New laptop time - any recommendations?

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New laptop time - any recommendations?

34 posts & 19 voices | Started 7 months ago by rondo101 | Latest reply from gaberin

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rondo101 - Member

My existing laptop is 6 years old. I've upgraded RAM and HDD to keep it useable, but I can't watch HD videos on it (integrated graphics card). It's really slow at processing anything intensive in CS3 (RAW conversions take forever) & as I'm getting one of the new Go Pro cameras for xmas (which needs Vista minimum & I've only got XP), I think it's time to replace it.

Budget is up to £800. I guess I want to be looking at a i5 or i7 processor with separate graphics card (nVidia Cuda?). Doesn't need to be overly portable (just around the house), so 16" or 17" screen. No desktops.

Found THIS one, which seems to fit the bill, but I've never used toshiba laptops before. Any good?

Anything else I should be looking at?

Posted 7 months ago #
TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR - Member

I've been very impressed with the HP Pavilion I bought last year. Haven't really got a lot else to say.

Posted 7 months ago #
Rob Hilton - Member

Anything else I should be looking at?

I'd go for something cheaper with a bigger discount:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops-315-c.html

Maybe your new expensive purchase will last 6 years again, but if you get one now for half the price and another in 3/4 years you'll keep up with the technology more easily for the same cost and won't feel so bad about, say, dropping it in the bath 2 days after the warranty expires

Posted 7 months ago #
Cougar - Member

I don't know much about that particular model, but I'm quite a fan of Toshiba laptops in general. Toshiba have (or at least, used to have, not dealt with them for a bit now) a very froody attitude towards their customers.

Looks like a good spec to me. Whether it's good value or not I don't know, I'm a little out of touch with current pricing.

Posted 7 months ago #
rondo101 - Member

Whether it's good value or not I don't know, I'm a little out of touch with current pricing.

This is my problem; there's been a lot of development in 6 years!

I'd go for something cheaper with a bigger discount:

None of those fit the processor & graphics card requirements. The point of replacing my current laptop is to get one that can handle HD video, will allow minor editing of Go Pro video & run CS3 at a reasonable speed.

And I'm pretty sure that dropping something in the bath isn't covered by warranty. It is covered by home contents insurance though, which doesn't run out after 2 years.

Posted 7 months ago #
Marko - Member

Toshiba!

Run away now.

I bought one in May. It went back to Germany twice for a repair.Still not fixed. According to the repair note it had a new hard drive the first time it went away. The second time it had a circuit board for the touch pad.

The third time I said a complete brand new replacement please or I'll have my money back. I got the money back from the UK supplier (Misco) who dealt with the matter speedily and efficiently.

I'm sure mine was a one-off, so don't let me put you off buying a Toshiba
Marko

Posted 7 months ago #
alexxx - Member

whatever you do use Quidco.

I just got a Dell XPS 15

i5
4gb ram (upgraded to 8gb for £30 off ebuyer)
built in graphics in the sandybridge chip as well as nvidia 540m card
jbl 2.1 speakers in built (actually impressive).
mostly metal finish
backlite keyboard
500gb 7200rpm drive
really nice touchpad

blablabla

its all good and cost £530 inc ram upgrade... should have been around £840 (+ram)

20odd % off via quidco and dell offers! woop!

only downer is 2 of the usb ports are buggered due to a known fault with the daughterboard which is getting replaced on monday (next business day) so that should hopefully make a perfect laptop!

Posted 7 months ago #
kevj - Member

From Alex post above, there was a mis-price on the dell site and I got an xps i7 sandybridge with 6vb ram, NVIDIA graphics and 750 vb hd for 600 notes after quidco.

Look on hotukdeals for info.

Posted 7 months ago #
alexxx - Member

dammit kev yours sounds better than mine

Posted 7 months ago #
radtothepowerofsik - Member

My Dell was circa £750 instead of a grand - there are good deals to be had! I didn't even know about quidco though, dammit!

