Laptops..

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I've just posted a thread on the wanted classifieds as I want a laptop.
What do I need to consider in terms of processor and ram etc?
I won't be doing much serious photo editing so it'll be pretty basic use, but I don't want to sit around waiting for it to do stuff.
I'm guessing that 4gb of ram as a minimum, an ssd, but have no idea what laptop processors are worth avoiding or considering. Is 4gb too little?
A 15" screen is a must, but again, what sort are worth avoiding?
Budget is around £500 I guess, and I'm happy with a used machine..
Any advice much appreciated!
 
It rather depends on how heavy the processing you do is.
The laptop I use is ~8 years old, has no SSD still rarely causes significant delays in my editing, sometimes a second when cloning, and maybe a few minutes when stitching panoramas.
If I used things like liquefy in Photoshop, I'd probably see more delays.
 
For that budget you should be fine, might even be lucky to bag something at the likes of PC World. So standard office use, media consumption and a bit of photo editing? I would think (ideally); a quad core, 8GB, an SSD and a Full HD screen. A Ryzen laptop might be a good fit or equivalent i5/i7. Let me check....

Acer Extensa 15.6" - Intel i5 4C/8T, 8GB RAM, 512GB nVME, Full HD 15.6", Intel UHD Graphics 620 (£431)
ACER Swift 3 14" - Ryzen 5 4C/8T, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Full HD 14" IPS, Vega 8 graphics (£489)

The Intel one has a bigger screen and larger HD but the AMD one likely has a slightly faster CPU, IPS screen and a faster graphics card but is more expensive.

Alternatively you could look at some refurbs over at MCS. I have bought a few laptops from here for friends and family, the worst I have received is a laptop with a minor scuff on one corner. I would strongly recommend getting one with a 1 year warranty (not all come with it). A mix of options in the links below:

https://mcscom.co.uk/shop/dell-laptops/latitude/latitude-refurbed-by-mcs/?orderby=price
https://mcscom.co.uk/shop/dell-laptops/vostro-small-business/?orderby=price

These will be slightly older laptops so true quad core CPUs may be less common, instead 2C/4T on the cheaper models but for basic use this should still be fine (a true 4C over a 2C/4T if you have to choose however).
 
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It rather depends on how heavy the processing you do is.
The laptop I use is ~8 years old, has no SSD still rarely causes significant delays in my editing, sometimes a second when cloning, and maybe a few minutes when stitching panoramas.
If I used things like liquefy in Photoshop, I'd probably see more delays.
Any processing would be very minor and I'd insist on a ssd as its as much the waiting for it to start up that bugs me

For that budget you should be fine, might even be lucky to bag something at the likes of PC World. So standard office use, media consumption and a bit of photo editing? I would think (ideally); a quad core, 8GB, an SSD and a Full HD screen. A Ryzen laptop might be a good fit or equivalent i5/i7. Let me check....

Acer Extensa 15.6" - Intel i5 4C/8T, 8GB RAM, 512GB nVME, Full HD 15.6", Intel UHD Graphics 620 (£431)
ACER Swift 3 14" - Ryzen 5 4C/8T, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Full HD 14" IPS, Vega 8 graphics (£489)

The Intel one has a bigger screen and larger HD but the AMD one likely has a slightly faster CPU, IPS screen and a faster graphics card but is more expensive.

Alternatively you could look at some refurbs over at MCS. I have bought a few laptops from here for friends and family, the worst I have received is a laptop with a minor scuff on one corner. I would strongly recommend getting one with a 1 year warranty (not all come with it). A mix of options in the links below:

https://mcscom.co.uk/shop/dell-laptops/latitude/latitude-refurbed-by-mcs/?orderby=price
https://mcscom.co.uk/shop/dell-laptops/vostro-small-business/?orderby=price

These will be slightly older laptops so true quad core CPUs may be less common, instead 2C/4T on the cheaper models but for basic use this should still be fine (a true 4C over a 2C/4T if you have to choose however).
Brilliant, many thanks for taking the time to look for links - I'll take a look in a mo.
Thank you both for your replies!
 
Another Acer but only £399 with similar specs to my earlier suggestions (Ryzen 4C/8T, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and Full HD 15.6" IPS screen).

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ac...hd-ips-display-399-at-currys-pc-world-3325235

Supposedly 10% with TopCashBack as well :)

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ac...hd-ips-display-399-at-currys-pc-world-3325235/QUOTE]


Seems I got the last one from my local shop...
The salesman said that they had sold a load of them over the last few days. It certainly isn't built like a 'premium' laptop but excellent value for the money and given that it'll live in the sitting room much of its life I really don't care!
Thanks again for the heads up - much appreciated.
 
