Black 'Week' - Laptop Bargains

cherryghost

I posted in Laptops forum (shameless plug but there's some really good guys there giving amazing feedback for laptop requests), but posting here too. There's a lot of 'dud' sales about but there are genuine good deals around from shock horror Argos and Littlewoods

Entry Level (browsing/streaming) 250-350 eur:
Laptops strictly for web browsing, online streaming and some light office work.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Currys has a decent entry machine Lenovo at 280
For 330 euro, you get an entry level better in all departments.
Hard to get better deals than the 2 above to be honest, the Argos one is a belter for the specs. There's online deals a bit cheaper but also requires PM/Parcel Wizard etc, and in the end you're saving about a tenner against the Argos model.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Mid Level (entry level gaming/light photo editing) 350-500 eur:
Entry level gaming such as Fortnite/Minecraft/Roblox, and light photo editing (ie not raw editing)
Under 15 inch:
Less for gaming and more for productivity, the Acer Spin 3 at 370 pounds looks good for the price with touch adjustable screen.
Over 15 inch:
Never thought I'd be recommending something from Argos, but 430 euro from a B&M store is excellent value.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Mid-High level (good gaming perf/photo editing/video editing) 500-900 eur:
Good level quality and performance for modern games, heavy photo editing, light video editing, also good for VMs etc.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Just under 600 pound for a GTX 1650 laptop is decent enough. 120hz effectively useless modern games for a 1650 though.
500 pound on Currys UK ebay site or their own site for a laptop with RX 560. Its slower than 1650 but for 500 pound its good value. Delivery via PM/Parcelwizard. If interested keep an eye on this, eBay UK normally have a 10% off everything during Black week, so you could pick it up for 450 pound.
Acer AMD laptop for 470 after coupon applied. Not as sleek as the above AMD laptop but still does the job.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:
The Asus Zenbook has a slick finish, weighs just over 1kg at a decent 660 euro, would work nice as a productivity machine on the go

High Level (top gaming perf/photo ed/video ed + more)1000 eur+:
No expenses spared. Fly through any tasks seamlessly.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Littlewoods of all places has a well specc'd Lenovo laptop with a top GPU for 1000 euro. Cheaper than the Lenovo website itself after discount!
Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Netbooks:


Will post more as I find them but many of the sites price reductions are barely worthy of a 'sale' tag.

NOTE: Some laptops come with Windows 10 'S' installed by means as a 'security feature' that basically limits what you can install. To install regular programs a simple switch to the regular Windows 10 is required. No extra purchase is neccessary. The upgrade is free.

mumo3

My 12yr old is looking for a laptop, mostly will be browsing and gaming any recommendations in the sales, I'm not spending a fortune but I dont want one that wont work in a couple of months because he's managed to download some crap thats wrecked the machine

GeneralC

cherryghost wrote: »

I posted in Laptops forum (shameless plug but there's some really good guys there giving amazing feedback for laptop requests), but posting here too. There's a lot of 'dud' sales about but there are genuine good deals around from shock horror Argos and Littlewoods

Entry Level (browsing/streaming) 250-350 eur:
Laptops strictly for web browsing, online streaming and some light office work.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Currys has a decent entry machine Lenovo at 280
For 330 euro, you get an entry level better in all departments.
Hard to get better deals than the 2 above to be honest, the Argos one is a belter for the specs. There's online deals a bit cheaper but also requires PM/Parcel Wizard etc, and in the end you're saving about a tenner against the Argos model.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Mid Level (entry level gaming/light photo editing) 350-500 eur:
Entry level gaming such as Fortnite/Minecraft/Roblox, and light photo editing (ie not raw editing)
Under 15 inch:
Less for gaming and more for productivity, the Acer Spin 3 at 370 pounds looks good for the price with touch adjustable screen.
Over 15 inch:
Never thought I'd be recommending something from Argos, but 430 euro from a B&M store is excellent value.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Mid-High level (good gaming perf/photo editing/video editing) 500-900 eur:
Good level quality and performance for modern games, heavy photo editing, light video editing, also good for VMs etc.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Just under 600 pound for a GTX 1650 laptop is decent enough. 120hz effectively useless modern games for a 1650 though.
500 pound on Currys UK ebay site or their own site for a laptop with RX 560. Its slower than 1650 but for 500 pound its good value. Delivery via PM/Parcelwizard. If interested keep an eye on this, eBay UK normally have a 10% off everything during Black week, so you could pick it up for 450 pound.
Acer AMD laptop for 470 after coupon applied. Not as sleek as the above AMD laptop but still does the job.

