The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

[gs08]

i love the sony laptops they look great and have great features. however dell laptops are great value for money, their really cheap and have features geared towards certain age groups. http://www.image-jump.com/image/iP/Bh.gif

[MiM]

I'm still struggling to make a final decision. Was considering getting one from Dell Outlet as these come highly recommended.

But what do people think of this deal at £419.98?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152233

HP 6735s Laptop, AMD Turion X2 Dual Core RM-72 2.1Ghz, 4GB 800DDR2, 250GB 15.4" DVD RW LightScribe Writer, WLAN, Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+, Onboard ATI Radeon HD3200 Windows Vista Home Premium, MSO rdy (60 day trial or 25 uses)

Processor

AMD TurionTM X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
2.1-GHzMemory

4GB
800DDR2
2DM (No Spare slots)Drives

250GB SATA Hard Disk Drive
5400RPM
HP 3D DriveGuard ProtectionGraphics Card


Intergrated Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200
Up to 512MB shared
(The hard drive is mounted directly to the notebook frame, reducing the transmission of shock to the hard drive. Uses three-axis digital motion detection with intelligent sensitivity to help protect the hard drive during normal use from shock and vibration. The digital accelerometer temporarily halts all data transfer and parks the hard drive when abrupt motion is detected.)


DVD RW LightScribe DriveSoftware Operating System

Genuine Windows Vista Home PremiumDisplay

15.4-inch diagonal WXGAAudio

High Definition Audio support
Integrated stereo speakers
Integrated microphone
Stereo headphone/line out
Stereo microphone inNetworking

Broadcom 802.11b/g
56K Modem 10/100 NIC
Bluetooth 2.0
SD Card ReaderInput Devices

Keyboard 101/102-key compatible keyboard
Integrated numeric keypad
Touchpad with scroll zone
Two pick buttons
WebcamPower

External 65-watt Smart AC adapter, 6-foot (1.8 meter) power cord included.
Total length including external AC adapter is 12 feet (3.66 meter).
HP Fast Charge*
*HP Fast Charge recharges your battery up to 90% within 90 minutes when the system is off. Warranty

1 year standard warranty

[littlestar1981]

Short answer IMHO - The last one (the Acer), with the 4th (the Tosh L3001DN) a close second (but £30 more expensive)

Thanks, is that because of the AMD processor as opposed to Intel? Just so I know what I am looking at/for

[JDPower]

Thanks, is that because of the AMD processor as opposed to Intel? Just so I know what I am looking at/for
There is very little between them to be honest. The Acer has a marginally better graphics card and is cheaper. The only advantage the Tosh has is a very marginally faster processor (but not enough that you'd notice, or worth paying the extra for).

Although it wasn't a deciding factor in my decision (but as you asked), in a laptop I would almost always go for an AMD processor over Intel for an everyday use laptop as, in my experience, Intel processors tend to suffer more from overheating, especially as they get older.

[sam79]

hi there folks
can anyone give me their opinion on the TOSHIBA L300-1DN please.
many thanks
regards
samantha

[MiM]

There are more questions than answers on this thread, Samantha!

I asked about some Toshibas earlier and I think people felt they were good machines but a bit overpriced.

However, I know nowt.

[lesley2004]

Hi

Was all ready to buy G70-120ea HP laptop for £450 with discounts from dixons and it is now out of stock.

Anyone come up with an equivalant as I am losing the will to live as there are so many to choose from!

Full spec
Processor TypeIntel Core 2 Duo T5800 Processor speed2GHZ, 800MHz, 2MBThe higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should beMemory Size3 GB MB Hard Drive Capacity160 GBThe bigger the capacity the more you can storeOptical DrivesBlu-ray DVD with re-writer Floppy Disk DriveNOFloppy disks are 3.5" square and store a small amount of data. CDs,DVDs and memory sticks are now usually used insteadScreen Size/Type17" Graphics Card TypeNvidia GeForce 9200To enable images to be displayed on your monitorGraphics Memory256 MBThe higher the memory the better quality images you are displayTV-outNOAllowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDsWireless EnabledYESAllows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spotInfrared Port IncludedNOAllowing you to connect to other devices with infrared such as an infrared enabled mobile phoneOther InterfacesBuilt in Webcam

[boobbby]

Hi

Was all ready to buy G70-120ea HP laptop for £450 with discounts from dixons and it is now out of stock.

Anyone come up with an equivalant as I am losing the will to live as there are so many to choose from!

Full spec
Processor TypeIntel Core 2 Duo T5800 Processor speed2GHZ, 800MHz, 2MBThe higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should beMemory Size3 GB MB Hard Drive Capacity160 GBThe bigger the capacity the more you can storeOptical DrivesBlu-ray DVD with re-writer Floppy Disk DriveNOFloppy disks are 3.5" square and store a small amount of data. CDs,DVDs and memory sticks are now usually used insteadScreen Size/Type17" Graphics Card TypeNvidia GeForce 9200To enable images to be displayed on your monitorGraphics Memory256 MBThe higher the memory the better quality images you are displayTV-outNOAllowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDsWireless EnabledYESAllows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spotInfrared Port IncludedNOAllowing you to connect to other devices with infrared such as an infrared enabled mobile phoneOther InterfacesBuilt in Webcam

My check at Dixons claims it is still in stock !

Still in stock here (part of currys) but a little more !

http://www.thelink.co.uk/hi-tech/166690/hewlett-packard-g70-120-laptop-pc.html

[cookie monster]

Purchased one of these a few days back;

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-3376.aspx

Great laptop, managed to use some of my clubcard points as well.

[MiM]

Hi

Was all ready to buy G70-120ea HP laptop for £450 with discounts from dixons and it is now out of stock.

Anyone come up with an equivalant as I am losing the will to live as there are so many to choose from!

Full spec
Processor TypeIntel Core 2 Duo T5800 Processor speed2GHZ, 800MHz, 2MBThe higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should beMemory Size3 GB MB Hard Drive Capacity160 GBThe bigger the capacity the more you can storeOptical DrivesBlu-ray DVD with re-writer Floppy Disk DriveNOFloppy disks are 3.5" square and store a small amount of data. CDs,DVDs and memory sticks are now usually used insteadScreen Size/Type17" Graphics Card TypeNvidia GeForce 9200To enable images to be displayed on your monitorGraphics Memory256 MBThe higher the memory the better quality images you are displayTV-outNOAllowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDsWireless EnabledYESAllows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spotInfrared Port IncludedNOAllowing you to connect to other devices with infrared such as an infrared enabled mobile phoneOther InterfacesBuilt in Webcam

Isn't the HP I mention above better spec for less cash? I'm no expert but it seems to have the same features plus quicker processor and more memory...

[xoanon]

Isn't the HP I mention above better spec for less cash? I'm no expert but it seems to have the same features plus quicker processor and more memory...

Used to know far more than I should about computers. These days I am less on the pulse.

The HP is better in the following regards:

Blu ray (but screen is not HD so would need HDMI output which I think it has)
Nvidia 9200 (better than the Ati 3200 but still would not handle the latest games well)
17" screen (compared to the 15.4 you listed)

Arguably the Intel processor is better than the AMD on the Toshiba.

[MiM]

Hi X: The one I was suggesting was comparable is another HP, not a Toshiba.

It's this one...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152233

Thanks

[SKIPPY]

Hi All

I would like a little advice if possible. My DS is looking to purchase a laptop and is looking at the following two from tesco's. My DD has a Fujitsu Siemans Pi 2515 and has had no real problems with it so I am tending to lean towards the Fujitsu Siemans but am no expert! Would appreciate a little advice. He does not really want to spend any more than £350 and will only be using it for 'surfing the internet', facebook, playing games online etc

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-3556.aspx

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-5206.aspx

Many Thanks

[boobbby]

Hi All

I would like a little advice if possible. My DS is looking to purchase a laptop and is looking at the following two from tesco's. My DD has a Fujitsu Siemans Pi 2515 and has had no real problems with it so I am tending to lean towards the Fujitsu Siemans but am no expert! Would appreciate a little advice. He does not really want to spend any more than £350 and will only be using it for 'surfing the internet', facebook, playing games online etc

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-3556.aspx

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-5206.aspx

Many Thanks

All laptops can surf the net, facebook and are good for homework etc. The problem is always the level of games anyone wants to play. The better processor. memory and graphics card adds to the cost but means a better experience and ability to play modern computer games. Most of the posts on here give the best value for the basic use of a laptop but you will have to pay over £500 to get a laptop that can play modern games at a decent level.
Unless you want to lug the computer from place to place or only have a very small area to store it then get a desktop. Cheaper to buy and can easily be upgraded when you can afford it.

[JDPower]

All laptops can surf the net, facebook and are good for homework etc. The problem is always the level of games anyone wants to play. The better processor. memory and graphics card adds to the cost but means a better experience and ability to play modern computer games. Most of the posts on here give the best value for the basic use of a laptop but you will have to pay over £500 to get a laptop that can play modern games at a decent level.
Just to point out though the poster did say online games. Assuming that is just the kind of flash type games you play on websites then the above advice is not necessary as pretty much any modern laptop can handle internet games.

Whereas if talking about installed games that you play against others online that are heavy on 3D graphics then yes, follow the above ;)

[SKIPPY]

Yes, I did mean online games so if anyone would be able to recommend one of the two laptops I would be really grateful or without getting too technical another one which may be better but similar price.

Many Thanks

[MiM]

Two HP laptops have been suggested above - can anyone say which is better spec/deal? Thanks

HP g60 116em from tesco for £379

Accessories IncludedYesBattery Life2 HoursBluetoothNoBox ContentsLaptop & ChargerBrandHPBuilt-in WebcamYesCard ReaderYesFinger Print ReaderNoGraphics DedicatedNoHard Drive Size250GBHard Drive TypeDVD WriterLaptop ColourBlackMemory Size3GBMemory TypeDDR2Number of USB Ports3x USB 2.0Operating SystemWindows Vista™ Home PremiumOptical DriveDVD WriterOptical Drive Bluray CompatibleNoOptical Drive HD CompatibleNoOptical Drive Lightscribe CompatibleNoProcessorAMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-CoreProcessor Bus1.9 GHzProcessor CacheLevel 2 1MBProcessor Model NumberQL-60Processor Speed1.9GHzRemote Control IncludedNoScreen Size15.6"Screen TypeSingle channel LVDS HD BrightViewSoftware LoadMicrosoft® Works and Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version Microsoft® Internet Explorer Windows Mail Adobe® Reader Windows Media Player Windows Photo Gallery DVD Play Windows Movie Maker Windows DVD Maker Cyberlink DVD Suite Windows Media center QuickPlay for Windows HP Total Care AdvisorTV TunerNoUser Model EntertainmentYesWi-FiYesWired Networking PortYesWireless Built inYes

HP 6735s from Ebuyer £429.99

AMD Turion X2 Dual Core RM-72 2.1Ghz, 4GB 800DDR2, 250GB 15.4" DVD RW LightScribe Writer, WLAN, Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+, Onboard ATI Radeon HD3200 Windows Vista Home Premium, MSO rdy (60 day trial or 25 uses)

[Louisa Jane]

MiM - the second one was on a long thread on hotukdeals (I'm pretty sure it's the same one, it says expired as the price has gone up)- I think it maybe the better although I'm no expert!
http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/306927/hp-6735s-laptop-389-98-ebuyer-amd-t

[MiM]

Thanks LJ. Price has gone up from £389 to £429 - my wait for a bargain continues!

[asininity]

Why is acer not on the poll?

[Garetha]

Spammer?? I am not a spammer thank you very much. Where I buy from why is that a problem to you??
4 adverts for this company today
3 more this week
nothing else before that.

If it quacks like a duck ...
Sorry if you are genuine - but the evidence suggests blatant advertising

[coopstar23]

I recently bought this laptop for under £246. It's fine for the internet and word processing and even some games. Good for beginners or students, but if you're into serious gaming (like my little bro) I'd go for something a bit more powerful.
Value Laptop Intel Celeron Dual Processor T1500 1GB 120GB 13.3" Vista Home Basic click (http://www.bigredshop.co.uk/product.php?p=38396742)


Product Features:
1. Processor - Intel Celeron Dual Processor T1500 1.86 GHz 2. Memory - 1GB 3. Hard Drive - 120GB 4. Display - 13.3" Widescreen 5. Optical Drive - DVD ReWriter 6. Operating System - Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Basic 7. Wireless - Wireless Enabled 8. Weight - 2.32 kg .

[doubting thomas]

I'm looking for a cheap laptop for internet browsing.
I've got a home PC but it's more comfortable sitting in the living room than in the bedroom where the main PC is, hence the requirement for a laptop.

Now I'm not fussed on portabilty as it's mainly for around the house (I've got wireless broadband) but I do want a decent sized screen for viewing internet, i player,dvds etc.

Net books are cheap but they all have tiny screens, I'd like 15' or more, but then the price goes up but I don't need the power for gaming etc. that comes with the rise in price?

So any suggestions, decent screen, internet viewing etc?

[SEASHELL22]

I just got a cheap netbook was about £200. Was an excellent bargin. Got a desktop at home so wanted a cheap computer for the road, and it ticks all the boxes.

[paulboy83]

My laptop is on it's way out so i'm looking for a new one. I've come up with this so far:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3837670-3885078.html

(which I can get for £340 with a deal through work!)

or
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/2437908/art/advent/6552.html

or
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-4110.aspx

I have up to £400 to spend, and whilst I am not gaming etc I want something that is pretty good for what i'm paying! I do not want an acer laptop as my current one is Acer and when i've had to deal with them a couple of times they have been pretty rude, and less than willing to help :mad:

Cheers :D

[veruccasalt]

I am looking for a cheapish laptop, dont want to do anything clever or fancy on it.

Spotted this one in Argos:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5080702.htm

and have managed to reserve one until tomorrow. I would be really grateful for some quick advice on it as I havent got long to make my mind up

Huge thanks in advance

[MunnyMan]

I am looking for a cheapish laptop, dont want to do anything clever or fancy on it.

