The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

[Tarquin]

Whatever you do, don't don't don't use Ebuyer. They have been slammed recently by Which? and there are several discussion boards on the web revealing that they consistently send the wrong or malfunctioning stuff, and then spend months and months replacing it or do not do so at all. I was given the run around by them on a multifunctional and found that only letters before legal action worked. See the discussions on Pricerunner at the very least.

I can vouch for this. You have to do returns via a website which only works, just, at about 3am! Each page takes forever to load up and it usually times out before it has loaded. The telephone side of things is worse as they keep you on hold forever and then refer you back to the website which they refuse to accept is at fault. I did eventually get a refund on my faulty goods, but I must have wasted a good ten hours of my time doing so (usually, like I say at silly times of the night).

[Jolaing]

Hello folks,

Please could you help! :confused:

I was on the absolute verge of buying this.... and then I thought I should get a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion, or ideas of other deals.

Dabs deal (http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=3X0F&v=3)

I only really want a wireless connection so I can use the laptop to access the 'net while the kids are on the PC. I need to buy a router(?) as well.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Jo

[codetown]

Jo,
there always very good deals on ebuyer:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=15929088744&action=c2hvd3N1YmNhdGVnb3J5X3NlYXJjaA==&cat_uid=10&stid=5

For example for the same price of your deal there is a laptop with 20 GB more of HD, larger screen etc. and if you wait a few more days you might get the deal back on this 410 inc vat nice laptop:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99084

Also I would spend a little bit more and go at least for 512 MB ram.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99085

or at least try to get separate memory to put in, as that is an element which makes the difference if you use multiple programs at once. As usual read a lot of comments from customers from different models to discover any real nice or bad points!

[Jolaing]

I bought this one:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...oduct_uid=99085

Thanks for the recommendation. Better price for a better product.

Delivery is (hopefully) Wed.

[Brodel]

From HotUKDeals:

Dell are doing quite a nice deal, not exactly budget but not too far off.

307-N02631a
(Home) - Was £740 Now £529 (Drop the support down to 1 Year collect & return)
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
40GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel Std
8X DVD+/-RW with Software (No Media)
Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card
FREE - Dell Colour Printer 720
Free 15 month McAfee Security SW upgrade

Only downside as far as I can see is it's 2x 256 rather than 1x 512 RAM which could be a bit of a pain upgrading. You can however get a longer lasting battery for £11:75.

[codetown]

Hi Brodel,
the Acer model above that Jo bought has better specs and lots of good reviews from actual happy users.

This is the the general description on ebuyer:
Acer Aspire 3613WLMi Cel-M 370 1.5GHz 512MB 80GB DVD±RW 15.4"CrystalBrite WLAN XPH at 485 inc VAT.

Sometimes Dell offers are good. Someother times are just attempts to get and match those who offer better products. So, every single offer needs to be carefully evaluated. I do not feel the 307 is generally very good. Both HD space and limited RAM expandibility will hit you soon!

I would say much better to go with Acer and enjoy a very good and more future proof model.

[marbar2k]

after reading this my head is spinning round and round! i am after a laptop for around £600 but i am flexible on the price. all i need is wireless and a dvd writer. can someone recomend something for me to buy?

[Brodel]

Hi Brodel,
the Acer model above that Jo bought has better specs and lots of good reviews from actual happy users.

This is the the general description on ebuyer:
Acer Aspire 3613WLMi Cel-M 370 1.5GHz 512MB 80GB DVD±RW 15.4"CrystalBrite WLAN XPH at 485 inc VAT.

Sometimes Dell offers are good. Someother times are just attempts to get and match those who offer better products. So, every single offer needs to be carefully evaluated. I do not feel the 307 is generally very good. Both HD space and limited RAM expandibility will hit you soon!

I would say much better to go with Acer and enjoy a very good and more future proof model.

Hi,

The Dell is an Inspiron 630m, similar to the 600, the number was just the referal code. The Celeron M is quite a bit slower than the Pentium M even if they were both 1.7ghz and DDR2 RAM is faster than DDR. Also, some people prefer mobility so a smaller screen and longer battery life might be preferable.

I didn't mean to post it as a better option, just an alternative because for what I would use one for the Dell would suit me much more. It's whatever floats your boat really. :)

[EdCov]

after reading this my head is spinning round and round! i am after a laptop for around £600 but i am flexible on the price. all i need is wireless and a dvd writer. can someone recomend something for me to buy?

Fujitsu-Siemens V2040 from from Staples £549 in shop not on the web. It has wireless, dvd-writer, TV out, 512mb Ram, Pentium M, 60gb harddrive and more.

The only downside I can see is that the keyboard is a bit on the flimsy side, but you can go along to a shop and try on out for yourself.

[MickKnipfler]

No decent deals at Aldi?

[EdCov]

No decent deals at Aldi?

I've never thought that any of the laptop deals at Aldi are particularly wonderful, Aldi is great at other things, but the laptops tend to be on the expensive side.

[jordan_matthews]

How does the following measure up:

1 - N02631 £517 delivered
Intel® Pentium® M 1.70GHz
512MB 60GB 14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800)
DVD+/-RW
Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card

From dell (main site)

When you take into consideration 4.5% Quidco cashback, its not a bad deal.
What do other think? Or is it worth holding out??

[hutchie]

Tesco have Acer Aspire widescreen wireless laptop today @£383.20.or 20% off all laptops

[Tharweb]

Tesco have Acer Aspire widescreen wireless laptop today @£383.20.or 20% off all laptops

I thought the Acer Travelmate 4021WMLI was the better option at £398, £15 or so pounds more for a true Centrino rather than Celeron M.

[Brodel]

How does the following measure up:

1 - N02631 £517 delivered
Intel® Pentium® M 1.70GHz
512MB 60GB 14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800)
DVD+/-RW
Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card

From dell (main site)

When you take into consideration 4.5% Quidco cashback, its not a bad deal.
What do other think? Or is it worth holding out??

IMO this is the best deal on all the laptops around the 500 mark. DDR2 RAM which is faster than regular DDR, Pentium M 1.7 which is faster then Centrino M's and also runs cooler and uses less power so the battery lasts longer, plus you can upgrade to the 9cell batter for 11 quid which could give you at least 4+ hours of use maybe more. Unless you really need a 15.4 screen and larger HD then it seems to be the best around at the moment. Acers aren't bad, but if you want mobility I think the Dell is better.

[EdCov]

IMO this is the best deal on all the laptops around the 500 mark. DDR2 RAM which is faster than regular DDR, Pentium M 1.7 which is faster then Centrino M's and also runs cooler and uses less power so the battery lasts longer, plus you can upgrade to the 9cell batter for 11 quid which could give you at least 4+ hours of use maybe more. Unless you really need a 15.4 screen and larger HD then it seems to be the best around at the moment. Acers aren't bad, but if you want mobility I think the Dell is better.

But 14.1 screen.
What ports does it have, does it have firewire, does it have TV out?
Depends on what you require...

[Tharweb]

IMO this is the best deal on all the laptops around the 500 mark. DDR2 RAM which is faster than regular DDR, Pentium M 1.7 which is faster then Centrino M's and also runs cooler and uses less power so the battery lasts longer, plus you can upgrade to the 9cell batter for 11 quid which could give you at least 4+ hours of use maybe more. Unless you really need a 15.4 screen and larger HD then it seems to be the best around at the moment. Acers aren't bad, but if you want mobility I think the Dell is better.

Thought they were the same...

[dc2447]

IMO this is the best deal on all the laptops around the 500 mark. DDR2 RAM which is faster than regular DDR, Pentium M 1.7 which is faster then Centrino M's and also runs cooler and uses less power so the battery lasts longer, plus you can upgrade to the 9cell batter for 11 quid which could give you at least 4+ hours of use maybe more. Unless you really need a 15.4 screen and larger HD then it seems to be the best around at the moment. Acers aren't bad, but if you want mobility I think the Dell is better.

I just got given a £1400 Dell laptop (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_x1?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) for work - not a patch on my £399 IBM Thinkpad from Staples.

You have to look through the specs when dealing with Dell laptops

[Nemo]

Thought they were the same...

You're right. Centrino means in has a Pentium M processor, Intel chipset, and onboard Wireless.

Perhaps the OP meant Celeron M.

[Brodel]

You're right. Centrino means in has a Pentium M processor, Intel chipset, and onboard Wireless.

Perhaps the OP meant Celeron M.

Yea you are right, sorry. I have been looking at too many laptop specs recently as I'm in the market for one too. I apologise.
I still think the Dell is the best around the 500 mark though, in my opinion and for what I would intend to use it for etc. Obviously everyones needs are vary.

[Malestrom]

The Dell machine is good value but CS is shocking, you pays your money and takes your chance I guess.

[paulb369uk]

Hi all is this computer value for money ? £514.65 + free 3G card. All help greatly appreciated. Will only be used for internet and a few games.


Product Description Acer Aspire 3003WLMi - Mobile Sempron 1.8 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36.4 cm x 27.9 cm x 3.9 cm
Weight 2.8 kg
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor AMD Mobile Sempron 3000+ / 1.8 GHz
Cache Memory 128 KB - L2 Cache
RAM 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700 ( 2 x 256 MB )
Hard Drive 60 GB
Optical Storage DVD±RW - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix WXGA (1280 x 800) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller SiSM760GX
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Input Device Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery Lithium Ion
Run Time (Up To) 1.5 hour(s)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty


Details


General
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Width 36.4 cm
Depth 27.9 cm
Height 3.9 cm
Weight 2.8 kg
Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 ( 0 ) x memory
1 ( 1 ) x CardBus - type II
Interfaces 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x audio - line-in/microphone - mini-phone 3.5mm
1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Traveller warranty - 1 year
Processor
Processor AMD Mobile Sempron 3000+ / 1.8 GHz
Features 3DNow! Professional technology, PowerNow! technology
Chipset Type SiSM760GX
RAM
Installed Size 512 MB / 2 GB (max)
Technology DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance PC2700
Configuration Features 2 x 256 MB
Storage
Hard Drive 60 GB
Networking
Networking Network adapter
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Remote Management Protocol DMI 2.0
Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Miscellaneous
Features Locking device keyhole (cable lock), administrator password, system password, wake on LAN, Wake on Ring
Compliant Standards ACPI 1.0b
Power
Power Device External
Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Storage Controller
Type IDE
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor SiSM760GX
Video Memory 128MB Shared Video Memory (UMA)
Audio
Audio Output Sound card
Audio Input Microphone
Display
Display Type 15.4" TFT active matrix
Max Resolution 1280 x 800 / 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Features CrystalBrite
Cache Memory
Type L2 Cache
Installed Size 128 KB
Optical Storage
Type DVD±RW - integrated
Input Device(s)
Type Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Telecom
Modem Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate 56 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications ITU V.92
Features Wake on Ring
Battery
Technology Lithium Ion
Installed Qty 1
Capacity 29 Wh
Run Time (Up To) 1.5 hour(s)
Operating System / Software
OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton AntiVirus, Microsoft Works, Acer System Recovery, Acer Launch Manager, NTI CD-Maker, Acer eManager, Acer GridVista, Acer Arcade

Thanks

[codetown]

Hi all is this computer value for money ? £514.65 + free 3G card. All help greatly appreciated. Will only be used for internet and a few games.


Paul, in short: no great value!
The laptop is good, but the price can be better.