Light, thin and sleek recommendations:
The Asus Zenbook has a slick finish, weighs just over 1kg at a decent 660 euro, would work nice as a productivity machine on the go

High Level (top gaming perf/photo ed/video ed + more)1000 eur+:
No expenses spared. Fly through any tasks seamlessly.
Under 15 inch:

Over 15 inch:
Littlewoods of all places has a well specc'd Lenovo laptop with a top GPU for 1000 euro. Cheaper than the Lenovo website itself after discount!
Light, thin and sleek recommendations:


Netbooks:


Will post more as I find them but many of the sites price reductions are barely worthy of a 'sale' tag.

What's thedifference between an Intel i5/i7 etc vs. AMD Reyzen?

cherryghost

mumo3 wrote: »

My 12yr old is looking for a laptop, mostly will be browsing and gaming any recommendations in the sales, I'm not spending a fortune but I dont want one that wont work in a couple of months because he's managed to download some crap thats wrecked the machine

If its strictly Roblox/Fortnite/Minecraft then the 430 euro one on Argos is fine. If its anything more demaning such as new Call of Duty game etc, the 500 pound one from Currys is minimum you need

cherryghost

GeneralC wrote: »

What's thedifference between an Intel i5/i7 etc vs. AMD Reyzen?

Ryzen processors perform more or less identically to counter parts (except for Ryzen 7, its a deal slower than i7 counterparts), but the integrated graphics on Ryzen processors is far superior to Intel, meaning low end Ryzen laptops are suitable for light photo editing/gaming without any real issue. With Intel integrated you're going to have a bad time.

Battery life etc is also about on par with each other too.

GeneralC

I've been looking for something for college. I went to PC World last night with a top end budget of €700 and I couldn't decide on one. Staff wasn't very helpful.

I wanted a full metal body, SSD and something under 15inch.

cherryghost

GeneralC wrote: »

I've been looking for something for college. I went to PC World last night with a top end budget of €700 and I couldn't decide on one. Staff wasn't very helpful.

I wanted a full metal body, SSD and something under 15inch.

I would say not easy for under 700 euro but the Zenbook at 660 seems best bet. It's an all metal chassis with mid level processor + int graphics. Screen is almost 100% sRGB too which is great. Keyboard is backlit too.

Personally I think it looks amazing asthetically too. If I find something better though I'll post it.

GeneralC

cherryghost wrote: »

I would say not easy for under 700 euro but the Zenbook at 660 seems best bet. It's an all metal chassis with mid level processor + int graphics. Screen is almost 100% sRGB too which is great. Keyboard is backlit too.

Personally I think it looks amazing asthetically too. If I find something better though I'll post it.

Thank you sir!

Is the Zenbook full metal? The staff were recommending an Apple MacBook Pro but I wasn't willing to finance a laptop. I had €700 on me and that was my budget for a college laptop. I won't be using it for gaming or editing. Everyone in my course has an Apple but I'm not taking out a loan to buy a laptop because everyone else owns one in my class.

mydiscworld

Any recommendation for a good 17 inch laptop? Under say 700 euro

cherryghost

GeneralC wrote: »

Thank you sir!

Is the Zenbook full metal? The staff were recommending an Apple MacBook Pro but I wasn't willing to finance a laptop. I had €700 on me and that was my budget for a college laptop. I won't be using it for gaming or editing. Everyone in my course has an Apple but I'm not taking out a loan to buy a laptop because everyone else owns one in my class.

The Zenbook manual says its full metal body, as does Amazon US and IN, did they not have any in Currys to have a gander at?

cmssjone

Any decent 13 inch laptops c 800 that you would recommend. Wife wants a relatively light one. Cheers

cherryghost

mydiscworld wrote: »

Any recommendation for a good 17 inch laptop? Under say 700 euro

Depends on usage. What for mainly?

cmssjone wrote: »

Any decent 13 inch laptops c 800 that you would recommend. Wife wants a relatively light one. Cheers

Again whats the main use?

DelBoy Trotter

GeneralC wrote: »

I've been looking for something for college. I went to PC World last night with a top end budget of €700 and I couldn't decide on one. Staff wasn't very helpful.

I wanted a full metal body, SSD and something under 15inch.

cherryghost wrote: »

I would say not easy for under 700 euro but the Zenbook at 660 seems best bet. It's an all metal chassis with mid level processor + int graphics. Screen is almost 100% sRGB too which is great. Keyboard is backlit too.

Personally I think it looks amazing asthetically too. If I find something better though I'll post it.

