# Laptop Recommendations



## Mark A (30 May 2013)

I'm thinking about buying a laptop. However, I'm not very well up on computers so I don't really know where to start.

From what I've read in previous posts on this site, I should look for:

Intel i5 or i7 processor
4+ GB of memory
Large hard drive (I do have a 500GB external hard drive already so so I don't need anything massive)
Good battery life

Quality speakers would be a bonus too.


Could anyone suggest a reputable brand/model I should look at? I don't care about aesthetics as long as it's reliable, easy to use and has a touchpad that works. 

Also, I've seen the new Windows 8 advertised on TV but some people here have had some complaints about it, so what operating system should I go for?


Cheers,
Mark


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## Phil Pascoe (30 May 2013)

Anything except Dell.


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## Racers (30 May 2013)

Hi,

Go for a big name one we use HP at work and they seem to be reliable.

Forget good sound, there is no room to put decent speakers in a laptop, connect it to your HiFi.

Windows 8 seems to be a disappointment, we are upgrading from XP to win7 at the moment.

Pete 

Pete


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## Spindle (30 May 2013)

Hi

I used to be a big fan of Dell, I used them for both work and home. I've just replaced my home lappy and as I couldn't get a Dell with a large enough screen I went for a Lenovo. I like the Lenovo, the screen is particularly sharp.

My only regret - and its a very big one, is that it came loaded with Windows 8. I hate it with a passion, it's slow, forever crashing and I can't get on with the trend to run everything via icons and apps, (do Microsoft think we have trouble reading?). No start button - no close button on apps, I could go on but you get the idea. My old lappy used Vista, which often gets bad press, but it was infinitely better than the bag of sh*te that is Windows 8.

All in my opinion of course

Phew!! Mick


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## dp341 (30 May 2013)

Whilst a lot of people have trouble getting used to the windows 8 interface, which is very and unnecessarily different. And it's true that metro apps are limited and don't have a close button. I've need heard anyone else complain that it's slow or unreliable. I would suggest you have a problem with your build, perhaps manufacturer bloatware or poor drivers. I've upgraded all my machines to win8 including a fairly old box that struggled with vista and they all run well. Still don't much like the interface though. I stay on the desktop with old style desktop apps most of the time.


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## Eric The Viking (30 May 2013)

Respectfully, Mark, are you sure you really need a laptop?

If it's for home instead of a desktop, I can see the point, but I've 'converted' to a tablet, and probably won't ever buy another laptop now. 

I've had portable PCs since 1985 - mains luggables, then laptops, even Hewlett-Packard PC-DOS palmtops and Omnibooks with pop-out mice. I'm now convinced that's the horrible past I don't want to go back to! 

It's true that I do need a PC, but I can do all the portable stuff on a Tablet, and a lot more, too.

And the best bit is that it's much, much cheaper to buy and own.

E.


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## Sheptonphil (30 May 2013)

I agree, Lenovo, the home branch of the IBM group make some superb laptops as do HP. The G series as here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/B9E60EA-Pavilio ... +7+laptops


Or a Samsung i5 here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series- ... +7+laptops

both are worth considering. 

I agree, Win 8 is a pile of poo!

The problem now is the choice of Win 7 laptops is getting restricted, and they have a premium on the price due to the [email protected] released on nearly all new PC's today. I sell only Win 7 gear in my shop and I don't know of a single business that uses or is even contemplating using Win 8. 

Phil


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## RogerS (30 May 2013)

You know what I'd recommend !


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## Jacob (30 May 2013)

Mac. Cost more but easier to use, work better and last longer. Cheaper in the long run and much nicer to use.


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## Mark A (30 May 2013)

I was considering a laptop as we're going to the States in July and we'll need it while we're there. Plus our aging Dell desktop will need replacing in the next year or so anyway so this seems like the perfect time.

I've had a look at the Mac website but I don't think I can justify spending £999 on a Macbook Pro.

Apart from the extra portability and lower price, what can a tablet do which a laptop can't?