Spotted this one in Argos:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5080702.htm

and have managed to reserve one until tomorrow. I would be really grateful for some quick advice on it as I havent got long to make my mind up

Huge thanks in advance

I would say for the money Sony is a strong brand and the specs look rather good also, just to add if you look on the Argos link you supllied there is 92 customer reviews and looks to be on average 4.5 out of 5 so if you are prepared to believe the reviews it seems you cannot go far wrong being as tho its a very strong brand also...

[acer]

Just bought this one from Argos and very pleased with it!

[Carrera74]

I am looking for a laptop for my daughter for college. She'll use it for college work, surfing the net and going on websites such as Youtube and Facebook. Would the one from Argos be suitable for this? Or would a notebook be any good? I'm not sure if she'll be able to use Microsoft Office on teh notebook?

She has around £350 to spend.

[veruccasalt]

I dont know much about these things, but she will certainly be able to use the Internet on this. The cheaper notebooks use Linux as an operating system, and my understanding is that this can be incompatible with Microsoft Ofice etc. I took the safe route! The cheapest I have found this laptop elsewhere is £460 on Amazon

[Carrera74]

Thanks. Just need to wait for them to come into stock locally :D

[buglawton]

Here's a tip: If you buy a 1GB RAM laptop today with the obligatory Vista on it, it will not exactly fly speedwise. When Windows 7 comes out, apparently there will be cheap upgrade path from Vista to 7.

The fact is that Win 7 is much, much more efficient and will run very nicely thankyou on a 1 GB lappy. So, buy bargain unpopular 1GB lappy today, wait patiently, install Windows 7.

[asininity]

I dont know much about these things, but she will certainly be able to use the Internet on this. The cheaper notebooks use Linux as an operating system, and my understanding is that this can be incompatible with Microsoft Ofice etc. I took the safe route! The cheapest I have found this laptop elsewhere is £460 on Amazon

Linux is compatible with M$ office it uses openoffice in which you can save documents so M$ office can open them. Just a bit of a learning curve just like when you first used windows.

[Koopa]

Need a decent lappy for around £300... tried the refurb route with disastrous results!

[flashnazia]

Need a decent lappy for around £300... tried the refurb route with disastrous results!

Why? what happened with your refurb?

[doingmybest]

Hi there I have been looking at the acer's but heard that they all though they are high spec the build quality is very cheap hence the low price tag for the spec. I'm looking to buy a laptop and have about 400 to spend. Seen this http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-NS20E%2FS&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+NS+Series&assetid=1218032875460 on amazon, did a bit of digging around and did some camparisons against similar spec acers, hp's and toshiba's and this had the better write ups and user reviews. Would appreciate a view from your knowledgeable people here to see what you think. Amazon are selling for 457, by the way.

[asininity]

I've never had any problems with acer laptops, if I was in the market I'd probably end up with one of them.

[liitleblackcat]

Saw this Toshiba L300-1BW (http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=397643&affixedcode=WW+)advertised in Staples for £284.99. Is it worth getting? I know 1GB of RAM is light but I only want to surf, email and use Word and Excel most of the time.

[asininity]

Get it at that price, cheapest price I can find for it, ram upgrades if you need it are easy and cheap. Good find.

[loftysgirls]

Price is excluding VAT sadly on website- actually £331.14. Would have been perfect for me! Thanks tho

[Koopa]

Why? what happened with your refurb?

I turned it on... it didn't work lol. Could only get to the 'setting up Vista' stage and even then I noticed dead pixels... wasnt impressed at all.

[loftysgirls]

Price is excluding VAT sadly on website- actually £331.14. Would have been perfect for me! Thanks tho

I apologise - I was in Staples yesterday and these were on sale at £299.99!

[flashnazia]

I turned it on... it didn't work lol. Could only get to the 'setting up Vista' stage and even then I noticed dead pixels... wasnt impressed at all.

It wasn't a Toshiba was it? I was looking at one that was sold and has suddenly come back into stock!

[steve_c10]

I personally bought a

Acer TravelMate 5520-6A1G08Mi - Athlon 64 X2 TK-55 / 1.8 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 80 GB - DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM - Radeon X1250 HyperMemory (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ZIXNM4)

for £225 (+£5 delivery) which was a bargain.

I only use it for internet/word document etc....but for the price, it's kinda powerful.

Not sure if there's a similiar product available but you can get similar products for £250ish.

I do have a question however, what other manufacturers do people solidly recommend on Laptops?

[fruit-loop]

Hi all

I hope I am posting this in the right place. I need to buy a new laptop on a tight budget. i have found this http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+ (http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+)

please could soeone have a look and let me know if it is ok?

It will be needed for internet usage at home and travelling, running microsoft office (mainly publisher) etc...

Any advice gratefully recieved as i dont want to buy the wrong thing.

ETA I like the lightscribe dvd writer and was thinking of buying an external one recently, so this would save me that.

[ah_heng]

Hi all

I hope I am posting this in the right place. I need to buy a new laptop on a tight budget. i have found this http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+ (http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+)

please could soeone have a look and let me know if it is ok?

It will be needed for internet usage at home and travelling, running microsoft office (mainly publisher) etc...

Any advice gratefully recieved as i dont want to buy the wrong thing.

ETA I like the lightscribe dvd writer and was thinking of buying an external one recently, so this would save me that.

Things I like:
- HDMI!!!
- Price
- Altec Lansing Speaker
- Screen type
- Decent Graphic card
- Video cam and mic built-in

I don't quite like:
- weight
- VISTA (pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee change to XP where possible)

Hope that helps...

Choon

[kookai9]

ah_heng u mite b interested in the "Dell Sale" Dell Mini 9 webbook now £148.99
It gets vry good reviews form most review sites

[ah_heng]

ah_heng u mite b interested in the "Dell Sale" Dell Mini 9 webbook now £148.99
It gets vry good reviews form most review sites

Yah Kookai.. I noticed that too, but I'm into the power than mobility ;) It's really good if I do lots of traveling but not my case.

Thanks anyway....

[JDPower]

Hi all

I hope I am posting this in the right place. I need to buy a new laptop on a tight budget. i have found this http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+ (http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=398539&affixedcode=WW+)

please could soeone have a look and let me know if it is ok?I don't quite like:
- weight
- VISTA (pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee change to XP where possible)
Also only a single core processor which, in terms of future proofing, would be a fairly major negative IMO

[LisbonLaura]

- VISTA (pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee change to XP where possible)


I agree with that, who doesn't!!! - but where can I buy a cheapo new laptop with XP...please??

[JaRocks28]

Im looking for a cheap laptop for my dad, was looking at the previous posts and thought that the HP one from Staples was quite good.. but still see'ing if i can get anything cheaper haha!! :)

[boobbby]

Why mess about... pay Dell £349 (includes posting)and get a laptop with 3GB RAM, Home Edition Vista, Dual core processor and 250GB hard drive

[tekkiegurl]

i would like to have a laptop. having one would really make my life much easier

[jingle68]

Why mess about... pay Dell £349 (includes posting)and get a laptop with 3GB RAM, Home Edition Vista, Dual core processor and 250GB hard drive

can you post a link to it please?

thank you

[brewskeyboy]

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-1545?c=uk&cid=Ins15TV&cs=ukdhs1&dgc=IR&l=en&lid=SHP_TB1&s=dhs

I've been considering it my self. Read lots of reviews and the things putting me off are apparently a battery life of only 89 minutes and no S-Video port.

[boobbby]

can you post a link to it please?

thank you


http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-1545?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&dgc=EM&cid=22689&lid=530199&acd=9F3BTM-YB6PY-IPZNB3-BMJ4WY-D9DFE-v1

Bob

[Rhiannon87]

I am just about to buy the the dell £349 laptop as it is the best deal I have seen by far, but I was just wondering if it was worth upgrading to the intel core 2 duo processor and to 4MB ram for an extra £80?! Will it make it a lot faster and slighlty more future proofed?

Thanks

[boobbby]

I am just about to buy the the dell £349 laptop as it is the best deal I have seen by far, but I was just wondering if it was worth upgrading to the intel core 2 duo processor and to 4MB ram for an extra £80?! Will it make it a lot faster and slighlty more future proofed?

Thanks

You will never future proof a computer (might even be a new system called windows 7 at the end of this year) There is now a quad processor available and RAM is going up all the time. I personally would stick to the base price of £349 as it is a very good set of specs for the price against a very marginal performance improvement.

[Rhiannon87]

You will never future proof a computer (might even be a new system called windows 7 at the end of this year) There is now a quad processor available and RAM is going up all the time. I personally would stick to the base price of £349 as it is a very good set of specs for the price against a very marginal performance improvement.

Thank you for replying, I will just go with the base spec as you suggest.

Thanks

[doingmybest]

Hi there I have been looking at the acer's but heard that they all though they are high spec the build quality is very cheap hence the low price tag for the spec. I'm looking to buy a laptop and have about 400 to spend. Seen this http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-NS20E%2FS&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+NS+Series&assetid=1218032875460 on amazon, did a bit of digging around and did some camparisons against similar spec acers, hp's and toshiba's and this had the better write ups and user reviews. Would appreciate a view from your knowledgeable people here to see what you think. Amazon are selling for 457, by the way.

Just to say, went with this laptop and very pleased with it. A great bit of kit. Once you've set it up and taylored it to suit your way of working it's brilliant. That's when I get to go on it and kick the kids of it. Only 1 grumble though and that's the battery life which is about 2.5 hours. I guess this is in keeping with most lappys but as this is my first I'll have to get used to it.

[AirCooledHeaven]

Price is excluding VAT sadly on website- actually £331.14. Would have been perfect for me! Thanks tho

There's a similar spec HP laptop on Ebuyer's site, £299 including free delivery and very well reviewed:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152309

[want2bmortgage3]

i am also looking for a laptop, im currently using my dads spare old dell c500/c600. its actually not bad for an ancient laptop and runs xp fine. battery lasts well too. got me thinking, why not save some money and buy a used laptop from ebay?

i am going to have a proper look but it looks like you could pick up a similar laptop to what i'm using now for under £100.

for a new laptop, novatech sell one without operating system for £320 inc vat. which isnt a bad deal if you can get your own copy of windows/linux cheap.

by the way has anyone got one of the dell's on offer in tesco at £349?

[boobbby]

I often wonder if anybody reads through earlier posts. Take the one above suggesting Dells offer of £349 through Tescos. This same one can be bought from Dell direct for £329 or for £349 you can get a from Dell a laptop with much high specs. (As in the earlier posts) Linux is a free system and can be downloaded in various forms but is only used by about 10% of people. Then again why buy a laptop with similar specs to save money when you can save even more money by not buying a second hand laptop.

[melvis]

Help please :D

I've looked at so many laptops my heads buzzing :rotfl:

I get paid on Wednesday, can afford £350 - £380 tops for a laptop. The desktop is going upstairs to be used for downloading etc so we're not going to be using the laptop for that. (OH's moving the desktop upstairs on Saturday as the new sofa is coming and there's to be no room for it downstairs so need my laptop asap!)

My brother says Acer all the way, my friend says Dell. I personally have never even used a laptop before so have no idea :rotfl:

Ok, so what do I need to use the laptop for I hear you ask? Surfing the internet, opening lots of competition tabs at a time on Firefox, the odd bingo game. Also general office applications, like Word and Excel and basic photo editing. OH will be using it for roulette games etc but no heavy gaming going on.

Most of all, I don't want an ugly laptop :p

Is it relatively easy to replace Vista with XP? I have XP on disc that I have on my desktop at the moment. OH reckons it'll be easy but he isn't a laptop user! I haven't actually used Vista and don't exactly know what it is but have heard awful reviews of it and OH recommended I use XP instead :D

Thanks peeps xx

[want2bmortgage3]

the thing with the tesco laptop is you can get blue or red for the same price, from dell they charge £30 extra for anything other than black.

[melvis]

the thing with the tesco laptop is you can get blue or red for the same price, from dell they charge £30 extra for anything other than black.

On the dell site I noticed that the Pacific Blue is no extra cost xx

[jingle68]

Im sure the Tesco Dells are the same code but are actually lower spec than the ones on the Dell website?

[AirCooledHeaven]

Help please :D

I've looked at so many laptops my heads buzzing :rotfl:

I get paid on Wednesday, can afford £350 - £380 tops for a laptop. The desktop is going upstairs to be used for downloading etc so we're not going to be using the laptop for that. (OH's moving the desktop upstairs on Saturday as the new sofa is coming and there's to be no room for it downstairs so need my laptop asap!)

My brother says Acer all the way, my friend says Dell. I personally have never even used a laptop before so have no idea :rotfl:

Ok, so what do I need to use the laptop for I hear you ask? Surfing the internet, opening lots of competition tabs at a time on Firefox, the odd bingo game. Also general office applications, like Word and Excel and basic photo editing. OH will be using it for roulette games etc but no heavy gaming going on.

Most of all, I don't want an ugly laptop :p

Is it relatively easy to replace Vista with XP? I have XP on disc that I have on my desktop at the moment. OH reckons it'll be easy but he isn't a laptop user! I haven't actually used Vista and don't exactly know what it is but have heard awful reviews of it and OH recommended I use XP instead :D

Thanks peeps xx

Hi

In my opinion Dells are always expensive for the level of specification, and if you search for reviews you'll find that people often complain about poor battery life on the inspiron range. Acer is an excellent budget brand, as is Fujitsu-Siemens, I've owned both and been satisfied but there doesn't appear to be any deals on these at the mo (I've been researching to buy one for my son). Best deals by far right now (imho) are on HP laptops, I just bought this one and I'm impressed by it considering the price and specification:

http://www.simplyhp.co.uk/HP_6735s_536938.html

You'll also find cheaper ones than this on the same site.

