Laptop

Thanks folks.

Saw it today in PCworld

Spec seems great for the money, only problem for me is lack of numerical key pad…which use a lot

Thought the same, keypad not an issue for me.

I was thinking about getting one of these too. There is an Asus one in comet for the same money with a keypad, same spec (i think) too.

Would either of them be ok for messing about editting helmet cam footage (HD and non HD)? I have no clue about what magic makes computers work.

Think I read on another thread you need the i5 minimum for decent editing, also I think somebody mentioned a decent graphics card, but I’m a builder so who knows?!

wrightyson – Membe

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Think I read on another thread you need the i5 minimum for decent editing

Sounds like bobbins to me, I’m on a first generation Core quad here and it munches HD files without any real stress. Not sure if it’s doing any hardware acceleration on the graphics card though.

Nice spot popped out and bought one 🙂 hasn’t exploded so far.
Faster than the 6yr old sony its replacing.

That’s saved me a thread!
I was looking at the one with the AMD processor and 1tb. It’s only £50 more. Unfortunately i can’t find a web link,perhaps it’s Instore only.
Wasn’t sure of it was worth the extra, but think I’ll plump for it.

They’re doing the windows pack and norton antivirus for £89 when you buy it.
Is it the best place to get he extras?
Sorry for the partial hi-jack!!

What’s a windows pack? Office?

Norton is rubbish.

They can offer good deals on laptops like the one above as they make a tidy profit on all the extra crap they try to palm off on you.

So this is a good buy then?? Can’t seem to get it in store anywhere.

Too late, I’ve ordered it!! 😆

only problem for me is lack of numerical key pad..

They’re doing the windows pack and norton antivirus for £89 when you buy it.

Sounds to me like a quick way of bleeding an extra £89 out of a punter after they’ve blown their budget on the laptop. It’s what Sales call “value added” which essentially translates in English to read “near 100% pure profit.”

Think I read on another thread you need the i5 minimum for decent editing,

That’s absolutely right, before Intel invented the i5 no-one did any editing ever.

the 399 hp is a i5 machine 🙂

i5

It was the windows home office and student edition 2010;

Norton 360 gold edition.

The ones installed on the laptop are “trial” and “part editions”.

Figured as it was my first new computer for about 10 years, i’d get something reasonable and try to protect it!

Office goes for 40 quid under their student programme. Norton is, well, don’t bother. You can send me £25 and still be £25 in pocket.

http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Office_2010_Professional_Plus-details.aspx

Bought the very machine listed by the OP yesterday.
Was fairly lucky, hadn’t seen any adverts, and there’s a whole series HP g6 machines in PCW, was dithering over an AMD and a i3 versions at 399 when for once a PCW sales bod was actually helpful and pointed us at the i5 machine on the next aisle across. Having seen a similar spec (Asus?) in comet, the HP was a no brainer decision.
Yes its a very nice machine, it was for the girlfirends son, so I’ve just had a play while setting it up for him. Norton deleted ASAP BTW! (we have a mcafee multi licence).

As a (sadly) employee of PC World, can honestly say that HP for £399 with the i5 processor is a bargain of a machine.

Avoid any of the current AMD processored laptops like the plague though right now, they are ridiculously underpowered and slow. The i3’s are ok, the i5’s very good.

Though they are still PC’s and a Mac is obviously a much better bet long term! 😉

Avoid any of the current AMD processored laptops like the plague though right now, they are ridiculously underpowered and slow. The i3’s are ok, the i5’s very good.

I was told it was an equivalent to the i7 processor, but i’d guess as a salesman thats their job.
Its slightly more RAM and 1TB.
I got sucked in by the numbers, and it was only another £50 so thought why not!

And its replacing a 5year old second hand laptop, it feels like i’m at the helm of the starship enterprise in comparison!

I was told it was an equivalent to the i7 processor, but i’d guess as a salesman thats their job.
Its slightly more RAM and 1TB.
I got sucked in by the numbers, and it was only another £50 so thought why not!

Though that is the better of the AMD processors by a country mile, indeed the salesman did a job on you… Something by the way, nobody in my store would have done!