Yesterday I was looking at this very good offer:
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_3003LM_LX.A5505.678/version.asp

It is a very similar model to what you quoted. Only differences: 256 MB of RAM (instead of 512) and 40 GB HD (instead of 60GB).
But it costs only 399 pound inc VAT (and it also has the free 3G Vodafone card)!

I reckon you can easily source in many places 512 MB of extra RAM for 25-30 pounds if needed. And for the HD I would suggest to wait until you really need a larger one and at that time buy a USB external one (they are getting cheaper and cheaper!). 40GB are plenty of space for normal use as you mention.

So that saves you over 20% while still giving an excellent laptop.

[Brodel]

wow, the 630m price dropped by about 50 quid today.

Base Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
Hard Drive 40GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
Modem Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
8X DVD+/-RW with Software (No Media)
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card
Standard Warranty 1-Year Collect and Return service
Primary Battery 6 Cell 53WHr Primary Battery
LCD 14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel Std

enter e-value 1 - N02631a
change the warranty to 1 year

Unit Price Incl. VAT £468.84

I'm going to pick one of these up today for sure, I was sooo close to ordering last night too :D

[Electrolite]

wow, the 630m price dropped by about 50 quid today.



I'm going to pick one of these up today for sure, I was sooo close to ordering last night too :D

How did you get the price down to that on the website? I can't get it lower than £782!!!

[Brodel]

How did you get the price down to that on the website? I can't get it lower than £782!!!

Follow the link below, and change the Support to '1-Year Collect and Return' :) service

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukdhs1&kc=25445&oc=N02631a&x=12&y=11

[Electrolite]

Follow the link below, and change the Support to '1-Year Collect and Return' :) service

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukdhs1&kc=25445&oc=N02631a&x=12&y=11

Ahhhhhh-haha! Thanks very much. Not a bad price at all.

[coolforcash]

The Inspiron 630m deal looks pretty good. Better than the Inspiron 6000 I ordered last night before the "deal" expired!

Just called to cancel my order and found it surprisingly easy. They didn't even ask why and said it would be done this afternoon. I was expecting to be offered some sort of discount to avoid losing the sale but nothing was offered!

(I called the order tracking number -0870 906 0010)

[slojo]

Is this a good deal? http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N02606&rbc=N02606&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6000_2

Change the support to one year and it comes out at £649 inc VAT and delivery. This is for a 1.86GHz 2MB L2cache 533MHz FSB processor, 1024 MB memory, 60 GB hard drive and 15.4" widescreen LCD, as well as a 64 MB graphics card, Windows MCE and Mcafee security.

I would be inclined to upgrade the screen to WSXGA (1680x1050) for £35.25 or WUXGA (1920x1200) for £82.25 as I would be using it for DVD watching too, and also perhaps upgrade the graphics card to 128 MB for £58.75.

All in all seems a pretty good spec for under £650, or with the upgrades around £750-800.

Comments welcome.

[Hillfly]

In todays press you can get the Latitude 1300 for £299 delivered:
E-Value code is NPUK5-N02135.

It doesn't come up at thi sproce on the website so is worth calling about.
The cheapest new branded wireless dvd burning lappy you'll get i reckon.


Celeron M 370 1.5.ghz
256mb
8xdvdrw
wireless 1370 802.11b/g

[coolforcash]

Is this a good deal? http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N02606&rbc=N02606&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6000_2

Change the support to one year and it comes out at £649 inc VAT and delivery. This is for a 1.86GHz 2MB L2cache 533MHz FSB processor, 1024 MB memory, 60 GB hard drive and 15.4" widescreen LCD, as well as a 64 MB graphics card, Windows MCE and Mcafee security.

I would be inclined to upgrade the screen to WSXGA (1680x1050) for £35.25 or WUXGA (1920x1200) for £82.25 as I would be using it for DVD watching too, and also perhaps upgrade the graphics card to 128 MB for £58.75.

All in all seems a pretty good spec for under £650, or with the upgrades around £750-800.

Comments welcome.

This is pretty much the same one I ordered last night after getting a lot of advise from an IT expert at work. I went for the basic screen because he said it wasn't worth upgrading because it's such a (comparatively) small screen anyway it would be hard to tell the difference.

[slojo]

This is pretty much the same one I ordered last night after getting a lot of advise from an IT expert at work. I went for the basic screen because he said it wasn't worth upgrading because it's such a (comparatively) small screen anyway it would be hard to tell the difference.

Thanks. Did your IT guy have any thoughts re the graphics card (for games/DVDs)?

[coolforcash]

Thanks. Did your IT guy have any thoughts re the graphics card (for games/DVDs)?

No probs. I didn't ask him specifically about that but he say I need to upgrade the graphics card when I showed him the specs overall. I did tell him my multimedia requirements extended to DVDs/music rather than games though so I'm not really sure about the games requirement.

I've searched through a lot of Dell's over the last week and it seems that if you start bolting on loads of extras you're probably better off looking at the next machine up in the range where these are included as standard anyway.

I also discovered that by paying with my Capital One card entitled me to an extra year warranty so might be worth checking out if you pay by CC!

Don't forget the Quidco cashback too.

[codetown]

In todays press you can get the Latitude 1300 for £299 delivered:
E-Value code is NPUK5-N02135.

It doesn't come up at thi sproce on the website so is worth calling about.
The cheapest new branded wireless dvd burning lappy you'll get i reckon.


Celeron M 370 1.5.ghz
256mb
8xdvdrw
wireless 1370 802.11b/g

Hi, I tried this on the Dell web site.
Even reducing support to 90 days it still sums up to 339 inc vat (i.e. 289+VAT). So it is not at the advertised price. Where was it printed 299?

[Brodel]

Hi, I tried this on the Dell web site.
Even reducing support to 90 days it still sums up to 339 inc vat (i.e. 289+VAT). So it is not at the advertised price. Where was it printed 299?

In The Sun newspaper. People are having a hard time actually getting them though as the code shows up as 339 on the order system even when you call up customer services.

[fossicker]

Tesco have Acer Aspire widescreen wireless laptop today @£383.20.or 20% off all laptops

Just bought one of the 3613WLMi for my son. Seems good value at £383.20, used my cashback card and my Tesco club card so a bit more off that. Laytops direct, Misco and others are quoting over £450 for the same machine. The problem with getting better and better specified machines is that they will still be out of date in 3 years time and cost 50% more than this one. This still has a 15.4" screen, DVD burner, 60Gb hard disk and the 256Mb memory isn't too dear to fix.

And the other advantage is that I could carry it home and not worry about when it would be delivered which has been a problem with Dell in the past.

I know that a Centrino is a better machine but I cannot justify the extra money.

[Hillfly]

Hi, I tried this on the Dell web site.
Even reducing support to 90 days it still sums up to 339 inc vat (i.e. 289+VAT). So it is not at the advertised price. Where was it printed 299?


Check this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1605722#post1605722

It's a biggie!

[dws]

Toptech Laptop www.Play.com £399.00
Processor - Via C3 1.2GHz Mobile Processor
Memory - 256MB DDR RAM Memory
Hard Drive - 40GB
Optical Drive - CDRW/DVD Combo- Copy CDs, Play CDs and DVDs
Graphics - Integrated AGP
Screen - 14" XGA TFT Screen (1024 x 768)
Sound - Built-in audio and Speakers
Ports - USB 2.0 x 4, 10/100 LAN, 56k Modem
VGA monitor out port
External Speaker Port
External Microphone Port
LPT Parallel Printer Port
Operating System - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

[Hillfly]

Toptech Laptop www.Play.com £399.00
Processor - Via C3 1.2GHz Mobile Processor
Memory - 256MB DDR RAM Memory
Hard Drive - 40GB
Optical Drive - CDRW/DVD Combo- Copy CDs, Play CDs and DVDs
Graphics - Integrated AGP
Screen - 14" XGA TFT Screen (1024 x 768)
Sound - Built-in audio and Speakers
Ports - USB 2.0 x 4, 10/100 LAN, 56k Modem
VGA monitor out port
External Speaker Port
External Microphone Port
LPT Parallel Printer Port
Operating System - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition


The Dell 1300 machines are better value. Faster processors, dvd writers and built in wireless.

[rach]

do you know which tescos have them? mine didn;t seem to when i looked yesterday! though they're doing works so its hard to tell. i live in Bournemouth but will also be in croydon at the weekend!

Just bought one of the 3613WLMi for my son. Seems good value at £383.20, used my cashback card and my Tesco club card so a bit more off that. Laytops direct, Misco and others are quoting over £450 for the same machine. The problem with getting better and better specified machines is that they will still be out of date in 3 years time and cost 50% more than this one. This still has a 15.4" screen, DVD burner, 60Gb hard disk and the 256Mb memory isn't too dear to fix.

And the other advantage is that I could carry it home and not worry about when it would be delivered which has been a problem with Dell in the past.

I know that a Centrino is a better machine but I cannot justify the extra money.

[fossicker]

do you know which tescos have them? mine didn;t seem to when i looked yesterday! though they're doing works so its hard to tell. i live in Bournemouth but will also be in croydon at the weekend!
Sorry, just checked my local one in Abingdon and they have sold out.
You cannot get it on the internet.
Try ringing Croydon if you want one.

[yeeble1]

Hi
Missed out on the Tesco deal too. Was all set to compromise on the specs given the price. Thanks to this site I may have found a laptop on the laptopsdirect website that could be the one for me.

Acer Aspire 1642WLMi (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_1642WLMi_LX.A8605.181/version-1.asp)

It's priced £534.95 and comes with:
-Pentium M Centrino 1.73 GHz
-512MB RAM
-80Gig Hard disk
-DVDRW Dual Layer
-15.4" screen 1280 x 800
-Wireless networking
-1 Year collect + return

It has the things that I am looking for i.e 15.4" screen, DVD writer, Centrino CPU. Is this a good price ? And is the quality of Acer laptops similar to Dell?

Any advice/comments appreciated. Thanks.

[Tharweb]

Hi
Missed out on the Tesco deal too. Was all set to compromise on the specs given the price. Thanks to this site I may have found a laptop on the laptopsdirect website that could be the one for me.

Acer Aspire 1642WLMi (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_1642WLMi_LX.A8605.181/version-1.asp)

It's priced £534.95 and comes with:
-Pentium M Centrino 1.73 GHz
-512MB RAM
-80Gig Hard disk
-DVDRW Dual Layer
-15.4" screen 1280 x 800
-Wireless networking
-1 Year collect + return

It has the things that I am looking for i.e 15.4" screen, DVD writer, Centrino CPU. Is this a good price ? And is the quality of Acer laptops similar to Dell?

Any advice/comments appreciated. Thanks.

That seems very reasonable for the spec. Ebuyer are selling it for £543.67 inc shipping, Quick code 99088 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99088), I don't know if laptopsdirect charge shipping on top so it may be worth checking out (unless you have a problem with Ebuyer).

I have an Acer Centrino which has been fine since I bought it 12 months or so ago. Acer support isn't supposed to be that great but I've never tested it.

FWIW you can buy 3 year Acer extended warranties from around £60, Ebuyer sell these too, Quick code 66436 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=16514753989&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=66436). You don't need to buy them at the same time as the laptop so you can shop around.