You won't find XP installed on any budget laptop, but give Vista a try and see what you think, I'm not a big fan myself but there's no doubting the 'eye candy' is much better than XP and my son loves it.

No problem installing XP but you'll just need to visit the support website for your laptop and download all the XP drivers. In fact before purchasing a laptop I suggest you check that XP drivers are available if using XP is an important cosideration.

Hope this helps

[sukysue]

I don't think Vista is bad at all imho I don't know a lot about puters but I am on mine a lot and Vista seems to be ok with me.

[want2bmortgage3]

my guess is vista is probably fine if the computer/laptop was designed for it, but on an older system i've noticed where xp works fine, vista is struggles and there seems to be constant hard disk activity.

[456789]

My brother says Acer all the way, my friend says Dell. I personally have never even used a laptop before so have no idea :rotfl:

Ok, so what do I need to use the laptop for I hear you ask? Surfing the internet, opening lots of competition tabs at a time on Firefox, the odd bingo game. Also general office applications, like Word and Excel and basic photo editing. OH will be using it for roulette games etc but no heavy gaming going on.

Is it relatively easy to replace Vista with XP? I have XP on disc that I have on my desktop at the moment. OH reckons it'll be easy but he isn't a laptop user! I haven't actually used Vista and don't exactly know what it is but have heard awful reviews of it and OH recommended I use XP instead :DFor just general browsing and office applications - pretty much any decent laptop will do the job

Personally I do not like Acer - Dell is good sometimes they have nice deals sometimes not

The license for the copy of XP on your CD probably does not allow for it to be installed on 2 computers at the same time.

Vista is perfectly OK to useIm sure the Tesco Dells are the same code but are actually lower spec than the ones on the Dell website?Normally yes as they are mass produced rather than custom built so by the time they get to stores such as Tesco and PC world they are slightly out of dateBest deals by far right now (imho) are on HP laptops.Yes HP has good prices and good specs - I have a HP atm and had a Compaq before (they are owned by HP) - there are usually good HP deals on http://www.ebuyer.com/my guess is vista is probably fine if the computer/laptop was designed for it, but on an older system i've noticed where xp works fine, vista is struggles and there seems to be constant hard disk activity.The biggest issue is that it is very ram-hungry - xp would be fine on 512mb and I even have it on an old pc which has 128mb ram but vista can struggle even on a GB of ram

[clyd3robert]

Keep your eyes open and wait for the next big sale to pop out. You never know when your favorite vendor will offer a sale you can't refuse. Be very cautious about sales, though. Ask the seller why they offer such a deal and drop the price so you won't make the mistake of purchasing a cheap laptop that won't work. Ask if there are some parts they deliberately do not include with the package. Of course, buying them separately may cost you more after all. :beer:

[silvercar]

Can someone do me a big favour and compare the £349 dell with the sony vaio NR38ES that is also £349 (at Argos).

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-1545?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&dgc=EM&cid=22689&lid=530199&acd=9F3BTM-YB6PY-IPZNB3-BMJ4WY-D9DFE-v1


http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5080702.htm

[456789]

Depends which model of the dell you are buying

[silvercar]

Depends which model of the dell you are buying

:confused: I thought the link led to the model.

Dell: Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
2048MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
160GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English

Argos:
Intel Dual-Core processor T2390.
1.86GHz processor speed.
1024Mb cache.
2Gb RAM (2x 1024Mb DDR SDRAM).
15.4in screen size.
Resolution 1280 x 800 pixels.
Widescreen.
160GB SATA hard drive.
Multi format, dual layer, optical drive.
Intel GMA X3100 graphics.
350MB graphics memory.
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 operating system installed.

[456789]

Overall the Dell is better - but the Argos has dedicated graphics memory whilst the Dell shares some of the RAM for the graphics

[diabolikal]

:confused: I thought the link led to the model.

Dell: Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
2048MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
160GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English

Argos:
Intel Dual-Core processor T2390.
1.86GHz processor speed.
1024Mb cache.
2Gb RAM (2x 1024Mb DDR SDRAM).
15.4in screen size.
Resolution 1280 x 800 pixels.
Widescreen.
160GB SATA hard drive.
Multi format, dual layer, optical drive.
Intel GMA X3100 graphics.
350MB graphics memory.
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 operating system installed.

Would also recommend the Dell. Main criteria being the processor.

Like the previous post said though, the dedicated gfx memory is nice, but you can change the BIOS setting on a Dell to use more graphics memory if need be. If you're looking for something for internet, office, youtube/iplayer, solitaire kind of stuff, then the Dell.

[Taffyscot]

Hi there,
I found a sony vaio ns20 computer on Marks and Spencer website a few weeks ago at £449 Specs looked good at 3 gb, 250 gb and 2.18 mh. That's what my friend told me to look for anyway. I called them up today and there are none left because they are getting newer models in. I asked about the specs on the newer model and they are exactly the same except the newer model has a better internal camera (big deal) but the newer model is now £499. the new model is vaio ns20E and is not in yet. The manager said that they do have a floor model of the older one with no box and no booklets of instructions. He said he will sell it to me for £400. What do you guys think please? Is it ok to buy a floor model or not? What should I look for and what should I ask? I am a senior and even tho I can use a pc quite easily I am not good with all the techie stuff, born a few years too early methinks. Would you lot buy a floor model Sony that is discontinued now but with exactly the same specs as the newer model? Any help on here or private messaging would be greatly appreciated. thanks Taffy

[Taffyscot]

Sony VAIO VGN-NS10L Laptop
Oh this was the model that they no longer have. Any comments on this model please? Also if it is discontinued and now a newer model and it was a floor model with no instructions, box etc would it be possible to ask for more of a discount than from £449 to £400 or is that a decent offer. He offered me that without hestition and made me wonder if there was room to negotiate more. I am not much good at negotiating but would sure love to hear if anyone has any tips at all about getting the price lowered. It will have the normal warranty do you think? Thanks all,
Taffy

[AirCooledHeaven]

Can someone do me a big favour and compare the £349 dell with the sony vaio NR38ES that is also £349 (at Argos).

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-1545?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&dgc=EM&cid=22689&lid=530199&acd=9F3BTM-YB6PY-IPZNB3-BMJ4WY-D9DFE-v1


http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5080702.htm

Technically the dell has the edge, but personally I would rather own the Sony. The NR38ES is a discontinued model and surprisingly Argos is the cheapest place to buy one (having researched it last week). For general use you won't see any difference in performance.

[Taffyscot]

Hi This Sony has not been available now for about 3 weeks where I live and does not look as if they are going to get any more in. Does anyone really have any in their area as I have asked my relatives in Wales too and some in England. Taffy

[AirCooledHeaven]

Hi This Sony has not been available now for about 3 weeks where I live and does not look as if they are going to get any more in. Does anyone really have any in their area as I have asked my relatives in Wales too and some in England. Taffy

Why not just call them and ask? 0845 640 1010

[doingmybest]

Hi This Sony has not been available now for about 3 weeks where I live and does not look as if they are going to get any more in. Does anyone really have any in their area as I have asked my relatives in Wales too and some in England. Taffy

You could try and negotiate and see what happens. I bought the ns20e a few weeks ago from Amazon for 457. I am really pleased with it but it's up to you. The shop floor one would be okay but make sure they give you a guarantee, you would be able to get the instructions online but to be honest when I got mine I just switched it on and we were away. Very easy to set up and use. Her is the link to Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NS20ES-15-4-inch-Laptop-2-16Ghz/dp/B001PO5UG4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237496355&sr=1-1

[Tysa]

Hi,

I've finally found two laptops that I like but I'm torn between the two. It will mainly be used for surfing and watching films with the odd bit of gaming. I've always been a Pentium man so please help.

Thanks

Here's the first one:

http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=398661&affixedcode=WW+

and the second one.....
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9535.aspx

[GooWorld]

I think Sony is the best brand of laptop :)

[AirCooledHeaven]

Hi,

I've finally found two laptops that I like but I'm torn between the two. It will mainly be used for surfing and watching films with the odd bit of gaming. I've always been a Pentium man so please help.

Thanks

Here's the first one:

http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=398661&affixedcode=WW+

and the second one.....
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9535.aspx

Hi Tysa

Given that you want to do some gaming I would not buy either of these as the integrated graphics chipsets are not the best. I've been researching a laptop in this price range for my son who also wants to use it for games and finally bought this one:

http://www.simplyhp.co.uk/HP_6735s_536938.html

Big decision factor is that it has ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics chipset which is the best you'll find in this price range, it also has a low power dual core processor and 2GB ram as standard. He's pretty pleased with it although due to the overhead of vista it would probably benefit from maxing out the ram to 4GB (another 20 quid), but this is true of all vista machines.

Hope this helps

[Comrade]

:confused: I thought the link led to the model.

Dell: Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
2048MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
160GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English

Argos:
Intel Dual-Core processor T2390.
1.86GHz processor speed.
1024Mb cache.
2Gb RAM (2x 1024Mb DDR SDRAM).
15.4in screen size.
Resolution 1280 x 800 pixels.
Widescreen.
160GB SATA hard drive.
Multi format, dual layer, optical drive.
Intel GMA X3100 graphics.
350MB graphics memory.
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 operating system installed.

Argos one doesn't have dedicated graphics memory, this is a mistake. And its integrated graphics is older and slower than Dell's.

[JDPower]

Hi Tysa

Given that you want to do some gaming I would not buy either of these as the integrated graphics chipsets are not the best. I've been researching a laptop in this price range for my son who also wants to use it for games and finally bought this one:

http://www.simplyhp.co.uk/HP_6735s_536938.html

Big decision factor is that it has ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics chipset which is the best you'll find in this price range, it also has a low power dual core processor and 2GB ram as standard. He's pretty pleased with it although due to the overhead of vista it would probably benefit from maxing out the ram to 4GB (another 20 quid), but this is true of all vista machines.
Bear in mind that any integrated graphics card will struggle with modern games. Also half that 2GB RAM is being used up by the integrated graphics so only 1GB is available to the computer for general use (and Vista can comfortably use up most of that)

[allotment owner]

Soooooo..................! Very confusing! I have been given up to £500 to buy a laptop for my daughter.
She is only 10 and it seems crazy to spend so much money on one thing fo her! BUT she does go into hospitals for stays so she would love one where she can take games as it gets boring.

Now I understand that to play games fast you need a good graphics card- right?

But when you are playing, you aren't doing anything else at the same time (usually not I would have thought!!), so...really she wouldn't be surfing the net,using office, and playing at the same time! So does it still really matter?

I would like to buy her a laptop from some place where if I have a problem, I can get it fixed without stress! Argos are usually good for that.

Has anyone got a simple recommendation for me? She will surf, do powerpoints, play games like rollercoaster tycoon.
Not all at the same time!
Chat on msn to her mates and granny living in France (who is paying for this) . She satarts secondary school in 1 and a half years time, hopefully the laptop will still be going strong then for homework!
I need to find something this coming week for her.

thanks in advance.

[allotment owner]

PS- I am looking at the argos site and there are some nice looking ones Acer and Asus at about the £480 range-



http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID71/12108673/c_1/1|category_root|Office%2C+PCs+and+phones|12108629/c_2/2|cat_12108629|Computers+and+laptops|12108658/c_3/3|cat_12108658|Laptops|12108673/r_1/4|Price|400+%3C%3D++%3C%3D+499.99|2.htm (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID71/12108673/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C121 08629/c_2/2%7Ccat_12108629%7CComputers+and+laptops%7C1210865 8/c_3/3%7Ccat_12108658%7CLaptops%7C12108673/r_1/4%7CPrice%7C400+%3C%3D++%3C%3D+499.99%7C2.htm)
Any views on these?

[want2bmortgage3]

Argos are usually quite expensive unless they have a special offer on.. might be worth waiting for the next offers catalog that comes with the free newspaper?

I would advise going for the best CPU you can in your price range. The memory can be upgraded easily in the future and its unlikely you will run out of hard disk space these days. The CPU is important and one thing you cant change later on.

JD Power : Does an integrated graphics really use up a whole 1gb of RAM??? Surely it would only be something like 128mb?

[boobbby]

Soooooo..................! Very confusing! I have been given up to £500 to buy a laptop for my daughter.
She is only 10 and it seems crazy to spend so much money on one thing fo her! BUT she does go into hospitals for stays so she would love one where she can take games as it gets boring.

Now I understand that to play games fast you need a good graphics card- right?

But when you are playing, you aren't doing anything else at the same time (usually not I would have thought!!), so...really she wouldn't be surfing the net,using office, and playing at the same time! So does it still really matter?

I would like to buy her a laptop from some place where if I have a problem, I can get it fixed without stress! Argos are usually good for that.

Has anyone got a simple recommendation for me? She will surf, do powerpoints, play games like rollercoaster tycoon.
Not all at the same time!
Chat on msn to her mates and granny living in France (who is paying for this) . She satarts secondary school in 1 and a half years time, hopefully the laptop will still be going strong then for homework!
I need to find something this coming week for her.

thanks in advance.

Surfing the net, chatting on MSN. homework take very little processing power and could be done one at a time or for that matter could all be on the screen at the same time with most modern computers. Some of the latest games require many times more processing power or can sometimes be played at a slower rate or use less detail. Graphics cards fitted to computers have extra processing and RAM installed but they cost. They more of less detirmine the price of a computer. When you buy a game it will say on the back of the game how much is the minimum system power needed.

[want2bmortgage3]

How about this one from Novatech, providing you can get hold of a copy of windows/linux from a friend?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/range.html?t=nb&c=home&r=E15

Or what about this toshiba from tesco, its a dual core not a slow celeron like Dell's budget inspiron:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9535.aspx

[superstar]

Is celeron worse than core processor?

[want2bmortgage3]

the celeron is a cheap alternative to intel's pentium, just like the amd sempron is cheaper than the athlon.

[120]

Hey, can somebody please compare these two laptops and tell me which one is the best for the money or if there are any better alternatives? Thanks

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-3315.aspx

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158887

[allotment owner]

I like the acer. Worth getting methinks!

