Cheap Laptop

Kim Doh

At Argos : Asus F-Series F551CA Core i3 15.6 Inch 4GB 500GB Laptop - €320
£306 at Amazon
Product Code : 292/3147 - Plenty of Stock in most areas

balfe1990

ASUS are a pretty reputable brand, if I'm not wrong?

I would like to see what the new wave of laptops with Windows 9 will be like, and the subsequent price drops on current models would be nice.

Red Silurian

balfe1990 wrote: »

ASUS are a pretty reputable brand, if I'm not wrong?

You are not wrong indeed they are one of the best in fact

CathalRyano

Only 1.8ghz, is that not fairly slow for a supposedly worth 500 euro laptop?

Binka

Only 2 usb ports - would mean using a hub for most folks.

L1011

Binka wrote: »

Only 2 usb ports - would mean using a hub for most folks.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've had two devices plugged in to my laptop.

If you're using it as a desktop replacement (keyboard, mouse etc) its actually easier to use a hub anyway, less to connect.

Binka

MYOB wrote: »

I can count on one hand the number of times I've had two devices plugged in to my laptop.

If you're using it as a desktop replacement (keyboard, mouse etc) its actually easier to use a hub anyway, less to connect.

I have 4 on mine and don't have to bother with a hub. I like to use a wireless mouse with my laptop which maybe a lot of people don't and there's the problem of having to charge so many things that don't come with mains chargers anymore (kindles, mp3 players etc) not to mention the eternal charging of my smartphone (at least twice a day these days) usb flash drive, the list goes on. 4 is available on many laptops - 2 I would struggle with.

L1011

USB wall chargers are anywhere from 2x-4x faster usually so I wouldn't even consider charging via a laptop.

blankblank

balfe1990 wrote: »

ASUS are a pretty reputable brand, if I'm not wrong?

I would like to see what the new wave of laptops with Windows 9 will be like, and the subsequent price drops on current models would be nice.

Windows 9?

Months and months away !

balfe1990

TheSheriff wrote: »

Windows 9?

Months and months away !

True!

Was thinking of the rumoured preview supposedly launching later this month

Sonics2k

TheSheriff wrote: »

Windows 9?

Months and months away !

More like two years.

Kristopherus

Tesco have a Toshy 15.6in lappy on offer nationally at present for €279.00. Model C50D-A-138 A. 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, Windows 8.1.

Etnies

CathalRyano wrote: »

Only 1.8ghz, is that not fairly slow for a supposedly worth 500 euro laptop?

1.8 now and 1.8ghz 5 years ago are different ball games

The_Conductor

At the risk of asking a stupid question- is this Wifi AC or at very least dualband 2.4/5Ghz?

Aside from that- it looks like a good price- but I'd seriously have to gut Metro out of it before it would be usable.

Its usable- its a 4th gen i3- its functional- it will get the job done, and be reliable.

Its obviously not for playing games on- but should be ok on power usage etc.

At its current price- its probably got no competition locally on the Irish market (the Tesco laptops- are crap in comparison to this)- but at the same time- it is pretty entry level........

Remember you'll need to factor in a licence for Office ontop of this (though you may get a bargain on software4students.ie or elsewhere- even Tesco were flogging Microsoft licences lately).

Swampy

Asus make fantastic laptops.

blankblank

If you can stretch a bit more - this aint too bad.

Asus X550CA i5, 6gb , 1TB HD around 500e

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I1BRCLK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

The_Conductor

TheSheriff wrote: »

If you can stretch a bit more - this aint too bad.

Asus X550CA i5, 6gb , 1TB HD around 500e

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I1BRCLK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

The i7 is only a couple of quid more expensive- also an idea.....

balfe1990

Sonics2k wrote: »

More like two years.

Erm, I think not. A lot of screenshots have been leaked from the preview build and from what I understand, theyre looking to launch in the spring.

They want to put the windows 8 debacle behind them. Two years from now? Definitely not. http://m.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-9-release-date-news-and-rumours-1029245

iPink

Kristopherus wrote:

Tesco have a Toshy 15.6in lappy on offer nationally at present for €279.00. Model C50D-A-138 A. 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, Windows 8.1.