Next question is that my youngest daughter could do with a cheap laptop for Christmas - It HAS to be new, and it needs to be cheap.
Very basic use - homework, You Tube, snapchat.
I guess a 12 or 13" screen so that it's portable enough, though she never takes her current one anywhere except to her bedroom from the sitting room when nagged at.
Any suggestions....?
 
i recently bought one off the dell outlet, latest i5 processor, 8gb ram, ssd drive and a "proper" graphics card (proper as in not just built in motherboard jobbie). think i paid about 640 quid as there was a discount code available that knocked 10% off. I have been pretty happy with it so far for editing, battery life could be a bit better but its not a deal breaker
 
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ac...hd-ips-display-399-at-currys-pc-world-3325235/QUOTE]


Seems I got the last one from my local shop...
The salesman said that they had sold a load of them over the last few days. It certainly isn't built like a 'premium' laptop but excellent value for the money and given that it'll live in the sitting room much of its life I really don't care!
Thanks again for the heads up - much appreciated.

I'm in the market for a new laptop myself and saw this one on Currys web site. Now you've had yours for a few days I wondered if you've had chance for a play and have any initial thoughts you can pass on?

It's to replace my aged and failing Acer aspire which I've been happy with. A month ago I bought what looked like a cracking deal for a Acer off QVC...….wow, it went straight back after trying it for a few days, which it seemed to take a few days to load! Then the reviews started to appear all with a similar problem! Hence a slight cautious approach on getting another Acer...….but it does look well specified!
 
I'm in the market for a new laptop myself and saw this one on Currys web site. Now you've had yours for a few days I wondered if you've had chance for a play and have any initial thoughts you can pass on?

It's to replace my aged and failing Acer aspire which I've been happy with. A month ago I bought what looked like a cracking deal for a Acer off QVC...….wow, it went straight back after trying it for a few days, which it seemed to take a few days to load! Then the reviews started to appear all with a similar problem! Hence a slight cautious approach on getting another Acer...….but it does look well specified!
I'm sorry, but I can't, as its not been out of the box yet...
I'm hoping to have a play early next week - I'll try to remember to post a few thoughts then, but my knowledge is very limited as my old laptop is about ten years old and that's all I can compare it with.
My local store did have one out on display so if yours does you may be able to try it there....
 
I'm in the market for a new laptop myself and saw this one on Currys web site. Now you've had yours for a few days I wondered if you've had chance for a play and have any initial thoughts you can pass on?

It's to replace my aged and failing Acer aspire which I've been happy with. A month ago I bought what looked like a cracking deal for a Acer off QVC...….wow, it went straight back after trying it for a few days, which it seemed to take a few days to load! Then the reviews started to appear all with a similar problem! Hence a slight cautious approach on getting another Acer...….but it does look well specified!


We bought a new laptop for my wife a couple of weeks back: Lenovo 530S from Box. i5 quad (not dual core) 8GB/256GB, 15" IPS HD, ali shell. It's a nice machine, a bit quicker than my 5YO Dell XPS. Obvious upgrades would be another 8GB of RAM and a 1TB NVME drive. £499 + about £70 3 year RTB warranty.

https://www.box.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-530s_2756982.html
 
I can't add to help sorry Steve but thanks for the thread (and everyone for the replies!) as I was going to start something similar.

A new laptop is needed for my son, general internet stuff, YouTube/movies, art things & some photo editing. He's had a few hand-me-down ones but none of them really any good for what he now does. He's also Year 9 so school stuff & hopefully something that will last him into his college years!!
 
I can't add to help sorry Steve but thanks for the thread (and everyone for the replies!) as I was going to start something similar.

A new laptop is needed for my son, general internet stuff, YouTube/movies, art things & some photo editing. He's had a few hand-me-down ones but none of them really any good for what he now does. He's also Year 9 so school stuff & hopefully something that will last him into his college years!!
Yup, daughter is pretty much in the same situation - college looms, so a light, smallish laptop that hopefully will last a few years. She has had hand me downs from elder daughter so it's time she had something new. Storage and performance are not a biggie, size and weight are, and for me, budget is too.
I'd say 13 or 14" screen max, and certainly under £500, ideally under £400.
Keep the suggestions coming please!
 
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Fairly sure ITZOO have MacBook airs in under £400 from time to time. A good bet for those who need a small and light computer with decent battery life for writing documents and web work. Not ideal for a photographer with that screen and zero upgradability.
 
I'm in the market for a new laptop myself and saw this one on Currys web site. Now you've had yours for a few days I wondered if you've had chance for a play and have any initial thoughts you can pass on?

It's to replace my aged and failing Acer aspire which I've been happy with. A month ago I bought what looked like a cracking deal for a Acer off QVC...….wow, it went straight back after trying it for a few days, which it seemed to take a few days to load! Then the reviews started to appear all with a similar problem! Hence a slight cautious approach on getting another Acer...….but it does look well specified!
OK, I've finally managed to open the box and am having a quick play.
All I've done so far is set it up and have a quick browse - so far I'm very impressed. Seems fast to start up, responsive, keyboard feels good to me and screen looks good too.
Remember that I have limited experience with laptops, but I can see me using this a lot. It is a bit plasticky feeling, but it is a cheap laptop..
So, a thumbs up from me, but please go try one rather than just taking my word for it.
As mentioned before I am now looking for a smaller screen laptop for my daughter and whilst it will cost a bit more may go to PC Specialist for hers as we've had 2 from them that were perfect for my elder daughter, so they may be worth a look too.
 
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