[davidmt83]

A friend has £300 to spend on a laptop. Can anyone beat this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152309

[want2bmortgage3]

Nice price and hp is a good make but quite a low spec, Celeron is a slow cpu. The Tosh in tesco has a better cpu and double memory but is £50 more. Further to my last post, I think buying a brand like novatech may mean a lower re-sale price as it's not a well known brand. I'll probably stick to Dell/tosh/hp. My mate said acer aren't all that good and he works at a distributor that sells laptops etc.

[MrKennedy...Kennedy]

Hi can anyone advise me on which they think is the better deal?

(for some reason it won't let me post links, which is stupid and makes this post a waste of time now)


so either the novatch one posted earlier, or the acer one from tesco.


It will be for general home use. Which is the better processor the T5800 of the novatech or the T3400 of the Acer.

Which would you recommend getting, and which do you think represents value for money? (bear in mind that I have a copy of XP to install on the novatech, hence I would buy the laptop with no operating system)

thanks.
Mr Kennedy.

[mum.s]

Don't know if anyone can help:confused:

I have limited funds, around £300, and want to buy a laptop that we as a family can all use, the children want it for games, homework and you tube and I need it for emails and MSE, I hear you can now use a dongle, as I don't have a fixed line. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Many Thanks :D

[thelawns]

Don't know if anyone can help:confused:

I have limited funds, around £300, and want to buy a laptop that we as a family can all use, the children want it for games, homework and you tube and I need it for emails and MSE, I hear you can now use a dongle, as I don't have a fixed line. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Many Thanks :D

Yes, the dongle you speak of is called "Mobile Broadband" and is available from 3, Orange, Vodaphone and others. I bet there is a price compare for them on this very site! Some places give you a free laptop if you sign up to one of the more expensive monthly packages, like PC World do I think.

[Dannyd123]

i want a laptop with bluetooth how much does that cost

[neilrob7]

You can get USB bluetooth adaptors for around £10. The likes of Dell charge something like £30 to have bluetooth built in to their laptops.

[elliewelly]

My old laptop has bluetooth on it and I use it to connect and sync my mobile phone. When researching buying a new one recently I was told by the saleman that bluetooth was being phased out - that I should be able to connect my mobile phone to my laptop via WLAN. He did also make the point that bluetooth adaptors are only about £10. I prefer mine built in though as if you are travelling with your laptop, having another adaptor to plug in is a bit of a faff.

[old_codger1]

I like the acer. Worth getting methinks!
I bought my dad, (now well in his 80's), an acer just over a year ago and he's been very pleased with it.

[RacyRed]

Hi,

I saw this on sale at Littlewoods direct. It is reduced to £399, but there is also a £30 reduction offer for new customers plus 8% + £3 bonus cashback at topcashback using the code explained on the grabbit board HERE (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1595755)

checkout price including P&P £364.46 then there is cashback of about 32.15. so net price £332.31

Asus isn't a make I've had before, but if it is any good, I think the spec for that price is a decent deal?

I'm not planning to use it for gaming but I do need speed and reliability for internet, emails and business applications.

I'd really appreciate comments from those more knowledgeable.

Thanks

Asus Core 2 Duo "T5750" 15.4in laptop with Vista software
A great value laptop with 2Gb storage for work in progress.
Standard range (see more info).
Your entertainment, your way, with
Windows Vista®. Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium.
Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor.
2Gb DDR2 RAM.
160Gb hard drive.
15.4in WXGA Colour-Shine display with 1280x800 resolution.
DVD Super Multi Dual Layer drive.
Embedded ATI Radeon X1100 graphics.
802.11 b/g WiFi.
Entertaining Go big with Windows Media Centre - Sit back and enjoy your PC's contents on your TV and stereo for a complete home entertainment experience Windows Vista® Home Premium allows you to access your digital photos and videos on your TV. Then send your pictures via email or burn them to a DVD.

[researcher]

Im looking for 2 new laptops which will be used mostly for ms applications (ie Word, XL, Outlook), browsing, and some photography on one, music on the other but neither for gaming. (Both for home/office use).

My current laptop, a Sony Viao has been brilliant and I'll hate to see it go, but I'm beginning to get lots of error messages and in truth it's past its sell by date! But reviews I've seen for Viao's haven't been brilliant unless you spend a lot of money, which I don't want to do.

The other will replace OH's pc, which is now soooooo slow it drives me crazy when I have to use it. (We've tried everything to quicken it but I think it's also past its sell by date).

It's more important that I get something that is good quality, reliable and value for money than the lowest price.

I have looked at the ACER as5735z in Tesco - any comment/suggestions.

[dave111]

What do you guys think of this Hp at ebuyer
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158887

£419.

HP 6735s Laptop AMD Turion X2 Dual Core RM-72 2.1Ghz, 4GB 800DDR2, 320GB 15.4" DVD RW LightScribe Writer, WLAN, 8 Cell Battery, Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+, Onboard ATI Radeon HD3200 Windows Vista Home Premium, MSO rdy (60 day trial or 25 uses

[Own-Brand-Paul]

I'm looking at the same laptop as dave111 is above, it looks to me like a reet bargain, but any thoughts from more experienced posters would be appreciated. I think I'm gonna buy it on Friday, unless anyone suggests otherwise.

[dunkerz]

What do you guys think of this Hp at ebuyer
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158887

£419.

HP 6735s Laptop AMD Turion X2 Dual Core RM-72 2.1Ghz, 4GB 800DDR2, 320GB 15.4" DVD RW LightScribe Writer, WLAN, 8 Cell Battery, Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+, Onboard ATI Radeon HD3200 Windows Vista Home Premium, MSO rdy (60 day trial or 25 uses
I bought it for my mother-in-law a while back and she's very pleased with. No problems, as yet. Hate to break it to you though, it was £390 then.

[Own-Brand-Paul]

I have seen this laptop around with the same name but various specs; are you sure you got the exact same model for that price?

[dave111]

Asus X59GL-AP007C
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150324/show_product_reviews
£409.99

[dunkerz]

I have seen this laptop around with the same name but various specs; are you sure you got the exact same model for that price?

Copied from my ebuyer a/c:


HP 6735s Laptop, AMD Turion X2 Dual Core RM-72 2.1Ghz, 4GB 800DDR2, 250GB 15.4" DVD RW LightScribe Writer, WLAN, Webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+, Onboard ATI Radeon HD3200 Windows Vista Home Premium, MSO rdy (60 day trial or 25 uses)



£339.11+VAT

[dave111]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159355
Lenovo N500 Laptop, Dual Core T3400 2.16GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 15.4" WXGA, DVDRW DL, Bluetooth, Vista Home Premium

Now £409.96

[Own-Brand-Paul]

Well, now it looks like I'm gonna go for one of the new two that Dave111 has thrown up on here....haha, I must be easily swayed. I wasn't going to, because I;d never heard of either Asus or Lenovo, but after a little digging around it seems they're both highly reliable brands that won't just break in your hands (Asus even dislodged Apple as 'Most Reliable Laptop' in a survey this year). the Lenovo looks like slightly better specs, but that machine hasn't had any reviews yet so I'm tempted to play it safe and go for the Asus which has had entirely great customer reviews.

[RacyRed]

Arrrgh, now I'm confused.

This one dave111 found

Asus X59GL-AP007C Laptop, Core 2 Duo T5800 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HDD, 15.4" TFT, DVD SM DL, 6 Cell Batt, nVIDIA GeForce 8200 Vista Home Premium

Asus X59GL-AP007C
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150324/show_product_reviews
£409.99

or the cheaper one from Littlewoods direct (http://www.littlewoodsdirect.com/rf/lxd/p.do?D=556083644&SNtk=littlewoods_search&thisprod=556083644&Ntk=group_search&SNtt=Asus%20t5750&Nu=this_product&N=0&Ntt=556083644&Dx=mode+matchall&Np=1&product=556083644&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&SNu=pca_id)? (£332 after casback)

Asus Core 2 Duo "T5750" 15.4in laptop 2Gb DDR2 RAM.
160Gb hard drive 15.4in WXGA Colour-Shine display with 1280x800 resolution. DVD Super Multi Dual Layer drive. Embedded ATI Radeon X1100 graphics. 802.11 b/g WiFi.

Are the additional specs worth the extra cash or is it feasible to get the cheaper one now and upgrade the hard drive if/when I need to?

What I'm really asking is, in day to day use, what benefits would I see if I got the X59GL instead of the cheaper one and are they worth the extra money?

[DealCruncher]

Arrrgh, now I'm confused.

This one dave111 found

Asus X59GL-AP007C Laptop, Core 2 Duo T5800 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HDD, 15.4" TFT, DVD SM DL, 6 Cell Batt, nVIDIA GeForce 8200 Vista Home Premium



or the cheaper one from Littlewoods direct (http://www.littlewoodsdirect.com/rf/lxd/p.do?D=556083644&SNtk=littlewoods_search&thisprod=556083644&Ntk=group_search&SNtt=Asus%20t5750&Nu=this_product&N=0&Ntt=556083644&Dx=mode+matchall&Np=1&product=556083644&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&SNu=pca_id)? (£332 after casback)

Asus Core 2 Duo "T5750" 15.4in laptop 2Gb DDR2 RAM.
160Gb hard drive 15.4in WXGA Colour-Shine display with 1280x800 resolution. DVD Super Multi Dual Layer drive. Embedded ATI Radeon X1100 graphics. 802.11 b/g WiFi.

Are the additional specs worth the extra cash or is it feasible to get the cheaper one now and upgrade the hard drive if/when I need to?

What I'm really asking is, in day to day use, what benefits would I see if I got the X59GL instead of the cheaper one and are they worth the extra money?

Personally I would spend the extra for the extra Gb RAM and the graphics card.

I think the decision depends on how you would be using it. If you want to use it for gaming on/offline, running multiple applications or for any more complex programs, such as design or similar, then consider the higher spec, more expensive X59.

For general surfing, youtube, and less intensive work, go for the cheaper, as it is great value and has pretty much all the neccessary reqs to work well with Vista.

http://toolbarqueries.google.com/favicon.ico PR: wait... (javascript:!!})http://www.google.com/favicon.ico I: wait... (javascript:!!})http://www.google.com/favicon.ico L: wait... (javascript:!!})http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/favicon.ico LD: wait... (javascript:!!})http://search.msn.com/favicon.ico I: wait... (javascript:!!})wait... (javascript:!!})http://siteanalytics.compete.com/favicon.ico C: wait... (javascript:!!})http://seodigger.com/favicon.ico SD: wait... (javascript:!!})
chrome://seoquake/content/skin/close.gif

[RacyRed]

Thank you DealCruncher.

I'm not planning to use it for gaming, but do want to use multiple business applications, so maybe for the extra £70 odd the higher spec machine is worth it.

I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Thank you. http://images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/forum_images/icons/icon7.gif

[DealCruncher]

Thank you DealCruncher.

I'm not planning to use it for gaming, but do want to use multiple business applications, so maybe for the extra £70 odd the higher spec machine is worth it.

I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Thank you. http://images.moneysavingexpert.com/images/forum_images/icons/icon7.gif

No probs.

Yes i agree. Even the smallest business apps seem to be pretty power hungry.

Enjoy.

[dave111]

Any reviews on this machine.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159355
Lenovo N500 Laptop, Dual Core T3400 2.16GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 15.4" WXGA, DVDRW DL, Bluetooth, Vista Home Premium

Now £409.96

[RacyRed]

Any reviews on this machine.

Found a few reviews for you, hope they are of some use.

Ciao (http://www.ciao.co.uk/Lenovo_3000_N500_4233_Pentium_Dual_Core_T3400_2_16 _GHz_15_4_TFT__7036847?AID=1&KID=83118&s_kwcid=lenovo%20n500|2760708925)

Retrevo (http://www.retrevo.com/search?q=Lenovo%20N500&rt=oa)

Thanks for posting about the Asus X59GL, I went with the Ebuyer deal, it arrived to day and I'm well pleased with it
:T

[hardy1976]

Has the Asus X59GL got a glossy finish to it?! Will you be forever cleaning finger prints from it?!

[RacyRed]

Has the Asus X59GL got a glossy finish to it?! Will you be forever cleaning finger prints from it?!

The screen does have a glossy finish, that is probably why an LCD cleaning cloth was included in the box. I've not marked it while setting it up though, the screen has enough "edge" to get hold of without having to touch the screen. Keyboard and touchpad seem nice to use.

Whole thing has a quality feel to it, nothing flimsy about it at all and everything is nice and streamlined, good ergonomics. Its got a much better feel to it than laptops I've handled in the past. No major heat generation either, my lprevious lappy used to run really hot!

Set up was a doddle and it is very quiet.

[JDPower]

No major heat generation either, my lprevious lappy used to run really hot!
New laptops do generally feel cooler as they tend to run warmer as they get older which does them little good in the long term. Personally I always recommend people use a laptop cooling pad whenever practical to prolong the life of the laptop, and definitely always follow the advice of using it on a solid surface to allow proper airflow (and unless you have money to throw away, don't go sitting it directly on a cushion or your bed ;) )

[hardy1976]

Thanks RacyRed...

Just noticed that Sony are top of the poll... where to get a cheap Sony from?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!!??

[xxxdarlingxxx]

I too have bought the Asus X59GL-AP007C Laptop and am very pleased.

I do have a couple of questions if someone could help please ?

It comes with a 60 day trial of Office 2007. This has Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Outlook.

I have bought Office Home & Student but this has not got "OutLook".

Will I need to uninstall the trial programme & install the discs I have bought ?

What will I use for my eMail ?

Or if I want to keep Outlook where is the cheapest place to buy the "code" I need to keep the installed & set up version.

[researcher]

I too have bought the Asus X59GL-AP007C Laptop and am very pleased.

I do have a couple of questions if someone could help please ?

It comes with a 60 day trial of Office 2007. This has Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Outlook.

