best laptop under £500?

[Paige.]

hey everyone, so i'm allowed to have a new laptop for christmas and the budget is £500 (we'd prefer to spend as little as possible though)
i'd like a laptop that will last me for a while, is great quality, looks nice etc etc
i've always wanted a macbook but they're too expensive :(

please can i have your suggestions for which laptop under £500 is the best and worth the money :)

[DPS]

what kinda things do you want to do on it? gaming?

[Paige.]

what kinda things do you want to do on it? gaming?

i wouldn't say i 'game' much at the moment, i am just mainly on the forum, on habbo, youtube, tumblr etc, although i do go through phases where i am on games alot of the time
i play sims 4, league of legends, runescape, minecraft, gary's mod (and other steam games) sometimes though
i often use photoshop and things and i will be using it for college work as usual

[lawrawrrr]

I'd recommend anything HP to be honest - PCWorld have some pretty good deals on them at the moment too. I had a similar one to this (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0) for 3 years and, despite me dropping it about 100 times, it lasted really well!

But really, most of the things on this list (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/703_7006_70006_16_xx/xx-criteria.html) under £500 I'd be happy to recommend for what you want from it.

[FlyingJesus]

Tesco actually does decent deals on laptops, especially if you're not after a specific gaming laptop (which are stupid anyway) or whatever. This (http://www.tesco.com/direct/toshiba-satellite-c50d-b-156-laptop-amd-a4-8gb-ram-1tb-black/504-2092.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=504-2092) is the one I have and never had any problems with it, good specs for the price and doesn't pretend to be anything it's not like a Mac

[Mikey]

As Laura has said above I would definitely recommend HP's laptops, got mine from PC World and got a discount from MyUniDays, just download the app onto your phone and find it and they will give you a discount with your code. :)

I have this one but in white and silver: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-p091sa-15-6-touchscreen-laptop-silver-10011501-pdt.html#cat-0

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/search-keywords/xx_xx_xx_xx_xx/hp%2Bpavillion/xx-criteria.html

[IzzyUhh]

my laptops HP and I got it for christmas in 2012 and it's doing alright even now
Sometimes the screen messes up, and f5 and my two button has stopped working but thats from me being clumsy :'(
It's a good laptop, decent at gaming. It's good with sims and gmod just a hefty minecraft server lags but erm I think thats my wifi ANYWAY it was also available in red purple and blue and I got it in red cos I thought that was the prettiest, and it's got enough storage space like I save so much on here and I've still got space on here

I think this is the exact one as mine HERE (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g094sa-15-6-laptop-purple-10011517-pdt.html#cat-0)

[Krazybethw]

I have a toshiba and ive had it for 2 years and its still going strong. I play sims 4 etc on mine and its not too bad :)

[Kyle]

hp compaq toshiba all cheap laptops. got one for uni and gaming for £200 from pc world with student discount but sadly the promo is over. and yes it runs LoL and other games fine. mainly used for browsing and word processing, can't really go wrong. relatively okay sized screen too, none of this 4 inch notebook rubbish.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/toshiba-satellite-c50-b-14d-15-6-laptop-black-10011201-pdt.html#cat-0

[Jssy]

I have a toshiba and ive had it for 2 years and its still going strong. I play sims 4 etc on mine and its not too bad :)
I've got a toshiba and its been in repair about 20 times so id never buy a toshiba again :( Pcworld imo have some good deals

[Krazybethw]

I've got a toshiba and its been in repair about 20 times so id never buy a toshiba again :( Pcworld imo have some good deals

O mines been fine. And i know my dad has a toshiba and he's trusted them. i think it depends on model etc too. :)

[Jssy]

O mines been fine. And i know my dad has a toshiba and he's trusted them. i think it depends on model etc too. :)
Yeah mines the Satellite C660-2E1 but its poorly made, 2 days after christmas the mouse on it broke, was gutted haha

[Mikey]

Yeah mines the Satellite C660-2E1 but its poorly made, 2 days after christmas the mouse on it broke, was gutted haha

Had a Toshiba Satellite aswell, crap laptop. :( Wouldn't get a Toshiba again, guy in the shop tried to convince me when I bought my HP but I wasn't having it haha!

[Firehorse]

Get a Lenovo

[iBlueBox]

Lol, The most popular ones that I sell in my store, are probably either the new HP Pavilions or the new Lenovo flex's


HP are pretty good for everyday usage and browsing (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-p076sa-15-6-laptop-blue-10012245-pdt.html#cat-0 )


Lenovo are great value for touchscreen (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/lenovo-flex-2-14-convertible-touchscreen-laptop-grey-10022784-pdt.html#cat-0 )

[lawrawrrr]

I hated the Toshiba Satellite, just not a very nicely shaped laptop IMO! Felt very blocky and sharp edges, whereas HP is much more rounded & ergonomic I think!

I love the idea of the detachable screen to make it a tablet and I NEARLY bought one but decided to go for a bigger screen instead :(

[RyRy]

What are you actually gonna do on this laptop of yours? Because if it's not much, give a Chromebook a go. They're cheap enough, light as hell and really nice.

