Off Topic Looking for advice re buying a new Laptop

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marcusblackcat

marcusblackcat

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Jan 25, 2011
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Just wondered if anyone knows of anywhere doing any decent worthwhile deals at the moment? Must be HDMI and 17" screen and would like 64 bit OS too but not imperative as I can add that after I get the computer.

8gb Ram minimum as well and a decent graphics module!

Haven't had to buy a laptop for years as my works ones have always given me capability to do anything I wanted but now they've locked it down so I can;t do most of the stuff I could previously.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
 
Sorry mate can't help but I've used i. Pad for over three years and my lap top is somewhere in the wardrobe good luck on you hunt <bubbly>
 
Seems to be a fair few PC technodorks over on the Mag board, they've been chatting about gaming PC's on a thread, totally out of my area of expertise mate, I'm useless with hardware gadgetry.
 
Vincemac said:
Sorry mate can't help but I've used i. Pad for over three years and my lap top is somewhere in the wardrobe good luck on you hunt <bubbly>
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Problem with the iPad is I can;t edit my music on it and can;t use my sites for backing tracks for when I play the clubs
 
----HistoryRepeating---- said:
Black Friday coming up if you feel like fighting people in shops for stuff.
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100% this. You get fantastic deals over the weekend in December (usually first weekend I think). They usually knock 20-40% off most electronics. 17" is pretty big and to be honest with one that sort of size you're probably going to get the other things you're looking for anyway (HDMI is pretty standard though no harm in checking; 8gb - the usual is 4gb to 8gb so no big issue). The key question is how much you are going to be looking to push it, the graphics ability is important but so it the processor if you are wanting to run taxing games. I'll be honest if I play a game on my computer it's usually Football Manager and that's not exactly a major issue if it runs slowly :)


http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...17-p150na-17-3-laptop-black-10138203-pdt.html
Not saying buy it just that here is an example of one that fits your description but the processor isn't too brilliant (it's ok for most things but if you were looking for certain specifications than perhaps an I-5 or I-7 may work better? Pushes the price up a lot.

I would wait until Black Friday though unless you can't.
 
And another note.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/compu...enovo-z70-17-3-laptop-black-10134826-pdt.html
(again not to buy just an example, all I've done is go to one website for these they aren't suggestions so much as guidelines which I'm sure others can improve on - not claiming expertise here but also not sure how much you know :)

This is an example with a much better processor but you pay for it. The main point of this link though is to highlight that a lot of companies do the "cashback" thing and don't forget to take that into account in the price - so long as it's a reputable company you trust of course...
 
----HistoryRepeating---- said:
Black Friday coming up if you feel like fighting people in shops for stuff.
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Sorry to triple post... you don't need to fight people in shops. All the online stuff is discounted heavily too. The only downside is that you have to wait a bit for delivery as its a busy time of year.
 
marcusblackcat said:
Just wondered if anyone knows of anywhere doing any decent worthwhile deals at the moment? Must be HDMI and 17" screen and would like 64 bit OS too but not imperative as I can add that after I get the computer.

8gb Ram minimum as well and a decent graphics module!

Haven't had to buy a laptop for years as my works ones have always given me capability to do anything I wanted but now they've locked it down so I can;t do most of the stuff I could previously.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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I have a 13.3" Macbook Pro which I bought in 2010, I have upgraded the 4gb Ram to 8gb, it has a 500gb hard drive and 2.66ghz processor which is brilliant for my large photo files, which are always shot in RAW using both Aperture3 and Capture1 to process. There are some marvellous music editing software things on here, garageband looks decent but I am told there's much better in the App Store. Can't beat these computers for me being a photographer, worked around them for years also in graphic design (quork & freehand) and they do come in 15 & 17" versions.. <ok>

Right Mr Cook, commission please this time..<laugh>
 
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Have you considered having one built? There are plenty of online sites where you can choose the components and they`ll put it together.
Not real cheap but at least you get exactly what you want/need without paying for loads of unnecessary bloatware.
 
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Macs are great, but twice as expensive as Windows jobs. I got mine spec built at the local computer shop. Acer with a solid state drive and recently switched to Windows 10. Total cost around £600.

You have to put up with the upgrades and get decent anti-virus (I use McAfee), but for 600 quid less than a Mac I can live with that...
 
arthur said:
Have you considered having one built? There are plenty of online sites where you can choose the components and they`ll put it together.
Not real cheap but at least you get exactly what you want/need without paying for loads of unnecessary bloatware.
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Cheapest way to get the highest performing system if he buys the parts and builds it himself. It's just a jigsaw puzzle(and not a very big one at that) and there's youtube vids to guide. Piece of piss really. Parts can only go in their designated sockets and ports so you can't get anything in the wrong place. Just a bit more fiddly with laptops because of their tight layout.
 
Big Funk Allardyce said:
Cheapest way to get the highest performing system if he buys the parts and builds it himself. It's just a jigsaw puzzle(and not a very big one at that) and there's youtube vids to guide. Piece of piss really. Parts can only go in their designated sockets and ports so you can't get anything in the wrong place. Just a bit more fiddly with laptops because of their tight layout.
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I've built desktop PCs in the past for people but not for around 5 years and am a little rusty so don't think a tight little space in a laptop would be any good (hmmm... Metaphor?) I'm all thumbs when it comes to that (although the wife is impartial to that....)!!! Might chat to the techies at work and see what they think
 
marcusblackcat said:
I've built desktop PCs in the past for people but not for around 5 years and am a little rusty so don't think a tight little space in a laptop would be any good (hmmm... Metaphor?) I'm all thumbs when it comes to that (although the wife is impartial to that....)!!! Might chat to the techies at work and see what they think
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My hands are huge. I'd really struggle putting a laptop together.
 
My wife's laptop screen smashed yesterday - seems I'm going to be in the search for a replacement too - waiting for the Black Friday option sounds like a plan
 
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