I have bought Office Home & Student but this has not got "OutLook".

Will I need to uninstall the trial programme & install the discs I have bought ?

What will I use for my eMail ?

Or if I want to keep Outlook where is the cheapest place to buy the "code" I need to keep the installed & set up version.

Exactly the question I'll need answering too (when I actually go out and buy - still undecided :rolleyes:) - but I really do need to do it now.

It's things like this which are causing me to delay as I have to have a seamless turnover from the old to the new - dreading it :o

[almo]

Am after spending around £300 on a laptop for my wife who is about to start maternity leave (and has to hand her teacher's laptop back). She was using an Acer 2490 with 35 of the 60GB HD being used. Mostly to be used for internet surfing / word based apps. No Gaming.
Have seen these if anyone could coment or suggest others (have seen posts about Dell for 329/349 so that's a possibility as well.

Acer Aspire 5720 £293.48:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 1.50Ghz, 2MB L2 Cache
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen CrystalBrite Display
Hard Drive : 80GB Hard Drive
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Optical Drive: DVD-RW Super Multi Dual Layer
Graphics Controller: Intel X3100 GMA (GM965)
Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
Webcam: Yes, 0.3 MegaPixel Webcam
Other Items: 5 in 1 card reader


and a Toshiba Satellite L300-1BV Celeron Dual Core T1600 with 160gb HD. 2048 RAM £330

Thanks in advance.

[xxxdarlingxxx]

Almo hello, I bought this new laptop to replace an 3 year old Acer Aspire which was great, apart from a problem with the powerpin coming loose twice. It was £90 both times to have it replaced.


This seems to be a known Acer fault, I would do some checking to see if it is still a problem with the latest versions.

[pjcbuilder]

I too have bought the Asus X59GL-AP007C Laptop and am very pleased.

I do have a couple of questions if someone could help please ?

It comes with a 60 day trial of Office 2007. This has Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Outlook.

I have bought Office Home & Student but this has not got "OutLook".

Will I need to uninstall the trial programme & install the discs I have bought ?

What will I use for my eMail ?

Or if I want to keep Outlook where is the cheapest place to buy the "code" I need to keep the installed & set up version.
For those of you buying new laptops with trial versions of Office - the licence keys required for the trial versions are not supported by boxed versions or retail versions. Normally from wherever you buy your laptop you can also purchase the licence for the trial version - otherwise yes you will have to uninstall the trial if only to recover the harddrive space.

[anewhope]

It comes with a 60 day trial of Office 2007. This has Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Outlook.

I have bought Office Home & Student but this has not got "OutLook".

Will I need to uninstall the trial programme & install the discs I have bought ?

What will I use for my eMail ?

Or if I want to keep Outlook where is the cheapest place to buy the "code" I need to keep the installed & set up version.

Do you need all of the functions that Outlook offers above and beyond simple email? It's about £75 to buy. To just manage email you can use something like Windows Live Mail (http://download.live.com/wlmail) or Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/), both of which are free of charge.

[gbradders123]

Acer Aspire 6530G AMD Turion X2 RM-70 2.00GHz 16.0" Blu-Ray Laptop - Vista Home Premium (LX.AUS0X.142) on overclockers.co.uk is currently got £87 of it till the end of the week making under £500

sorry cant post the direct link but i am forbidden as a new user!
.

[elaine373]

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/526576/TOSHIBA-SATE-P300D-21K

Seems a good deal to me.

[almo]

Toshiba 17" laptop out of stock nationwide at Comet as of Saturday a.m.
My hunt continues...

[ngrdly]

Thanks very much to the person who posted the link re the laptop deal at Comet. I managed to get the last 17" screen Toshiba from the Lincoln branch of Comet and am very pleased with it. Was slightly worried because it seemed to be too good to be true but can't/haven't found the catch as yet. :money:

[giggles_alot]

Thanks very much to the person who posted the link re the laptop deal at Comet. I managed to get the last 17" screen Toshiba from the Lincoln branch of Comet and am very pleased with it. Was slightly worried because it seemed to be too good to be true but can't/haven't found the catch as yet. :money:
Hiya, was that today instore? I am also in Lincoln and was trying to get one delivered, rang them but they claimed they had completely sold out and wouldnt check availability at my branch.

[elaine373]

Thanks very much to the person who posted the link re the laptop deal at Comet. I managed to get the last 17" screen Toshiba from the Lincoln branch of Comet and am very pleased with it. Was slightly worried because it seemed to be too good to be true but can't/haven't found the catch as yet. :money:
I think that was me. Glad to have been some help.I got one too, yesterday, but still waiting for my router as this is my first laptop. It did come highly recomended via my computer savvy daughter and seems good so far.This is definitely sold out at comet now. I am now looking for a not too expensive bag . Any recomendations?

[ngrdly]

:money:Giggles,

I really did get the very last one from Comet in Lincoln I had to take the one off display. I purchased mine on Friday afternoon, when they checked stock of nearby stores to get me a boxed model Boston were showing 2 although when I phoned the branch both of these had already sold. Mansfield branch were showing 15! although when I called this branch I was told they would not reserve one as they were expecting to sell out of those within an hour. Apparently they were flying out of stores and not surprised at the price. I'm also on the hunt for a bargain laptop bag if anyone can assist.

[giggles_alot]

:money:Giggles,

I really did get the very last one from Comet in Lincoln I had to take the one off display. I purchased mine on Friday afternoon, when they checked stock of nearby stores to get me a boxed model Boston were showing 2 although when I phoned the branch both of these had already sold. Mansfield branch were showing 15! although when I called this branch I was told they would not reserve one as they were expecting to sell out of those within an hour. Apparently they were flying out of stores and not surprised at the price. I'm also on the hunt for a bargain laptop bag if anyone can assist.

Thanks for info ngrdly

[daviedee]

hi all now back in stock.looking to buy first laptop.
when i went to find some comments about this laptop i came across this.
No Gigabit LAN. Most people use wireless (that's the point of having a laptop anyway!) i don't use wirless so is this no good for me

many thanks davie

[boobbby]

Dell are also doing a laptop for £349 which has an intel pentium dual core processor, 3GB memory and Vista home premium. This Inspiration 15 also has free posting!

[all_greek_to_me]

Can anyone recommend an uber cheap but reasonably reliable laptop for me to buy my son? I don't want to spend more than £250 max. He'll be using it for basic surfing etc - not for gaming or anything flash.

Thanks.

[minnie123]

I am looking to buy a new laptop and have been looking at the Dell ones as they are doing offers until the 15th April so I can get quite a good deal.

I have narrowed it down to two the Insiron or the Studio.

Specs as follows :

Insiron : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6400, Memory 3072MB, Hard Drive 250GB - I can get this one for £375

or

Studio : Same processor as above, Memory 4096MB, Hard Drive 320GB, 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 - This one will be £434

So what do you experts recommend I go for - is the studio worth the £60 extra?

I have looked on PC world and can't see any others that match up to these specs for the same price - I am open to suggestions though.

I mainly use computer for surfing internet, downloading, Storing pics and music, itunes, playing basic downloadable games, emailing, messenger, occasional overtime work - excel & word. Nothing major but I want to get something that will be good for at least 3 years.

[Pitchshifter]

You can't beat having a discreet GFX chip with it's own VRAM, along with the extra RAM and HD space, £60 extra is definately worth it.
With the Radeon chip it's a much more rounded and overall more powerful laptop. Go for the Studio.

Even Better is This one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-082-AC which someone else pointed too, slightly more expensive at £499, but its £87 less than normal. Lovely screen and a Bluray player as well as a pretty powerful graphics chip.
I almost bought that and I don't even really need a laptop it such a bargain!

[kgldsun]

I too am looking to buy a new laptop and want a decent one. My budget is £400(ish). I am drawn to HP and more recently the G70 120EM. Not sure really why, other than reading reviews etc. I am wondering though if I am going in too deep as I do not play games or do anything spectacular on a laptop. I do though want speed, large photo storage, able to open few windows at once and reliable good customer support. Any offers of advice much appreciated, and thanks.

[Pitchshifter]

£400 is peanuts for a laptop computer. I've only ever heard bad things about HP computers, choose something else. Acer make good value laptops. Look at Acer Direct. £400 is the "value" range BTW.

If anyone does actually want a really decent gaming laptop Novatech has a great range, with one for £1300 that has a nVidia Geforce 260GTX 1GB and for £1700 one with a 280GTX.

This is is the sort of performance one needs to be able to play upto date games.

Here's the Novatech gaming laptop link for anyone who is interested:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/ranges.html?t=nb&c=gaming

[mmtomlin]

£400 is peanuts for a laptop computer. I've only ever heard bad things about HP computers, choose something else. Acer make good value laptops. Look at Acer Direct. £400 is the "value" range BTW.

If anyone does actually want a really decent gaming laptop Novatech has a great range, with one for £1300 that has a nVidia Geforce 260GTX 1GB and for £1700 one with a 280GTX.

This is is the sort of performance one needs to be able to play upto date games.

Rubbish! you can get some sub-£500 laptops that will play the latest games, you just have to keep your eyes peeled

If you're interested in buying a laptop for gaming, you just need a halfway decent processor and a good graphics card.

(I would post the link but im a new user) go onto notebookcheck.net, click on "faqs/tips/technics" on the left hand side and then on "Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards".
On the left of this page is a list of different laptop graphics cards, and all you have to do is scan across the page to see how well it plays different games (green is good, red is bad), simple.

RAM is cheap as chips (no pun intended) nowadays too and can give a pretty big performance gain for a low price, just make sure you buy the right stuff!

[Pitchshifter]

Depends what games you want to play, I've done my research and my previous post is not "rubbish", thank you very much. I'm a gamer and have built many computers over the years.

The reason why I said "This is is the sort of performance one needs to be able to play upto date games." is because I was considering getting a laptop to play GTA4 on. This game is a total nightmare to run on high quality settings and as such you need high end hardware. The Mobile version of the 280 GTX offers similar performance to to a midrange desktop GPU like 8800 GTS or 9800GT (according to notebookcheck). I have a 8800GTS in my desktop PC and GTA runs on medium settings, so in order to play it on a laptop I would need at least the same performance.

There's a difference between the game only just being able to run and running smoothly with high detail settings.

I'm fully aware that you can buy a £499 laptop with a Radeon HD3650 512MB graphics card, which is fanstastic value for money and one which I posted earlier. Unfortunately although you will be able to play most games on this, you will have to lower the details on the some of latest games.

Getting a current gen card like a 280GTX in a laptop for under £2k is
great value when compared to bigger name brands like Alienware, Dell, Sony, etc.
If you really love playing PC games in all their glory, gaming on a laptop is much more expensive than the equivalent desktop computer, but the prices are getting more reasonable.

Edit: You're right Notebookcheck is an excellent resource, here's the link:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

[boobbby]

Depends what games you want to play, I've done my research and my previous post is not "rubbish", thank you very much. I'm a gamer and have built many computers over the years.

The reason why I said "This is is the sort of performance one needs to be able to play upto date games." is because I was considering getting a laptop to play GTA4 on. This game is a total nightmare to run on high quality settings and as such you need high end hardware. The Mobile version of the 280 GTX offers similar performance to to a midrange desktop GPU like 8800 GTS or 9800GT (according to notebookcheck). I have a 8800GTS in my desktop PC and GTA runs on medium settings, so in order to play it on a laptop I would need at least the same performance.

There's a difference between the game only just being able to run and running smoothly with high detail settings.

I'm fully aware that you can buy a £499 laptop with a Radeon HD3650 512MB graphics card, which is fanstastic value for money and one which I posted earlier. Unfortunately although you will be able to play most games on this, you will have to lower the details on the some of latest games.

Getting a current gen card like a 280GTX in a laptop for under £2k is
great value when compared to bigger name brands like Alienware, Dell, Sony, etc.
If you really love playing PC games in all their glory, gaming on a laptop is much more expensive than the equivalent desktop computer, but the prices are getting more reasonable.

Edit: You're right Notebookcheck is an excellent resource, here's the link:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

THe person you first tried to help does not want the laptop for gaming !!

[Pitchshifter]

I KNOW!! But maybe someone else might be interested.

[old_codger1]

Frankly, if they're really that much into gaming they'd be better off not wasting their money on a laptop which can play them and spending the money, (£1700 did you say???), on buying a decent laptop for normal stuff and a desktop for gaming because it'll be a lot cheaper overall... plus they'll have two computers :)

You can get a decent PC for gaming for way less than a thousand pounds and a decent laptop for £350-500.

[Pitchshifter]

How many more people are going to come here and say the bleedin obvious.

I should have known better, I don't spose many people reading this board would be in the market for such things as high end gaming notebooks. OH LOOK WHAT A MASSIVE GENERALISATION.

It's a small niche market but someone may need, want and be prepared to pay for a high performance gaming laptop computer which they can use on the go. If they were looking for such an item then all I was doing was informing of a place to get one which is great value, thereby SAVING someone lots of MONEY.

[JDPower]

I should have known better, I don't spose many people reading this board would be in the market for such things as high end gaming notebooks. OH LOOK WHAT A MASSIVE GENERALISATION.

It's a small niche market but someone may need, want and be prepared to pay for a high performance gaming laptop computer which they can use on the go. If they were looking for such an item then all I was doing was informing of a place to get one which is great value, thereby SAVING someone lots of MONEY.
But this thread is for cheapest decent laptop, not cheapest high performance laptop. So it's not exactly a generalisation to say most people reading this thread won't be in the market for a high end laptop.

Not having a dig, just pointing out that your advice may be a little misplaced on this thread.

[Pitchshifter]

The point is to find the cheapest decent laptop whatever range that maybe and for whatever use you may have, that is my only point.

"Decent laptop" is open to wide interpretaion.

Anyway I found some information and I just wanted to share it, that was all.