Phil - That Lenovo looks good. However, would a laptop with the i5 or i7 processor be noticeably faster than the i3 processor fitted to that Lenovo?

Thanks for the suggestions!

Mark


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## Spindle (30 May 2013)

Hi

My Lenovo G780 has an i7 processor


and 8 gig of RAM and it is slower than my work lappy running XP. I'm in the process of uninstalling the dross, (apps), it came pre loaded with. I'm fairly sure I'll end up biting the bullet and loading an earlier version of Windows.

Regards Mick


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## Eric The Viking (30 May 2013)

Tablets: some can connect directly to 3G/4G services (about £100 extra). Most of the good ones have GPS, accelerometers and really decent cameras (video and stills), but basically most of the *portable* functionality of a laptop can be done just as well on a tablet. They don't run Windows which is *probably* a security advantage. Applications are *much* cheaper.

If you use Android, you can connect external keyboards and mice (Bluetooth), and get at files easily to and from a PC. It's not quite so easy on an iPad, as the operating system pretends it doesn't understand the idea of a 'file' and complicates matters, but a standard Apple Bluetooth keyboard works pretty well (actually slightly better on my Android one!). 

iPads, Samsung Galaxy Note and Tab, and Google Nexus tablets all have very good screens indeed, with better-than-HDTV quality. I watch the Grands Prix on my Galaxy Note 10.1 (or her iPad) and can watch in HD (depends on the connection). There's enough storage for several films, and bucketloads of music if you want.

The Galaxy Note has infra red, meaning it can work as a TV remote control (annoys the kids, that).

I use Direct Office Print (on the Android) meaning I can print to pretty much any printer that's visible on the network. It's available for the iPad too, I think, and works fairly well.

Both have quite long battery life - about three days irregular use or four to five hours continuous. Mine uses about 25% of the battery on a 1 1/2 our Grand Prix highlights programme.

The Android does handwriting recognition really well (good enough to use for real work), and the stylus is great. I use a graphics tablet instead of a mouse on the PC so I'm used to them, and I find it fast. Only drawback is that it makes poor use of the button on the side, but that's just poor coding.

Almost forgot Dropbox and Google Drive, for moving files into the 'cloud' and back to a PC or Tablet. Basic storage is free, and it works.

They're not a replacement for the main home PC. I'd say laptops aren't either, but many people do that nowadays, so I'm outnumbered there. But having had one since Christmas and used it for work as well as play, I'm not going back to a laptop unless there's a really compelling reason.

If you do get a laptop, have a look at Asus. they aren't that well known as a brand, but the company makes for many of the big names, including Apple HP, IBM, Dell and some others, I think. I've always found their lower-spec machines to be exceptionally good value (bought two in the past), and they're very compatible with few oddities.

Also checkout offers on sites like scan.co.uk. I've bought from them on and off for about 15 years - thr Today Only offers can be pretty good value, sometimes including laptops.

Stay away from cheap Android tablets though - mainstream brands only. Samsung and Google Nexus have the best support, for applications and problem-free operating systems. Some of the cheapies are rough round the edges and aren't worth it.


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## Lons (30 May 2013)

My recent laptop is a Toshiba i5 (17") not the one above it's a sat L875-12V. Has 8gb ram and 1tb hdd. It came with win 8 which I tried for a couple of months and hated. I've now ditched all the cr*p and installed win7 (64 bit - needed if over 4gb ram) and it's much more stable and a lot faster. IE doesn't chrash now as it did constantly with win8.

This is my 3rd Toshiba and all have been excellent and are still being used as I gave 1 to my wife and the other to my daughter.

We're taking my wifes ipad as well as our galaxy S4s to Canada instead of the laptop and as it doesn't have a usb port, I'm not at all conviced. I like to back up my photos and video and it's not an easy job with the pad.

Bob


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## rdesign (31 May 2013)

buy a lenovo Idea pad 8 gb ram when ur in america best buy will get u a really good laptop for cheap money.


