Need a new laptop any recommendations or what NOT to get?

[Wolfracer]

The screen cracked yesterday so am using a monitor to "see". It is a HP Compaq 6720s and has proved to be very reliable, bar the battery going and now the screen cracking.
It's been running XP office.

I need

Word, Powerpoint and Exel.
Tinternet
WiFi connectivity

and maybe enough processing power for digital camera to cope with video editing

What do you recommend is a good one to get? Price IS an issue, but would rather get one that will last me a while and not be out of date tomorrow, if that's possible these days...

I don't want a PC, as I do most of my work in front of the TV at night, and at this moment I am in the spare room with the monitor and really don't want to be here much longer...

With that, I'll be back on tomorrow, so keep the suggestions coming.

TIA

[Ambobeer]

If you can afford it I'd get a macbook. No more frustrating time staring at that stupid hour glass while the chuffin thing does as it pleases, no worries about virus problems, your i pod (assuming you have one) will work better and slick as can be. Not cheap mind.

As for word, excel etc you can get them for it but Apple's i Work will open all of the above files and work with them and will also save them in the desired format.

[gwh200]

Laptop...can't tell you what to get. Last plane out with Jan Michael"Airwolf" Vincent...do not get this.

[tonupteabag]

The screen cracked yesterday so am using a monitor to "see". It is a HP Compaq 6720s and has proved to be very reliable, bar the battery going and now the screen cracking.
It's been running XP office.

I need

Word, Powerpoint and Exel.
Tinternet
WiFi connectivity

and maybe enough processing power for digital camera to cope with video editing

What do you recommend is a good one to get? Price IS an issue, but would rather get one that will last me a while and not be out of date tomorrow, if that's possible these days...

I don't want a PC, as I do most of my work in front of the TV at night, and at this moment I am in the spare room with the monitor and really don't want to be here much longer...

With that, I'll be back on tomorrow, so keep the suggestions coming.

TIA

Now then not the best time to ask but, what are you going to do with whats left (after removing HDD) as i have one of these and could do with spares?

[Ploddit]

My 2 cents:

Avoid Acer and E machines

My fave makes: Asus, MSI and Toshiba.

I've been using an MSI intensively for three years and i'm happy.

Whichever you get clean out the vents and fan at least once a year and always use it on something to keep air flowing underneath.

[tonupteabag]

My 2 cents:

Avoid Acer and E machines

My fave makes: Asus, MSI and Toshiba.

I've been using an MSI intensively for three years and i'm happy.

Whichever you get clean out the vents and fan at least once a year and always use it on something to keep air flowing underneath.

I have found with a lot of laptops they have taken to using heat pads, not copper for connecting the GPU to the cooler, Take the pad out and replace it with a copper pad (i use Artic silver thermal compound on both surfaces) and the computer runs about 10 degrees cooler, You still have to clean them out regularly but it helps the computer to keep doing it's job with less heat leading to less issues (well with both mine it has)

[slobodan]

I have bought two Acers from Tesco. I use them for work and abuse them.
They are cheap enough and nothing's gone wrong with them.
You could by a 2 grand Toughbook, but I don't see the point.

[tavvi]

Why not get it repaired?

http://www.lcds4less.co.uk/ppc-speci...FQuDfAodghZE6Q

[spacast]

If you don't mind the red case, this is good value:
ASUS X53E-SX996V15.6" LAPTOP. Corei7-2670QM, 4gb Mem, 320GB, Win7 £499.99 @ Comet
use code 5LAPTOP for an extra 5% off saving around £30

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Laptops/buy...4d199a21a6f047

Screen Size (inch): 15.6 inches
Memory (RAM): 4 GB
Storage (hard drive): 320 GB
Processor: Intel Core i7
Processor Number: I7-2670QM, 2.2GHz
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
1366 x 768 Screen resolution
LED Backlit Screen
Graphics Device: Shared Graphics
Optical Drive Type: optical drive type
Bluetooth: No
HDMI Port: Yes
Battery Life: Up to 3.5 hours

See what random people think about it here:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus...-comet-1102344

[dieselboy]

I just bought an Asus X54H with an Intel i3 for £350 from Ebuyer. Really crap laptop but the processor is a half decent Intel 2310. I have 4Gb RAM which is ample.

I also bought a Corsair Force 3 SSD drive. This laptop takes 13 seconds to cold boot and 3 seconds to get to the login screen from a sleep. The SSD is so fast at read and write speeds that the laptop is quicker than my overclocked quad core desktop. Apps load faster too.

[Chris W]

Have a look round the Dell outlet store, there are some real bargains to be had from them.

[highgun]

I have just orderd this Toshiba: http://www.johnlewis.com/231395873/Product.aspx

Intel i3 2.4ghz, 6gig ram, 640gb h/drive £349 from john lewis with 2 year guarantee.

[Shaft120]

Stay clear of anything Apple.

Appreciate some people like them, but this opinion is severly divided, with most Tekkie's still well in favour of PC's, where as the graphic designers and artiste's like their Apples. The claim about no virus' is innacurate.

IMO Apple products are for posers , and the alternatives are for do-ers.

I'd recommend you look at some very reasonably priced options from:

Asus
Dell
Acer

Or if you have the spare cash the Sony Vaio's are very nice too.

Go to the shops, pick them up try them out and then when you decide on a model, get the number and find it to buy on either:

Dabs.com
eBuyer.com
Scan.co.uk

Whichever is cheapest. Depends what ur using it for, but would suggest at least an i5 intel chip or better and at least 4gb ram.

If you can get one with a SSD (sold state drive), they are much faster, but expensive. If you're not using DVD/CD, then get a slimmer one without and just use a USB / SD card for data transfer. Stay away from Vista, but Windows 7 is very good, and try and ask for as many software freebies as you can find - like office etc.

If you're really into your photography, get more than 4gb ram, as photo apps like Photoshop or Lightroom eat up memory. The software is ridiculously expensive, although there are rumours these things can be obtained for free on something known as the interweb.

Hope that helps.

[dieselboy]

I have just orderd this Toshiba: http://www.johnlewis.com/231395873/Product.aspx

Intel i3 2.4ghz, 6gig ram, 640gb h/drive £349 from john lewis with 2 year guarantee.

Thats a good deal. That i3 is the end of life chip though. To be honest I don't really understand the differences.

[dieselboy]

@Shaft - Corsair Force3 SSD on Ebuyer floating around the £120 mark. The fastest one for the price.