[josephine1]

I love my Imac, but need a laptop as I'm turning work down as I don't have one. I'm returning to work after a years maternity leave so my budget is small, but as I'm a photographer I need something that can cope with photoshop as I will be doing workshops using the laptop and photoshop. I'd love a macbook pro, but there we are! Am I right in thinking that I need a laptop with a graphics card, not integrated graphics, at least 2GB of ram and reasonably fast processor; oh and a good looking screen for students to crowd around? Appreciate suggestions as I've never bought a laptop:)

[Pitchshifter]

How about one with a large high resolution screen, if you're doing lots of photo work and demos. How about this for £629:
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_8920G_Gemstone_Blue_LX.AS60X.071/version.asp?PID=

[josephine1]

Looks fab, but unfortunately I don't think I can stretch much past £350. I'm probably looking for the impossible :confused:

[JDPower]

I'm probably looking for the impossible :confused:
Nah, there's been a few mentioned that are capable of what you require. My Dell Vostro 1000 only cost £320 and copes absolutely fine with the photoshopping I do on it. Have a read back through the last few pages, plenty of suggestions and, if nothing else, will give you an idea of what's about for your price range.

[mmtomlin]

Sorry pitchshifter, i didn't mean to cause offence, and don't want to discourage you from giving advice.

i just thought that someone reading your post could have got the impression that you would have to spend that amount of money to get a decent gaming laptop, which in my opinion is simply not true.

Anyway,
Josephine1, if you are going to be using photoshop a dedicated graphics card is not essential, like jdpower says, photoshop should run on any current machine.
WSXGA and WUXGA denote nice higher resolution screens (the s and u stand for super and ultra) than the usual WXGA screens. ive done a quick search and cant find any laptops with one of these screens for under 500, but you might be able to find one if you do a bit more searching. good luck!

[Pitchshifter]

Looks fab, but unfortunately I don't think I can stretch much past £350. I'm probably looking for the impossible :confused:

How about:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159426/show_product_overview

[mmtomlin]

I just bought a new laptop off ebay! Got 30 quid off on the "or best offer" option. now I don't have to use my old broken acer any more.

Here was the laptop I was going to buy, pretty good value off ebuyer:

15.4" Fujitsu Amilo Pa 3553
Processor: AMD Turion ZM-80 2.1GHz
RAM: 3Gb DDR2 800MHz
HARD DRIVE: 250GB SATA 5400rpm
ATI Radeon HD 3470 hybrid X2


It also has a HDMI output, eSATA connection, DVDRW SuperMulti-format dual layer, Vista home premium, microsoft works, webcame, 15 in 1 card reader, "internet security suite", etc.

[jonscf3]

Hello

I'm new here so forgive me if this is the wrong place to add.

I am looking for a good laptop for under £500, i use the internet a lot and a hobbie of mine is film editing on adobe premier pro.

Am i on an already lost mission.

preferable toshiba or sony as i've heard they are the top 2. Unless you know something I don't.

Thank you in advance, as any advice would be appreciated.

Oops forgot to mention, it has to be from PC world.
thanks again.

J

[cherish10]

For those who have been advised by COMET staff all have been sold - it is correct however, I purchased one for my mother ysterday.
As long as you pay in full for the laptop in store they will order one for you & lock in @ the current sale price as been advertised on TV over Easter.
We were advised new bulk stock were being delivered straight from Toshiba in 5-8 weeks.

So we have reserved one & they will contact us when it will arrive in store to be collected.

For those who still want this laptop as a bargain - get to your local store now as were advised when new stock arrives it maybe back @ its original price @ £499.99.

:beer:

[boobbby]

For those who have been advised by COMET staff all have been sold - it is correct however, I purchased one for my mother ysterday.
As long as you pay in full for the laptop in store they will order one for you & lock in @ the current sale price as been advertised on TV over Easter.
We were advised new bulk stock were being delivered straight from Toshiba in 5-8 weeks.

So we have reserved one & they will contact us when it will arrive in store to be collected.

For those who still want this laptop as a bargain - get to your local store now as were advised when new stock arrives it maybe back @ its original price @ £499.99.

:beer:

Argos are also selling the Toshiba L350 17" screen for £399

[Pitchshifter]

Novatech have a pretty "decent" home/office laptop for £320 which may suit a lot of people in need of a cheap laptop. Free delivery with that as well.
It's the Axses E15 and it has a 15.4inch screen, 160GB HD, etc, etc... heres the link:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/range.html?t=nb&c=home&r=E15

Edit: Quidco also offer 3% for Novatech sales, so thats £9.60 cashback

[skinnerneil]

Novatech have a pretty "decent" home/office laptop for £320 which may suit a lot of people in need of a cheap laptop. Free delivery with that as well.
It's the Axses E15 and it has a 15.4inch screen, 160GB HD, etc, etc... heres the link:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/range.html?t=nb&c=home&r=E15

Edit: Quidco also offer 3% for Novatech sales, so thats £9.60 cashback

No OS at that price , with XP or Vista it jumps to £ 400...

How easy is it to install XP on a blank computer ?
And where can I buy the OS from?
How much should I pay?
Will have a rummage through my junk at home , might have one of these from an old PC.

[Pitchshifter]

Yeah, it kind of makes it less of a good deal, but you have the choice whether or not you want to pay for an OS or what OS you want to put on.
You can buy XP from Ebuyer for £70, or Vista for £84
If you aready have an XP or Vista disk (and key code) from an old computer (or elsewhere), then you can easily install that. Yes it's very easy to install an OS these days, you enter setup, select boot from CD and just insert the disk and follow instructions.

I would not use an OS any older than Windows XP, so if you have a Win98 disk, please don't use that.

You could even put a free OS like Ubuntu Linux on it if you wanted.

[dreamer06]

For those who have been advised by COMET staff all have been sold - it is correct however, I purchased one for my mother ysterday.
As long as you pay in full for the laptop in store they will order one for you & lock in @ the current sale price as been advertised on TV over Easter.
We were advised new bulk stock were being delivered straight from Toshiba in 5-8 weeks.

So we have reserved one & they will contact us when it will arrive in store to be collected.

For those who still want this laptop as a bargain - get to your local store now as were advised when new stock arrives it maybe back @ its original price @ £499.99.

:beer:


Hey just a word of warning, I work for Comet at there are very few of these laptops coming in. We're trying, but don't think every customer who has prepaid will get it tbh. If we can't the store should refund the money without question. I'm not saying you wont get yours, but I wouldn't advise anyone going in now to order.

[Ian__W]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned. Morrisons of all places have an Asus X58C laptop for £247! It is only a Celeron 2.0 GB single core processor with 1GB RAM, but comes with Vista Home, DVD-r and 15.4 in screen.

I have just bought one for my wife, who just wants it for Internet and basic Office functionality. £9.99 for an extra 1GB ram delivered from 7dayshop.com and you have a very cheap functional laptop.

The local morrisons were still advertising them the other day when I went in.

[sarahpallins]

The laptops which you mentioned for poll are good(do not know much about those because never used) but i use Dell and i am very happy with it

[undercover pillow]

SSD hard-disks will be coming out for laptops in about 2 years time, you'll spot some great bargins on hard disk ones JUST before they roll out the new ones, keep a look out!

[Emmalou]

Hey, it's all gone a bit quiet on this thread at the moment!!

For those of you who bought the Asus X59GL, how are you getting on with it? I see that it's still available at Ebuyer and it looks like a good deal.

Does anybody else know of any cracking deals?

[PrudentPanda]

The new ACer Aspire timeline looks like a good deal if you want something that looks really smart as well :j

[flossy_splodge]

The new ACer Aspire timeline looks like a good deal if you want something that looks really smart as well :j
wHERE, WHAT PRICE AND WHAT'S THE SPEC PLEASE?:o

[hardy1976]

What do you think folks?

Should I go for a "decent cheap" laptop which I guess will be around £400 (for interenet, outlook and so on - NO GAME PLAYING) or should I go for a higher spec used one from ebay?

Has anyone seen any decent "cheap" laptops with a blue ray player?

[flossy_splodge]

What do you think folks?

Should I go for a "decent cheap" laptop which I guess will be around £400 (for interenet, outlook and so on - NO GAME PLAYING) or should I go for a higher spec used one from ebay?

Has anyone seen any decent "cheap" laptops with a blue ray player?
This one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-082-AC was mentioned earlier up this thread and looks good.

[sianf]

What do you think folks?

Should I go for a "decent cheap" laptop which I guess will be around £400 (for interenet, outlook and so on - NO GAME PLAYING) or should I go for a higher spec used one from ebay?

Has anyone seen any decent "cheap" laptops with a blue ray player?

I saw this Acer on play.com with blu-ray player for £479.99. Looks like a good deal. Acer Aspire 6930G - 583G25BN / Core 2 Duo T5800 2GHz / 3GB / 250GB / 16" / Blu-ray / Vista Home Premium / Laptop / Notebook (LX.AUU0X.214)

[hardy1976]

that looks very good, BUT its one of the stupid laptops with a gloss finish... so as soon as you touch it you get finger prints/marks all over it!

Why are 90% of laptop manufaturers doing this?! Come on... its common sense to check if the finish looks dirty / holds finger prints quickly surely... Sorry rant over!

[jaffaman]

Hi. I know these kind of questions get done to death, but I'm in the position of having to decide quickly, and have got a bit stuck.

Work have offered to buy me a laptop with a budget of around £300. I could argue for a bit more, but would def have to be less than 380 or so.

I was hoping to get one that I could use for a bit of music and audio stuff, so I think that means pentium dual core preferably, and aiming for a stable system.

The brands that offer dual core about that price seem to be levoro etc...I don't know anything about them, or how to choose between them. If it's not perfect I can live with it as it's not my money...but would be nice to have something decent!

Can anyone recommend a model or help me choose? Would really appreciate it.

[student_84]

lenovo bought IBM's laptop business a while back and are one of the biggest in the world, a lot of businesses use them, they are usually very reliable and you can get some massive battery life out of them.

[asbokid]

Hi. I know these kind of questions get done to death, but I'm in the position of having to decide quickly, and have got a bit stuck.

Work have offered to buy me a laptop with a budget of around £300. I could argue for a bit more, but would def have to be less than 380 or so.

I was hoping to get one that I could use for a bit of music and audio stuff, so I think that means pentium dual core preferably, and aiming for a stable system.

The brands that offer dual core about that price seem to be levoro etc...I don't know anything about them, or how to choose between them. If it's not perfect I can live with it as it's not my money...but would be nice to have something decent!

Can anyone recommend a model or help me choose? Would really appreciate it.

For under £280, Novatech have got an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, which is quite a bit better than the Pentium Dual Core.

15.4" TFT 1280x800 - 2GB DDR2 -- 160GB SATA II -- WLAN -- ETHERNET - 3700mAh .. SiS Northbridge/Southbridge - Mirage 3 video

It's just another re-badged Fujitsu / Advent .. in the Uniwell U50/40 chassis.. but half the price

But... it comes with no operating system.. so you either put Linux on it, or..

It comes with free shipping as well..

[chili2001]

ebuyer.com/product/159674

Pretty good deal and spec

[mardycow]

Why not check out this one as recommended by the gadget show reviews -Toshiba Satellite L350-20G for just under £350 at pc world, have had Toshiba in the past and the spec on this one seems quite good.;)

[chili2001]

Why not check out this one as recommended by the gadget show reviews -Toshiba Satellite L350-20G for just under £350 at pc world, have had Toshiba in the past and the spec on this one seems quite good.;)


Only a refurb availible for £319 quite poor spec for the cash!

[skintmostofthetime]

HI. usual request - what's the best deal for me. Want 2GB memory, want to do the usual things - email, surf, also play dvd/cd's but would like to be able view T.V. and most of this will be done @ airports/in Spain - would a decent battery life too. Prepared to spend £500 but will want to get case etc with this. ANy good suggestions please?

[chili2001]

HI. usual request - what's the best deal for me. Want 2GB memory, want to do the usual things - email, surf, also play dvd/cd's but would like to be able view T.V. and most of this will be done @ airports/in Spain - would a decent battery life too. Prepared to spend £500 but will want to get case etc with this. ANy good suggestions please?

I would go for: www.ebuyer.com/product/159674 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159674) Very good spec £400.00
or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158885 Bigger HD, Bigger screen, Slightly lighter @ £450.00 both come with free delivery and free laptop bag.
I pretty much buy everything computerwise from this company they are very good!

[ogrebear]

Help!

I need a new laptop to replace my dying Advent. I primarily use the box for web surfing esp YouTube, email, and some photo editing. It was used for Eve, CoH, and WoW in the past but it's too knackered for that now, but if the new one could do that too it would be cool. I can't decide between these two:

Acer Aspire 6930Z: ebuyer.com product 159426

Or the HP 6735s: ebuyer.com product 158887

Anyone suggest which might be better?

Thanks Money Savers!

[JDPower]

Help!

I need a new laptop to replace my dying Advent. I primarily use the box for web surfing esp YouTube, email, and some photo editing. It was used for Eve, CoH, and WoW in the past but it's too knackered for that now, but if the new one could do that too it would be cool. I can't decide between these two:

Acer Aspire 6930Z: ebuyer.com product 159426

Or the HP 6735s: ebuyer.com product 158887

Anyone suggest which might be better?

Thanks Money Savers!
I would say the HP is the marginally better of the two, especially if you wish to play a few (older) games as it has more, higher speed RAM and the slightly better graphics card. Neither have dedicated graphics so don't expect to be able the latest resource heavy 3D games, though I'm guessing both would be a significant improvement over your current laptop. BUT both have Windows Vista which is considerably more resource heavy than XP (which I assume you currently use). Plus bear in mind the reportedly much improved Windows 7 is expected to be released around October, just something to be aware of rather than risk unwittingly getting stuck with Vista when a new better OS is due so soon (and I wouldn't be surprised to see lots of offers on Windows 7 laptops when it is released).

[chili2001]

Help!