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## RogerS (31 May 2013)

Biggest drawback with tablets is the lack of a keyboard. Yes you can buy a separate keyboard but then it's something else to have to carry about.

You don't need a Macbook Pro. The Macbook is pretty good.

If you just look at the initial price of the mac then you are not comparing apples with apples. You have to look at the Total Cost of Ownership. That mac laptop is still going to be running as well as it did before long after you are on your third PC type laptop. And you don;t really have to worry about viruses etc which also means that it will run much faster because it isn't wasting CPU cycles and memory with all that anti-virus dross.


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## misterfish (31 May 2013)

If you are getting a Windows 8 computer and don't want to use the tiled 'metro' tiled interface (or whatever it is now called) then providing you have the Pro or higher version of W8 you also have the W7 desktop type interface also available. You can install a free program like 'Classic Shell' that lets you boot into the desktop and adds the 'start button' back.

The tiled interface is really designed for touch screen computers, and although you can use a mouse it can be a PITA with some programs.

Misterfish


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## Jacob (31 May 2013)

RogerS":m4i2zeqo said:


> ....
> If you just look at the initial price of the mac then you are not comparing apples with apples. You have to look at the Total Cost of Ownership. That mac laptop is still going to be running as well as it did before long after you are on your third PC type laptop. .....


Which makes them exceptional value 2nd hand. My wife just replaced her ancient G4 with a white Macbook recon for £150. The G4 is still going strong but not enough memory but will be good for a standby for a few years to come.


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## petermillard (31 May 2013)

RogerS":2y56isn4 said:


> You don't need a Macbook Pro. The Macbook is pretty good.


They don't make plain MacBooks any more Rog - just MB Air and MB Pro. You can make some savings on Apple kit by buying refurbs from their store - typically around 15% cheaper and with full warranty. Also, don't underestimate the benefit of the Apple Store network - you can walk into a store and try any of the devices they sell, get 1:1 advice and training, repairs etc... Teenage daughter away at Uni managed to fritz the HD in her MacBook, went to the Apple store who replaced the HD and restored her data while she waited; I don't think you'd get service liket hat from any other company. But you pay for that kind of service and attention to detail up front, and if you don't want to spend that kind of money then fair enough.

As others have pointed out, the overall reaction to Windows 8 has been so negative that you'll end up paying a premium for a laptop with Windows 7, and if you do end up with Windows 8... let's just say that there's a learning curve. Like EricTV above, I'm probably doing 96% of my computer stuff on a tablet now - iPad for me, but no reason it couldn't be something else - so perhaps that's a direction you might want to look at? I haven't had a 'desktop' as my main computer for over a decade, and I'm finding fewer reasons to use my laptop.

FWIW I can type faster on an iPad's 'virtual' keyboard than I can on my laptop, and I routinely get ~14 hours of mixed use (browsing, writing, invoicing, email, music or video streaming with bluetooth and wifi on) from a charge, which is pretty amazing - though I've had 16 hours of light use on more than a few occasions! 

HTH Pete


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## Jonzjob (31 May 2013)

I'm tryping this on a MacBook Pro and wouldn't go back to a Microsaft maching again. The track pad is a dream to use, the keyboard is back lit and easy to use in low light conditions and the battery life is at least 7 hours of normal use.

I have just updated both our MB and iMac desktop to the latest operating system, Mountain Lion, going up 2 levels for the princely sum of about £12 (19$ if I remember correctly) and that covers any maching on the router. So not so expensive after all?


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## Eric The Viking (31 May 2013)

Apples are no more or less reliable than other brands these days. It's the same component manufacturers, the same PCAs, the same assembly plants (for subassemblies). And, unless you buy from John Lewis, the same short warranties, too. I've mended G3 and G4 machines with hardware problems common to all PCs of those years, and I know that later models are far from problem-free. Maintaining them has got a lot harder recently, as cases don't yield to the usual tools - plastic has to be carefully deformed, clips bent, etc. It's all very iffy.

