ClioSport.net

Register a free account today to become a member!
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Good spec laptop for around £300 - £400



  172
Call me a fanboy but I'd pitch a used macbook/pro against any sub £500 windows laptop, they just don't seem to last.
Can pick up one a few years old for £300-500 and they're unibody so built a lot better than the cheaper stuff like the pavillion.

What software are you using? Are you using an external sound card/dj controller etc?
 
  RS Clio 182
Call me a fanboy but I'd pitch a used macbook/pro against any sub £500 windows laptop, they just don't seem to last.
Can pick up one a few years old for £300-500 and they're unibody so built a lot better than the cheaper stuff like the pavillion.

What software are you using? Are you using an external sound card/dj controller etc?

tbh id love a mac book - but i thought they be way out of my budget. Im using Mixmeister on my imac atm as part of my sets - but obvioulsly need to take it mobile now as the gig is in Holland.
 
  172
Plenty on ebay dude with good enough spec to run that and the good thing is they hold value over a cheaper windows machine.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Ma...335387?hash=item3d5cc3b75b:g:ZXkAAOSwUUxaooGg

or if you want refurbed (with SOME warranty)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MacBook-...254079?hash=item4652d2bfbf:g:gFoAAOSwHoFXqfc4

I had bought 2012 model brand new, abused it for 5 years stuck 16gb of ram in and it was my main machine for work (pro photographer) and I only retired it due to buying the updated macbook pro last year and I sold it for £350 and it was battered. So it only cost me £650 for 5 years use, £130 a year, I think you struggle to give most windows machines away at 5 years old haha.
 
  RS Clio 182
Ah nice,never thought about used ones - will check it out. I hate windows cos of all the virus protection rubbish so i really want to steer clear of them.
 
  RS Clio 182
Plenty on ebay dude with good enough spec to run that and the good thing is they hold value over a cheaper windows machine.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Ma...335387?hash=item3d5cc3b75b:g:ZXkAAOSwUUxaooGg

or if you want refurbed (with SOME warranty)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MacBook-...254079?hash=item4652d2bfbf:g:gFoAAOSwHoFXqfc4

I had bought 2012 model brand new, abused it for 5 years stuck 16gb of ram in and it was my main machine for work (pro photographer) and I only retired it due to buying the updated macbook pro last year and I sold it for £350 and it was battered. So it only cost me £650 for 5 years use, £130 a year, I think you struggle to give most windows machines away at 5 years old haha.

And would my software easily copy across to it?
 
  172
You could back up your entire imac using time machine on an external hard drive and then load the new macbook with that backup essentially cloning the machine :up:
 
Call me a fanboy but I'd pitch a used macbook/pro against any sub £500 windows laptop, they just don't seem to last.
Yeah I've heard windows use really cheap components in their laptops that just don't last as long as apple components. Also apple is well known for the longevity of their software, which means users are able to continue using their older products long after the release of newer hardware.

And would my software easily copy across to it?

Music software? *sucks teeth* ... oooof that's a tricky one... it 'might' if you buy the appropriate apple conversion adaptor.
 
  RS Clio 182
Music software? *sucks teeth* ... oooof that's a tricky one... it 'might' if you buy the appropriate apple conversion adaptor.

Its already a Mac version i have on my imac - just wondering if its just a case of putting in on a USB and transferring to the Pro.
 
  172
cheers - yeah that one with the warranty looks good,may well go for that one.
Shop around, there's some bargains to be had that's for sure.

You'll gain better resale on a mac and since you already have an iMac you can move all your software over with no issues and you'll already be familiar with everything IMO
 

Gally

Formerly Mashed up egg in a cup
ClioSport Club Member
What model is the 2012 one and how much to upgrade the ram and ssd?
 
  172
What model is the 2012 one and how much to upgrade the ram and ssd?

It's the 'unibody' one piece design - they come in variations of processors and spec but even the base models handle most things well.

16gb ram upgrade is about £50 and easily done by anyone competent enough to use a philips screwy. As for SSD they're mostly conventional disk drivers out the factory however you can buy a kit (£15) that replaces the internal CD drive (pffft who uses CD's) with a caddy for an SSD. Allowing you to run the OS and software on the SSD for speed and keep say a 1tb HD in there as well for storage. I bloody loved my unibody, survived many tough years.
 

Daz...

ClioSport Club Member
  Inferno 182 Cup
What model is the 2012 one and how much to upgrade the ram and ssd?

As @matt123roll said it’s a very simple job with loads of guides on YouTube.

Mines a ‘Mid 2012’ model, they came with an i5 or i7 processor.

Oh, and good luck finding 16GB of RAM for £50 at the moment...prices are through the roof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ben
  172
As @matt123roll said it’s a very simple job with loads of guides on YouTube.
Oh, and good luck finding 16GB of RAM for £50 at the moment...prices are through the roof.

f**k me you're not wrong. More like £100-120 now after looking, sure I didn't pay anywhere near that a few years back
 

Daz...

