#1

In the market for a new laptop. Don’t want anything too fancy, just something for occasional work, watching Netflix. No stupid gaming or that, although I do occasionally feel the urge to give FM another go.

I’ve got my eye on this http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-vivobook-a540-15-6-laptop-black-10153701-pdt.html, or maybe this http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-310-15-6-laptop-white-10146132-pdt.html.

Do they look alright? Don’t want to go super budget, as don’t fancy waiting for hours for the thing to do anything, so this sort of price range seems right for me. If anyone knows anything about processors, would it be worth spending a bit more for an i5 core, or for my needs would i3 suffice?

#2

They’re literally all the same these days mate aside from the top-end video editing doodads, wait till Boxing Day sales and grab one then, hard to go wrong.

1 Like
#3

Cheers. They did all look quite similar. But thought that could have been a trap.

#4

I think as long as it has the things you really want (disc drive? Enough USB ports? HDMI input?) and the innards don’t sound too crap, it’s hard to go wrong. They’re basically appliances these days. I’ve got a Lenovo Chromebook that cost about £80 on sale and it literally does everything I need a laptop to do.

#5

I’ve got a chromebook too. big fan of them.

it is literally just a web browser box though, so long as you’re happy with that I think they’re decent.

#6

What are they like for legally streaming non-pornographic movies and live events?

#7

fine

#8

depends though eh, there’s a bunch of them now. think there’s a few are meant to be too underpowered but generally think they’re bang on for the money.

#9

Don’t have any trouble using Netflix, usually via a Chromecast. And it was dirt cheap. If it broke, I wouldn’t even be that bothered. It’s not SUPERFAST - it might take a few ticks longer to load a webpage than some machines - but it hasn’t really bothered me.

#10

I was looking to buy a new laptop recently. Couldn’t find one with all the spec I wanted for £300 or less so ended up buying a second-hand Intel NUC mini-PC that had been upgraded to a decent spec for about £100. Very happy with it. It’s tiny.