What new sub £500 laptop

[Red&WhiteMonkey]

My current laptop is dying and getting past the point of sensible repair, it’s four years old now and prone to increasingly frequent crashes despite a couple of clean re-installs of XP. So I’ve decided its time to treat myself to a new laptop.

I use my laptop primarily for the internet, itunes, word processing and webcam communication (the other half has to travel for work) - nothing too high end as I’ve got an Xbox 360 for gaming. Laptop prices seem to have dropped considerably since I bought my last one. I don’t want to spend more than £500 and have so far come up with the two following options:

My first option is an Asus X5DAB-SX028V (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Asus_X5DAB-SX028V_Windows_7_Laptop_X5DAB-SX028V/version.asp). The basic specs are:
Processor - AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile ZM84 2.2GHZ
RAM - 4 GB (installed) GB (max)
Hard Drive - 250 GB
Operating System - Windows 7
Screen - 15.6 in
Optical Drive - DVD Super Multi Dual Layer Writer
Graphics - ATi HD4570 512MB
Integrated webcam

My second option is a Sony Vaio VGN-NW20EF/P (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Sony_VAIO_NW20EF-S_Laptop_in_Silver_VGNNW20EFS/version.asp). The basic specs are:
Processor - Intel Pentium T4300 / 2.1 GHz ( Dual-Core )
RAM - 3 GB (installed) - DDR2 SDRAM - 800 MHz ( 1 x 1 GB + 1 x 2 GB )
Hard Drive - 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition
Screen - 15.5" TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) - X-black
Optical Drive - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM – integrated
Graphics - Intel GMA 4500M
Integrated webcam

Has anyone got any advice on either of these two options or any other suggestions.

[DrTre]

new lenovo edge or HP dm3 (there's an older version of the latter on amazon that's £450)

Edited by DrTre on Friday 5th March 16:23

[clonmult]

Acer Aspire 7736
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7736_La...
£480, Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2Ghz, 3gb, 250gb drive, Windows 7, 17.3" 1600x900 widescreen display

Acer Aspire 5532
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5532_La...
£360, AMD Athlon TF-20 1.6ghz, 3GB, 250gb drive, Windows 7, 15.6" 1366x768 display

Fujitsu Amilo
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Fujitsu_AMILO_Li_39...
£460, Dual Core 2.1gHz T4300, 4GB ram, 320gb drive, 18.4" (!) 1680x945 screen

Loads of options available. Mate just ordered an Acer from them, refurbed. Looked like new. £325 delivered, 15.6" widescreen, looks darned good.

[Red&WhiteMonkey]

UPDATE: Today I went out and bought a Samsung R580 (http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/notebook-computers/r-series/NP-R580-JS02UK/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=spec&fullspec=F) for £575 from a local retailer, which seems to be generally cheaper than anywhere I can find online. The basic specs are:
Processor - Intel Core i3 330M / 2.13 GHz
RAM - 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM - 1066 MHz ( 2 x 2 GB )
Hard Drive - 500 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Screen - 15.6' TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )
Optical Drive - DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
Notebook Camera - Integrated - 1.3 Megapixel

So far I'm very impressed. It looks lovely and the jump in performance from my old laptop is astonishing.

[V]

Would you reccomend the Samsung? I'm currently in the market for a new intel i3 laptop, been looking at the Samsung R580, Dell Vostro 3500 & Inspiron 1564, HP G62 and VAIO EB1E0E.

At the moment Samsung stands out to me as been the most fully feutured with the nvidia graphics, 802.11n, bluetooth and gigabit. The others seem to cut corners. I'm used to a new-ish MacBook so want something of similar quality.

Cheers

Edited by V on Wednesday 10th March 03:48