[Hillfly]

The price of the acer 5020 series has just plummeted.
I was about to order one on Monday when thanks to Savastore price alert (yes that was Savastore doing something correctly!) I noticed the price dropped £140. :money:
I spoke to someopne at shop acer and apparently Acer are trying to shift the stock of these before the new dual processor models become the norm.

http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=1543ff21cf42b07/shopdata/Notebooks/Aspire/Aspire+5020/product_overview.shopscript

I ordered this one:
http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=1543ff21cf42b07/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0100_Aspire+5020/product_details.shopscript?article=0035_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B5024WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3EPRICE%2BDROP%3D21%3D3C%3D26slash%3D 3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EAA505%3D252E002%3D252E VOD%3D29

for £637.90 which has an amazing 256mb graphics card and 100gb hard drive.

Anyone want support or reviews then check this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=17907

Full Spec:

Product Description Acer Aspire 5024WLMi - Turion 64 mobile technology ML-34 1.8 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36.3 cm x 27.8 cm x 3.3 cm
Weight 3.1 kg
Localisation United Kingdom
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-34 1.8 GHz - 64-bit
Cache Memory 1 MB - L2 Cache
RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM ( 2 x 512 MB )
Card Reader 6 in 1
Hard Drive 100 GB
Optical Storage DVD±RW (+R double layer) - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix WXGA (1280 x 800) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 - 256 MB
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Input Device Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery Lithium Ion
Run Time (Up To) 3 hour(s)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Width 36.3 cm
Depth 27.8 cm
Height 3.3 cm
Weight 3.1 kg
Localisation United Kingdom
Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 ( 0 ) x memory
1 ( 1 ) x PC Card - type II
1 ( 1 ) x SmartMedia Card
1 ( 1 ) x SD Memory Card
1 ( 1 ) x Memory Stick
1 ( 1 ) x xD-Picture Card
Interfaces 4 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x infrared - IrDA
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x display / video - S-video output
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-in/microphone - mini-phone 3.5mm
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Traveller warranty - 1 year
Processor
Processor AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-34 1.8 GHz - 64-bit
Features PowerNow! technology, HyperTransport technology, AMD64 technology, integrated memory controller, Enhanced Virus Protection
Chipset Type ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M
RAM
Installed Size 1 GB / 2 GB (max)
Technology DDR SDRAM
Configuration Features 2 x 512 MB
Storage
Hard Drive 100 GB
Networking
Networking Network adapter
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Remote Management Protocol DMI 2.0
Features Acer SignalUp
Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Miscellaneous
Features Locking device keyhole (cable lock), administrator password, system password, wake on LAN
Compliant Standards ACPI 1.0b
Power
Power Device External
Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Storage Controller
Type IDE
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 - PCI Express
Video Memory 256 MB
Audio
Audio Output Sound card
Audio Input Microphone
Display
Display Type 15.4" TFT active matrix
Max Resolution 1280 x 800 / 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Features CrystalBrite
Cache Memory
Type L2 Cache
Installed Size 1 MB
Optical Storage
Type DVD±RW (+R double layer) - integrated
Input Device(s)
Type Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Telecom
Modem Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate 56 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications ITU V.92
Features Wake on Ring
Battery
Technology Lithium Ion
Installed Qty 1
Capacity 60 Wh
Run Time (Up To) 3 hour(s)
Operating System / Software
OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software Microsoft Works, Acer System Recovery, Acer Launch Manager, NTI CD-Maker, Norton AntiVirus (OEM), CyberLink PowerProducer, Acer eManager, Acer GridVista, Acer Arcade, Adobe Reader
Card Reader
Type 6 in 1 card reader
Supported Flash Memory Cards SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, SmartMedia Card, xD-Picture Card


Now that's bang for your buck! :j

[yeeble1]

Thanks Tharweb & Hillfly for the feedback and extra info. LaptopDirect does not seem to charge for delivery and I can get another 2% back through Quidco. The £60 warranty from ebuyer is tempting (especially if I can sell the bundled Vodafone 3G Data card for a similar price on ebay).

Thanks again.

[katepnlor]

Needing a little help,'hussband has decided our business (small) should have a laptop, big yay for me, ive been dying to get one, but never been able to afford it....but the business is paying...soooooooooooooo as a strictly desk top pc person, can anyone tell me what spec i should go for? and any amazing deals this weekend?
He is willilng to spend a fair amount....gotta be under 1k though...in the shop he was uming and r'ing at one that cost 900.00 so maybe less if possible.
Now for business we use ms office, publisher,, its all documents so no huge software. need to have at least 4 usb ports,. i want it wireless enabled so i can just install it and get on with things.
On the non business side i use it for internet and camera, loadsssssss of photos.
what spec should i go for? i dont want to spend more than i have to and idealy from a high street store.....coz i want it today while he is still in the mood for buying one lol!!! but if there is an amazing online deal i may be able to do that if i can pesuade him its a great deal lol.
i like the sony ones, he likes a hP ONE HE SAW in pc world.
really hope you can help :)
kate

[Kettle]

The price of the acer 5020 series has just plummeted.

Thanks for the tip-off!

I'm on the verge of ordering the 5024WLMi - LX.A4605.174 for £560
Does anyone know how that one differes from the 5024WLMi - LX.A4605.048?

The latter is some £270 more and the specs seem the same to my dim eyes.

Also, this "FREE Vodafone 3G Card": the Vodafone T&Cs state that it only applies to Intel processors, whereas these are of course AMDs.

Kettle

[belfastgal]

That seems very reasonable for the spec. Ebuyer are selling it for £543.67 inc shipping, Quick code 99088 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99088), I don't know if laptopsdirect charge shipping on top so it may be worth checking out (unless you have a problem with Ebuyer).

I have an Acer Centrino which has been fine since I bought it 12 months or so ago. Acer support isn't supposed to be that great but I've never tested it.

FWIW you can buy 3 year Acer extended warranties from around £60, Ebuyer sell these too, Quick code 66436 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=16514753989&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=66436). You don't need to buy them at the same time as the laptop so you can shop around.

HAS ANYONE HAD APROBLEM WITH EBUYER WAS THINKING OF THE ACER ASPIRE 1641WLMI AT £539.95

[Malestrom]

Well I ordered a laptop from Ebuyer (a Fujitsu Siemens) but when it arrived they'd sent the right model but wrong spec. Shortly after ringing to complain they altered the webpage to show what i'd been sent, luckily I had printed it out! I had to return it for a refund and while this wasn't too much of a pain it still took several phone calls and some wrong information on their part before it was sorted. I was actually told to send it back at my cost by recorded delivery! It was over £500 worth of laptop, why would I send it back with a postage service that only pays out £30 in the event of loss or damage! They actually sent a courier to collect it in the end and the refund was processed about 10 days later. So, not great service but better than some have experienced with Ebuyer. Just to note, i've been buying components from Ebuyer for a long time and this was the first problem i've ever had.

[Hillfly]

HAS ANYONE HAD APROBLEM WITH EBUYER WAS THINKING OF THE ACER ASPIRE 1641WLMI AT £539.95


Do you mean the 1642wlmi ?? Can't see a 1641 on ebuyer.

If so the 1642wlmi is £ 551.65 including VAT at shop acer. They have good sales service:

http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=154404cc14d4f49/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0010_Aspire+1640/product_details.shopscript?article=0100_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B1642WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3EPRICE%2BDROP%3D21%3D3C%3D26slash%3D 3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA8605%3D252E181%3D252E VOD%3D29

A lot cheaper i think. :money:

[Kettle]

Ordered an Acer Aspire 5024WLMi from shopacer this afternoon!

Kettle

[belfastgal]

Do you mean the 1642wlmi ?? Can't see a 1641 on ebuyer.

If so the 1642wlmi is £ 551.65 including VAT at shop acer. They have good sales service:

http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=154404cc14d4f49/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0010_Aspire+1640/product_details.shopscript?article=0100_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B1642WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3EPRICE%2BDROP%3D21%3D3C%3D26slash%3D 3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA8605%3D252E181%3D252E VOD%3D29

A lot cheaper i think. :money:

YES I MEANT THE ACER ASPIRE 1642....SORRY...

[Hillfly]

No worries. I think i'm going to ask shop acer for some commission!

When i bought my 5024 they did a price match for me but then the next day their price dropped further still and they were kind enought to refund me the difference which they didn't have to do. That's good service if you ask me so i'm happy to give them a good press. :rotfl:

[belfastgal]

Do you mean the 1642wlmi ?? Can't see a 1641 on ebuyer.

If so the 1642wlmi is £ 551.65 including VAT at shop acer. They have good sales service:

http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=154404cc14d4f49/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0010_Aspire+1640/product_details.shopscript?article=0100_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B1642WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3EPRICE%2BDROP%3D21%3D3C%3D26slash%3D 3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA8605%3D252E181%3D252E VOD%3D29

A lot cheaper i think. :money:

the acer aspire 1642 wlmi seems to be £609 on shopacer.has this price gone up its £539 on ebuyer ????

[Hillfly]

the acer aspire 1642 wlmi seems to be £609 on shopacer.has this price gone up its £539 on ebuyer ????

£539 does not include VAT.

The price has gone up on shop acer. They will do a price match on the ebuyer price but you can beat that.

£543.40 at Savastore
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10284286&pid=44

Savastore have a poor reputation so i'd reccomend getting a price match at shop acer (that's what i did and they even beat it by a few quid).

[belfastgal]

£539 does not include VAT.

The price has gone up on shop acer. They will do a price match on the ebuyer price but you can beat that.

£543.40 at Savastore
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10284286&pid=44

Savastore have a poor reputation so i'd reccomend getting a price match at shop acer (that's what i did and they even beat it by a few quid).

sorry for being a pain but what do you say to acer ? do you tell them that you can get cheaper on ebuyer od just ask them if they price match or should i ring them ?

[Hillfly]

It's probably best to give them a call and ask them straight up if they will do a price match. Tell them the model number and where you saw it.

I actually did it using the live chat facility on the web site which allowed me to provide the URL for the price i wanted them to match. The sales girl looked it up and was happy to match it straight away. I think they are quite used to people doing it.

The sales girls name was Kayleigh and she was very good.

[janiss]

Toshiba do a decent range of laptops. My mate got a really good Toshiba laptop just before christmas and that was only just over £500, so you could find an excellent laptop for that price if you go with Toshiba.

[Hillfly]

Yes i would agree they are very good machines - i have one for work and it's very sturdy and lightweight.

[pigeonpie]

Can anyone recommend one under 1000 pounds or thereabouts with good spec ie a desktop replacement that is QUIET. My mate's Toshiba satellite is deafening every 30 secs.
Sony Vaio's got a new dual processor one out, some overlap here with the 0% ccard purchase thread may be in order as it's at 1200 or thereabouts!! - does anyone know if it's any good or you can talk Sony down?

Personally I would avoid Dells but see they aren't part of your poll anyhow. I recently returned a faulty one and yesterday saw an ad for 200 pounds cheaper in the paper for the same PC with same spec. They have too many "special offer" deals and their PCs aren't the quality they used to be imho.

[Kilty]

Can someone give me a quick summary of what is available on the market at the moment for around £400?

Thanks.

