Waylander Posted November 2, 2016 Report Share Posted November 2, 2016 time to replace my Sony vaio laptop as it's getting arthritic. mainly need it forward kids homework etc but I'd like it to be relatively responsive as if anything they are less tolerant of any lagging than me. Don't really want to spend over £500. Should I wait til after Xmas? any recommendations either way? Ta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveP Posted November 2, 2016 Report Share Posted November 2, 2016 I bought my son a Lenovo Yoga i5 which is nice and light and small - it was reduced at the time in store (Currys?) Something like this: https://www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk/catalogue/item/N164130W?from=category&heat=title He has had it now for around one year and has had no issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted November 2, 2016 Report Share Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) 4 hours ago, Waylander said: Don't really want to spend over £500. Should I wait til after Xmas? It's rare to see laptops legitimately reduced in 'the sales'. They tend to be either end of life models or a special batch priced to shift in volume, Asus and Acer are renown for this - many the 'special offer' models don't have DVD drives, have use older intel (or AMD!) CPU's or boast about 1TB drives which are slow. I always suggest sticking to Intel i5/i7 CPU of the latest generation (at least Gen 6), 8GB RAM and a 240GB+ SSD, for example something like this: HP Pavillion 15 or if you want a full-HD screen (no SSD) LENOVO IdeaPad 510. It may be worth waiting a week or two for Black Friday/Cyber Monday but I'm not sure they'll be so many offers around this year due to most computer stuff being price in either dollars/euro and the current price trend is UP! Edited November 2, 2016 by Andy_Bangle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted November 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2016 good point. I've got relatives coming over from across the pond early Dec so I might even keep an eye on Amazon.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 If this isn't as a gift, I think you should try something else. Look for your local auction house and their online auctions. They will take liquidated company hardware. Right now, our local place has a mass of PC gear (i5's, servers, etc) and whilst there are no laptops on this occasion, this is a regular thing you'll see. I paid £100 for a very new Dell laptop a year or so ago. You won't get an OS on the machines as they remove all licensed software, but with the money you save that won't be an issue. A few years ago we bought a £3,500 Sharp Multi-function photocopier, scanner, printer with 500gb hard drive. It had done less than 15,000 copies (nothing to a machine like that). We paid £32. There's a guy in Northumberland who buys most of the gear up usually and then whacks it on eBay at x10 premium. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Thanks. Didn't know about this at all. I'll try to hunt out local auction houses. not a gift it's for home use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 As a live example of what I'm talking about, look at this. PC's are of no interest to me at all, but this is on the site now and has got up to £46 so far. I'll bet it doesn't reach £65. You'll have to add 20% VAT. PC's fetch very little money at auction. HP Pro Desk PC, Intel Core i5 3.2Ghz with 8gb of RAM and 500gb HDD It might not be the very latest state of the art stuff, but when you consider what you get for the money...? There are masses of them right now, most of them at £1. There's a Buffalo NAS system at £6. A HP ProCurve 24 port network switch? £1. I always browse when the auction opens online once a fortnight. I occasionally buy stuff although I've not done so for a good 6 months now because I've seen little of interest, but it is very unusual for there to be no laptops for sale at present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 do you have to collect in person or so they post? Just wonder if there might be relatively less bidding vs Manchester ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Anyone know whether the Saturday computer fairs still happen at Bowlers exhibition centre in Trafford Park? Might be worth a look, but care advised. It is a hive of con merchants and general pikey scum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 35 minutes ago, Waylander said: do you have to collect in person or so they post? Just wonder if there might be relatively less bidding vs Manchester ones? Collect in person and pay in person. I doubt you'll find it any different in Manchester. The volume here is still high. People travel from a long way away. However, PC's still rarely go for much money,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 20 minutes ago, garcon magnifique said: Anyone know whether the Saturday computer fairs still happen at Bowlers exhibition centre in Trafford Park? Might be worth a look, but care advised. It is a hive of con merchants and general pikey scum. That's really gone downhill. Just not what it used to be anymore imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 4 hours ago, Waylander said: That's really gone downhill. Just not what it used to be anymore imo I'm not saying the Bowlers computer market is bad, but there's a guy down there selling fake Primark gear! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Ah yes. Primark. One step above shoplifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 I've not been to bowlers in 7-8 years is it still going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted November 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 Yup apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted February 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Apologies for resurrection of this old thread. Completely fell of my radar due to other preoccupations but came to a head again last night when both kids needed pc access and I had the mbp due to on call. found a local refurb laptop company which I feel will fit the bill for this purpose but: Could I please ask opinions on : Ram - 4gb is plenty or opt for 8gb? I'd look to go for an ssd option vs hdd but is 120gb okay or spend more and go for 240gb? The plan is for this to be as above teenage 2nd machine after the desktop pc What about Thinkpad T420 vs HP Elitebook 8460 vs Dell Latitude E6420? They seem relatively similar in spec but for young teenagers I figured the HP looks better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 HP looks nice but Thinkpad is made out of some kind of top secret special material that means it tends to survive teenage knocks and bangs better. Disk probably depends how much stuff they'll store in the cloud. If they do, smaller SSD might encourage better housekeeping? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted February 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 I've set it up so that all their homework folders are synced with dropbox Slightly tongue in cheek but I think the Thinkpads are ceritified for use in space by NASA (as a complete aside) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveP Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 I refuse to buy HP since my old laptop will refuse to boot just because I chose to change the wifi card. Had lenovo's in work and they were good/solid/fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasdrury Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) If you are looking at latitude E6420 let me know and i'll give you a 6430 or 6440 for nothing. I'm in Leeds so not a million miles from you. Got a pile of them on my shelf. Edited February 9, 2017 by chasdrury 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Dropped into this thread as we need a homework laptop too so following with interest. If that's a general offer to all Chas then let me know - ta. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasdrury Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Will do. Need to check tomorrow - if not straight away I've got another batch before end of march 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted February 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 1 hour ago, chasdrury said: If you are looking at latitude E6420 let me know and i'll give you a 6430 or 6440 for nothing. I'm in Leeds so not a million miles from you. Got a pile of them on my shelf. Brilliant, thank you very much! can look to arrange collection at your convenience. Ill have whichever you feel is better for them(6440 I'm assuming) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted February 11, 2017 Report Share Posted February 11, 2017 Ditto if there is more than one going, other half asked the other day that she wants a new laptop the 5 year old one isn't cutting it and she doesn't want a Mac. Could link up with Waylander to help with collection as he isn't far from me I don't think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted February 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2017 (he's in the posh part) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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