Thetownend.com

Missus needs a new lap top, she does lots on Word/publisher some basic stuff on Photoshop, surfs the net plus runs a crochet pattern business on line via Ravelry/paypal etc. She is now starting to put together tutorial videos for sharing on You Tube so will be some basic editing, but I suspect nothing more than splicing together video clips.

Want to spend as little as possible and less that £500 if at all possible - any suggestions of specs/processors etc or in fact complete machines gratefully received?

Ta!

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-probook-440-487-with-3-year-warranty-469-99-btshop-free-3-year-nbd-hp-care-pack-2620483

http://www.ebuyer.com/762290-hp-250-g5-i5-laptop-x0q07es-x0q07es-abu

Those 250's are very poorly built. Great spec but are flimsy.

Thanks for that. My Dad is going to get one off the back of your recommendation!

Very welcome mate.

Son needs a new one, uses it for work at university plus playing football manager & watching TV & Films. Any recommendations

budget?

Specs for FM are https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/football-manager-2017/14000

I would look for something minimum of 4GB RAM, with an SSD (for speed purposes) and using an I based processor (i3, i5, i7). i3 tend to be the cheaper versions and unless he is playing some of the top games (battlefield etc) then probably won't need anything more than a basic laptop.

Non SSD - http://www.ebuyer.com/762288-hp-250-g5-i3-laptop-x0q05es-x0q05es-abu - £330

SSD - http://www.ebuyer.com/754038-lenovo-v110-laptop-80tl0010uk

SSD laptops tend to come with smaller hard drive space so be prepared for that but the speed boost is good especially when starting up the laptop.

The most important thing though is the RAM, go for minimum of 4GB but for future sake (incase he wants to play more strenuous games) then go for an 8GB such as http://www.ebuyer.com/762290-hp-250-g5-i5-laptop-x0q07es-x0q07es-abu

Always go for 8gb memory, at least an i3 or i5 processor, THE most important thing is an SSD you can get away with 4gb memory if you have an SSD but 8gb is preferred.

This is the cheapest i3, 8gb ram and 128gb SSD with Intel HD 520 graphics for £389.

http://www.ebuyer.com/778862-acer-aspire-e-14-e5-475-laptop-nx-gjvek-006

I'm on the lookout for a lightweight 13" (oo-er). Missed out on a Zenbook deal recently.

Not sure about the Surface Pro and don't really want to spend a grand on a Macbook either.

venks is spot on. ssd is the best bang per buck 'upgrade' you can do. it has given my general purpose craptop an extra few years life.

you can always get a laptop capable of taking 2hdd and put a traditional drive in if space is an issue.

Macbooks are so overpriced for what they have inside, Zenbooks I havent seen any under about £550 which seems a lot for basically the same spec as the laptop I posted above with an i3, 128gb SSD and 4gb ram. A premium of about £150 just for being a bit smaller.

I'm willing to pay the premium for something small, lightweight and portable. I know I could get the same spec for less money.

Thanks Gents.

I've passed the info onto Son

Wife now wants a replacement for her 10 year old (at least) Acer Aspire 5471 which has an i3 processor.

This thing has been brilliant. But its now getting a bit worn and hot....I'll probably hoover it out, declutter and run malwareantibytes etc but I think she prob deserves a replacement now.

Any recommendations? Just need fast surfing, browsing and office type tools and videoconferencing.

Mr Venkman? Time to shine again! :-)

Yeah, replace the hard drive with a 250gb SSD, much faster and only about £75 or go the whole hog and get a 500gb version for about £130.

The i3 is a good processor and the speed difference compared to a HDD is huge.

Not often I will say this but upgrade it don't replace it.

And must have a little knowledge to reinstall the OS and have the correct disks.

I was going to do that but, its one of those times where I'm going to have to bite the bullet as she wants a 'new one'.

How does this look:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6746416?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59158|cid:200223050|agid:12488287130|tid:pla-471244010392|crid:66128552330|nw:g|rnd:4822531136673860719|dvc:c|adp:1o8&gclid=CjwKCAjw1ufKBRBYEiwAPI_r4XODaWsfxOGDJZUf3nGh24mTcNYUrgMUnvHdoFSzsAIZITsWEWD7ZRoCefgQAvD_BwE

Talking of which, I bought a cheapo second hand laptop off ebay. Hardware is great, but the Windows 10 activation isn't working. Seller is dealing with it but its peaked my curiosity....

The sticker on the PC says Windows 8 pro (no COA). The lappy has Win 10 pro. I'm wondering if he just lobbed Win10 on as a clean install

Is there any way to tell if the bios (windows 8 ) key has been genuinely blocked, or whether its just not possible to go from 8->10 as a clean install using this particular key - only via  "upgrade" (think the free upgrade has finished now anyway right)?

To be honest an unlicensed Win 10 isn't too bad at nagging/restricting anyway.

ah, ok then, it enabled when it upgraded to the anniversary update..

ok then!