I ordered the Zenbook yesterday. I ideally wanted a laptop with a minimum of 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, a metal body, backlit keyboard and a maximum of 14" screen. It had to be a Windows device also, I'd no interest in a Macbook. I had a similar budget to you and until I spotted the Zenbook, nothing ticked all the boxes. There were a few laptops that came close which I nearly pulled the trigger on, but the Zenbook was the best I could find after a lot of looking

Atlantic Dawn

Anyone got ownership experience of the Zenbook? The hinged system it uses means it doesn't sit totally flat on the base when opened but overhangs to rise laptop at back. This would be fine on a desk but might be uncomfortable or unsteady if using on your lap, anyone know if this is the case?

cherryghost

cherryghost wrote: »

The Zenbook manual says its full metal body, as does Amazon US and IN, did they not have any in Currys to have a gander at?

I'm pretty sure that it's full metal yes as all zenbooks usually are.

reviews don't clearly mention this but I would be pretty sure.

as you said - the person should go in and check

cmssjone

cherryghost wrote:

Again whats the main use?

Mostly web browsing and teacher related stuff. She likes to keep her laptops for around 5 years before replacing them. Probably a decent screen and battery life would be her main criteria.

cmssjone

cmssjone wrote: »

Any decent 13 inch laptops c 800 that you would recommend. Wife wants a relatively light one. Cheers

the zenbook in pc world on this thread for 669. get it before it's out of stock imo.

it's 14 inch. great deal.

14 inch vs 13.3 measured on the diagonal is not noticeable.

it's very very light also.

reports say real-world 9 hours battery life possible.

Standman

GeneralC wrote: »

I've been looking for something for college. I went to PC World last night with a top end budget of €700 and I couldn't decide on one. Staff wasn't very helpful.

I wanted a full metal body, SSD and something under 15inch.

I got myself this 14-inch Acer Swift 3 last year, (quad-core i5, full-aluminium body, 256GB SSD) for £580 delivered from saveonlaptops (now box.co.uk). Tried to check if they still sell it but looks like they only sell the 15.6-inch version now (for cheaper I might add :mad:).

They also now have an i7 version for £600, argh.

This ~€320 "like new" Amazon warehouse laptop is better than those entry laptops listed but I believe there's only one left. I got the second last one delivered earlier in the week - my package was unopened and the packaging wasn't even damaged, there was just a sticker on the outside box slightly torn. If you're looking for something in that price range I'd pick that one up before it's gone!

Standman

Standman wrote: »

I got myself this 14-inch Acer Swift 3 last year, (quad-core i5, full-aluminium body, 256GB SSD) for £580 delivered from saveonlaptops (now box.co.uk). Tried to check if they still sell it but looks like they only sell the 15.6-inch version now (for cheaper I might add :mad:).

They also now have an i7 version for £600, argh.

zenbook is a segment above the swift 3.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

This ~€320 "like new" Amazon warehouse laptop is better than those entry laptops listed but I believe there's only one left. I got the second last one delivered earlier in the week - my package was unopened and the packaging wasn't even damaged, there was just a sticker on the outside box slightly torn. If you're looking for something in that price range I'd pick that one up before it's gone!

ok deal but the op is looking for a lightweight option.

GeneralC

cherryghost wrote: »

The Zenbook manual says its full metal body, as does Amazon US and IN, did they not have any in Currys to have a gander at?

Any thoughts on this 14inch HP laptop?

GeneralC

GeneralC wrote: »

Any thoughts on this 14inch HP laptop?

build not as good as zenbook. a good bit heavier. it's plastic.

i7 has more cpu power (but not noticable over ryzen 5 which is also a 4-core cpu in 90% of task usage) and worse integrated graphics.

XsApollo

cherryghost wrote: »

If its strictly Roblox/Fortnite/Minecraft then the 430 euro one on Argos is fine. If its anything more demaning such as new Call of Duty game etc, the 500 pound one from Currys is minimum you need

So is that laptop good for the above?
10 year old daughter wants one
For Christmas.

GeneralC

glasso wrote: »

build not as good as zenbook. a good bit heavier. it's plastic.

i7 has more cpu power (but not noticable over ryzen 5 which is also a 4-core cpu in 90% of task usage) and worse integrated graphics.

Thank you sir!

I will go out later so and purchase the Zenbook.

I'll be the odd one out in my class without an Apple product

glasso

glasso wrote: »

ok deal but the op is looking for a lightweight option.

The OP isn't looking for a laptop. :pac:

GeneralC

GeneralC wrote: »

Thank you sir!

I will go out later so and purchase the Zenbook.