My wife's G3 tower has been totally bombproof, for almost 14 years, but it's now well obsolete. I am really nervous about her replacing it with a current iMac, as, despite the looks and the excellent O/S, I really don't like the manufacturing philosophy and the build quality. This isn't dumb prejudice: I've used Macs myself since around 1992, and had one on my desk for work (alongside a PC and a UNIX box) for over ten years. We still have three in the house in regular use. 

But I had a nasty Apple experience about four months ago: an iOs update on my wife's iPad3, bought directly from Apple, went wrong, cutting off her email access. Every other Apple machine we've bought came from John Lewis, with 2 year warranty. This time, Apple support told us: a. It was out of warranty so they wouldn't help, b. they wouldn't roll back the "upgrade" because it was company policy (they initially said it was technically impossible - an untruth). In short, no longer fit for purpose, but tough luck. Needless to say, I stuck with it, and they found an 'undocumented' fix. It was entirely their cock-up, with inadequate pre-release testing.

That experience told me all I need to know about the new-style, mega-profitable company Apple now is. I will be VERY careful about how and what I buy from them in the future.


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## morfa (31 May 2013)

Lots of opinions on here. Not much checking to see what the OP needs the computer for.

Nowt against Macs, but most folk don't want to spend 1k on a laptop. But I largely agree with Eric, Apple isn't what it was.

*So, Mark, what do you want to do with your PC?*

If it's like 90% of the population and you just want to watch iplayer, browse the web, go on facebook, then a tablet, maybe with a decent quality wireless keyboard will be perfectly adequate. I'd suggest a Google Nexus 10. But any 10" Android tablet will do the job. If you've got cash to splash, a ipad is well worth it, especially now they've got the good screens.

http://www.google.co.uk/nexus/10/

If you already have an android phone and a gmail / google account, then you might find a chromebook to be quite good value for money, as long as you don't mind a small screen and keyboard (if you've got gigantic paws, you might struggle with that).

http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/chrome/devices/

If you want a 'normal' laptop, as you want to do a bit of word processing or just want a more fully featured PC to do the odd bit of photo manipulation etc, then I'd plump for a Lenovo laptop and do not spend more than £400 on it. As for Windows 8? I think the problem most folk have with it, is that it's very different to what they're used to. However a laptop with Windows 7 on it will be cheaper at the moment. And if the alternate releases rule holds true, 8 will be naff. But then I used ME back in the day and it wasn't that bad.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-G580-15- ... rds=lenovo

That looks nice. You don't need a core i5 or i7. Unless you know you are playing games or similar. It's a bit like buying a SDS drill when you're just going to be drilling small holes in wood. It'll work, but it's overkill.

I think you (and your wallet) would be happy with any of those PCs listed above.


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## Mark A (31 May 2013)

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

As nice as a tablet would be to have, I do need something for word processing etc, as well as for general computer stuff. I don't use AutoCAD or play games so an ultra-powerful laptop would be unnecessary, though I would still like to buy the best I can for the money. 

My budget is up to £500 at a push, however I would prefer to spend a bit less than that (and put the difference towards a tool perhaps!)


Regards,
Mark


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## morfa (31 May 2013)

mark aspin":w2yfsr3c said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks for the advice.
> 
> ...



Mark, in that case the Lenovo I suggested will do that job and you'll have a decent wodge left over. You could buy a tablet with the change for sure.


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## Lons (1 Jun 2013)

There is a lot of choice in the £350 - 450 range , all of which would do the job very well. Just a matter of personal choice as we all have our favourite brands and opinions to match. Any of the laptops available will do what you want so go and play with some and then buy from John Lewis (check on-line store) to get their extended warranty is my advice.

My son has just bought a rather nice i3 HP laptop for less than £400. Personally I find my i5 machine is very fast though I was limited for choice as I wanted a 17" screen. I don't play games but still want performance at a decent price which is what the OP wants as well I imagine.

