My daughter has declined the offer/reward of a Macbook of some hue when she finishes her GCSEs next July in favour of a functional Windows powered laptop for immediate use. Knowing little to nothing about the latter and being far more au fait with the former, can anyone point me in the right direction? She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection. As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on. Thanks.
Sub-£500 laptop - any suggestions/advice/pointers???
- Thread starter Charlie Jefferson
- Start date
Gerrardasnails
Well-known member
Charlie Jefferson:My daughter has declined the offer/reward of a Macbook of some hue when she finishes her GCSEs next July in favour of a functional Windows powered laptop for immediate use. Knowing little to nothing about the latter and being far more au fait with the former, can anyone point me in the right direction?
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
Gerrardasnails:Charlie Jefferson:My daughter has declined the offer/reward of a Macbook of some hue when she finishes her GCSEs next July in favour of a functional Windows powered laptop for immediate use. Knowing little to nothing about the latter and being far more au fait with the former, can anyone point me in the right direction?
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
Thanks Gerrard for the Dell tip.
Re: other matters, I was born and braised in Ramsbottom and Altringham before defecting east of the Pennines, but not before my football allegiances were ingrained. First went to Old Trafford in the early 70's, then watched all but one home game in their one Second Division season. Steve Coppell (spelt Koppell in the programme) came on as a sub against Tranmere or Blackpool, I think. Funny what you remember when you're 10 or 11 years old. Always feel I have to contextualize my fandom for fear of the usual accusations. I'll skip on any cutting edge satirical comments about our Wayne though, if you don't mind!
I work with a die-hard Evertonian, so him and me have at least one thing in common, as you can imagine.
Peace and good luck with any future football supporting boyfriends of your daughter's.
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
Thanks Gerrard for the Dell tip.
Re: other matters, I was born and braised in Ramsbottom and Altringham before defecting east of the Pennines, but not before my football allegiances were ingrained. First went to Old Trafford in the early 70's, then watched all but one home game in their one Second Division season. Steve Coppell (spelt Koppell in the programme) came on as a sub against Tranmere or Blackpool, I think. Funny what you remember when you're 10 or 11 years old. Always feel I have to contextualize my fandom for fear of the usual accusations. I'll skip on any cutting edge satirical comments about our Wayne though, if you don't mind!
I work with a die-hard Evertonian, so him and me have at least one thing in common, as you can imagine.
Peace and good luck with any future football supporting boyfriends of your daughter's.
John Duncan
Well-known member
Agree with Dell, though immediacy of delivery can sometimes be a problem if you have specific requirements. That being the case, I;d get an Acer from John Lewis, which has served my MiL rather well since Christmas, nasty keyboard* notwithstanding.
*IMO, not my MiL's
*IMO, not my MiL's
Andy H
Well-known member
I ordered my kids theirs from Dell. Looked at their website, picked the model nearest to the spec I wanted, then slightly adjusted the spec over the phone. Good computer, good service.
JohnDuncan:Agree with Dell, though immediacy of delivery can sometimes be a problem if you have specific requirements. That being the case, I;d get an Acer from John Lewis, which has served my MiL rather well since Christmas, nasty keyboard* notwithstanding.
*IMO, not my MiL's
Thanks for that, John.
An Acer was well reviewed in a Which? mag round-up I came across, so I'll investigate.
Additionally, she'll want to connect wirelessly to the internet. We've got a BT Homehub and a Mac and PS3 running frequently too. A couple of questions: 1) will her laptop appreciably lessen the wireless signal strength when all are running simultaneously? 2) will the connectivity set up between PC and Hub be as seamless as with my Mac and the Hub????
*IMO, not my MiL's
Thanks for that, John.
An Acer was well reviewed in a Which? mag round-up I came across, so I'll investigate.
Additionally, she'll want to connect wirelessly to the internet. We've got a BT Homehub and a Mac and PS3 running frequently too. A couple of questions: 1) will her laptop appreciably lessen the wireless signal strength when all are running simultaneously? 2) will the connectivity set up between PC and Hub be as seamless as with my Mac and the Hub????
pd
Well-known member
Hi Charlie
Have a look at this currant offer form ALDI
http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_15471.htm
Its a Good Spec and comes with a 3 Year Warranty
pd
Have a look at this currant offer form ALDI
http://aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_15471.htm
Its a Good Spec and comes with a 3 Year Warranty
pd
John Duncan
Well-known member
Charlie Jefferson:1) will her laptop appreciably lessen the wireless signal strength when all are running simultaneously?
Feasibly, though it's usually fairly easy to deal with by adding a wireless extender judiciously placed.
Charlie Jefferson:2) will the connectivity set up between PC and Hub be as seamless as with my Mac and the Hub????
Well I didn't have a problem at all setting up hers, also using a Home Hub - the Windows 7 setup routine talks you through it, and provided you have your router password to hand it *should* just work.
Feasibly, though it's usually fairly easy to deal with by adding a wireless extender judiciously placed.
Charlie Jefferson:2) will the connectivity set up between PC and Hub be as seamless as with my Mac and the Hub????
Well I didn't have a problem at all setting up hers, also using a Home Hub - the Windows 7 setup routine talks you through it, and provided you have your router password to hand it *should* just work.
Gerrardasnails
Well-known member
Charlie Jefferson:Gerrardasnails:Charlie Jefferson:My daughter has declined the offer/reward of a Macbook of some hue when she finishes her GCSEs next July in favour of a functional Windows powered laptop for immediate use. Knowing little to nothing about the latter and being far more au fait with the former, can anyone point me in the right direction?
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
Thanks Gerrard for the Dell tip.