I'll be the odd one out in my class without an Apple product

the zenbook looks cool. a macbook pro is €2k+ . not worth it unless you are flush in cash. personally I don't like the restrictions of the apple ecosystem also.

the zenbook will peform all college tasks with ease.

the lightness will be very handy when carrying it around a lot.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

The OP isn't looking for a laptop. :pac:

duh. you know what I mean. the OP asking about buying a laptop in this thread. not the thread OP.

glasso

glasso wrote: »

duh. you know what I mean. the OP asking about buying a laptop in this thread. not the thread OP.

Nope I have no idea what you mean. The first person who asked about buying laptop in this thread is mumo3 who didn't specify that the laptop had to be lightweight, don't know why you would assume I am addressing you or the messages you are replying to. :pac:

cmssjone

cmssjone wrote: »

Mostly web browsing and teacher related stuff. She likes to keep her laptops for around 5 years before replacing them. Probably a decent screen and battery life would be her main criteria.

cmssjone wrote: »

Any decent 13 inch laptops c 800 that you would recommend. Wife wants a relatively light one. Cheers

this one. it's pretty obvious what is being addressed as this was the active question being dealt with there.

contribute something maybe?

glasso

glasso wrote: »

this one. ffs. it's pretty obvious what is being addressed as this was the active question.

contribute, don't be a muppet.

Am I only allowed to reply to what you consider to be the "active" question and ignore everyone elses questions in the meantime? Did I quote cmssjone's message when I posted my deal, thus suggesting that I was replying to him/her?

I'm sorry if you have woken out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, but the first post clearly suggests that we should post any Black Friday laptop deals we find, which I have done. If you can find a better deal than my post in this price range then fire away, but suggesting I'm not "contributing" is nonsense.

Back to the deals please!

DelBoy Trotter

GeneralC wrote: »

Thank you sir!

I will go out later so and purchase the Zenbook.

I'll be the odd one out in my class without an Apple product

Buy it online while you can. It was available in two stores over the weekend that I could get to (one near home and one near the office), neither had it in stock yesterday morning so I ordered it online to be sure I get it

Krombopulos Michael

DelBoy Trotter wrote: »

Buy it online while you can. It was available in two stores over the weekend that I could get to (one near home and one near the office), neither had it in stock yesterday morning so I ordered it online to be sure I get it

Agree buy it online.....cos I just bought one from PC World for my wife and you don't want to miss out.

(Note Currys/PC World site was a little fussy and had to register and then add to basket to purchase. Trying to go from basket as guest and register put me into a loop)

DelBoy Trotter

Krombopulos Michael wrote: »

Agree buy it online.....cos I just bought one from PC World for my wife and you don't want to miss out.

(Note Currys/PC World site was a little fussy and had to register and then add to basket to purchase. Trying to go from basket as guest and register put me into a loop)

I didn't have that issue yesterday thankfully. Have you got the confirmation email that it is actually in stock? I got that a few hours after my order was placed and it's out for delivery now

mystic86

That's for this OP, just wondering how that Acer Zenbook and this one would stack up:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce3504sa-14-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-mauve-10198848-pdt.html

The HP one has double the SSD storage space and is 70 euro cheaper, so just wanted to get your thoughts if possible? Cheers

mystic86

mystic86 wrote: »

That's for this OP, just wondering how that Acer Zenbook and this one would stack up:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce3504sa-14-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-mauve-10198848-pdt.html

The HP one has double the SSD storage space and is 70 euro cheaper, so just wanted to get your thoughts if possible? Cheers

i went in to check out the build on this because it caught my eye alright. be interested to hear any thoughts. .

Balmed Out

mystic86 wrote: »

That's for this OP, just wondering how that Acer Zenbook and this one would stack up:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce3504sa-14-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-mauve-10198848-pdt.html

The HP one has double the SSD storage space and is 70 euro cheaper, so just wanted to get your thoughts if possible? Cheers

I think the zenbook has a faster drive and is an alluminium build

Krombopulos Michael

DelBoy Trotter wrote: »

I didn't have that issue yesterday thankfully. Have you got the confirmation email that it is actually in stock? I got that a few hours after my order was placed and it's out for delivery now

Got a confirmation email quickly with expected delivery 2nd Dec.

mystic86

mystic86 wrote: »

That's for this OP, just wondering how that Acer Zenbook and this one would stack up:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce3504sa-14-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-mauve-10198848-pdt.html

The HP one has double the SSD storage space and is 70 euro cheaper, so just wanted to get your thoughts if possible? Cheers

not a bad option.