I need a new laptop to replace my dying Advent. I primarily use the box for web surfing esp YouTube, email, and some photo editing. It was used for Eve, CoH, and WoW in the past but it's too knackered for that now, but if the new one could do that too it would be cool. I can't decide between these two:

Acer Aspire 6930Z: ebuyer.com product 159426

Or the HP 6735s: ebuyer.com product 158887

Anyone suggest which might be better?

Thanks Money Savers!

I would go for: www.ebuyer.com/product/159674 (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159674)
Dont buy a laptop running an AMD proccessor, they are awful and run really hot! The intel dual core are much faster and economical.

[drilldown]

Hi guys, im currently looking to get a new laptop and the best place i have found so far for price and quality has got to be Tesco Direct. Sounds a bit strange but it really is, im looking at the Acers on there website!

Just goto tesco direct laptop section and select a budget of between £200 - £400 and have a look.

[chili2001]

Hi guys, im currently looking to get a new laptop and the best place i have found so far for price and quality has got to be Tesco Direct. Sounds a bit strange but it really is, im looking at the Acers on there website!

Just goto tesco direct laptop section and select a budget of between £200 - £400 and have a look.

Tesco had a great deal before christmas on an acer but sadly they are all sold out now.
You will get a better deal from ebuyer.com
This is the best spec laptop I can find for the price at the moment: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159674

[chloe_87_87]

Hello!

I have been looking for a Laptop for what feels like ages!
I found one on Dell (Studio 15) and have customised it to what i would like as posted below. I need to order it tonight or the offers i have got will expire (Free upgrade to 4096MB Memory,Free upgrade to 320GB Hard Drive, £20.00 off and 10% voucher code) The price inc VAT and delivery etc is £637.18. Do you think the spec is ok and could i get it any cheaper? I will be using it for general home use, a bit of website designing and watching DVD's (Plugged in to a HDTV via a HDMI cable hopefully!)

Thanks for reading!

Chloe_87_87



Base
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)
Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1- English
Memory
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
Video Card
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570
Hard Drive
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Optical Devices
Fixed Internal Blu-ray Disc (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM) Slot Drive including SW
Wireless Networking
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
Primary Battery
Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Camera
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
Colour Choice
Lime Green Colour with Microsatin Finish
LCD
15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife

[chili2001]

Personally I wouldnt buy anything from Dell! The spec looks ok, but you could get somthing similer for £200 cheaper. Do you REALLY need a blu-ray drive on it? The graphics card is not really powerful enough to play blu-ray movies. With the money saved I would buy a stand alone blu-ray player for your hdtv. I have a sony bdp-s350 hooked up to mine and its great. You can get them for £140ish now. Have a look at my previous replys on laptops fron ebuyer.

[chloe_87_87]

Hi chili2001!

Thanks for your input!
I would really like a intergrated Blu-ray so i can use it whilst i'm away/travelling and at home with my HDTV. Also i dont have the room to have a stand alone DVD player anymore (My HDTV has a built in DVD player but it's gone kaput..something to do with inserting tweezers in to it:D... which is why i would like the Blu-ray)
The reason i went with Dell is because i have a Dell desktop and havent had any issues (apart from McAfee taking control in March so i had to wipe the hard drive and reinstall xp, i blame that all on McAfee though! Will never have anti virus via them again, I use AVG now!) Computer works fine now though!
The reason i am after a laptop is because i hope to move out sometime this year and i cant take the computer with me because my Dad runs his business from it and i wouldnt want to leave either of my parents computerless! So i thought i would buy one now whilst i can afford it before i move!

[rainbowglow]

0.........................................

[drilldown]

Ive got to agree with chili2001 on this one, really not a fan of dells. Over priced and ive had major problems with them before on a personal capacity. However, if you order through a company then you get really good service, they'll come out within 48 hours and replace anything thats not working!!

If its for home use then stay well clear, they dont seem to want to know!

[chili2001]

Hi chili2001!

Thanks for your input!
I would really like a intergrated Blu-ray so i can use it whilst i'm away/travelling and at home with my HDTV. Also i dont have the room to have a stand alone DVD player anymore (My HDTV has a built in DVD player but it's gone kaput..something to do with inserting tweezers in to it:D... which is why i would like the Blu-ray)
The reason i went with Dell is because i have a Dell desktop and havent had any issues (apart from McAfee taking control in March so i had to wipe the hard drive and reinstall xp, i blame that all on McAfee though! Will never have anti virus via them again, I use AVG now!) Computer works fine now though!
The reason i am after a laptop is because i hope to move out sometime this year and i cant take the computer with me because my Dad runs his business from it and i wouldnt want to leave either of my parents computerless! So i thought i would buy one now whilst i can afford it before i move!

You are paying a very high premium to have a blu-ray disc included on a laptop. The picture quality you might be dissapointed with too as the screen on a laptop or the graphics card (unless very high quaility) wont do it any justice. But, if you must have one this has a slightly better spec and more dedecated RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159832 cheaper too!
Or you could go for: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159674
Plus: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143266 which will burn blu-ray discs as well as being able to watch them. Very handy at a total price of £595.22 for both!

[JDPower]

Dont buy a laptop running an AMD proccessor, they are awful and run really hot!In your opinion obviously. In my experience it's the complete opposite, in fact have just dumped an Intel laptop for an AMD one cos it was dying with overheating problems and wouldn't run anything resource heavy without being sat on a cooling pad. My current AMD laptop runs noticeably cooler and this is what I've found with a number of laptops over last year or two.

BTW do you work for ebuyer or something? :p

[chili2001]

Haha, in your opinion obviously. In my experience it's the complete opposite, in fact have just dumped an Intel laptop for an AMD one cos it was dying with overheating problems and wouldn't run anything resource heavy without being sat on a cooling pad. My current AMD laptop runs noticeably cooler and this is what I've found with a number of laptops over last year or two.

In many peoples opinion, including expert testing. The newer intel chips are far more energy effecient than the AMDs therefore need less cooling. I got a laptop on behalf of someone and they insisted on an AMD processor against my advise. The laptop cost them £700 and runs slow and very hot! I wouldnt rule out AMD chips in a properly cooled desktop with a big fan but I still think the core 2 duo rules the roost as far as a laptop cpu goes. But each to their own!

[chili2001]

BTW do you work for ebuyer or something? :p

I'm sorry, do you work for AMD?
This forum is called The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt isn't it? It just so happens that ebuyer has (in my opinion) some of the best deals around at the moment. I would have been recommending any site that I know was safe and reliable to deal with if I had found a better deal (Tesco had an outstanding deal before christmas). You can carry on making smart a**e remarks if you like or prove there is a better deal out there and help the other members asking for advice.

[JDPower]

I'm sorry, do you work for AMD?Lol, what cos I tried to offer some balance to your 'Never buy amd' comment :rolleyes: (its not like my every post has been linking to them)
You can carry on making smart a**e remarks if you like or prove there is a better deal out there and help the other members asking for advice. I think you'll find I have been for quite a long time now :rolleyes:

[chili2001]

Lol, what cos I tried to offer some balance to your 'Never buy amd' comment :rolleyes: (its not like my every post has been linking to them)
I think you'll find I have been for quite a long time now :rolleyes:

Yes, you have offered very helpful advice to everybody has asked about which laptop to buy. Oh no, wait. You haven't.
Oh and you are clearly the far greater forum member as you have hundreds of posts. I would imagine most of them belittling other forums members for saying something you don't agree with. All hail you o'great one!

[JDPower]

I would imagine most of them belittling other forums members for saying something you don't agree with.
Since when has posting a differing viewpoint been belittling, you're the only one thats resorted to name calling, grow up (and let this thread continue for the purpose it's intended!) :rolleyes:

[chili2001]

Since when has posting a differing viewpoint been belittling, you're the only one thats resorted to name calling, grow up (and let this thread continue for the purpose it's intended!) :rolleyes:

My god. Pathetic. I'm sorry, I don't remember calling you any names? I said you were making smart a**e comments about me recomending a laptop from ebuyer. Which you were.

I'm quite happy to let the thread continue as I was trying to help the genuine people with buying a new cheap laptop with my years of personal experience as a computer engineer.

If you didn't like something I recomended (or didn't recomend as the case may be) that's fine. I say each to their own. But please don't try making fun of my suggestions again.

As far as growing up is concerned. Pot, kettle, black.

[SuperJane]

Guys, keep it on topic please :) I'm looking at laptops to get myself as a treat, what does everyone think of the newer EEEs? Worth it?

[drilldown]

Hi Jane,

They've got an 8 hour battery life which is amazing and they do look pretty nice, but im still not convinced by these "Mini Laptops". To be that size and have a battery life that good there has got to be some give in the performance.

So i suppose it depends what you use it for, personnally i need the power for the software i run but if you are just browsing the web on the go then might be worth a bash! There certainly a good look!

[chili2001]

Guys, keep it on topic please :) I'm looking at laptops to get myself as a treat, what does everyone think of the newer EEEs? Worth it?

Hi Jane,
They are ok if all you want them for is surfing the net and emailing as that is all they are designed for. I set up a Samsung NC10 netbook for someone and was quite impressed with it. Very lightweight, good battery life although not 8 hours as stated! To get this you would need to put all power on minumum and turn off the wi-fi.
There is no dvd drive on them too so watching dvds or cds is a no go unless you loaded them to the harddrive first via usb. Seems to handle MS office ok, but best to add another 1gb ram to give it a boost!

[katie1986]

http://www.ebuyer.com/bundle/8RJWCY6R5/164845

Hi, could anyone tell me if this is a good a buy as it seems?
Thanks!

[chili2001]

http://www.ebuyer.com/bundle/8RJWCY6R5/164845

Hi, could anyone tell me if this is a good a buy as it seems?
Thanks!

Thats pretty good, but this is a slightly better spec laptop for less: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159674

[katie1986]

The HP one comes with 2 years warranty though, the Fujitsu only with one? My previous laptop lasted 4 years until it died so I'm a bit out of practise with buying one!

[chili2001]

The HP one comes with 2 years warranty though, the Fujitsu only with one? My previous laptop lasted 4 years until it died so I'm a bit out of practise with buying one!

Hey thats not bad then. I would go for the HP then, its worth it for the extra years warranty. Its only a slightly lower spec than the fujitsu and HP is a good make. Snap it up quick!! :-)

[katie1986]

I've also found this one:

http://www.dabs.com/products/hp-6735s-amd-x2-dual-core-mobile-processor-rm-70-4gb-320gb-vista-home-premium-5GFB.html?refs=4294952904-4294963789-15-432360000

[chili2001]

I've also found this one:

http://www.dabs.com/products/hp-6735s-amd-x2-dual-core-mobile-processor-rm-70-4gb-320gb-vista-home-premium-5GFB.html?refs=4294952904-4294963789-15-432360000

I really hate AMD laptop CPU's. In my personal opinion they run slow and hot! Intel rules at the moment as far as i'm concerned. But you pays you money and takes your choice! :-)

[tightandproud]

Guys, keep it on topic please :) I'm looking at laptops to get myself as a treat, what does everyone think of the newer EEEs? Worth it?

The EEEs are brilliant IMO. Cheap and cheerful. I bought one of the first generation ones for travelling about a year ago and it has never missed a beat. Only down side is the lack of storage and processing power. But they have gone a long way since and have come out with new models with the latest ATOM processors in them with 160Gig hard drives, which is more than usable for most business users I would imagine.

I've even seen EEEs on youtube running Warcraft, Photoshop, etc.

Sorry this may be a little biased but I love them so much I'm going to upgrade to another one :j

[Dal1970]

No one seems to have mentioned this one

packard bell easynote lj61-rb-110

packardbell.co.uk/products/notebooks/easynote-lj/EasyNote+LJ61-RB-110/productsheet-LX.B730X.002-1693.html

I can't post links, so just add the www at the start

Price at Dixons £449

Seems good price for the specs - will allow the wife to play games and surf.

Comments, anyone


Dal

[snackatack2000]

I know this is not exactly a money saving tip, but perhaps someone could give us help on the differences between Celeron and Pentium processors?

Celeron are cheaper (most of the tips above are for laptops with this processor) but I've been warned off them by various people. Is it not better just spending a bit more and getting a better Pentium processor?



i think its personal choice really, i have always had celeron and mine has outlasted every pentium used by friends and family, plus mine is alot faster and smoother than the pentium, so for me i wouldnt look at buying anything other than celeron

[woohoo]

Hi,

my laptop is seriously on its way out..............mind you I've had it 4 years (Dell). I need to replace it asap as cheaply as possible. I don't need anything high spec. Literally all we do is surf, email and burn the odd CD!!!

Can anyone recommend a good deal (I haven't a clue about spec or anything - I haven't had chance to research it as I was hoping this one might last a bit longer. Don't think it will though!)

Any advice appreciated! Thank you. :money:

[Jaffa.]

HP is a good make.
I would avoid HP and compaq at ALL costs. Poor customer service and build quality on their laptops, what a waste of £899 that was :rolleyes: 2 years warranty's no good when the problem keeps re-occuring after they've fixed it, about 3 month wait too.

[x__Indigo_x]

anyone give me some advice on this? my sisters laptop has broke [ screen smashed] so she needs a new one [well a new old one or whatever ;) ] she only uses it for internet [wireless] and to do a bit of college work so do not need a high end model. would this be ok?
http://www.tier1online.com/Items/Item.aspx?itemid=5090854&caSKU=t43%20g6%202ghz%26case2%20%23&caTitle=IBM%20T43%20Laptop%202.0Ghz%201GB%20Ram%20-%20DVD%20-%20XP%20Pro%20-%20Refurbished%20Notebook

[brm21]

Can anyone help me??? Please getting very frustrated and confused. I am wanting to buy a laptop for my son aged 15, his previous HP one died at 13 month old and only had 12 month warranty so not going for HP. He has found the SAMSUNG R509 with 3GB RAM and 500gb HARD DRIVE costing £480 AT DABS whereas I found this:
Toshiba Satellite L300-1DN Laptop - 3GB Ram, 250GB Hard Drive, 15.4" TruBrite® WXGA TFT Display, Vista Home Premium
Item Number 399062

costing £347.75 at staples which is cheaper but less hard drive. Please advise would like to keep cost really under £400 but he says he wants more hard drive

[spike87]

I would avoid HP and compaq at ALL costs. Poor customer service and build quality on their laptops, what a waste of £899 that was :rolleyes: 2 years warranty's no good when the problem keeps re-occuring after they've fixed it, about 3 month wait too.