I actually bought the last one of these in my local tesco day begore yesterday but as I was leaving the shopping centre with it under my arm, delighted with myself, I was passing Argos & thought ' I'll just check again!'
They had the same one (I thought!) for €20 cheaper (no discount!) but when I looked closer it was actually better...!!! The 'B' version rather than 'A' in tesco... 1.3 ghrz processor as opposed to 1.0!!!
I went back to tesco & returned it straight away... money back & straight to Argos... actually ended up getting a slightly better one again... Toshiba 4gb ram 750hb hd, intel dual core (the other 2 aren't intel) & 2.something ghz processor speed. .. €309... even though it was coming up as €339 at the cash till it was €309 on the system so they honoured that!
I am happy with it so far. .. slight delay/jump with touchpad betimes & windows 8.1 takes a bit of getting used to...
Had my last one for 9 years... Sony Vaio... so was well due an upgrade but just couldn't afford it... who would have thought 10 or even 5 years ago that we would be paying €300 or less for a laptop! !!
hope this helps!

iPink

apologise for the weird € sign... it means euros obviously! !

Lemmy Scott

got an asus from argos a few months back-thing is a disaster turns off by itself and is constantly over heating load of crap never again asus

cee_jay

I picked this up this morning, as my laptop kept overheating and shutting off. Have an assignment due for college in 2 weeks so needed some decent and cheap pronto.
I had reserved it online at 8am this morning for €319.99, however, the price on the till was €389.99. Manager made a phone call and they honoured the €319.99 price.
From what I have seen from other options, this is the best spec I could find at this price range. I don't need it for gaming, but for general day to day use, it will definitely be pretty good.

blankblank

Yeah its fairly good for what your getting!

I ordered the i5 version from amazon late last night, coming in at just 500e to replace a six year old dell.

Cant wait to get my hands on it now !

Kristopherus

iPink wrote: »

I actually bought the last one of these in my local tesco day begore yesterday but as I was leaving the shopping centre with it under my arm, delighted with myself, I was passing Argos & thought ' I'll just check again!'
They had the same one (I thought!) for €20 cheaper (no discount!) but when I looked closer it was actually better...!!! The 'B' version rather than 'A' in tesco... 1.3 ghrz processor as opposed to 1.0!!!
I went back to tesco & returned it straight away... money back & straight to Argos... actually ended up getting a slightly better one again... Toshiba 4gb ram 750hb hd, intel dual core (the other 2 aren't intel) & 2.something ghz processor speed. .. €309... even though it was coming up as €339 at the cash till it was €309 on the system so they honoured that!
I am happy with it so far. .. slight delay/jump with touchpad betimes & windows 8.1 takes a bit of getting used to...
Had my last one for 9 years... Sony Vaio... so was well due an upgrade but just couldn't afford it... who would have thought 10 or even 5 years ago that we would be paying €300 or less for a laptop! !!
hope this helps!

Well done !!!! I had forgotten about the Argos deals.

duffman13

Lemmy Scott wrote: »

got an asus from argos a few months back-thing is a disaster turns off by itself and is constantly over heating load of crap never again asus

Bring it back?

Glenn220390

Kristopherus wrote: »

Tesco have a Toshy 15.6in lappy on offer nationally at present for €279.00. Model C50D-A-138 A. 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, Windows 8.1.

One of the worst laptops on the market, 1 GHz processor. They can't multitask at all, very slow to do anything. Do not buy

unkel

Sonics2k wrote: »

More like two years.

More like two weeks

The_Conductor

unkel wrote: »

More like two weeks

Thats probably the Beta release we all receive for testing on. Doesn't mean its stable (though its probably pretty ok, as the kernel is very similar to W7/W8. We're no-where near a release candidate though- that would be at very least 6-9 months- and possibly a lot further. The only reason MS are throwing the level of resources that they are at this Beta- is because Windows 8 is seen as a 'Millenium' product they want to bury at the cross-roads and they need its successor, working properly, tested even more thoroughly- and road tested with consumer groups- as soon as possible. Many of the steps with these things- can't really be hurried though.

All that we've seen so far are a few 'accidental teasers' that Microsoft themselves managed to show off unintentionally over the past few days.

