Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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Missus needs a laptop for her work so I said i'd get her one for Christmas.
Basic needs are a 15'' screen, decent processor so it's not slow as hell and windows 10.
I haven't bought a computer for years so i'm slightly out of touch with all the jargon.
I'm led to believe it goes i3 < i5 < i7. All she really needs it for is using Microsoft office, general Internet stuff and memory for iTunes/photos/video's. No need for any fancy graphics stuff for gaming, though some decent speakers wouldn't go amiss, although I know from our last laptops the sound is pretty crap anyway.
Other than that, it needs to be light enough for a woman to carry around comfortably.
Budget of up to £350 I guess, though cheaper the merrier. I get discount from John Lewis also so that can factor into the pricing.
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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i3, 4GB RAM and make sure it has an SSD - that's the bit that will make the difference in speed.
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Neo
Member
Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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What he said, and don't touch asus for cheap laptops. Their cheaper models have a habit of overheating.
http://www.ebuyer.com/720342-lenovo-essential-b50-80-laptop-80ew01akuk
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Jambo
Member
Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
User status: Offline
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I'm not an IT bod, but I wouldn't recommend an i3, i5 if you will want to use iTunes whilst doing anything else and not want to buy a new laptop in two years time.
SSD 100% tho
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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My parents are still running Core 2 Duo laptops, both of them running iTunes and they're okay... If there money is there for an i5 buy one, however don't get hung up on it 
That Lenovo jobbie seems good, they seem to be pretty sturdy home laptops
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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Something Dell; can't say i've ever had a problem with one and it's what i spec to clients.
i3 will be fine, just make sure it has ample RAM (personally i'd look at least at 4GB, if not 6GB) and yeah, an SSD will help but unless you're willing to pay through the nose for storage then mechanical drives are the only real option, ie - 1TB mechanical is a shed load cheaper than 1TB of SSD  There are hybrid drives (a mechanical drive with a small SSD stuck to front) and there are laptops that include two drives (one SSD for OS/programs, one mechanical for storage) but i doubt you'll see those in a £350 laptop.
quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
I'm not an IT bod, but I wouldn't recommend an i3, i5 if you will want to use iTunes whilst doing anything else and not want to buy a new laptop in two years time.
Usual cause is lack of maintenance and/or blindly installing software that sticks itself (and/or background services) in the boot up procedure.
Software like CCleaner (regular cleaning of files, registry and keeping an eye on what starts up during booting) and disabling services like 'superfetch' in Windows will massively help.
quote:
Originally posted by Neo
http://www.ebuyer.com/720342-lenovo-essential-b50-80-laptop-80ew01akuk
Piddly SSD drive would put me off, especially if you plan to store media.
[Edited on 30-11-2015 by Dom]
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Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
User status: Offline
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Does ITunes really slow down on anything less than an i5? I really underestimated what a shit piece of software that is
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Steve
Does ITunes really slow down on anything less than an i5? I really underestimated what a shit piece of software that is
The Windows version is pretty bloaty and a bit of a resource hog but if i've got it running on a Core 2 Duo (my work laptop) without much issue then it'll run on a i3 fine
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Y869 SRA
Member
Registered: 22nd Jul 12
User status: Offline
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Just ordered me a custom made laptop.
Spec :
i5 Dual Core 2.6 Ghz
8 Gb Ram
480Gb SSD
17 ins screen
Windows 10.
£649.
[Edited on 30-11-2015 by Y869 SRA]
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Jambo
Member
Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
User status: Offline
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Dom - I do all that maintenance, believe you recommended me that yonks ago on here!
I'm running a dual core 4gb Dell Inspiron with an SSD, boot up and windows explorer is quicker than greased lightnifjt.
However use any modern software on it (Google Chrome, Handbrake, iTunes) it just sits at 100% cpu usage and is almost completely unusable. I3 will probs be fine, but for the small outlay to have that capability to "turbo" or whatever it is they call it, would be something that increased the longevity IMO, I.e not having to buy a new laptop in 3 years because that one is slow.
As mentioned, I'm not an IT guy so perhaps ignore my advice but that's what I would do based on previous experiences. I also went the not so fast route with an AMD A10 (i5 equivalent) and 6gb ram and whilst boot times are ok, software can run slowly...
But I am basing this on my i7 SSD desktop at work which is like a rocket, and I'm a picky bastard.
Anyway carry on 
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Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Y869 SRA
Just ordered me a custom made laptop.
Spec :
i5 Dual Core Ghz
8 Gb Ram
480Gb SSD
17 ins screen
Windows 10.
£649.
Just a bit out of budget...
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Neo
Member
Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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Depending how much storage she needs Ben what I posted will do the job. The alternative is go for the same spec but with a bigger internal disk.
If she's anything like my missus though her phone/laptop is full of crap like her handbag. she'll have a shitload of blurry photos from nights out, 5 albums she listens to on repeat (but about 50 on her phone) and a few equally blurry pet videos that once you've deleted the crap and uploaded any photos or videos she wants to dropbox or Google docs there is probably only 2gb of actual content she wants.
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Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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This one any good?
http://www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/4187321.htm?cmpid=COJUN&catalogId=10001&cjsurferid=878803115841344244%3AAaGk8w3QBzzk&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&storeId=10151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F4187321.htm&referrer=COJUN
Looks alright and she was fine with a hdd in her old laptop, so don't see why it would be an issue here.
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