Windows 8 isn't just a case of getting used to it. Without touchscreen it's hopeless and I found it to be very unstable and difficult to work with. I'm an experienced user and gave it a fair trial though I did use classic shell rather than alter the registry. IE was a joke and crashed continually whereas the win 7 I've installed is solid as a rock.

My brother had exactly the same problems and my son after 2 weeks has followed suit. I know absolutely no-one with a good word to say about win 8!

Bob


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## Spindle (1 Jun 2013)

Hi

As I said before - I'm very happy with my choice of a Lenovo.

I have exactly the same issues with Windows 8 as related by Lons - I've been 'working' with Win 8 for about three months now, (I would consider that to be a fair trial), and it hasn't grown on me in the slightest, everything is less easy to access and more prone to crashing. Turbocad is particularly prone to seizing solid for no reason.

Regards Mick


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## RogerS (1 Jun 2013)

Lons":47wl6gsb said:


> .....
> Windows 8 isn't just a case of getting used to it. Without touchscreen it's hopeless and I found it to be very unstable and difficult to work with. I'm an experienced user and gave it a fair trial though I did use classic shell rather than alter the registry. IE was a joke and crashed continually whereas the win 7 I've installed is solid as a rock.
> .......



And therein proves my point about Total Cost of Ownership. Factor in all the time that you spent rebooting/faffing about before you decided to install Windows 7. Then the time to add Windows 7.

The Mac might be more expensive at the outset but factor in the cost of buying another two/three laptops in the coming years to keep up with the requirements of Microsoft...well, the Mac suddenly looks like good value.

I just bought a secondhand MacBook Pro for £315 and it zips along very nicely using the latest operating system.


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## Lons (1 Jun 2013)

> And therein proves my point about Total Cost of Ownership. Factor in all the time that you spent rebooting/faffing about before you decided to install Windows 7. Then the time to add Windows 7.
> 
> The Mac might be more expensive at the outset but factor in the cost of buying another two/three laptops in the coming years to keep up with the requirements of Microsoft...well, the Mac suddenly looks like good value.
> 
> I just bought a secondhand MacBook Pro for £315 and it zips along very nicely using the latest operating system



It's not just about money though Roger. i don't put a price on the time I spend on my computers (just as I don't on my wooodwork), and it keeps me up to date anyway as I get older I find that if you're not doing something regularly you forget how to do it. 
I format and re-install anyway once a year which gets rid of any bloating and conflicts and have it down to a fine art. Quicker than trying to clean things up and a better result.

Neither is it about keeping up to date with MS. Both the other 2 laptops are fast enough and working perfectly albeit not for me. I also have an old desktop running XP which is running well and does what I ask of it - I wanted a newer gadget to play with that's all :wink: 

Bob


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## RogerS (1 Jun 2013)

Lons":2ugdb3dg said:


> .... I wanted a newer gadget to play with that's all :wink:
> 
> Bob



I can't fault your logic there ! I'm off on me hols in a weeks time...now can I avoid the money off deals at Dixon's Duty Free ?


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## Lons (1 Jun 2013)

RogerS":f0f3s8o0 said:


> I can't fault your logic there ! I'm off on me hols in a weeks time...now can I avoid the money off deals at Dixon's Duty Free ?



:lol: :lol: 

Me too. We're off to Canada a week on Monday and with hours to spend in the airports, I'm always tempted. There will be plenty of distracting shops in Toronto and Vancouver as well so the missus will have her work cut out to keep me in check.

Toolshops, camera shops and techie stuff ................. salivating already  Last time in Singapore could have ended in divorce

Bob


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## Phil Pascoe (1 Jun 2013)

#-o #-o #-o The duty frees in Changi? Oh God!


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## RogerS (2 Jun 2013)

Lons":s3sh0q10 said:


> .....camera shops ...