Otherwise, a detachable screen (tabtop ey) will probably do you.

Always found this site to be alright:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/student-tablet-deals

[mrwoooooooo]

What are you actually gonna do on this laptop of yours? Because if it's not much, give a Chromebook a go. They're cheap enough, light as hell and really nice.

Otherwise, a detachable screen (tabtop ey) will probably do you.

Always found this site to be alright:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/student-tablet-deals

i play sims 4, league of legends, runescape, minecraft, gary's mod (and other steam games) sometimes though
i often use photoshop and things and i will be using it for college work as usual


...

[RyRy]

...

soz I totally missed that. I guess decent processor, a fair bit of RAM and maybe an SSD would go a long way. It's just whether you can get that for under 500 innit

[MilksAreUs]

I'd recommend anything HP to be honest - PCWorld have some pretty good deals on them at the moment too. I had a similar one to this (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0) for 3 years and, despite me dropping it about 100 times, it lasted really well!
Just ordered this for my uncle, seems a great piece of equipment and it was only £350! Will do him for years

[MKR&*42]

I've got a toshiba and its been in repair about 20 times so id never buy a toshiba again :( Pcworld imo have some good deals


Had a Toshiba Satellite aswell, crap laptop. :( Wouldn't get a Toshiba again, guy in the shop tried to convince me when I bought my HP but I wasn't having it haha!

Hihi im late to the party, but I second/third this^ My toshiba satellite has caused me so much grief and i recommend you steer well clear of them x

[Sharon]

I would quickly buy this whilst it's still on offer for £250 because I bought it for like £360 and its my life

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2927789.htm

[MKR&*42]

The above deal is absolutely amazing but there are NO stores near me that have it in stock..........frustrated

[MilksAreUs]

I'd recommend anything HP to be honest - PCWorld have some pretty good deals on them at the moment too. I had a similar one to this (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/hp-15-g092sa-15-6-laptop-black-10011511-pdt.html#cat-0) for 3 years and, despite me dropping it about 100 times, it lasted really well.
I just helped my uncle purchase a laptop and we went for this one (was £350 reduced from £500). How well does it run? and not like he will be gaming but when I go up, i'll use it for games such as Minecraft, and will it run games well?

[lawrawrrr]

I just helped my uncle purchase a laptop and we went for this one (was £350 reduced from £500). How well does it run? and not like he will be gaming but when I go up, i'll use it for games such as Minecraft, and will it run games well?
I have a slightly worse version of this laptop (so mine has a intel processor, less hard drive and less ram) now, but the one I had before worked absolutely perfectly until the day I gave it up - still does - and that was just because of the actual hardware - the way they used to be made isn't as good and I also dropped it quite a lot! I ran Minecraft absolutely fine, as well as games with a much higher spec on so you'll be absolutely fine for that.

[MilksAreUs]

I have a slightly worse version of this laptop (so mine has a intel processor, less hard drive and less ram) now, but the one I had before worked absolutely perfectly until the day I gave it up - still does - and that was just because of the actual hardware - the way they used to be made isn't as good and I also dropped it quite a lot! I ran Minecraft absolutely fine, as well as games with a much higher spec on so you'll be absolutely fine for that.

Thankyou :D

[Verst]

The general consensus in this thread seems to be go for HP, which I agree with. HP are a very good computer brand in my opinion, so if you pick up a HP computer similar to the ones that have been linked here it should suit your needs fine. :Content:

[Paige.]

i'm loving the look and specs of the hp pavilion 15-p115na laptop

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=K1Q45EA&opt=ABU&sel=PCNB#merch-marketing

what do you think?

windows 8.1 64, i5 processor, 8gb ram, 15.6", hd graphics? and beats audio sounds so good

although, pcpro have rated the asus x552cl to be the second best laptop available to buy in the uk atm?

http://i.imgur.com/RK2ILdj.png

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/379540/the-16-best-laptops-of-2014-what-s-the-best-laptop-you-can-buy-in-the-uk-right-now

http://www.asus.com/uk/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X552CL/

[Paige.]

anyone? ^

[lawrawrrr]

The HP one is like the one I had and I honestly never had a problem with it. The asus one is quite a bit smaller (an 11.6" screen honestly looks so small if you're not used to it) and personally I hate touchscreen laptops - just depends what you like. Can you get to a computer shop where they might have one on show? Or any 11"6 vs 15"6 screen really, pick something that's going to fit on your lap!

[MKR&*42]

Both look like decent choices, however if you read the article about the asus you posted and go to http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/389206/asus-x552cl they say stocks of i5 are out. So ultimately the HP will have a lead over speed (unintentional rhyme i swear). Can't say much elseee im not an expert and haven't used HP or ASUS before :P

[AgnesIO]

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-5547-laptop/pd?ref=PD_OC

Third one (£499). Can currently get 12% off with code 8$84W8J58ZXDM6 too.