[dc2447]

I'd certainly buy a Tosh before buying an acer or even a dell

[kieran1985]

can anyone who bought the Acer Aspire 1642WLMi (http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=15440aecf165654/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0010_Aspire+1640/product_details.shopscript?article=0100_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B1642WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3ECHEAPEST%2BIN%2BTHE%2BUK%3D21%3D3C% 3D26slash%3D3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA8605%3D25 2E181%3D252EVOD%3D29) or Acer Aspire 5024WLMi (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=102125&_LOC=UK) tell me what they think of them?

they seem to offer a pretty good spec for a good price. also the only difference between the 2 systems seems to be the processer. 1642 has an Intel Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz while the 5024 has an AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-34 1.8 GHz - 64-bit.

any advice as to whats better?

thanks

[dc2447]

can anyone who bought the Acer Aspire 1642WLMi (http://www.shopacer.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=15440aecf165654/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0010_Aspire+1640/product_details.shopscript?article=0100_Acer%2BAsp ire%2B1642WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23F F0000%3D22%3D3ECHEAPEST%2BIN%2BTHE%2BUK%3D21%3D3C% 3D26slash%3D3Bfont%3D3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA8605%3D25 2E181%3D252EVOD%3D29) or Acer Aspire 5024WLMi (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=102125&_LOC=UK) tell me what they think of them?

they seem to offer a pretty good spec for a good price. also the only difference between the 2 systems seems to be the processer. 1642 has an Intel Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz while the 5024 has an AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-34 1.8 GHz - 64-bit.

any advice as to whats better?

thanks The p4 has better benchmarks but I don't know why you would care on such a low end laptop.

[kieran1985]

well im working on a pretty tight budget, but i'd just like to get the best system i can for my money

[Hillfly]

Well i just bought the 5024wlmi.

I am very happy with the machine. The Amd Turion processor is 64 bit which will help future proof it a bit as well as having a 256mb graphics card which is also pretty good. I hear the next genration of windows (Vista) relies quite heavily in graphics - so a decent card is also agood way to future proof. I got the model withh 100gig hard drive too - so plenty of space.
The wrieless is good too as it uses the acer 'signal up' techonology which helps improve reception.

The look and feel of the machine are the same as all acer aspires. Have look at one in Comet to get an idea.

I'd reccomend the machine to anyone wanting a dcent desktop replacent on a budget - especially after the recent price drop.

I'm not sure the benchmarks are better on the pentium - it depends what machine setup's have been tested. Can you say where you saw that dc2447?
The 5024 has new bios available that increases the performance a bit.

[belfastgal]

AFTER READING ALL THE GREAT POSTS AND ADVICE ON HERE . I DECIDED TO GO FOR THE ACER ASPIRE 1642WLMI ON WWW.SHOPACER.CO.UK AND ASKED THEM DID THEY PRICE MATCH - ONLY TO BE TOLD THEY COULDNT MATCH SAVASTORE'S PRICE OF £543.40. THE BEST THEY COULD DO WAS KNOCK £5 OFF BRINGING THEIR PRICE DOWN TO £569.THEY QUOTED ME A DELIVERY PRICE OF ( TO NORTHERN IRELAND ) £39 + VAT TOTAL AMOUNT OF £603.
I THINK THIS SEEMS THE BEST I CAN GET TO NOTHEREN IRELAND. HAD A LOOK ON SHOP ACER S WEBSITE AND DELIVERY TO N.I IS QUOTED AS £24.99 + VAT . SHOULD I GIVE THEM ANOTHER RING OR JUST BITE THE BULLET ?

[belfastgal]

Just ordered a acer aspire 1642wlmi - delivered etc to northern ireland £569....well pleases .thanks alot for helping me out and getting me such a great deal. :j

[dc2447]

well im working on a pretty tight budget, but i'd just like to get the best system i can for my money The best system doesn't mean the one with the largest cpu nor that having a bigger cpu will make it faster.

Low end laptops tend to have:

* poor cooling
* poor ventilation
* cheap motherboard and ram
* Low MTBF (mean time between failure)

Get a laptop from a recommended manufacturer - don't buy acer and dell because they are the cheapest, keep an eye out for bargains like the Thinkpad for £399 and jump in.

[pigeonpie]

What's the difference in real performance in terms of rpm processor speed as some of the cheaper ones like HP have 4500 (i think) whereas otherwise you get 5400rpm and 7200rpm. How much do you notice this when working on a desktop replacement?

Also please anyone, which laptop is quiet? Are the Acers with Turion processors quiet and "Vista" proof (all the hype, will it be better than XP?)
thank you

[MickKnipfler]

Where do you get a thinkpad for £399?

[bad-head-day]

Thinkpad r50 laptops were on sale at staples about 6 months back for £399.

[dc2447]

Thinkpad r50 laptops were on sale at staples about 6 months back for £399. It was the best buy I ever made. It kicks the !!! off my £1800 dell.

[Bob Terveuren]

Where do you get a thinkpad for £399?

I've just setup a Thinkpad for an Icelandic guy that he bought (in Iceland) for a cost price of £200 (give or take £10 on the exchange rate).


So even at £399 - somebody is making a profit???

[Bob Terveuren]

HAS ANYONE HAD APROBLEM WITH EBUYER WAS THINKING OF THE ACER ASPIRE 1641WLMI AT £539.95

I've had mixed blessings with Ebuyer - about two years ago I had a great deal of hassle with them over a faulty LCD screen, however - last month, they were great in replacing a dead ADSL modem/router that I bought nearly a year ago. Other folks I know also think that their support has improved recently.

However I would say that you should not buy anything that is not shown as being in stock - I've placed orders with them before and, after a month or so, been told that the item is not, ever, ever, ever going to be in stock!

Compare their prices closely with dabs.com and other online sales sites. Having said that I order from them several times a month and I always try to 'beat their price' - usually I fail.

[BritishBeef]

How about this? Seems a really good deal. I'm looking to buy a laptop for web surfing wirelessly, office type work and also the odd photo work in Photoshop. I will mainly use my desktop PC for photoshop work etc. but I would like to be able to process the odd RAW file and run it through Photoshop if needs be. It wouldn't be heavy Photoshop use (no batch processing) just individual files one at a time.

I particularly want a good screen (15.4" widescreen) and good resolution too. I've been impressed with the glossy screens (Sony X-Black etc.)

Anyone know if these screens are better suited to photography.

Anyway, heres one I'm interested in as you get a lot of bang for your buck:



Acer Aspire 1694WLMi
Cost: £784.95
Intel Pentium-M 760 Processor 2.0GHz
1GB DDRII SDRAM
100GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and large Dual Layer DVD
15.4" XGA Widescreen CrystalBrite TFT Screen
ATI Mobility X700 256MB dedicated graphics
Integrated gigabit LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
Integrated wireless 802.11b/g
Integrated Bluetooth
Integrated 4-in-1 card reader
3 USB 2.0 Sockets
4-pin Firewire (IEEE 1394) Port
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
Includes Cyberlink Power-DVD and NTI CD-Maker
FREE Microsoft Works
3.5-hour Battery Life
Weight 3kg
1 year warranty

FREE Vodafone 3G Data card

What do you think? Any others I should be looking at?

[Hillfly]

I think that's pretty good. I can't find a better deal for that graphics card and speed of processor.

What make/model is it? Might help the search a bit.

[BritishBeef]

Oops forgot the make and model! I've updated the original post.

[Hillfly]

Can't beat that price no matter how hard i try. Go get it!

Some useful reviews and links here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/search.php?searchid=84528

[monkeyspanner]

I know Dell isn't the best and its clunky and all that but in case anyone is interested here are the latest offers which came up this morning, and I think are valid until 22/3/2006.

1-N03136 £339 (90day on site £60 off from last night)
Includes:
WIFI
DVD R/W
512 RAM
15.4 Screen
add £11.75 for 6 cell battery


N03136a £439
as N03136
Plus upgrade to 1024 RAM and 60GB HD

N03135 £288
includes:
WIFI
DVD R/W

N03135a £239
No WIFI
Combo CD R/W DVD R drive

N03135b £289
as N03135

If you are looking for 630M try 1-N03635d £419 (£80 cheaper than last night but no longer has 512 RAM as this free upgrade offer ended yesturday. Add it back in for £76.38 total £495.38. Anyone seen any other codes for 630M?

[monkeyspanner]

Scrub that last post they have just put all back up £60. DOOH!!

[BritishBeef]

Thanks everyone. I've just bitten the bullet and bought the Acer Aspire 1694WLMi.
Delivery tommorrow. I'm very excited - I love my toys!

[eplives]

Hi guys need some help concerning laptops. I want a amd turion 64 unit but Toshiba dont do one as they only deal with intel which ive been told is not as fast as amd. Next alternative is a compaq v5030 or v5094.
Am i being too specific in wanting an amd chip its only that i've heard it will be work on the new windows operation system as it is a 64 bit and not a 32 bit chip? Im open to suggestions. By the way my budget is up to £650.00

[Kilty]

Scrub that last post they have just put all back up £60. DOOH!!

N03135B has not, still £289 and is listed in the "As seen on TV" part of the site, under "Purchase Assistance".

Bargain if you ask me :D

[monkeyspanner]

N03135B has not, still £289 and is listed in the "As seen on TV" part of the site, under "Purchase Assistance".

Bargain if you ask me :D

Also N03136 (same as N03135B but wider screen and extra 256MRam) is £339 still available via small business section but is £399 via home systems. Small business is not charging for delivery.

[tall.small]

Hi

When I try for the NO3136 with the bigger battery and cheap printer the price comes out at 360.83 after VAT, that includes changing the warrenty to 90 days? How do I get it cheaper.

Help! :)

[monkeyspanner]

Hi

When I try for the NO3136 with the bigger battery and cheap printer the price comes out at 360.83 after VAT, that includes changing the warrenty to 90 days? How do I get it cheaper.

Help! :)

£360.83 sounds right. Basic system(ex vat) £288.62 + 6 cell £10 + printer £8.47 =£307.09+vat=£360.83.

[tall.small]

Thanks for the quick reply. Should have checked my figures better.

Is the NO3136 a far better deal than the N3135B and worth the £60 price difference?

Just want to get the best value possible. Laptop will mainly be used for interenet basic home stuff nothing to flash.

Thanks again :)

[monkeyspanner]

Thanks for the quick reply. Should have checked my figures better.

Is the NO3136 a far better deal than the N3135B and worth the £60 price difference?

Just want to get the best value possible. Laptop will mainly be used for interenet basic home stuff nothing to flash.

Thanks again :)

If you run multiple applications you could probably do with the extra RAM this option provides double RAM for less than the option upgrade which is about £70 I think. However if you usually only run with one or two programs and you are not bothered about the bigger screen then go with the cheaper one.

[dc2447]

It's never going to cost more than £25 to manually upgrade a laptop's memory to 512mb - the amount of ram that comes witha laptop shouldn't factor in your calculations

[BritishBeef]

OK, So I was really really excited to have bought my first ever laptop as I posted about earlier I went for the Acer Inspire 1694WLMI for £786 (see my post further up this thread for specs).
Well I have always been extremely unlucky with new computers - my last 3 PC's all had faults from new and had to be replaced / repaired. I had to drive 15 miles to collect my new laptop from City Link as they tried to deliver during the 10 minutes I was out yesterday (!!). I got it home opened the box and fired up the laptop. Really happy with the look of the laptop and there were no dead pixels! Result! Then I noticed that something wasn't right at the screens edge. Yep, BROKEN :( The plastic surround that meets and holds the tft screen isn't attached meaning there's about a 1mm gap between the screen and the plastic surround. When I try and push them together it's all loose and clicks but won't go back together. It also means that the laptop won't close fully to engage one of the catches :(

I can't believe it. I'm so completely gutted. I bought it from www.acernotebooks.co.uk (http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_1694WLMi_Microsoft_Works_LX.A8405.094/version.asp) and looking at the site today, they are now out of stock. The site states that with Acer laptops the warranty is with Acer. How do I stand on this. I don't want a refund because I can't get this laptop anywhere else with this spec for the money I paid. It's being phased out it would seem as stock is very low everywhere.