hp with the i5 cpu is more powerful in normal cpu processing than the ryzen 5. but the ryzen 5 is fast enough that you wouldn't notice much. both 4-core cpus.

the ryzen has better integrated graphics that allows for better games to run on it and will also improve other things that use the gpu aside from games.

the zenbook is noticeably lighter and has a metal build vs the plastic in the hp - it's a step up in class over the hp in terms of build quality. if portability, scratch resistance and cool/wow factor are considerations then zenbook wins.

they are the main differences.

you can upgrade the ssd in both if needed. ram in zenbook is stuck at 8gb as it's soldered ram.

the ssd in the zenbook may be a faster type (pci nvme) than the hp one (could be sata) but you would not notice the difference too much imo

joe123

Would that Argos laptop mentioned above be a good shout for someone only needing it for college, MS office, etc?

Girlfriend is looking for one that she can bring with her. Good screen, fast, office (projects through Powerpoint/Word etc and decent battery life. Not needed for gaming.)

cherryghost

joe123 wrote: »

Would that Argos laptop mentioned above be a good shout for someone only needing it for college, MS office, etc?

Girlfriend is looking for one that she can bring with her. Good screen, fast, office (projects through Powerpoint/Word etc and decent battery life. Not needed for gaming.)

The 280 or 330 euro ones are grand. They both support upgradeable memory too. I would recommend the 330 one though if you can stretch, higher resolution screen would make the world of difference, and better processor.

I think this is a pretty good specc'd laptop for £700
https://www.box.co.uk/Acer-Nitro-5_2557789.html

joe123

joe123 wrote: »

Would that Argos laptop mentioned above be a good shout for someone only needing it for college, MS office, etc?

Girlfriend is looking for one that she can bring with her. Good screen, fast, office (projects through Powerpoint/Word etc and decent battery life. Not needed for gaming.)

I'd recommend this for 389 for that use case as it's quite light at 1.4kg and 14 inch making it portable compared to a heavier and bulkier 15.6 model. also has pretty good battery life - better than the others.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-14-cf0500sa-14-intel-pentium-gold-laptop-128-gb-ssd-gold-10193408-pdt.html

the cpu is perfectly fine for college use and is at last year's i3 level and will run fast with the ssd

might think about upgrading the ram to 8gb down the line but that is a cheap (less than 35 euro) upgrade and only takes 10 minutes with a screwdriver.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

I think this is a pretty good specc'd laptop for £700
https://www.box.co.uk/Acer-Nitro-5_2557789.html

for under £600 I'd go with the one that the OP linked as £100 is a good saving at that level, also with a 1650 card.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Gaming-R5-3550H-GeForce-Windows/dp/B07S2ZLNS2/ref=sr_1_5

cpu won't hold it back and it has a high refresh screen (albeit not useful at running many games at high settings as it won't be at high fps)

mydiscworld

Any recommendation for a good 17 inch laptop? Under say 700 euro
Depends on usage. What for mainly?

cherryghost wrote: »

Depends on usage. What for mainly?

Mostly for watching tv shows/videos so needs decent graphics card and sound. No gaming required.

Have external hard drive so don't need big capacity.

Have SSD in current one which is super quiet so would like that again

glasso

glasso wrote: »

for under £600 I'd go with the one that the OP linked as £100 is a good saving at that level, also with a 1650 card.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Gaming-R5-3550H-GeForce-Windows/dp/B07S2ZLNS2/ref=sr_1_5

cpu won't hold it back and it has a high refresh screen (albeit not useful at running many games at high settings as it won't be at high fps)

A 256GB SSD would run out of space in no time. Especially if you game. Some modern games are 100gb+.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

A 256GB SSD would run out of space in no time. Especially if you game. Some modern games are 100gb+.

by that token so would a 500gb drive.

buy a hdd 1tb and put in it (there will be space for it).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=1tb+hdd+internal&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Skerries

buy a hdd 1tb and put in it (there will be space for it).

be aware that you may need a thinner hard drive 7 or 9 mm as opposed to the usual 12mm

cmssjone

Thanks for the advice Glasso. Just off to buy that laptop now

tart29016

Deleted User wrote: »

This ~€320 "like new" Amazon warehouse laptop is better than those entry laptops listed but I believe there's only one left. I got the second last one delivered earlier in the week - my package was unopened and the packaging wasn't even damaged, there was just a sticker on the outside box slightly torn. If you're looking for something in that price range I'd pick that one up before it's gone!

Hi there, which model did you pick up? Is it the 15.6 inch, 4gb/256SSD, slate grey one?

This is the only like new available now and it is around €400.