On the other hand, nearly every PC I've owned has been with HP because of their reliability and good customer service!

[Springnik]

This has been really helpful!! Thanks

[froggy27]

Hopefully sbdy will come back and advise...
I need a new laptop..mine is about 6yrs old and slow...(and will go to 5yr old DD so she can go on internet without bugging me!)
Would like good memory, built in webcam, CD writer, XP, watch DVD .... just for general surfing, photos etc.. budget is not massive either..If at all possible around £300.
I went to PC world and really was a bit lost :confused:and don't really know what to look for...so thought i might ask here...
Any advice on what to check please? or any deals? or any make to avoid?
Thank you as always

[roguetrooper74]

Can anyone help me??? Please getting very frustrated and confused. I am wanting to buy a laptop for my son aged 15, his previous HP one died at 13 month old and only had 12 month warranty so not going for HP. He has found the SAMSUNG R509 with 3GB RAM and 500gb HARD DRIVE costing £480 AT DABS whereas I found this:
Toshiba Satellite L300-1DN Laptop - 3GB Ram, 250GB Hard Drive, 15.4" TruBrite® WXGA TFT Display, Vista Home Premium
Item Number 399062

costing £347.75 at staples which is cheaper but less hard drive. Please advise would like to keep cost really under £400 but he says he wants more hard drive


I would go for the cheaper one and then buy a cheap external hard drive if he really needs the extra hard disk space.

[roguetrooper74]

Hopefully sbdy will come back and advise...
I need a new laptop..mine is about 6yrs old and slow...(and will go to 5yr old DD so she can go on internet without bugging me!)
Would like good memory, built in webcam, CD writer, XP, watch DVD .... just for general surfing, photos etc.. budget is not massive either..If at all possible around £300.
I went to PC world and really was a bit lost :confused:and don't really know what to look for...so thought i might ask here...
Any advice on what to check please? or any deals? or any make to avoid?
Thank you as always

Have you tried tesco direct, they have some reasonably good spec laptops at reasonable prices, and you get club card points too!! Ideally you want a laptop with at least 2GB Ram

[Smickan]

I would avoid HP and compaq at ALL costs. Poor customer service and build quality on their laptops, what a waste of £899 that was :rolleyes: 2 years warranty's no good when the problem keeps re-occuring after they've fixed it, about 3 month wait too.

Agreed, mine's in for the second time less than 8 weeks after it was returned to me for the same faults, and it's only 8 months old :(

Their customer service/repair center call center people are all very hard to understand - and they can't understand me and I'm a fairly clear lincolnshire speaker (if that makes sense :rotfl: no thick accent I mean) I'm not entirely sure what their accent is, I think Indian but I'm awful with accents :o One had me spell out my entire name and address phonetically because she couldn't understand me - or my request for her to pass me on to someone else who may be able to understand me.

I've currently raised a help ticket complaint with the head office - but it's in America and they keep asking me to ring them....! :rolleyes:

[Slim4Summer]

I have an Acer and it is about to die on me - only had it 2 years. I just asked my OH what kind should get next and he said "Lenovo" - HAHA - start at 1K!!!! If only ....

[Slim4Summer]

PS
DELL customer service would make you want to top yourself - passed from pillar to post - have to tell the same story to each individual person - who struggle to understand you. I will NEVER NEVER buy another Dell bec of their cusomer service.

[froggy27]

can sbdy tell me if this sounds good or not or at a reasonable price with the 2yr guarantee???

http://www.johnlewis.com/230622482/product.aspx?source=46387

thanks for your help.

[stamford]

I have an Acer and it is about to die on me - only had it 2 years. I just asked my OH what kind should get next and he said "Lenovo" - HAHA - start at 1K!!!! If only ....


£379 upwards http://www.cclonline.com/product-listings.asp?category_id=1&manufacturer_id=316

[techmax76]

I vote for toshiba. Its best suite if your work requires a lot of travelling. this one is for you. The features are also great. and of course the price is also affordable.

[stamford]

I'm also a Tosh fan. My Satellite pro has done me well home & abroad but I think next trip will be taking the Acer netbook just to have less hand baggage

I vote for toshiba. Its best suite if your work requires a lot of travelling. this one is for you. The features are also great. and of course the price is also affordable.

[tillytomcat]

PLease, please, please can anyone HELP!
I have cracked the screen on my lap top and want to replace.

I use for internet & office mainly want to spend less than £250 if possible have seen this would it do the job reasonably well. Your help would be much appreciated.

Lenovo IdeaPad S9e Netbook (http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=33098&category_id=1&manufacturer_id=316&tid=ns838uk)
Limited stock, grab one while you can!!
Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
1024MB Memory / 160GB Hard Drive
8.9 inch TFT Display / Wireless LAN
LAN / Bluetooth / XP Home Edition

[sukysue]

can sbdy tell me if this sounds good or not or at a reasonable price with the 2yr guarantee???

http://www.johnlewis.com/230622482/product.aspx?source=46387

thanks for your help.

I don't know Frooggy27 (why 27 ??) but friend has a Compaq and has dissed it to me since she bought it says it's cwap!

[chili2001]

Why would you buy from your own website????

Domain name: cbccomputers.com

Registrant Contact:
CBC Computer Systems Ltd
James Housley ()

Fax:
Redwood House
68 Brown Street
Sheffield, SOUTH YORKS S1 2BS
GB

Ha-ha, looks like he was after a bit of advertising. Busted!

[kippen noedel]

I use for internet & office mainly want to spend less than £250 if possible have seen this would it do the job reasonably well. Your help would be much appreciated.
found this Now £249.99inc vat

Celeron M 550 2GHz, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 15.4" TFT, DVD±RW, Vista Home Basic UK

ebuyer.com/product/159081

[JDPower]

Why would you buy from your own website????

Domain name: **********.com

Registrant Contact:
******* Computer Systems Ltd
James HousleyHa-ha, looks like he was after a bit of advertising. Busted!
Might I suggest you both edit your posts to remove the website/company name from your posts and in future just report spam posts, otherwise the spammers post is still visible to all in your reply long after the original post has been removed.

[arkonite_babe]

Would someone give me an opinion on this company and the laptop I'm looking at please?

Morgan Computers (http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=5196&CategoryID=11&SubCategoryID=250)

The other one I'm checking out is this one
PC World (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0716449406.124541792 6@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadehifmdhfecflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&category_oid=-35054&sku=071583&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null#productInformationSection)

What's the opinion? Is it wise to buy a re-worked laptop? Or should I stick to buying brand new?

Thanks in advance for replies :)

[stamford]

Would someone give me an opinion on this company and the laptop I'm looking at please?

Morgan Computers (http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=5196&CategoryID=11&SubCategoryID=250)

The other one I'm checking out is this one
PC World (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0716449406.124541792 6@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeadehifmdhfecflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&category_oid=-35054&sku=071583&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null#productInformationSection)

What's the opinion? Is it wise to buy a re-worked laptop? Or should I stick to buying brand new?

Thanks in advance for replies :)

Not sure about re-furb laptops but Morgan are OK I bought & collected a Fuji digi camera from them a few years ago supposedly grade a but I think was brand new. They used to post me their offers every month or so, a pal bought a Palm Treo phone from them with no-probs.

I bought my new Tosh from this lot http://www.cclonline.com/product-listings.asp?category_id=311&manufacturer_id=290


I wouldn't go to PC World for anything :D

[v.rajput]

Hello,

I just thought you may want to see this that i have ordered at dell online, the upgrade from 250to320 hard drive is too end on the 24/6, but ever since i placed the order i cant find the it online and the page i was using has been updated.

I did spk to this on guy there who may able to help if anyone was to call him. He also offered me a 7in1 card reader as an incentive to order straight away. But a little dicky bird told me that the laptop may allready have a 2in1 build in. So i ordered via quidco 6% off, allthough its been two days now its not being tracked.

IM not sure if if i am allowed to leave the sales guys stuff on the post, sorry in advance pls edit as you wish

Ps ive ordered it so pls pls pls let me know if was an ok deal.

Its only for home use, as my desktop in ok but about 5yrs old. i will only really need it for internet usage.

OHAMMED IMRAN
Sales Representative
Phone Number: 08709075128 x72560
Fax Number: 0
Email: Mohammed_Imran@dell.com (http://uk.mc870.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Mohammed_Imran@dell.com)

Inspiron Notebook 1545 Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache) Item Description Quantity Total Price Black Colour with Matte Finish 1 £329.57 Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache) 1 Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English 1 Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) 1 15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™ 1 3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024] 1 320GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive 1 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return 1 1.3 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera 1 4-cell 24WHr Li-Ion primary battery 1 DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) 1 Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD 1 N0654503 1 Inspiron 1545 Order - UK 1 English - Documentation Inspiron 1545 1 Inspiron 1545 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers) 1 65W AC Adaptor 1 No Carry Case 1 1 Meter Power Cord - UK 1 Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard 1 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return 1 Wireless Label - Pentium Dual Core 1 Silver palmrest 1 No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English 1 No Bluetooth Upgrade 1 Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) 1 No Accidental Damage Support 1 DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year 1


Subtotal: £329.57 Freight: £17.39 Total Net: £346.96 VAT (Rate %): £52.04 Total: £399.00 <IMG style="WIDTH: 5px; HEIGHT: 5px" height=5 width=5 border=0> <IMG style="WIDTH: 5px; HEIGHT: 5px" height=5 border=0> VAT Summary VAT Code VAT Rate % C&P Total Net£ C&P VAT:£ S 15 £346.96 £52.04

[Noggin the Nog]

I got a Philips Freevents 15NB8611 - intel core duo processor, 4G RAM, 250GB hard drive laptop from Dixons online, £399 - very pleased with it, recommended by a techie relation.

[spragger]

Hello,

I just thought you may want to see this that i have ordered at dell online, the upgrade from 250to320 hard drive is too end on the 24/6, but ever since i placed the order i cant find the it online and the page i was using has been updated.

I did spk to this on guy there who may able to help if anyone was to call him. He also offered me a 7in1 card reader as an incentive to order straight away. But a little dicky bird told me that the laptop may allready have a 2in1 build in. So i ordered via quidco 6% off, allthough its been two days now its not being tracked.

IM not sure if if i am allowed to leave the sales guys stuff on the post, sorry in advance pls edit as you wish

Ps ive ordered it so pls pls pls let me know if was an ok deal.

Its only for home use, as my desktop in ok but about 5yrs old. i will only really need it for internet usage.

[F

Inspiron Notebook 1545 Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache) Item Description Quantity Total Price Black Colour with Matte Finish 1 £329.57 Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache) 1 Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English 1 Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) 1 15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™ 1 3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024] 1 320GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive 1 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return 1 1.3 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera 1 4-cell 24WHr Li-Ion primary battery 1 DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) 1 Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD 1 N0654503 1 Inspiron 1545 Order - UK 1 English - Documentation Inspiron 1545 1 Inspiron 1545 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers) 1 65W AC Adaptor 1 No Carry Case 1 1 Meter Power Cord - UK 1 Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard 1 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return 1 Wireless Label - Pentium Dual Core 1 Silver palmrest 1 No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English 1 No Bluetooth Upgrade 1 Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) 1 No Accidental Damage Support 1 DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year 1


Subtotal: £329.57 Freight: £17.39 Total Net: £346.96 VAT (Rate %): £52.04 Total: £399.00 <IMG style="WIDTH: 5px; HEIGHT: 5px" height=5 width=5 border=0> <IMG style="WIDTH: 5px; HEIGHT: 5px" height=5 border=0> VAT Summary VAT Code VAT Rate % C&P Total Net£ C&P VAT:£ S 15 £346.96 £52.04

Looks ok but for 30 quid more you could have got a studio 15 with some decent gfx

[Jaffa.]

Looks ok but for 30 quid more you could have got a studio 15 with some decent gfx

There's always something better for a little bit extra - but if you keep doing that you're going to end up with one expensive laptop. And at the end of the day, it's only a laptop ;)

[v.rajput]

Hi, ok so explain gfx to me like im a 5yr old lol!: to be honest i just looked at other laptops under £400, and this one seemed to have more gb hard drive and that processer thing seemed to be ok when i asked a couple of other non tech mates.

Does anyone know what sort of time true scale dell deilver in, as there telling me anytime before 9/7

[Jaffa.]

Gfx, I think, is a shortend version of Graphics...

Dell say they will deliver, but a day before that delivery date you will receive a letter telling you it's been delayed another week. This will happen for about a month.

[redsetter03]

With regard to Froggy's query- i think thats a very good price for that computer. Hubby and me found the self same one in Staples yesterday for £318, and that was with £30 off.
At least with John Lewis you get good service and a two year guarentee- we will be buying this laptop from them this week when i get paid!
redsetter x

[spike87]

I'm looking to upgrade my old Toshiba laptop. Set my heart on a Sony Vaio. This one seems pretty good:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=362708&CatId=3123

Not sure on the graphics card though.

[chili2001]

Not bad but your just paying the extra cash for the name as far as sony vaio goes. What about this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158885 better spec and much cheaper. Or was there a reason you needed a good graphics card? A gamer perhaps?

[Jaffa.]

I'm looking to upgrade my old Toshiba laptop. Set my heart on a Sony Vaio. This one seems pretty good:

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=362708&CatId=3123

Not sure on the graphics card though.

You won't want to be playing games on a laptop anyway - unless you want to fry eggs on it ;)