I'm totally deflated now as I had spent ages researching the right laptop for me and the price I paid for the spec was really good.

[Hillfly]

Worst case - you can get a full refund from acernotebooks under the distance selling regulations.
However i have heard some good things about acer warranty support. Why not give them a try first? It might be a pain in the jacksy but at least you'll get the lappy you want at the end of it?

Very bad luck you've had. :confused:

[BritishBeef]

Hi Hillfly and thanks for your reply. I think I'll have to go down the warrenty route. I've been looking up their warranty online and found THIS (http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-5667-1.php). This thread has been running since 2004 till present and is full of issues with Acer's support :(

So, it doesn't fill me with hope.

[Hillfly]

Oh dear that doesn't read well - just remember most people with problems post reports - those who don't have trouble don't tend to post so the web is awash with negative views.

Fingers crossed you won't be posting!

[dc2447]

I'm afraid Acer's support is considered very poor

[Slapps]

[B]just wonderin if any of u know or own the acer aspire 3003lc and weather this has got wireless?
all help wil b greatfully recieved
Slapps

[Hillfly]

[B]just wonderin if any of u know or own the acer aspire 3003lc and weather this has got wireless?
all help wil b greatfully recieved
Slapps


Sorry - no it doesn't.

You need the 3003wlmi
https://sslrelay.com/s77548008.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=15441ea93ee1342/shopdata/0130_Notebooks/0033_Aspire/0040_Aspire+3000+3020/product_details.shopscript?article=0120_Aspire%2B3 003WLMi%2B%3D3Cfont%2Bcolor%3D3D%3D22%3D23FF0000%3 D22%3D3EPRICE%2BDROP%2B-%2BMARCH%2BMADNESS%3D21%3D3C%3D26slash%3D3Bfont%3D 3E%2B%3D28LX%3D252EA5505%3D252E683%3D252EVOD%3D29

[Slapps]

[/B]thank you hillfly that made me mind up 2 go 4 this 1 instead
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_314412.html

Slapps

[slojo]

[/B]thank you hillfly that made me mind up 2 go 4 this 1 instead
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_314412.html

Slapps

Out of interest, why would you go for that one rather than the Dell N03136 which has better spec for £339?

[monkeyspanner]

Offer valid on selected :
Dell Inspiron 6400: N03641, N03642
Dell Inspiron 9400: N03941, N03942, N03943

Offer valid on selected :
Dell Dimension 9150: D03911a, D03912,D03913
Dell Dimension 5150C: D035c2, D035c3

Exclusive 5% coupon, save big on the latest technology with an extra 5% off all the new Dell DimensionTM Desktops and Dell InspironTM Notebooks with Intel® Dual CoreTM processor! That's 5% off in addition to all the other system promotions:

Coupon offer is valid till 24.03.06, exclusively on selected DimensionTM Desktops or InspironTM Notebooks purchase. The coupon is only valid online.

With coupon code 0DQGZTF4D2BMV7

[Slapps]

[/B]wouldn't touch dell with a bargepole
they don't sell them in the shops cos no shop is silly enough 2 take them( just my view)
Slapps

[slojo]

Offer valid on selected :
Dell Inspiron 6400: N03641, N03642
Dell Inspiron 9400: N03941, N03942, N03943

Offer valid on selected :
Dell Dimension 9150: D03911a, D03912,D03913
Dell Dimension 5150C: D035c2, D035c3

Exclusive 5% coupon, save big on the latest technology with an extra 5% off all the new Dell DimensionTM Desktops and Dell InspironTM Notebooks with Intel® Dual CoreTM processor! That's 5% off in addition to all the other system promotions:

Coupon offer is valid till 24.03.06, exclusively on selected DimensionTM Desktops or InspironTM Notebooks purchase. The coupon is only valid online.

With coupon code 0DQGZTF4D2BMV7

Can this discount be used with the quidco 4.5% cashback as well?

[Hillfly]

Out of interest, why would you go for that one rather than the Dell N03136 which has better spec for £339?


I must agree that i would go with the Dell over that Acer.
You get DVD writer & wireless inlcuded - neither of which you get in the Acer.

Dell's are pretty solid machines.

[monkeyspanner]

Can this discount be used with the quidco 4.5% cashback as well?

Sorry--I can't say for certain but I would think so as Quidco links you to the Dell site. I would assume you get the 5% discount on the original price and then Qidco collect the 4.5% on the net price thus overall discount 9.275%.

[JamesHughes]

Well, I have just got a Acer3003LC with wireless PCMCIA card, plus extra 256MB Ram, cost was just over £400 I think - and having used it for a couple of weeks I am very impressed.

Battery life is a bit low, but I use it plugged in most of the time. Speed is great, screen is great, keyboard good.

I needed a really cheap laptop, and got what I think is a piece of kit that appears much better than the price would suggest.

Ebuyer Belkin laptop case at £12 was also a real steal!!

We have some Dell laptops here at work, and I am less impressed with them than this cheap Acer.

James

[top notch]

They are just ridiculously cheap now

[Slapps]

[B]i wos under the believe that until the year's warranty ( if you haven't brought more) that should you want 2 upgrade either memory or hard drive that it has 2 b a dell product so that you don't invald the warranty!!
plz let me know if i am wrong on this.
Slapps :eek:

[Browntoa]

you are wrong on this :)

no problem with you upgrading the laptops memory invalidating the warranty

[Slapps]

[B]i never said that upgrading the ram would invalidate the warranty. just said that it has b dell ram while in warranty but thank you for the reply as if this is not the case then i'm not the kinda person 2 want 2 say wrongly 2 others.

Slapps

P.S i still don't like dell pmsl

[BritishBeef]

Update on my previous post in this thread (#593).

I rang Acer support and got through within 10 minutes. Spoke to a really helpful support person who took my details etc. and gave me the details to ring City Link to arrange collection of my laptop. I rang City Link and arranged collection the very same day (Monday). City Link collected my laptop just an hour later!

I got the laptop back successfully repaired on Friday. 5 days including the 2 days with the courier I cannot complain about at all. To me, apart from a laptop that wasn't broken out of the box, I couldn't have asked for more.

Obviously this is just my experience, but I felt I had to post my positive experience after all the worries I had after reading other forums and all the horror stories about Acer's customer service and repairs. I don't doubt that things go wrong with repairs at Acer and maybe they are worse than other companies but how many people have good service from Acer but don't post about it on the web?

I know I normally complain about a company on forums and not praise them when they do well and I expect others are the same. From now on though, I'm going to make sure I praise companies that do the right thing by me.

[TallPaul01]

Just wanting to get peoples opinion on this laptop seems good value to me.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_289396.html

[Hillfly]

Just wanting to get peoples opinion on this laptop seems good value to me.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_289396.html


Looks like a decent spec for the money. Not sure what you want to use it for though so hard to say if it's good value for you.

Incidentally if you do buy it from Comet you can purchase Comet vouchers at a 13% discount by using a virgin credit card and using the virgin members shop.
This has saved me quite a bit.

[TallPaul01]

A would probably use it mostly for gaming and work.
Thanks for that the cheaper the better :T

[dc2447]

Just wanting to get peoples opinion on this laptop seems good value to me.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_289396.html

yikes

Product weight (kg) 2.8 kg

[Hillfly]

A would probably use it mostly for gaming and work.
Thanks for that the cheaper the better :T


It wouldn't be up to much gaming as it only has integrated graphics.

[TallPaul01]

It wouldn't be up to much gaming as it only has integrated graphics.

Any recommendations of one, looking to spend up to about £500

Thanks for your help

[-1-]

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1154446371.114363646 0@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeaddhgjeklidcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=2&sm=1&tm=0&sku=741851&category_oid=-27403


I know it's not cheap at all, but as far as laptops go is this a good one ?.

I'm tempted as i want a laptop, but i've always said i'll only get one if it's faster than my desktop PC which is 2.6ghz.

[Hillfly]

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1154446371.114363646 0@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceeaddhgjeklidcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=2&sm=1&tm=0&sku=741851&category_oid=-27403


I know it's not cheap at all, but as far as laptops go is this a good one ?.

I'm tempted as i want a laptop, but i've always said i'll only get one if it's faster than my desktop PC which is 2.6ghz.


It's a well specced machine - bear in mind I bought an acer aspire with very simialr features but with a better graphics card (X700 256MB) but less fast chip for £630 recently (had and AMD Turion 1.8Ghz). You are paying an awful lot for that chip i would say.

[Hillfly]

Any recommendations of one, looking to spend up to about £500

Thanks for your help


It's hard to find a machine that will game well at that price. I managed to pick up an acer aspire for £630 - lookup 5024wlmi in this thread for the full spec. It runs Pro Evo 5 on high settings very well. Haven't tried it for anything else as yet but i reckon it was good value.

MSE user Kettle also got one and i think he was fairly pleased.


If you can find anywhere with stock i'd get one of these - but they sold out at a lot of places as the price was dropped as it's an end of line model.

[pin]

It's hard to find a machine that will game well at that price. I managed to pick up an acer aspire for £630 - lookup 5024wlmi in this thread for the full spec. It runs Pro Evo 5 on high settings very well. Haven't tried it for anything else as yet but i reckon it was good value.

MSE user Kettle also got one and i think he was fairly pleased.


If you can find anywhere with stock i'd get one of these - but they sold out at a lot of places as the price was dropped as it's an end of line model.

The 5024, like hillfly being run down stock wise. there are still a few places selling it for around £500. Try ebuyer, laptopsdirect, technoworld, laptopshop as some examples.

Have a look at the Aspire 5502/5504 as well.

[tomS]

What is the lowest, cheapest spec for a laptop that will run games? Any good bargains on around on that sort of laptop?

I'm going abroad in a few months, so i want to replace my desktop with something i can take with me. I mainly use it for internet, videos, music and the odd game. Would probably want something that could manage Half Life 2 at a playable FPS - but it wouldn't need to storm the newest games or anything.

I'll pay what i need to pay, but i don't want to spend a fotune if it isn't needed.

Would memory, clock speed or graphics card be the top priority? If so what would be recommended for each?

Also, is it worth waiting for duo-core laptops to become more widely available? (either because they will be better, or because they will cause single core prices to drop)

[Hillfly]

I reckon graphics card should be your priority as this is key to your gaming and video playback performance. Most macines that have a decent graphics card will by default have a decent processor. You rarely get a machine with great grahics and poor processor.

As for dual core, i think some models have already dropped in price to make way for the dual core (again the acer aspire 5024wlmi springs to mind).

