I'll keep this simple. 1. I need a new laptop. 2. I don't need to be able to play [insert name of top line game with ludicrous 3D and shading tech] 3. I don't want to spend shitloads, ie ideally between £400 and £500. 4. I do want something that will still be okay in terms of speed etc in a couple of years time. So, any advice? My current thinking is that I should at least be looking at a Core Duo (ie not Celeron or Pentium) with around 3-4GB of RAM to give it a decent chance of lasting but any additional input welcome.
Go for RAM, sacrifice anything else you want. Don't bother with a large HD or anything, you can buy a 1/2 terabite external drive for less than 50 squids. What you want is lots of RAM, the faster the better
I pretty much assume I want 4GB for anything, maybe with the option to stick more in if needed. But the processor requirement has me a bit confused.
Go for dual-core rather than single. For the price you are talking you are just into the dual-core range of lappys
An Hp with the AMD Turion64X2 kicks ass. you can get a sweet one for about $700 USD. 250 gig hd, 4 gigs of ram , HDMI out,,,,,
Get a larger hard drive over a faster one; throughput increases faster with areal density than with rotation speed. 4 GB RAM definitely. Core 2 Duo processor, any speed should be fine, but ≥2.0GHz would be best. Check the Tomshardware.com charts to see how different graphics processors compare (found at the end of each month's buying guide) and get whatever suits your needs.
If you game you want an AMD. If you edit video you want AMD. stay away from intell. the AMD turion64X2 is a dualy and smokes thier junk. I like intell but not in my computers, I can tell how much faster it is.
AMD processors give off less heat (in my experience) but Intel is also good. So long as your laptop has one of those, and you're at > 2.0 GHz like O2C said, you're good to go.
I'll make you a real good deal on this one... but if you can afford it perhaps you could have the one below. Now it's gonna run you a little bit more but I'm sure you'll think it's worth every penny in the long run.
For the price range you're considering, take a gander at refurbished laptops on the Dell's Outlet UK site. I purchased my laptop late last year (a Dell XPS M1530) and paid nearly half of the price of a new one. Some folks don't like the idea of refurbished equipment, but I take solace in the fact that someone personally inspected and tested the machine before the purchase. Couple that with a year warranty, and it's the tops.
I really wish you'd posted that yesterday before I bought a brand new Dell!!! To be fair I can't see a massive saving on what I bought, nopt massive enough to make me weep anyway. Went for Core 2 Duo 2.1Ghz with 4GB RAM and 17" screen. Only built in graphics but I don't want it for gaming.
I like the Lenovo brand. But just open up the computer properties at the store and compare the specs between laptops. Obviously the higher the numbers, the better.
