Laptop for around £350

davetherave2 · 13 Jan 2011 at 17:13

Hi All,

I am after a laptop for my mum so don't need anything too outrageous.

She is just going to be pottering about on the net, occasionally watching iplayer and some basic office/word processing stuff so what would be the best machine for the money.

I generally stick to Intel based machines but would it be worth considering moving her to AMD to get the best performance/price.

Thanks in advance

div0 · 14 Jan 2011 at 10:40

Would be interested in any suggestions posted here.

Similar requirements and price range.

ramsden · 14 Jan 2011 at 12:34

I've just bought myself an Acer 5742 for £380, working fine for me. Maybe worth a look

verbal · 14 Jan 2011 at 12:51

ramsden: I was thinking of getting a 5742. Could you tell me what you think of the screen compared to other laptops you have used?

Also... I'm picky about fan noise. How noisy is it? Can you clearly hear the fan above room noise? Does it kick into high speed quite often?

Thanks

div0 · 14 Jan 2011 at 15:10

ramsden said:
I've just bought myself an Acer 5742 for £380, working fine for me. Maybe worth a look

I think I've just stretched my budget to this. Have been researching laptops for ages without purchasing and just stumbled across an old post of mine, where I was looking at the 5741.

Can't find anything else to match the 5742 in this price range just now.

knowlton · 14 Jan 2011 at 15:51

HP G62

I bought the HP G62 for about £400 before Christmas. Given the sales, etc, I've seen it go for £360, and I'm sure if you do a bit of Googling, you'll find this for £350 somewhere.

Really good laptop - I play Crossfire etc, Windows 7 and a nice screen.

davetherave2 · 14 Jan 2011 at 19:46

Well I saw the acer 5741 but seems like it is either out of stock or has been discontinued. 400 is a bit too much but have suggested the following:

eMachines E732Z Eme732-372g25MNKK Core i3 2GB/250GB 15.6" Laptop
This can be picked up for around the 350 mark. I know the memory is a little low but as said it's not like she will be gaming and I can always add more memory later.

Murray · 14 Jan 2011 at 20:10

Lenovo g555 is great at around £319

ramsden · 15 Jan 2011 at 08:01

verbal said:
ramsden: I was thinking of getting a 5742. Could you tell me what you think of the screen compared to other laptops you have used?

Also... I'm picky about fan noise. How noisy is it? Can you clearly hear the fan above room noise? Does it kick into high speed quite often?

Thanks

Hi, I've not had too much laptop experience (usually a desktop only) but to me the screen is bright and sharp (1366 x 768) resolution. I've not had it long so can't comment fully for videos etc.

I'm not so picky about the fan noise, it seems quiet to me but I'm not sure I would notice if it was too loud (not much help here).

Overrall I am very happy with the laptop, it is pretty fast for everyday tasks which is all I use it for. The only minor downside is the speakers aren't the best (but I didn't expect them to be great at this price). Loads of positive reviews online and for the money the spec is decent.