Posted 7 months ago #
Rob Hilton - Member

None of those fit the processor & graphics card requirements

Don't get too excited about the marketing bollox, the next big thing you'll be missing out on is just around the corner.

God knows what's inside mine but it was £370 2 years ago and is fine for HD vids and editing lame clips of me riding round the park on my sister's bike

Posted 7 months ago #
mboy - Member

As has been said above, you've really got the conundrum of spend lots now, or spend less now and buy another replacement sooner.

The Toshiba you linked too doesn't look that amazing spec for the money. True it's got 8GB of RAM (which isn't all that necessary), and a large HD, but only an i5 and doesn't seem to have discrete graphics. Personally I'd be looking for an i7 and discrete graphics if possible, or at least an i5 with a very good discrete graphics card, with less RAM (this can be upgraded cheaper in the future) and a smaller HD (which I'd immediately replace for something faster than 5400rpm anyway).

Something like this... http://www.ebuyer.com/261157-acer-aspire-5750g-laptop-lx-rcf02-109

You'll note the quad core i7 processor and discrete graphics, though less RAM and a smaller HD, but at just over 700 quid it's a bit of a steal!

In fact, scratch that, just found this... http://www.ebuyer.com/279521-acer-aspire-5755g-laptop-lx-rpx02-037

Same machine, 10% faster processor, 2GB more ram and bigger HD for only £13 more!

Posted 7 months ago #
Cougar - Member

doesn't seem to have discrete graphics

Yeah it does. 1Gb Radeon HD 6490M.

Posted 7 months ago #
rondo101 - Member

Mboy - 1gb NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M graphics card. See http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/product/Satellite-Pro-L770-12F/1111592. Laptops direct don't seem to give the full spec.

And Acer? Really? I've always been told to stay away as they're cheap for a reason.

Posted 7 months ago #
peterfile - Member

If you can get a good deal (they often have electronics sales), buy from John Lewis. I've bought my last few from there (Toshiba, Sony and a Mac) and the two year warranty is brilliant.

I've tested on numerous occasions and have had repairs/replacements without any trouble at all.

I reckon the sweet spot for laptops dying seems to be on day 366!

Posted 7 months ago #
mboy - Member

Dunno, no experience of Acer personally though obviously they can't be that bad as they're still in business.

Anyway, purely on a bang for buck scale, the 2nd Acer I linked to will blow anything similarly priced out of the water, I wasn't expecting you could get a quad core i7 and decent discrete graphics for just over 700 quid

There is a Sony Vaio on ebuyer, slightly lower spec but still pretty serious, bigger screen with higher resolution, at £850 which also looks pretty tasty.

http://www.ebuyer.com/270244-sony-vaio-f22m0e-b-laptop-vpcf22m0e-b-cek

Posted 7 months ago #
prettygreenparrot - Member

MacBook Air 13". Fast enough for regular use. Nice enough to carry around.

Posted 7 months ago #
alexxx - Member

never buy acer.

macbook air? ha

Posted 7 months ago #
warton - Member

MacBook air = no DVD drive!

Posted 7 months ago #
alexxx - Member

its not the no dvd drive that I laugh at apart from its everything that you pretty much shouldnt get in a laptop.

Posted 7 months ago #
stuartie_c - Member

never buy acer.

Why not?
.
.
.
.

Sent from my Acer.

Posted 7 months ago #
muckytee - Member

HP.

Forget everything else when it comes to laptops.

Quick look for you; this don't look too shabby: click!

Edit: Similar but more inbudget: Click!

The toshiba you showed may have more RAM, but you can upgrade that, unlike the processor (toshibas have crap build quality and look cheap anyway)

Posted 7 months ago #
Cougar - Member

HP.

Yes.

Forget everything else when it comes to laptops.

No.

Posted 7 months ago #
mboy - Member

MacBook Air 13". Fast enough for regular use. Nice enough to carry around.