[beautifulgorgeous]

Staples £699

HP Pavilion dv5046EA Notebook PC (EU087EA#ABU) - Specifications



Processor, Operating System and Memory
Processor
AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Processor ML-32 with PowerNow!™ Technology
• , Level 2 cache 512 KB, Up to 1600 MHz system bus running at AC/DC mode 35 Watt

Operating system installed
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Standard memory
512 MB

Memory type
DDR 333 MHz

Maximum memory
Supports up to 2 GB DDR memory

Memory layout
(2 x 256 MB)

Internal drives
Internal hard disk drive
100 GB

Hard disk controller
EIDE hard drive, ATA 100

Hard disk drive speed
4200 rpm

Optical drive type
DVD Writer Dual Format (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support

System features
Memory card device
Digital Media Reader (6 in 1) (xD, SD, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multimedia Card)

Modem
High speed 56K modem

Network interface
10/100 LAN Ethernet integrated

Wireless technologies
54g™ 802.11b/g WLAN

External I/O ports
1 VGA port; 3 USB 2.0 ports; 1 IEEE-1394; 1 RJ 11 modem connector; 1 RJ 45 Ethernet connector; S-video TV out; Remote control infrared port (Remote Control optional); 1 Headphone-out w/ SPDIF Digital Audio, 1 Microphone-in port; Cable docking connector

Video capture interface
IEEE 1394 Interface

Expansion slots
One type I or II PC card slot. CardBus-enabled. One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)

Display size
15.4” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen

Display resolution
1280 x 800

Video RAM
128 MB dedicated video memory

Internal audio
3D Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound 16 bit integrated

Speakers and microphone
Altec Lansing® speakers

Keyboard
101 key compatible keyboard

Pointing device
Touch Pad with dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad

Power supply type
65 W AC Power Adapter

Software
Pre-installed software description
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0; Microsoft® Outlook® Express; Adobe® Reader 6.0

Optical drive driver software
InterVideo WinDVD 5.0; Sonic™ Digital MediaPlus 7.0: Sonic™ RecordNow; Sonic™ MyDVD; Sonic™ Easy Archive; Sonic™ Express Labeler; Microsoft® Windows® Media Player 10; Apple iTunes; Apple QuickTime; HP Image Zone Plus

Software - internet & online
Easy Internet Signup with leading Internet Service Providers

Software included
Symantec™ Norton Internet Security™ 2005 (60 days live update); Notebook Help & Support

Dimensions / weight / warranty
Weight
2.98 kg (6.6 lbs)

Package weight
5.1 kg

Dimensions (W x D x H)
26.39 cm (L) x 35.78cm (W) x 3.5 cm - 4.4 cm (H)

Package dimensions (W x D x H)
435 x 188 x 355 mm

Warranty statement
1 year, pick-up and return, parts and labour

Is this a good buy or is there a better one out there?

[chr1s]

Loads of replies to this one - couldn't read them all, so sorry if this has been posted before.

I often use Dabs.com for computer supplies. They always have cheap laptop deals on. Their best at the moment is £349 (that's including VAT! - it's £297.86 ex VAT!) whilst stocks last (170 in stock last time I checked) Click Here (http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3XW9&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105) . It's an Acer Aspire 3003LC/ Mobile Sempron/ 256MB/ 40GB/ combo/ XPHome - good enough for the basics.

Also check out EuroPC (http://www.europc.co.uk) . They offer reconditioned computer kit. Even though it's reconditioned, it's basically like "factory outlet" type of stuff. I use them a lot at work and they often have great deals on laptops, desktops and servers. Most of the Dell kit we buy still comes with the full 3yr onsite warrenty. They currently have Dell lattitudes from around £420 including VAT.

Chris :D

[Browntoa]

see the Dells back at £299 again in the daily Express today...ring up only though

[John_M_Business]

Hello Peeps

I am looking for a laptop for my business.

Ideally it would have a Dual Core Processor, have all the necessary business software thrown in (XP Pro + Microsoft Small Business), a good screen (at least 15" and high def), good backup / warranty (at least 3 years) and really impress (going to be doing a number of very important pitches to clients).

anyone have any advice? BTW Gaming not an issue!!

Total budget c. £1500 inc. (although a little flexible here and there!)

Cheers

john

[pin]

Hello Peeps

I am looking for a laptop for my business.

Ideally it would have a Dual Core Processor, have all the necessary business software thrown in (XP Pro + Microsoft Small Business), a good screen (at least 15" and high def), good backup / warranty (at least 3 years) and really impress (going to be doing a number of very important pitches to clients).

anyone have any advice? BTW Gaming not an issue!!

Total budget c. £1500 inc. (although a little flexible here and there!)

Cheers

john

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_d820?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd

[John_M_Business]

Thanks for the thought. But is it just me or do Dell create some of the most uninspiring laptops.

Additionally, this comes really low-specced - 40GB HDD, 512 RAM, Average Screen, No Office Small Business, No Anti Virus

Once you add all the bits, you're suddenly going up, and up! £1600+ Inc VAT and Delivery! And it looks like a brick!!

Sorry to be so dismissive, but I was hoping for a little more than that...

[chr1s]

Hello Peeps

I am looking for a laptop for my business.

Ideally it would have a Dual Core Processor, have all the necessary business software thrown in (XP Pro + Microsoft Small Business), a good screen (at least 15" and high def), good backup / warranty (at least 3 years) and really impress (going to be doing a number of very important pitches to clients).

anyone have any advice? BTW Gaming not an issue!!

Total budget c. £1500 inc. (although a little flexible here and there!)

Cheers

john

Hi Jon,

I haven't had time to look into this fully, but I can offer this advice: It sounds like the "really impress" option might be one of the most importance. If you're using it for e-mail/ Internet/ Office, then I wouldn't be overly worried about something really hi-spec, e.g. dual-core etc (unless you're wanting to impress techies of course :D ). Try looking at the Sony Vaios (http://vaio.sony-europe.com/view/View.action?site=ite_en_GB). They do have really nice screens and look the business! I'd say you'll most likely have to buy the laptop (with XP Pro included), then buy Office afterwards.

Hope this helps,
Chris.

[John_M_Business]

Hi Jon,

I haven't had time to look into this fully, but I can offer this advice: It sounds like the "really impress" option might be one of the most importance. If you're using it for e-mail/ Internet/ Office, then I wouldn't be overly worried about something really hi-spec, e.g. dual-core etc (unless you're wanting to impress techies of course :D ). Try looking at the Sony Vaios (http://vaio.sony-europe.com/view/View.action?site=ite_en_GB). They do have really nice screens and look the business! I'd say you'll most likely have to buy the laptop (with XP Pro included), then buy Office afterwards.

Hope this helps,
Chris.

Cheers Chris. I was informed that Dual Core was going to be a near-requirement for Vista when it is launched and I'd like to keep that option available - it would be a shame to buy a laptop and then within a year have a new OS available for it which I wouldn't be able to get hold of.

Additionally, I was also informed that the Core Duo / Dual Core give improved battery life performance as they are more efficient.

Of course, these statements may not be true...

I take your point though, that either the budget has to give a little, or I need to assess what is a definite requirement as opposed to what is a 'nice to have'...

[alositha]

has anyone heard about this brand name. staples selling them for reasonable? prices. can anyone give any recommendation about above laptop please : :confused:
thnaks

[Browntoa]

Gateway UK today unveiled its latest notebook and desktop PCs, pitching the products at consumers and small businesses needing performance on a budget price. The roll-out also takes in Intel's latest dual-core desktop processor technology.

That said, the notebooks feature previous-generation CPUs: the new MX6640b, MX6638b and GT3220b laptops are based on Pentium M 750, Pentium M 725 and Celeron M 360 chips, clocked at 1.83GHz, 1.6GHz and 1.4GHz, respectively. All three are based on Windows XP Home Edition, contain a four-in-one memory card reader, DVD±R/RW dual-layer optical drive and 802.11g Wi-Fi. Hard drive capacities come in at 80, 60 and 60GB, respectively.

The MX6640b ships with 1GB of DDR 2 SDRAM in dual-channel configuration, while the two other machines contain 512MB. The top-end notebook's 15.4in widescreen display is powered by an ATI Mobility Radeon X600SE GPU with 64MB of video RAM. The other machines have chipset graphics: in Intel GMA 900 on the MX6638b and an S3 Unichrome Pro on the GT3220b. They have 15.4in and 14.1in widescreen displays, respectively.

Gateway's GT5012b desktop has a 2.8GHz dual-core Pentium D 920 processor, 1GB of dual-channel DDR 2 SDRAM, Nvidia GeForce 6200 graphics with 256MB of memory taken from the main RAM bank, a 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive, DVD±R/RW dual-layer optical unit, eight-in-one memory card reader and 7.1-channel audio.

Gateway said the four machines are all available now through Staples stores. The MX6640b costs around £799, the MX6638b £649 and the GT3220b £499. The GT5012b costs around £599. ®

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/03/13/gateway_uk_machines/

http://uk.gateway.com/corporate/about.html

Founded in 1985 in a U.S. Midwestern farmhouse, Gateway has grown into one of the world's best known technology brands with millions of satisfied customers. Starting with a $10,000 loan guaranteed by his grandmother, a rented computer and a three-page business plan, founder Ted Waitt turned Gateway into a revolutionary company whose innovations helped shape the technology industry

[pigeonpie]

Any idea anyone if the keyboard is any good, ditto the screen and is the creature quiet?!
Great spec at that price - what's the catch? Do they use cheaper components?
I'm wary of buying instore as no 7 day return for refund is possible.

[alositha]

Any idea anyone if the keyboard is any good, ditto the screen and is the creature quiet?!
Great spec at that price - what's the catch? Do they use cheaper components?
I'm wary of buying instore as no 7 day return for refund is possible.


I THINK STPLES OFFER 28 DAYS MONEYBACK GUARANTEE WITH LAPTOPS. I AM PRETTY SURE THEY DID FEW MONTHS AGO.

[chr1s]

Cheers Chris. I was informed that Dual Core was going to be a near-requirement for Vista when it is launched and I'd like to keep that option available - it would be a shame to buy a laptop and then within a year have a new OS available for it which I wouldn't be able to get hold of.

Additionally, I was also informed that the Core Duo / Dual Core give improved battery life performance as they are more efficient.

Of course, these statements may not be true...

I take your point though, that either the budget has to give a little, or I need to assess what is a definite requirement as opposed to what is a 'nice to have'...

No problem. Again, I suppose it will be a case of do you really need Vista as soon as it's released? It won't even be released until the end of this year (Microsoft Press Release (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/mar06/03-21WindowsVistaDeliveryPR.mspx) ), and that's if you're one of the first people to get it. Broad consumer availability won't be until Jan 2007. That'll make whatever you buy now nearly a year old by the time it's released, and it'll cost you another hundred quid + (guesstimate) to upgrade to it. Unless you really need Vista, I'd recommend buying something that will meet your requirements now, and for the next few years. Then, the next time you come to buy a laptop, Vista will have matured (service packs etc), and will come as standard on your next laptop.

As for battery life, the CORE processors are supposed to help in this area. However, the CPU isn't neccessarily the main drain on power. If you were to have a laptop with a high powered graphics card (for example), you may find this sucks a lot of power itself. The best thing to do is look at the specs of each individual laptop as they should all give the battery life information. Also, it's worth noting that you can buy bigger battery packs for some laptops to give you that extra running time.

Chris.