We are no-where near a release though- the current product they have is at relatively early stage development- they haven't even nailed down its feature set yet.

Rooy

On the original Argos Asus of Bargin Alert , was just taking a look and noticed on the website "Current selling price valid until 15/09/2014 "
So there is a risk it may increase in price tomorrow if anyone was thinking of purchasing.

balfe1990

The_Conductor wrote: »

Thats probably the Beta release we all receive for testing on. Doesn't mean its stable (though its probably pretty ok, as the kernel is very similar to W7/W8. We're no-where near a release candidate though- that would be at very least 6-9 months- and possibly a lot further. The only reason MS are throwing the level of resources that they are at this Beta- is because Windows 8 is seen as a 'Millenium' product they want to bury at the cross-roads and they need its successor, working properly, tested even more thoroughly- and road tested with consumer groups- as soon as possible. Many of the steps with these things- can't really be hurried though.

All that we've seen so far are a few 'accidental teasers' that Microsoft themselves managed to show off unintentionally over the past few days.

We are no-where near a release though- the current product they have is at relatively early stage development- they haven't even nailed down its feature set yet.

Most (reliable) sources are saying Spring of 2015 for the full, official release

Kristopherus

Glenn220390 wrote: »

One of the worst laptops on the market, 1 GHz processor. They can't multitask at all, very slow to do anything. Do not buy

Rubbish. There's one of those in my gaff and works perfectly. I doubt the OP is looking for an all-singing and dancing model. The Toshie is fine for normal office/student work. Also fine for streaming.

Akrasia

Rooy wrote: »

On the original Argos Asus of Bargin Alert , was just taking a look and noticed on the website "Current selling price valid until 15/09/2014 "
So there is a risk it may increase in price tomorrow if anyone was thinking of purchasing.

It's out of stock in all the limerick stores

Simon_K

Their customer service is **** though.

unkel

The_Conductor wrote: »

Thats probably the Beta release we all receive for testing on. Doesn't mean its stable (though its probably pretty ok, as the kernel is very similar to W7/W8.

Aye. The first Beta of Windows 8 was perfectly stable and I have no doubt Microsoft is making sure this one is too

I'll tell ya in 2 weeks time

in my experience Asus make very good laptops, even at the cheaper end. up there with Sony, Toshiba and Lenovo.

mint man

bought this today ,thanks op

For Forks Sake

glasso wrote: »

in my experience Asus make very good laptops, even at the cheaper end. up there with Sony, Toshiba and Lenovo.

Sony dont make any laptops any more. Anything you see still on sale is old stock.

Akrasia

glasso wrote: »

in my experience Asus make very good laptops, even at the cheaper end. up there with Sony, Toshiba and Lenovo.

Yeah. I've bought 3 Asus laptops for myself and family members in the last year, all of them at the budget end of the market and they've all performed flawlessly. two of them are about 18 months old and haven't given any trouble (apart from user issues: virus/malware/dog eating power lead etc)

Rooy

Rooy wrote: »

On the original Argos Asus of Bargin Alert , was just taking a look and noticed on the website "Current selling price valid until 15/09/2014 "
So there is a risk it may increase in price tomorrow if anyone was thinking of purchasing.

Price €499 now

gaillimhabu

Reserved one in Galway last night so hopefully they will honour the sale price when I collect on Thursday

iPink

I'm having problems with the Toshiba now after just 3 days... yesterday the cursor just froze up & stopped working, it worked for a few minutes after each restart. .. long enough for me to check drivers etc then freeze again... restart...grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
eventually I managed to uninstall & reinstall the driver... got it working again but the scroll doesn't work now!!
also the blue tooth doesn't seem to be working either. ...
I don't know what to do. .. if I bring it back & get another one will I just end up with the same problems. .. I was going to get the Acer for a tenner extea but the price has gobe up now so no chance! !
any advice plse?? change for

balfe1990

iPink wrote: »

I'm having problems with the Toshiba now after just 3 days... yesterday the cursor just froze up & stopped working, it worked for a few minutes after each restart. .. long enough for me to check drivers etc then freeze again... restart...grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
eventually I managed to uninstall & reinstall the driver... got it working again but the scroll doesn't work now!!
also the blue tooth doesn't seem to be working either. ...
I don't know what to do. .. if I bring it back & get another one will I just end up with the same problems. .. I was going to get the Acer for a tenner extea but the price has gobe up now so no chance! !
any advice plse?? change for

Honestly?

