac I can say that its been a joy.
Click to expand...

They are excellent!
 
Ian W said:
Under a grand though?!
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Under £1600, actually £1577.22 including store manager's discretion discount. And he threw in a wireless mouse and 3. months of free Apple Care.
Not a bad deal I think. But heck it burnt a big hole on my pocket :)
 
Must have been a last generation MBP I'm guessing. I did wonder how you got your hands on a new one and for that price!
 
I decided to make the jump, after years with Windows I felt it was time for me to try Mac. So far looks great
 
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