Much as I'm a Mac fan, a MacBook Air would be barely any more use for the intended purpose than a Netbook. A small screen, no dedicated graphics, tiny hard drives and last but not least, the very steep pricing. For video editing of any kind on a Mac Laptop, you'd need at least the 15" MacBookPro which starts at £1549! Not cheap I think you'll agree, even if they are rather nice.

Posted 7 months ago #
craigxxl - Member

Never buy HP laptops. Search for HP faulty laptop graphics. Experienced it myself and less than impressed with HP's couldn't give a toss attitude so decided not purchase anything HP again.
Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell have all been good reliable laptops.

Posted 7 months ago #
rondo101 - Member

Points above taken into consideration and I'm now looking at i7 laptops. Looked at HP (my 6 y/o laptop is HP, so they're pretty good in my experience), but the only one meet all requirements was £1000.

This Samsung one seems to tick all the boxes and gets a reasonable review on reg hardware. Not sure if the comments about 3D performance would have any bearing on my intended use for video & photo editing?

Any opinions?

Posted 7 months ago #
mboy - Member

That Samsung does look rather good for the money. Definitely a desktop replacement rather than a proper laptop in the truest sense of the world, but powerful processor, lots of RAM, big HD, decent screen resolution and discrete graphics will make for what is important to you by the sounds of things, and the price looks good too. I'm assuming you've got a desk to sit and use it at though rather than sit it on your lap as that is some lump! In which case, do you NEED a laptop? You could be far better served by a desktop for performance for the money.

Oh and the comments about 3D performance will only really concern you if you plan on playing lots of games. You've got to spend £1500 or more on a dedicated gaming laptop to get decent 3D performance though, and even then you can put a £100 GFX card in a £400 desktop and it will still have better 3D performance. If you intend to play any games, buy a desktop!

Posted 7 months ago #
rondo101 - Member

I've got a xbox for games, so that's no issue.

And whilst a desktop would probably make more sense from a cash/spec perspective, I want something that can be used around the house or take away with me for processing photos/videos on hols (ones where there's a car to carry it at least).

It appears "powerful, light, cheap; choose 2" applies to laptops.

Posted 7 months ago #
mtb2020 - Member

Samsung and Sony seem to be good makes, and I think you need to get something with Bluetooth on it - seems to new way to get high speed broadband. Specs keep changing all the time 4 GB RAM and 500 GB hard drive, used to be the upper limit. Now that's rising to 6 - 8GB and up to 1TB. Just get best spec for your money. PC World seems to have some good deals on at the moment.

Posted 7 months ago #
MrSmith - Member

For video editing of any kind on a Mac Laptop, you'd need at least the 15" MacBookPro which starts at £1549! Not cheap I think you'll agree, even if they are rather nice.

that's complete rubbish, i edit HD footage in FCP-X without generating proxies and get no dropped frames.
render time on grading,stabilization,retiming etc only takes seconds.
using a 13in 2011 MBP with 8gb ram, using a full HD monitor too. (£700 ex vat from the refurb store)

Posted 6 months ago #
tinribz - Member

Might be worth looking at laptops with some of AMD's new Llano CPUs. They have onboard 'discrete' graphics via a CPU with a built in Radeon GPU?

Supposed to be good for gaming and general accelerated graphics which covers most things these days even web browsing. Not so good on the 'finding a million prime numbers' tests the the Intels do well in.

Not sure how many are out in the price bracket you are looking at but they supposedly run more stable and use less power too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyZjFM9KmUg&feature=related

Posted 6 months ago #
gaberin - Member

Need a new laptop, max £450. Needs to be fast, with lots of memory and good for watching movies etc.

Any Recommendations?

Posted 6 months ago #
Cougar - Member

Any Recommendations?

Tell us more about your usage requirements and start your own thread?

Posted 6 months ago #
gaberin - Member

Please help.
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Posted 6 months ago #