Are they any good, cheap rubbish or worth the money for what they are?

 

Looking at this http://www.johnlewis.com/asus-x553sa-laptop-intel-pentium-8gb-ram-1tb-15-6-/p2513655?colour=Black

 

I don't want anything super duper just for browsing email and playing the odd DVD disc or stream Amazon films/TV progs.

 

My missus has an Acer which is getting past it's sell by date and she's giving me grief about sorting it out. Think I will get her a new one.

 

I don't want to spend any more than £300, not worth it for how much she uses it.

 

Any other names worth a look?

A lot of laptops are made by the same company.

 

Nothing wrong with Asus laptops, and £300 is where I would want to be buying at.

 

Consider Dell, some of their entry level consumer gear can be a bit plasticky, but their business range is pretty good and should do what you want.

I just bought an Asus for the wife. It's a little smaller than that and is a tablet with a keyboard rather than a laptop. Initial tests are that it's very well made (but then it is an aluminium chassis rather than the plastic stuff which is usual).

Edited 23 March, 201610 yr by Rustynuts

Have you thought about just wiping the old 1 with a fresh install 

Its amazing what a clean install can do

Have you thought about just wiping the old 1 with a fresh install 

Its amazing what a clean install can do

 

I've been telling her I'll give that a try first, when she'll let me do it. It's like talking to the wall sometimes over techy stuff with her, says I'll mess everything up.

 

Just a question if I did a clean install....    it was a Windows 7 upgraded to Windows 10 laptop, can I wipe it and will it reinstall Win 10 automatically without any grief?

 

If I try the above first, if no joy and the Acer is still acting up then I'll go for a new one. It's so slow and she is getting all manner of stuff popping up saying reinstall this, file missing here cannot start this or that programme/app etc. She threatened to launch it into the garden today

Edited 23 March, 201610 yr by MickA

I've had an X53 E series for a few years now. Looks good and keyboard is very pleasant to use. Feels solid, but it is the 'Aluminium tough' range.

 

And I am the sort of person that would live without my mobile and pc if I could.

Wrong post

Edited 23 March, 201610 yr by DEL80Y

I've been telling her I'll give that a try first, when she'll let me do it. It's like talking to the wall sometimes over techy stuff with her, says I'll mess everything up.

 

Just a question if I did a clean install....    it was a Windows 7 upgraded to Windows 10 laptop, can I wipe it and will it reinstall Win 10 automatically without any grief?

 

If I try the above first, if no joy and the Acer is still acting up then I'll go for a new one. It's so slow and she is getting all manner of stuff popping up saying reinstall this, file missing here cannot start this or that programme/app etc. She threatened to launch it into the garden today

Look here all info in that link download windows 10 as fresh install then enter your windows 7 coa Key.....

 

Happy days runs just like the day you bought it without all the stupid pop ups

 

http://www.howtogeek...all-windows-10/

 

And you spend the £300 on your self for being clever

^^^ That's a bum link??

 

I'll have look for it though and give it a try.

^^^ That's a bum link??

 

I'll have look for it though and give it a try.

New link correct this time

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

Try this link below first

looks even easier on windows 10 ( I hate windows 10) never use it

http://www.howtogeek.com/132428/everything-you-need-to-know-about-refreshing-and-resetting-your-windows-8-pc/

Edited 24 March, 201610 yr by DEL80Y

Ive got a desktop built around an ASUS motherboard and its been long-lived and most reliable. Also got an ASUS tablet and it's real quality for the price.

Asus do produce a few poor products, but in general they are one of the better makes; until a few weeks ago,I was still running a 2009 vintage Asus mobo; I also still run an old Asus EEEPC Netbook.

If you don't expect a magnesium chassis for £300 you'll probably be happy. Nothing particularly stand out about Asus laptops but nothing really bad either.

 

Other than Celerons pretty much any processor is more than capable of day to day work.

 

Budget laptops do tend to come with a slow 5400rpm hard disk which can be a bottleneck.

 

Putting in an SSD can make a massive difference but you might not want to do that on a new machine.

 

Youre old laptop could benefit from a cheap SSD. I put one in a very old laptop and it made a massive difference.

DEL8OY..

Backed up and currently resetting the windows.

I'll let you know how I get on.

I might completely wipe it and reload windows if it doesn't do the job.

DEL8OY..

Backed up and currently resetting the windows.

I'll let you know how I get on.

I might completely wipe it and reload windows if it doesn't do the job.

 

If you're going to reinstall from scratch go get an SSD for it first, you'll get a 240Gb for less than £50. It's hard to make clear just what a massive difference it can make, especially if you use Win10 which is made to work.with them.

 

You might find you don't need a new laptop at all.

If you're going to reinstall from scratch go get an SSD for it first, you'll get a 240Gb for less than £50. It's hard to make clear just what a massive difference it can make, especially if you use Win10 which is made to work.with them.

 

You might find you don't need a new laptop at all.

Plus 1 on the SSD unbelievable difference on my daughters laptop from ebuyer 

Seems quite a reasonable deal.

 

Also check out Tesco who have some deals over easter.  That's how I got dad his Asus for £200 (was £350)

If you don't expect a magnesium chassis for £300 you'll probably be happy. Nothing particularly stand out about Asus laptops but nothing really bad either.

 

Other than Celerons pretty much any processor is more than capable of day to day work.

 

Budget laptops do tend to come with a slow 5400rpm hard disk which can be a bottleneck.

 

Putting in an SSD can make a massive difference but you might not want to do that on a new machine.

 

Youre old laptop could benefit from a cheap SSD. I put one in a very old laptop and it made a massive difference.

 

 

You talking to me?? I stuck a 32GB  Patriot SSD in it when I bought it (Only £180 at the time!!), the limiting factor in my case is the 100Mbps interface, the Patriot can go about three times faster than the interface can handle; it did make a HUGE difference to how fast it was to use though.

 

Just been loading it up for our holiday - with a 128GB SD card!!

Have you thought about just wiping the old 1 with a fresh install 

Its amazing what a clean install can do

 

Well I did this in the end, but only a reinstall of windows. I backed up the files just in case but it kept all the files on the hardrive.

 

I have one happy lady now (well as far as they can be happy) and she finds her laptop wizzing along better than before, no annoying messages about missing files. A few apps are now defunct as good old Microsoft say they won't work now. Not so much worried about those as she doesn't use most, just Office is a bind but downloaded Openoffice for her so she can have a go with that.

So saved myself £300, but she will still want that birthday prezzy buying, the new laptop was going to be it.

I've had an X53 E series for a few years now. Looks good and keyboard is very pleasant to use. Feels solid, but it is the 'Aluminium tough' range.

 

And I am the sort of person that would live without my mobile and pc if I could.

 

Same here - had my X53E for several years now. It's been very reliable and amenable to self repair - I replaced a cracked screen after I dropped it.

 

The battery is just starting to loose its capacity, but its probably at least 3 years old.

 

I've had a few different brands (Toshiba, Sony, Dell, Compaq, HP & Acer), but rate my current Asus highly.