Anyway, that processor benchmarks a tiny bit slower than a current i3, let alone an i5 or i7, so you would have been much better off buying the i5 model version for £50 less. Unless the 1TB hard drive is that important to you?

i have a very similar one from comet that i picked up today, i have an asos one with the same spec….ish

im very happy with it and paid the same price as above as well, almost walked ut with vaio for 100 pound more and worse spec because i was being a bit of a brand whore

I just went for the larger numbers to be honest.
I wasn’t sure of the real difference between the 2.
I asked and i was told that. Like i say its leaps on from what its replaced, but i’m a bit pissed at the guy now if that’s the case.
Thought they were into advice more than the sales.
Guess in the long run it’ll make very little difference to me though!

With regard to the Intel/AMD thing on laptops, an AMD chip-set does not necessarily mean a bad thing. It is true that in terms of pure CPU performance you can’t touch the intel i7, but on laptops equipped with AMD chipsets the graphics power is often streets ahead of the intel chipset, which is great if you like games.

To be honest though neither really matter a great deal these days for an average user, especially if all you do is browse the web, watch movies, and listen to music.

I’m still using a 3 year old desktop that is slower than that latest AMD and intel CPU and it does everything I need from graphics and video editing to playing Call of Duty etc.

Thought they were into advice more than the sales.

Erm, as someone who knows a fair bit about computers and works for the same company, I’m ashamed to say that you couldn’t say the same for all our staff. I could guarantee that if you dealt with me you would get totally unbiased advice and I’d recommend you the best spec PC for your needs regardless of the ticket price, and then offer suitable alternatives too.

I just went for the larger numbers to be honest.

This is what most people do, assuming larger equals better. Which isn’t always the case. And to be fair though I know the ins and outs of Processor benchmarks and how they all compare, this is mainly cos I have an unhealthy interest in computing myself and I keep up with it off my own back. I know some staff wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference between an i3 and an i5, but then how many people actually need to know also… If you’re clued up enough to know exactly what you want (like most people on here are about mountain bikes) you’ll buy it online anyway (as you would your bike bits from CRC).

Guess in the long run it’ll make very little difference to me though!

It will make very little difference indeed. But you are quite within your rights, having been given poor advice, to go back and exchange the machine. You were after all told that the AMD processor was as fast as an i7… It isn’t… Here is a link to its CPU Benchmark Score…

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+A8-3500M+APU+with+Radeon+HD+Graphics

The i5 in the £399 machine is more powerful, and here is a link to its CPU Benchmark score…

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-2430M+%40+2.40GHz

You don’t need me to tell you that 3461 is a better score than 2908… For reference, the dual core i7’s start around the 4000 mark on CPU Benchmark score, than the Quad Cores start over 5500…

The one thing that the machine you have bought has going for it over the cheaper machine, is that it has a seperate discrete graphics processor inside, though a very budget one. It’s not good enough for gaming say, so will make little difference, but may help with HD videos slightly, but then the i5 is 20% faster so has more ability to cope without the discrete graphics card anyway.

You’ve definitely not bought a bad computer by any stretch of the imagination, just that depending on what is most important to you, you could possibly have bought a better one for £50 cheaper.

I was looking at this hp, but thought maybe a Lenova Thinkpad E520 would be beter for £370ish after cashback? (i5, 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, but better build quality).

Figured as it was my first new computer for about 10 years, i’d get something reasonable and try to protect it!

In which case, uninstall Norton as soon as you get it and look at one of the “wot A/V” threads currently running!

I may go in tomoorow or Saturday and have a word then.
It’s annoyed me now, so I can’t let it be.
Not sure what they will say as I’d guess it’s his word against mine, maybe choose my words carefully!

I’m sure in the be long run I won’t tell the difference, and right now it’s like a **** whippet!
But the bugger lied and I have a worse machine than I could have had. To be honest I’m not sure even the £50 is bothering me as much as I could have have a better machine and he lied!

To be honest I’m not sure even the £50 is bothering me as much as I could have have a better machine and he lied!

There’s a difference between lying, and being misinformed.

Don’t run in all guns blazing, he may just have been misinformed himself and given you poor information as a result. Not excusable of course, but ultimately done with good intentions rather than having lied on purpose…