Anyone want to help me choose a laptop

[shrimply]

Hi, not sure if I am going to get a laptop or not, as money is a bit tight but I'm beginning to feel that it might be a good idea.

 

Basically I don't need it for much, just basic surfing and word processing etc, and although a longer battery life would be beneficial, I'd prefer better performance over longevity.

 

My budget was £350 when I started looking but from my suggestions below I think under £400 is more practical. I have a real problem with what I want to do and what I should do so I'm asking for your opinions on these three, very different, machines or if you have any other ideas.

 

HP Compaq 615 Laptop - Laptops at Ebuyer £358.99

 

Well this is the cheap option, it was under £350, I promise but has went up a bit in price. The positives are that it's a compaq which are pretty reliable I believe, its from ebuyer so I'll get it fast and hassle free. Negatives - only mono speakers, only 2GB of ram (easily upgradable to 3GB but its extra cost), i'd prefer an intel processor over AMD.

 

Buy Samsung R519 15.6in Laptop. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for . £399.99

 

This is the sensible option I think, mainly due to the 3 year warranty, but I've heard a few negative things about Samsung laptops, it also has a poor webcam, and from what ive seen isn't the best looking product in the world

 

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System £390 ( with student discount)

 

Well at the minute this is the one my heart wants, but I've heard both good and bad things about Dell. Its by far the nicest looking of the lot and has a new probably better processor. My concerns are the number pad on the keyboard which, to me seems like a pointless addition and looks like it would make typing awkward.

 

Anyway would love some thoughts, or other suggestions. At the minute my head says the Samsung and my heart says the Dell.

[Armageddon]

Hi take a look at dabs.com they have some fantastic refurbs at the moment both desktop and laptop, I shop there regulary for all my pc parts etc

[Tootech]

I'd go for more memory over hard drive capacity on a laptop. 3 or 4GB on a 64 bit Windows 7 has to be the way to go.

 

That would preclude the Compaq - Samsungs have always been ok from what I have seen. Dell I think are ok, but unless you get one of the higher spec units they aren't anything special- IMHO :)

 

I set up a couple of these Acer's recently, they seemed ok to use and have a wide keyboard, great for typing.

 

ACER Aspire 5732Z at cheap prices | Pcworld

 

Hope that adds to your confusion......

[Armageddon]

I have a 4gig win 7 on x64 laptop my partner has a 3gig on vista, I agree with tootech i'd go more ram than hdd capacity

[shrimply]

Hope that adds to your confusion......

 

Yeah it does thanks, can I just ask is there any benefits of running an x64 operating system over a x32 operating system when using 3GB of ram, or does it not matter one way or the other.

 

Hard drive size really isn't an issue since I wouldn't be using the laptop as a main PC, plus the fact I'm only using 95GB on my computer anyway.

 

Been doing some research and the chances are that I'd get the T4400 procesor on the samsung rather then the T4300.

 

My reasons behind wanting the Dell are,

 

1) It looks awesome, has a brushed steel ( effect?) finish, which looks really nice

2) It has the core i3 processor which I believe should have a pretty good performance

3) It has a full HD screen, although not sure if that's normal on most laptops now

 

But i've heard plenty of bad things about Dell, alongside the positive ones.

 

The Acer does look pretty nice, apart from the fact that I'd rather avoid PC world, Currys etc if possible. Have you got any opinions on the brand in general

[shrimply]

Well just thought I'd update this. I still haven't got a laptop, I've just went to order the Dell to find that they've put the price up by £30, which puts me in an awkward position.

 

I've now brought my computer home because I'd decided I'd get a a laptop.

I don't really have £430 to spend on a laptop, and besides I don't really think its a decent price any more but at the same time had my heart so set on the dell that I can't really find anything else that I want.

 

Just feeling a bit gutted at the minute, now I need to buy a laptop, but don't really want anything except the one i can't afford to pay for. So yeah its gone well, they must of only increases the price 2 or 3 days ago