I'm looking to buy a new laptop.My budget is around 750 -800 pounds.What would you recommend?

Question

I was thinking about MacBook,Sony Vaio, or Dell inspiron.I'm getting rid of my stationary PC so I will have to make up my mind soon. To be honest I mostly use the pc for web surfing, bit of web designing ,dvd's, making music (not professional) , and some gaming.So I know that all that stuff like dvd's, music etc can do on all of them , but what about gaming?? Im not spending much time playing, but once a while I like to spend few hours gaming. So my question is what would you recommend within my budget (maybe som other brands) and where best to buy it .And alsow what do you think about buying laptop in USA , and sending it to Uk ( web site based shop like apple or ebay.com) thanks for any suggestions

Answer 1

Firstly i'd recommend this, dont, under any circumstances buy a crapbook, you'd have to go above your budget to do that anyway and at the cheaper end of crapbooks you'll get a white one - and the paint rubs off them, plus it'll be so annoying to use as you'll suddenly have no software, and it'll crash all the time that you'll probably end up getting in the bath with it.

There are 3 places i'd recommend for a laptop,

http://www.dell.co.uk
http://www.ebuyer.co.uk
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk

any of those will have what you're after but i'd say that laptops direct will offer the best deal. As for buying from the US, you really need someone thats going out there who can bring one back, that way you wont get bum-raped for import duty, if you can do that then yes thats a great idea, you'll save a ton of money. You normally buy stuff in the States for the same in dollars as you would in Sterling over here, and with the exchange rates at the moment thats a BIG saving.


EDIT: Good shout from John Q, wait a while, prices always take a tumble in the new year.

Answer 2

Hi! Getting a laptop is the next step up when shopping for a new computer. Laptops are advanced now, so they can almost always hold the same amount of memory and capacity as desk top computers...With less hassle and a snazzier look :) I recently shopped around for the best prices on new computers with great graphics, large screens, competitive memory capability and all the best features. There's actually an article that would be perfect for you, just to check out and weight in the options. The article listed the Top Ten Laptop Computers under $600.

Here's the Link:

http://niche-tech-news.blogspot.com/2006/12/top-ten-lap-top-computer-overstock.html

Hope that helps! Good Luck!

Answer 3

Hi, there are many laptop buying guides out there, you don't look like an impatient person so you might want to check'em out.CNet and other sites like PCMAG offer buying guides. But to save you some reading, I recommend that you buy a wide-screen laptop since you watch DVDs and do a lotta work that takes up most of your screen. Since you are a gamer, go with some thing less mobile and more powerful. You're gonna need a lot of power, so look for something with AMD Turion 64 X2 or new Intel processors. For the DVD part, buying a laptop with a large display really improves your movie experience. So you might consider an HP Pavilion or maybe a Dell Inspiron 1705.

Here are a few links that might help:

http://www.pcworld.com/ic/laptops/
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7602_7-1016082-1.html

Also, you can save big by buying refurbished Notebooks,
if you are a beginner Macs are great! but expensive too.

If you are having a hard time deciding which one to buy, then customize it
Dell and HP offer great customization.


Good luck!

Answer 4

Stay away from Dell, as they have a very high failure rate (unless you plan on purchasing the complete care 5 year warranty and a backup system too). Apple is good for most things except gaming (I own both a G4 and Windows XP box, and my XP machine outperforms the Mac in gaming and multimedia) and Sony's are overpriced. You should look at Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo ( most reliable) and Voodo (just pruchased by HP who does make good laptops also) and Falcon Northwest. A Vista ready (not capable) laptop is the wya to go, you should look at getting a dual core processor, a large hard drive and at least 1 gig of memory (2 preferred if you are going to get Vista). You can get better pricing on memory from the memory manufacturers themselves as the laptop makers markup the memory prices quite high. Crucial would be a good place to purchase your memory.

Answer 5

Well I have a Mac ibook- which I am on right now. It is a great, awesome computer and I believe it was pretty cheap but I got it used.
I don't know how many pounds are in a U.S dollar so I don't know how much money you have.
The only thing about macs is that some websites like IMVU, Google Talk, MSN Messenger and some others I can't remember don't work on my computer, so that sucks.
It is still a great computer, but if you are going to be wanting to surf the web then I might advise you to consider that.

Answer 6

DON'T get the Macbook! I suggest you get a laptop from http://www.ebuyer.com It's a UK-based site with very reasonable prices. Get a Vista ready PC, if you're interested in upgrading, and go for a Media Centre XP version, seeing as you have such a high budget. Obviously, get the maximum amount of HD capacity and fastest processor. Good luck and happy computing =D

Answer 7

if i am right 750- 800 pounds is $1500 and for that you can get a great deal but i would recommend that you wait until jan 31 to buy a computer because then every computer/laptop will come with the all new windows vista. you should get a laptop with a dual processor to speed things up.

Good Luck

Answer 8

Get a Mac, you'll be glad you did. Just the freedom from viruses alone is reason enough, but the Mac is much more user friendly, easier to maintain, and it can run more software than any other computer since only Macs can run OS X, Windows, and Linux!

Answer 9

if i'd have had that budget i would have gone for a macbook, my cousin uses his for web designing and animation as well as gaming and says he'll never go back to windows.

I personally find it easier to use itunes than i do WMP which kinda swung my decision the money was the issue so i went with a Advent one that they had on offer in the shop does everything i neede dit to do.

Apple have their own UK online store so you don't really need to worry about it coming from the states the only issue with eBay is that you don't neccersarily have guarantee should anything go seriously wrong.

Answer 10

Dell will give you the best bang for your buck! Perhaps that was a little TOO American. Dell, young man, seems to offer the most product, for the least amount of money. There are more inexpensive deals around, but you won't end up with a worthy laptop!