Refund. Or kill it with fire. I know people have different experiences and some have more than likely had a wonderful time with Toshiba, but its one of those brands that I will never buy again. I've been burned too many times.

That's why ASUS piqued my interest. They seem to be known for making good quality laptops, regardless of the price. My old boss had an amazing ASUS ultrabook and the build quality was the best I've ever seen. And you don't hear many horror stories about ASUS (though, naturally, I'm sure there's lots).

If you're not too attached to your Toshiba, I'd advise returning it and getting something that isn't a Toshiba

iPink

yeah.... thanks. ... unfortunately there isn't really anything else in my price range other than toshiba... I might give another one a go & see what happens...

my mum has a toshiba for a few years now and has never had a problem with it other than the usual stuff of running a bit slow due to too much stuff on it lol

the only other alternatives in my price range are the small screen touchscreens... not sure about them & already have a galaxy tab with a 10.1 sceeen...

corsav6

http://m.dabs.ie/products/asus-x551ca-sx024h-i3-3217u-4gb-500gb-dvdrw-15-6--win8-92CH.html?q=asus&src=16#specifications

Not sure what the difference is from the Argos 1, them seem exactly the same and its been on dabs at that price for a while.

We got an Asus k52n for €360 from dabs 3 years ago and the only problem we had was the battery died 6 months ago. Their really sturdy and fairly quite too. Topped it up to 8gb ram a while ago for Photoshop and the likes and it handles everything we throw at it without issue.

iPink

just checked my receipt from argos... it says 'exempt from 30 day guarantee on it'... anyone know what that means?!!

gipi

Most items in Argos can be brought back within 30 days if you change your mind - some items are excluded, like laptops.

This doesn't mean you can't bring it back if there's something wrong with it.

channelsurfer2

Kim Doh wrote: »

At Argos : Asus F-Series F551CA Core i3 15.6 Inch 4GB 500GB Laptop - €320
£306 at Amazon
Product Code : 292/3147 - Plenty of Stock in most areas

yep now 499. weight is 4kg according to spec on website!!!!

iPink

gipi wrote:

This doesn't mean you can't bring it back if there's something wrong with it.

gipi wrote:

Most items in Argos can be brought back within 30 days if you change your mind - some items are excluded, like laptops.

Thank you!

Etnies

http://m.ebuyer.com/638622

This is on ebuyer I *think* they deliver to northern Ireland now, as they have a price up. Comes to about 320 Euro with the cash back and delivery.


Laptop itself is

300 pound.. with 50 cash back from Lenovo.

Processor
Intel® Core i3-4010U 1.7GHz Haswell
2 Cores
3MB cache
Memory
4GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM
Expandable to 16GB
Hard Drive
500GB SATA
Optical Drive
DVD Writer
Software
Operating System: Windows 8.1 64bit
Display
15.6" Anti-Glare display
Resolution: 1366 x 768
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
Audio
Stereo Speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio certification
Networking
Bluetooth 4.0
Wifi: 802.11 b/g/n
Power Supply
Up to 6 hours Battery
Dimensions
Width 380 mm
Depth 262 mm
Height 24.7 mm
Weight 2.15 kg
Interfaces
2 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
4-in-1 card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC)
HDMI
RJ45
Audio Combo Jack
Warranty / Miscellaneous
1 Year Manufacturer Warranty
Webcam

loopymum

Hmmm. I have one of these reserved in Argos from when this was posted up but the Argos almost 1.5hrs drive from me and it will be a right waste of time if they won't honour the price. What do you think boardsies?

The_Conductor

loopymum wrote: »

Hmmm. I have one of these reserved in Argos from when this was posted up but the Argos almost 1.5hrs drive from me and it will be a right waste of time if they won't honour the price. What do you think boardsies?

Print the confirmation e-mail you received- and show it to them when you're collecting, and 99 times out of a 100 they will honor it.