When I flew from BHX to Edinburgh recently, Dixons had some _very_ nice cameras ...a 50x optical zoom Sony :shock: 

Quite like one that I can focus in really closely. You know, so i can post up pictures of all those nice tight joint lines :-"


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## Eric The Viking (3 Jun 2013)

The first time I went to Singapore, in a duty-free shop they had one of these on show...





... with no price ticket.

There also used to be a 'factory outlet' for Creative Labs in one of the shopping centres. Around 1997, they were showing off a translator between English and Simplified Chinese, which did speech and handwriting recognition. It had a hardware accelerator card, and it seemed to work pretty well. It was the forerunner of some of the clever stuff now in iOS and Android devices I imagine. Dead impressive.

Anyone for Dubai duty free? Similar range of products to the Pentax above...



E.


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## Jacob (3 Jun 2013)

Having gone on about the reliability of macs my 7 month old mini has just packed up! Boogger.


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## RogerS (3 Jun 2013)

Lons":bhc302xy said:


> ........
> 
> It's not just about money though Roger. i don't put a price on the time I spend on my computers (just as I don't on my wooodwork), and it keeps me up to date anyway as I get older I find that if you're not doing something regularly you forget how to do it. .....
> 
> Bob



Just revisiting this, Bob. I agree that for you the reasons for staying within the PC sphere makes sense...because (a) you are knowledgable in the field of PCs (b) you probably enjoy tweaking them. But my argument is still valid....everything that we do is a combination of time, money and emotion...each of us puts our own value set on how we divide them up for anything that we do.

But the OP by his own admission is not well up on computers and so I would argue that going down the mac route in the long run is going to save him time, money and emotion. There are some excellent refurbished Macbook Air's for £719 which is nothing like the £1000+ figure for the Macbook Pro's.

I know of many many people who have made the transition from PC to Mac and have never regretted it. I know of no-one who has gone in the opposite direction !


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## Eric The Viking (3 Jun 2013)

Jacob":eya9nqgh said:


> Having gone on about the reliability of macs my 7 month old mini has just packed up! Boogger.


They overheat easily. I assume it's under warranty. When you get it back, make sure there's plenty of cool airflow round it, as they have no fan (well, the early ones didn't, anyway)..


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## Jacob (3 Jun 2013)

Eric The Viking":3estu5je said:


> Jacob":3estu5je said:
> 
> 
> > Having gone on about the reliability of macs my 7 month old mini has just packed up! Boogger.
> ...


Has a fan and it was in a cool room. PC world collect and return so should be OK as long as I don't lose too much from the hard drive. Needless to say I have not been backing up as much as I should have!
But this old Macbook Pro is still going OK though has had to have one new motherboard and the disc player packed up. External disc players are dirt cheap though.


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## Lons (3 Jun 2013)

RogerS":11ospztp said:


> Lons":11ospztp said:
> 
> 
> > ........
> ...



Can't argue with that Roger.

As you said, for me it works and at £430 for a decent i5 x 17" screen says a lot as well. you can buy a few goodies at nearly £300 less (and a 2 year warranty). i also like the way I can easily twiddle with the innards and make it run the way I want (well most of the time :wink: )

Most consumers are of course more interested in a start up every time, no hiccups machine and whilst Never having owned a Mac, I have used them and have to agree that they are less of a problem.

Bob


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## Mark A (6 Jun 2013)

Hi guys,

I'm typing this on my new laptop! It arrived yesterday - a Lenovo ThinkPad E530C

Windows 8 Pro, Intel i5 Processor, 4GB Ram (I could upgrade in the future if I find I have to), 500GB Hard Drive.

The keyboard is very nice and chunky, much like a desktop keyboard, which I find much easier to use.

Windows 8 is completely different to what I'm used to but I've got the hang of it. I agree that it would work much better with a tablet though.

Thanks for all you help!

Mark


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## Lons (6 Jun 2013)

mark aspin":2bv2ab41 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm typing this on my new laptop! It arrived yesterday - a Lenovo ThinkPad E530C
> 
> ...



=D> =D> enjoy it Mark


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