ClioSport Club Member
  Inferno 182 Cup
Yep, it’s across the board I’m afraid. I paid £60 a couple of years ago.

I paid £90 for 16GB to go in my pc and the exact same spec now is selling for £130+ second hand.
 

Daz...

ClioSport Club Member
  Inferno 182 Cup
Well ive ordered that £380 macbook pro - i wanted the warranty for at least some piece of mind.

That’s the same model as mine, I would recommend a SSD as the first thing to do. Transforms the whole experience.
 

danward

ClioSport Club Member
  TTS
I've got a late 2012 model MacBook Pro with 8GB and SSD. Bought at the start of 2013, used everyday since and its still as perfect as the day I got it. My favourite thing I've ever bought!
 
  RS Clio 182
Work made the decision to replace my £2k Dell laptop (albeit 5 years old) with this heap of sh1te recently.
It was like selling a Ferrari to buy a Rover Montego.
Luckily i then bought the Dell for £50 😂

Yeah i had a go on my gf's brand new 'Asus' laptop....absolutely terrible. Slow as hell,virus things keep popping up and you cant even import files from a USB as the laptop has decided it has a virus in it. It should be my decision whether i can open it!

I cant believe how sluggish this thing was for a brand new laptop.

Lord knows why any would choose windows over OSX.
 

realnumber 1

ClioSport Club Member
Yeah i had a go on my gf's brand new 'Asus' laptop....absolutely terrible. Slow as hell,virus things keep popping up and you cant even import files from a USB as the laptop has decided it has a virus in it. It should be my decision whether i can open it!

I cant believe how sluggish this thing was for a brand new laptop.

Lord knows why any would choose windows over OSX.

Nothing wrong with Windows 10.. With my 2012 samsung i3 laptop with an SSD I could restart it now and be back browsing CS in around 30-45 sec. The difference they make is massive...
 

Ay Ay Ron

ClioSport Club Member
SSD makes all the difference IMO. I upgraded mine in my 4 year old Dell, plus upping the ram to 8 (the max it can take apparently) and it runs great.

Someone bought a new laptop for the boat last week and I had to set it up. Think they spent nearly £400 in PC World. It's an absolute bag of shite. Not even an i3. No SSD. Minimum RAM. Runs like turd.

The wife bought a Lenovo i5 just after christmas. No SSD but its decent spec with 16gb memory I think, she paid just shy of £500. Anyone buying anything from PC World or the likes needs their heads looking at.
 
  BMW M4; S1000 RR
You can buy half decent PCs from PC world. Just like you can buy the same low end trash from Amazon. Depends what you want really, if you have £400 to spend on a new computer would you rather have something low end or nothing at all?
 

Ay Ay Ron

ClioSport Club Member
You can buy half decent PCs from PC world. Just like you can buy the same low end trash from Amazon. Depends what you want really, if you have £400 to spend on a new computer would you rather have something low end or nothing at all?
I'd have rather he went elsewhere and picked up something much better for the same or similar price.
You'd have to spend probably £600 to get something remotely good from there unless you hit lucky with a sale.
 

realnumber 1

ClioSport Club Member
Tbf, pc world has got a lot better than it was in recent years. Its had to to compete with all the online places... They'll still try and sell you loads of way overpriced crap with it though!

The problem with a lot of places is that they still keep selling them with with slow 1tb HDD that most people don't come close to filling when a 256 ssd would be more than sufficient for space and a million times quicker.
 
  BMW M4; S1000 RR
I'd have rather he went elsewhere and picked up something much better for the same or similar price.
You'd have to spend probably £600 to get something remotely good from there unless you hit lucky with a sale.
Disagree. There prices are there or there abouts, if you spend less than £1200 (from anywhere semi-conscious) on a laptop it will be compromised in one form or another.
 

realnumber 1

ClioSport Club Member
Because they're cheaper?
128 is fine as a boot drive, so long as files are held externally.

Obviously they're a bit cheaper but not massively when they buy in bulk . People don't want to be carrying separate drives around all the time. 128 is lame these days with the size of the OS and apps.
It's like getting a phone with 8gb on it still. It just doesn't cut it anymore...
 
  Listerine & Poledo
Obviously they're a bit cheaper but not massively when they buy in bulk . People don't want to be carrying separate drives around all the time. 128 is lame these days with the size of the OS and apps.
It's like getting a phone with 8gb on it still. It just doesn't cut it anymore...

If people don't want to carry an external drive, they can pay more and get a bigger internal drive. It's all about use and context.

My old dear's laptop might have a 1tb drive in it, but only 80gb of it is in use. It's 3 years old, and she's done accounts on it since day 1.

Win will fit onto a 32gb compute stick. OP wants to be a mobile DJ. So long as serato and windows can fit on the boot drive, with room for a hibernation file, then that's all they need. All the tracks can be held externally.

Yes yes, it'd be lovely to have 1tb of Optane storage, but not everyone wants to pay for that.
 


Top