Can anyone help me decide on one of these three laptops?

[amazementhub]

I'm looking to upgrade from my i3/4GB RAM laptop to something with i5/8GB RAM.

I would be using the laptop for writing essays, doing a little bit of Photoshop work and working on my website (which means I would quite often have a handful of tabs open). My current laptop can't handle these tasks very well so I was hoping the processor and RAM upgrade would help.

I emailed some laptop sites with my budget (£500) and the above information and they recommended the following laptops:

http/www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-ideapad-310-core-i5-7200u-8gb-1tb-dvdrw-windows-10-home-15.6-inch-la-80tv0066uk/version.asp

https/www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/NX.GE5EK.008-Acer-Aspire-E5-575-with-white-lid_2096338.html

http/www.ebuyer.com/794214-hp-250-g5-i5-laptop-2ew12es-2ew12es-abu

What one would you say is the best purchase out of those three? Are there any better options out there for £500?

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this/gives some insight!

 

[GreyCatz]

The Lenovo is £520 (down from £615!) and only gives you a 768p screen - that's a cheap stunt.

The Acer looks more like what I'd expect in this price range in terms of specs. £500 seems OK for a 2K panel, but Acers are bogged down by poor user ratings, especially concerning build-quality and customer support.

The HP is a bit odd: It's the least expensive one, by quite a margin, yet it comes with a 2K panel and has a better CPU than the Acer. At 1.96kg it's also very light, probably because it doesn't have a DVD drive.

I suppose it's down to which integrated GPU is better: The Iris 550 in the Acer or the HD 620 in the HP. This web site allows you to compare popular GPUs, and here's the Iris 550 and HD 620 result:
http/gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Iris-550-Mobile-Skylake-vs-Intel-HD-620-Mobile-Kaby-Lake/m129148vsm153579

It would seem that the Iris 550 is superior when it comes to tasks like multi-rendering. I'm not a graphics creator myself so I can't really advise you beyond this point.

Even so, I would recommend the HP. I can't find data on battery life, but even if it turns out battery life on the HP is close to zero, I still think it's the best option overall out of the three.

 

[amazementhub]

The Lenovo is £520 (down from £615!) and only gives you a 768p screen - that's a cheap stunt.

The Acer looks more like what I'd expect in this price range in terms of specs. £500 seems OK for a 2K panel, but Acers are bogged down by poor user ratings, especially concerning build-quality and customer support.

The HP is a bit odd: It's the least expensive one, by quite a margin, yet it comes with a 2K panel and has a better CPU than the Acer. At 1.96kg it's also very light, probably because it doesn't have a DVD drive.

I suppose it's down to which integrated GPU is better: The Iris 550 in the Acer or the HD 620 in the HP. This web site allows you to compare popular GPUs, and here's the Iris 550 and HD 620 result:
http/gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Iris-550-Mobile-Skylake-vs-Intel-HD-620-Mobile-Kaby-Lake/m129148vsm153579

It would seem that the Iris 550 is superior when it comes to tasks like multi-rendering. I'm not a graphics creator myself so I can't really advise you beyond this point.

Even so, I would recommend the HP. I can't find data on battery life, but even if it turns out battery life on the HP is close to zero, I still think it's the best option overall out of the three.

Thank you! That's a very helpful answer. I think I'll go with your recommendation and buy the HP since I wouldn't be needing to multi-render anything. Would you say it's actually a good deal in regards to the specs I'm getting for the price? The reviews seem to say it has a good battery life, plus, your comment about it being light is a plus.

 

[GreyCatz]

Well, I just checked with Amazon UK and John Lewis, and you'd have to go refurbished or accept lesser specs (i3 CPUs or 4GBs or RAM) to match this HP.

This link is meant mostly as an example: A refurbished Lenovo Yoga, priced at £400, from Amazon UK:
https/www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Yoga-500-15-Bluetooth/dp/B01GLD3KXI/ref=sr_1_24?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1504714332&sr=1-24&keywords=%C2%A3500+laptops

Good specs and the added practicality of the 2-in-1 design. Once you move beyond entry-level IdeaPad 100 and 300 models, Lenovos are generally speaking a very good deal (price/build-quality/specs).

With refurbs on Amazon you can often contact the seller and get more information. This seller offers 'full warranty', but the caveat turns out to be that it's a German business (a pet shop, I think), which means the keyboard is most likely German, too. This doesn't mean it's a scam, but in this case it would be prudent to contact the seller.

 

[amazementhub]

Well, I just checked with Amazon UK and John Lewis, and you'd have to go refurbished or accept lesser specs (i3 CPUs or 4GBs or RAM) to match this HP.

This link is meant mostly as an example: A refurbished Lenovo Yoga, priced at £400, from Amazon UK:
https/www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Yoga-500-15-Bluetooth/dp/B01GLD3KXI/ref=sr_1_24?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1504714332&sr=1-24&keywords=%C2%A3500+laptops

Good specs and the added practicality of the 2-in-1 design. Once you move beyond entry-level IdeaPad 100 and 300 models, Lenovos are generally speaking a very good deal (price/build-quality/specs).

With refurbs on Amazon you can often contact the seller and get more information. This seller offers 'full warranty', but the caveat turns out to be that it's a German business (a pet shop, I think), which means the keyboard is most likely German, too. This doesn't mean it's a scam, but in this case it would be prudent to contact the seller.

Very helpful! I'll go with the HP. I'm not interested in anything less powerful or refurbished, so it seems like this is the best one I'll get. Thank you for all your help today... really appreciate it!