Re: other matters, I was born and braised in Ramsbottom and Altringham before defecting east of the Pennines, but not before my football allegiances were ingrained. First went to Old Trafford in the early 70's, then watched all but one home game in their one Second Division season. Steve Coppell (spelt Koppell in the programme) came on as a sub against Tranmere or Blackpool, I think. Funny what you remember when you're 10 or 11 years old. Always feel I have to contextualize my fandom for fear of the usual accusations. I'll skip on any cutting edge satirical comments about our Wayne though, if you don't mind!
I work with a die-hard Evertonian, so him and me have at least one thing in common, as you can imagine.
Peace and good luck with any future football supporting boyfriends of your daughter's.
I think at that age, or even younger, you remember everything about football when you are mad about it. My Dad came home from the third (I think) FA Cup semi final replay against Arsenal at Highfield Road, with a giant pencil drawn picture of the squad. I had it on my wall for years and to this day, I know the names off the top of my head.
I've always worked with a lot of Manc fans and have no problem with them (obviously). I love the banter and only football gives you that. I can't see your lot getting to 19 this season by the way - not that we will!
She needs to be able to do the usual Word-based stuff, go online and store her burgeoning music collection.
As parents and Mac owning aesthetes we're naturally horrified at this snub, but hey ho, life, and daughter determination go on.
Thanks.
This made me laugh Charlie. I'm worried in case my daughter brings home a Man U fan as a boyfriend!
Back to the laptop. I would think that you could get a nicely spec'd machine from Dell for £500.
Thanks Gerrard for the Dell tip.
Re: other matters, I was born and braised in Ramsbottom and Altringham before defecting east of the Pennines, but not before my football allegiances were ingrained. First went to Old Trafford in the early 70's, then watched all but one home game in their one Second Division season. Steve Coppell (spelt Koppell in the programme) came on as a sub against Tranmere or Blackpool, I think. Funny what you remember when you're 10 or 11 years old. Always feel I have to contextualize my fandom for fear of the usual accusations. I'll skip on any cutting edge satirical comments about our Wayne though, if you don't mind!
I work with a die-hard Evertonian, so him and me have at least one thing in common, as you can imagine.
Peace and good luck with any future football supporting boyfriends of your daughter's.
I think at that age, or even younger, you remember everything about football when you are mad about it. My Dad came home from the third (I think) FA Cup semi final replay against Arsenal at Highfield Road, with a giant pencil drawn picture of the squad. I had it on my wall for years and to this day, I know the names off the top of my head.
I've always worked with a lot of Manc fans and have no problem with them (obviously). I love the banter and only football gives you that. I can't see your lot getting to 19 this season by the way - not that we will!
Thanks to all for chipping in with suggestions.
Gerrard,
Mmmm, you may be right about that magic 19th title being being beyond us this year. Although it pains me to say it Chelsea certainly look strong and Arsenal resurgent. As for your lot under Hodgson, who knows? As an outsider, I think he's got an uphill struggle. I like him as a manager, but what's "The Faithful's" first impressions?
Gerrard,
Mmmm, you may be right about that magic 19th title being being beyond us this year. Although it pains me to say it Chelsea certainly look strong and Arsenal resurgent. As for your lot under Hodgson, who knows? As an outsider, I think he's got an uphill struggle. I like him as a manager, but what's "The Faithful's" first impressions?
Current laptop is an 12.3" Acer which is a nice machine and any problems have been Vista (grrr!) related, rather than hardware. Previous machine was a Dell, and again no problems, although I think they maybe are a smidgeon more expensive than Acer on like for like basis. Parents have an Acer laptop as well as an Advent. No problems on the Acer but the Advent failed and had to go back. Either way, doubt if you'd go far wrong with either Acer or Dell.
I've had less luck with work laptops, notably an older HP had a hard drive failure, an old Toshiba had a motherboard failure, and current 15" Toshiba just ground to a halt and had to go back to manufacturer for unspecified hardware fix (also the power cable split and caught fire, but that's another story). Worth noting that despite neither machine being particularly high spec, the graphics capability on the small Acer is noticeably better than the larger Toshiba.
To be fair, the work machines take more of a beating than the personal laptops, but on basis of my own experience I'd definitely opt for Acer or Dell.
I've had less luck with work laptops, notably an older HP had a hard drive failure, an old Toshiba had a motherboard failure, and current 15" Toshiba just ground to a halt and had to go back to manufacturer for unspecified hardware fix (also the power cable split and caught fire, but that's another story). Worth noting that despite neither machine being particularly high spec, the graphics capability on the small Acer is noticeably better than the larger Toshiba.
To be fair, the work machines take more of a beating than the personal laptops, but on basis of my own experience I'd definitely opt for Acer or Dell.
Gerrardasnails
Well-known member
Charlie Jefferson:Thanks to all for chipping in with suggestions.
Gerrard,
Mmmm, you may be right about that magic 19th title being being beyond us this year. Although it pains me to say it Chelsea certainly look strong and Arsenal resurgent. As for your lot under Hodgson, who knows? As an outsider, I think he's got an uphill struggle. I like him as a manager, but what's "The Faithful's" first impressions?
I don't think Arsenal will even be in the frame. Chelsea should walk it in my opinion. I like Hodgson but I don't see him making much difference. We might squeeze top 4 but we could just easily finish 10th!! Worrying times.
Gerrard,
Mmmm, you may be right about that magic 19th title being being beyond us this year. Although it pains me to say it Chelsea certainly look strong and Arsenal resurgent. As for your lot under Hodgson, who knows? As an outsider, I think he's got an uphill struggle. I like him as a manager, but what's "The Faithful's" first impressions?
I don't think Arsenal will even be in the frame. Chelsea should walk it in my opinion. I like Hodgson but I don't see him making much difference. We might squeeze top 4 but we could just easily finish 10th!! Worrying times.
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