[dc2447]

Good advice from Chris

[John_M_Business]

Thanks for all of this. Have managed to get a Rock XCTX with all the trimmings and software needed for just over £1.5k ex VAT. With a second battery thrown in. Given I will be travelling by car most of the time, the need for an ultra-long battery life is not there. The need to impress is! Anyway, I also agree that this laptop will not remain top-spec, but I still think it will be pretty impressive a couple of years down the line...

[pin]

Thanks for all of this. Have managed to get a Rock XCTX with all the trimmings and software needed for just over £1.5k ex VAT. With a second battery thrown in. Given I will be travelling by car most of the time, the need for an ultra-long battery life is not there. The need to impress is! Anyway, I also agree that this laptop will not remain top-spec, but I still think it will be pretty impressive a couple of years down the line...

FYI, Rock have an excellent user forum: www.rockforum.co.uk (http://www.rockforum.co.uk), if you have any queries / issues about your new Rock.

[barky]

Whats the realistic difference between a Celeron 1.5 processor and a Centrino 1.8? I'm looking at the different Dells on their website, and for a hundred quids difference you get the better processor and 512 ram instead of 256, for either 439 or 339. I'm looking to buy soon-ish, and just want a cheapy lappy to do web surfing, music and vids etc, I never do any gaming or hardcore photoshopping. Any suggestions?
Cheers
Barky

[Hillfly]

The difference is performance & battery life.

Take a look on the Grabbit's Board - there are lots of threads discussing the Dell laptop deals on there:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=36

[anley1]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the Staples deal (not on their website though)

It's a NEC I-Selection with a P4 Chip and 512Ram

I think it's the best value Laptop on the market right now at £499.

[anley1]

Correction, I now think this Acer deal from Comet is the best entry level laptop around.

Chris, the fella who's after a £1500 laptop. Look at the specs of what you get for £500 and then ask youself exactly what you're getting for the extra £1000. Faster chip, faster that sure but are you going to notice when you write an email, check out this website or send an email?

[dc2447]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the Staples deal (not on their website though)

It's a NEC I-Selection with a P4 Chip and 512Ram

I think it's the best value Laptop on the market right now at £499.

Like the acer laptops they have a poor reputation with many people.

[chr1s]

Correction, I now think this Acer deal from Comet is the best entry level laptop around.

Chris, the fella who's after a £1500 laptop. Look at the specs of what you get for £500 and then ask youself exactly what you're getting for the extra £1000. Faster chip, faster that sure but are you going to notice when you write an email, check out this website or send an email?

Also, if you go in-store to buy that Acer laptop (rather than the website), you get a free laptop bag, wireless mouse and 128Mb MP3 player (assuming you're talking about Comet's 399.00 deal?) - at least that's what they had in the store I went in today. Appologies if someone's already mentioned this.

Yes, I agree about what the extra cash gets you for office/email type use, which is why I recommended he looked again at his full requirements for a laptop. Looks like he was happpy with his end purchase which is good. :) If I was buying a personal laptop, I'd be very careful with what I spent too, but if my company gave me a 1500 quid budget, then I'd happily spend it ;)

Chris.

[empfun]

Martin, don't know why you didn't include IBM Lenovo on the poll list. They have entry-level models that don't cost too much.

[anley1]

Yep, good point. If somebody offers to buy me a laptop for £1500 I'm not going to suggest they save their money and only go to £500 :)

[John_M_Business]

Correction, I now think this Acer deal from Comet is the best entry level laptop around.

Chris, the fella who's after a £1500 laptop. Look at the specs of what you get for £500 and then ask youself exactly what you're getting for the extra £1000. Faster chip, faster that sure but are you going to notice when you write an email, check out this website or send an email?

Having looked at what you get for £500... I have to ask myself:
- where is the software I need? Pro and Office (add £250)
- what is the warranty like? 3 years on site (add £180)
- Celeron processors are junk - and you'll need a wireless card (£40)
- 20Gb and 50% quicker HD (£120)?
- Double RAM (£50)?

And then all the nice-to-haves:
- Do you have two batteries? Two 9 cells will give me 3+ hours of intensive use (see it's been rather hopeful at 2.3 hours for a 4 cell)
- TV Tuner?
- Extra 2" of screen? Glass-covered at that?
- High-end graphics card
- Stainless steel casing

... in the end you get what you pay for...

However I do realise that this is a 'Cheap' thread, and what I've ended up getting ain't cheap. But in terms of business - will it pay for itself in terms of time saving for me, and gaining business from clients? Undoubtedly.

Therefore it is 'Value' in my eyes as I'm getting all this for about £1,500!

[anley1]

John M

You must have been looking at a different Acer because that one had a Pentium M chip, 1GB of ram and 100Gb HD.

And you don't always get what you pay for with laptops, in many cases people are sold very overpriced stock.

Also, save your money buying Office and other bits of software, download it all for free using P2P.

[dc2447]

Why tell people to steal when there are free alternatives (http://www.openoffice.org/)to MS office?

[John_M_Business]

John M

You must have been looking at a different Acer because that one had a Pentium M chip, 1GB of ram and 100Gb HD.

And you don't always get what you pay for with laptops, in many cases people are sold very overpriced stock.

Also, save your money buying Office and other bits of software, download it all for free using P2P.

Well, I checked Comet and I can't find any Acer for under £500 with the M chip, 1 Gb and 100 Gb HDD... they're all 'cheats' (i.e. the one with the M chip only has a 40 Gb HDD). Anyway, I didn't search very hard because I can't be bothered.

No, you don't always get what you pay for, particularly if you don't read the detail, but given the spec of my Laptop I did a load of research and, frankly, you can't get it cheaper with all the elements I asked for and with the software and warranty.

P2P - no thank you. Moneysaving is one thing, theft is another! Particularly as a business it's a dumb thing to do.

I also know about Openoffice and even Staroffice, but again they're not quite 'there' yet in terms of my requirements as a business. I am going to be sharing documents with very important clients and I don't want to look at all homebrew - "before you open it, save it to your desktop, right click, select as " or... "well, it looked good when I presented it to you, but that bit of functionality is not compatible when saved as the MS format" etc.

I love this site, but I think sometimes the total focus on money savings can be short-sighted. Because the really important thing is VALUE FOR MONEY. I mean, this site would prefer to tell you that you should have bought a Daewoo Nubira new rather than a Volkswagen Passat - after all they're the same size, and have four wheels... but the total depreciation is about the same over the first three years AND you have a CR&P driving experience.

It's the same with the laptop... I'll go with the better experience. If it's speed saves me 1/2 an hour a day alone, plus wins me one more client a year - it will have paid for itself by the end of 2006.

[pin]

John, have you looked at the new Dell Latitude 620 or 820? They look like good business machines. Also could you go over your specs again?

[John_M_Business]

John, have you looked at the new Dell Latitude 620 or 820? They look like good business machines. Also could you go over your specs again?

Sure. I got:
Rock Direct XTCX
Core Duo 1.83
1Gb Corsair DDRAM
ATI Mobility Radeon X1800XT 256MB Graphics
17" WUXGA+ X-Glass TFT Screen (1920 x 1200)
100 Gb 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
8x Dual Layer (-/+) DVD Writer
Digital TV Tuner & Aerial
2x 8-Cell Batteries
Intel Pro 802.11a/b/g Integrated Wireless LAN
1 x IEEE1394 Firewire
4 x USB 2.0
Bluetooth
4 in 1 Card Reader
Webcam with digital zoom and video recording
SRS WOW Surround sound
7.1 Surround Sound Output
Windows XP Pro
MS Office Small Business
3 yrs on-site Warranty
Carry Case

For £1550 delivered (ex VAT)

I specced up a similar Dell machine (Inspiron 9400)... with all their savings options... £1533 ex VAT and Shipping and doesn't have a webcam, as good sound options and looks 'boxy' with a cheaper casing. The Latitudes are just plain... plain. And the displays don't go to 17"!

[daffynspacegirl]

Can anyone help? I've been told that you can import a laptop from USA, for approx half the price we pay over here, dont get any import tax because its electrical goods. The only drawback being you cant get any phone help for installing progs.
Is this true? Any help appreciated.

[pin]

Cool. I've actually just bought a Rock myself, but its one of the smaller ones! If you want any help re your new lappie have a look at www.rockforums.co.uk (http://www.rockforums.co.uk)

[John_M_Business]

Cool. I've actually just bought a Rock myself, but its one of the smaller ones! If you want any help re your new lappie have a look at www.rockforums.co.uk (http://www.rockforums.co.uk)

Cheers - yes, have been pointed in that direction. Though I must admit even though it LOOKS like it, I am not going to be doing much gaming (unlike most of the XCTX owners!!!!)

[pin]

Cheers - yes, have been pointed in that direction. Though I must admit even though it LOOKS like it, I am not going to be doing much gaming (unlike most of the XCTX owners!!!!)

I have to say they are a friendly bunch there, and they have answered some of my laptop specific quetions very well there.

[John LG]

www.aria.co.uk are selling a Digimate M-4522 laptop on their super specials page at £293 (normal price £358 - which is still a bargain). Don't know how good it is, but looks OK on the spec. Intel P4-M 2.2GHz, 40GB Hard drive, 256MB RAM (up to 1GB max), 3 USB, modem, CDRW/DVD ROM, firewire, 14inch screen, good 2year warranty (collect and return!) and under 3kg.
Main weakness, no wireless built in (but space for a PC card), and as far as I can see no operating system included (although I know aria sell xp home for £58)

Looks good (if you can get it on offer)... good luck. Hope that helps someone, looking for a cheap starter - and with 2 year warranty can't be bad, obviously it's not going to be as good as one of these £1k+ laptops, but then, who has £1k to blow on a laptop, when desktops are so much cheaper?

:p

[painfulcost]

i am looking for a laptop for my wife( architect) . got only less than £1000 to spend. She needs to use a lot of Photoshop and Autocad softwares running at the same time. I myself wants to use the laptop to burn dvd from our family videocam( grandparents live too far away). Which one should i get. Heard of gateway laptop ? any goodor should i go for something else?

[John_M_Business]

I have to say they are a friendly bunch there, and they have answered some of my laptop specific quetions very well there.

After all that, Rock have let me down badly on delivery of the new machine. So I have had to go to Dell instead. Ah, well... XPS on Tuesday!!

[pin]

After all that, Rock have let me down badly on delivery of the new machine. So I have had to go to Dell instead. Ah, well... XPS on Tuesday!!

Yes, saw your postings there. I've also had delivery issues and have actually decided not to go ahead with Rock (wasn't just the delivery side of things, but the warranty not covering the Channel Islands).

[tomS]

i am looking for a laptop for my wife( architect) . got only less than £1000 to spend. She needs to use a lot of Photoshop and Autocad softwares running at the same time. I myself wants to use the laptop to burn dvd from our family videocam( grandparents live too far away). Which one should i get. Heard of gateway laptop ? any goodor should i go for something else?

Doesn't sound likely to be possible to me, but if you want to run more than one app at once then the Core Duo processors are probably the way to go.

Is there are Mac version of Autocad? cos if there is then a Macbook Pro might be an option.. though i think that will cost you more than £1000.

Now the macbook pros can run XP (for games) I gotta say i'm very tempted by a core duo Mac... but i don't need a laptop for a month or two so i'm hoping the prices will drop a bit by then.

[chr1s]

i am looking for a laptop for my wife( architect) . got only less than £1000 to spend. She needs to use a lot of Photoshop and Autocad softwares running at the same time. I myself wants to use the laptop to burn dvd from our family videocam( grandparents live too far away). Which one should i get. Heard of gateway laptop ? any goodor should i go for something else?
.

This will depend on a few factors really. What version of AutoCAD will she be running? And does she use 3D or 2D in AutoCAD? That's going to be your main concern.

If it's 2D, then your system requirements are lower (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=5127273.

With regards to your dvd burning, that's not hard to find nowadays, even in cheap laptops. I have a Gateway laptop that I bought from Staples for £499 that has a high brighness 14.1" widescreen TFT, builit-in wireless, 512Mb RAM and a DVD Rewriter.

So, find out about the 2D/3D question first and go from there. If you require 3D, then you're going to be a lot more stretched in your budget (it might be better to concider a desktop machine for your wifes' work, and a cheap laptop if you require a mobile computer). However, if you only require 2D, then you have a bit more freedom. Running photoshop and AutoCAD will mean you'll need to buy a laptop with a lot of RAM. The more the better. I'd be looking for something with at least 1Gb that would be able to take more if possible. If you're storing a lot of drawings and photos, you'll also need a fairly big hard drive (unless you're prepared to burn stuff off to DVD every so often). You're other issue is going to be screen size. I don't know any people who run CAD on much less than a 17" TFT (minimum).

As a rough idea, have a look at this: http://www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=61864. It's got 3yrs Dell cover, 2Ghz Pentium M, 1Gb RAM, 15.4" Widescreen display, 100Gb HDD, DVD Rewriter, 128Mb graphics card. That's just one example. Looking on Dell's website, you could spec up a Lattitude with a 17" Widescreen display, Intel Core CPU and 2Gb RAM for around the same price (you'd have to drop the 3yr warrenty though).

So, again, this advice depends on your wife's version of AutoCAD and what she wants to do with it.

Hope this helps,
Chris.

[tomS]

Though to run two memory/processor heavy apps at the same time is going to be a bit of a strain.. if you can find a duo core with 1gb for the price it would be a good bet.. but i'm not sure you can.

Also, for photoshop and autocad work i'd think you'd need a big monitor.. 17" at least.. which is going to push the prices up yet again i'm afraid.
I'd consider the desktop option if it is at all feasible.

[John_M_Business]

I'd echo all the comments made here. You need a strong processor and probably at least a Gig of RAM to be able to manage these kinds of softwares quickly without crashes / slowdown (you could argue that on a 'cost' of time, every slowdown / crash could be offset by buying a better spec solution).

Equally you do need a 17" display for this kind of work - again that extra spend is SO worth it when it comes to the long-term view (I've got a 19" screen (though with a desktop) and I am glad every day that I do - my eyes are less shot by the end of it, and I can see more on screen without squinting! I'm getting a 17" XPS next week - but then that's over £1500 ex VAT).

And if you need the warranty then you are going to go over £1k and there's not much you can do about it. Unless you go for a model that's less 'mainstream' but then that's a dangerous game to play...

BTW is the £1k inc or ex VAT? I have assumed inc... If it is ex VAT you just might be able to swing it.

[codetown]

i am looking for a laptop for my wife( architect) . got only less than £1000 to spend. She needs to use a lot of Photoshop and Autocad softwares running at the same time. I myself wants to use the laptop to burn dvd from our family videocam( grandparents live too far away). Which one should i get. Heard of gateway laptop ? any goodor should i go for something else?

Consider a bit more carefully the requiriments. In particular "running at the same time is very ambiguous). It is impossible for a person to work exactly at the same time on these two packages. probably what you mean is that she would like to keep them opened atthe same time and swicth often view from one to another. In that case, most modern processors (single core) with sufficient RAM (I would suggest 1GB as minimum) would do. You would reduce a lot the costs going with single core.
In my opinion the dual core is ONLY necessary when you have long tasks/batch heavy work going on in the background: for example if you do video resizing from multiple DVDs and leave VirtualDub running and at the same time while it wors you want also to do heavy mathematical work on your PC. In more 'normal' conditions (even professional) a good single core is more than enough and saves you a lot from the final bill.

[pigeonpie]

Not a techie, but a techie I know has confirmed that I was not alone with my 2 returned Dells - quite a few Dells are having problems with 17" widescreen high resolution monitors, which is something you sound like you may be looking for.
Perhaps another make of laptop would be a better idea.

[John_M_Business]

Not a techie, but a techie I know has confirmed that I was not alone with my 2 returned Dells - quite a few Dells are having problems with 17" widescreen high resolution monitors, which is something you sound like you may be looking for.
Perhaps another make of laptop would be a better idea.

Well... it's too late now, the XPS arrived yesterday and it seems to work fine... the only problem I have is that the resolution is so good, that the windows are too small!! Particularly Firefox - where it seems I need a magnifying glass to read web-pages... ah well, I'm sure I can sort it out.

It looks 'the business' though!

[sc03tye]

Sorry to break into the conversation ppl! - I'm known for doing that!

Long time reader, finally managed to register on here with this piece cr*p laptop.

Past month, 2 months, I been searching for a new laptop to replace this Acer TM 220 (Which I was given). The battery no longer works and the memory has HAD it.

After much deliberation, I've been looking for a single core, 512-1gb ram, half workable gfx (to play a tiny bit of the older 3d games - soldier of fortune 2, red faction, sims - not TOO demanding?) feature I'd love would to have a biometric reader (for Internet Banking especially - I can never remember the logon ID's!!). Anything else like mem card readers, bluetooth is a welcome bonus.

What I've seen that take my eye - HP NX6125 - older but looks nice and got the bio reader and OK gfx - I've read. (around £600). Also seen what I still can decide is a gr8 bargain at comet (I'm sure you've seen) the Acer 5622 Dual Core laptop (£750).

I'm lost and tired from looking around. Can anyone help me decide!??

P.S There are no reviews of the Acer 5622 - I know they release alot of laptops but, there isnt one..English review anywhere. Whats going on. Is it a missing gem lol?

Cheers

Adam

[John LG]

Welcome to the debate Adam!
This thread seems to have taken many different routes in the 30 odd pages, this is a welcome twist back to 'normal' priced laptops! Certainly the bio-reader is mainly found on HP laptops, but I wonder if a plug in usb might give you more choice? Then you could go for a 'cheaper' laptop option.

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Name=digimate+laptop
I quite like this M-3616 model. Centrino 1.6GHz, 40GB HDD, DVD/CD RW, 256RAM, Firewire, 3in1 card reader, 4usb + 2yr collect and return warranty for about £500. Add on to that XP Home (£58) and 256 more RAM (£15) and you've got a nice little laptop with a good spec, for £580. Very light at 2.4kg. It can take up to 2GB RAM if you required.
The M-4522 doesn't have wireless, or card reader, but is on offer at £340 on their specials page, so adding XP and RAM to this would be cheaper (about £415). Giving you money to buy a wireless card if required, or a usb bio reader.
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4142&CategorySelectedId=11119&NavigationKey=11119&InMerch=1
Dabs sell the microsoft biometric reader at £30 - but there must be others, and cheaper, around.
Hope that helps in some way - or at least promotes some discussion.
People have fav websites they like to use, preferred companies, which others hate- at end of the day you'll have to go for which feels best to you. Good luck!

[sc03tye]

Thx for getting the new 'twist' going John! - I've noticed that as well, didn't quite know what was going on in the forum to be honest.

I hadn't really thought of the usb bio reader - but this may well be a simple solution (although it does mean something else to carry around).

As for the laptop suggestion, I'd never seen that supplier before - and it doesn't look 'too' bad, and with the card reader (:eek: ) i was a bit shocked to see on the cheaper machine. Centrino, good processor to have as well. Only real downfall would be no WIFI and gfx, would possible have been better to have the shared 128mb rather than 64mb - though if RAM upgraded, maybe that could be adjusted in the BIOS.

In comparision, maybe the HP is still a good buy John? Bluetooth, 128mb gfx (shared but not on motherboard I understand...), can get 60gb drive, and the int. bio reader, with WIFI. Not centrino, but is AMD Turion 64 -which is f-proof for Vista. Its just pressing that 'Buy Now' button!! :think:

[John LG]

You're right, the HP looks a lovely laptop, although with VAT it's going to be more like £650, but it least it has a year 'proper' warranty - and I've always gone with AMD processors before, just trying to be devil's advocate by considering a cheaper option... which while I'm at it - I'd normally ask ppl if they're sure they don't want a desktop (cheaper and easier to upgrade)... but I'm confident you know exactly what you want already - maybe that 'buy now' button isn't too far off? What ever you choose that RAM upgrade is vital - but buying it separately will be cheaper than from HP, although you may invalidate warranty by fitting it yourself...
... oh just buy it, it's the weekend!:beer:

[sc03tye]

:beer:

I know, thank god the weekend - any excuse ey! Well, just so you know - I've spotted the laptop on ebay (new but box damaged - and seller has good v good feedback for damanged box goods). Its there for £592.95inc del! so cheaper still!! if you wanna look, I'll best not paste the link - I know spamming rule type things..eek!

Just look up HP 'NX6125 WiFi Laptop with 1 Yr Wrty BNIB (EK157ET)' on an ebay site of your choice ;)

Only thing keeping me from buying it is, i guess, the thought of missing out on another machine being more of a bargain! haha - oh and theres the memory (which is good but...to upgrade to a gig, you'd have to replace both sticks in there as only 2 slots), and the fact the processor cache is so small at 512kb :undecided

[sc03tye]

Hola! :j

Just to busy up this board again...

The one of the laptops I've mentioned before has JUST been discounted to £699 at comet online. Acer 5622.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_314315.html

Now, with Quidco, you can get this beast for £675! For a dual core, 1gb ram, 80h/d, and basic gfx (to handle the older games) this has to be a right find? Elsewhere you'd be looking to pay at least £775 - check it out.

Just though i'd spread the word....to you guys.

Adam

[Biggs]

I got this wee number http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/Computing/Laptops/ADVENT/7082/935200[/url]
Only £499
If you buy it without free Laptop Bag, Mouse & Data Storage stick!
It only cost £299.
Expensive Laptop Bag, Mouse & Data Storage stick I thought.
I got it for uni work and it does everything I require.

[Happy_saver]

I got this wee number http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/Computing/Laptops/ADVENT/7082/935200[/url]
Only £499
If you buy it without free Laptop Bag, Mouse & Data Storage stick!
It only cost £299.
Expensive Laptop Bag, Mouse & Data Storage stick I thought.
I got it for uni work and it does everything I require.

Hi Biggs,

Looked like a bargain but Curry's sold out.

Their message reads:-
" SORRY
Due to high demand the following item(s) are currently unavailable.
ADVENT 7082 AMD SEMPRON 2800+ PROCESSOR LAPTOP"

Is their any other CHEAP laptops out there?

[griff.]

Good to see the topic back on track !

Anything better than this ?

from Dell - the price is Incl. VAT , but NOT Delivery £430.87 (another approx. £50 for delivery)


Inspiron 1300 Celeron® M Processor 380 (1.60 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB), XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
Hard Drive 40GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
CD/DVD Drives 8X DVD+/-RW with Software
Dell™ Wireless 1370 802.11b/g Mini PCI Card
Basic: 3-Year At Home service, Multimedia E-Learning & FREE Dicota Backpack Style (black)
Primary Battery 6 Cell 56Whr Primary Battery
LCD 15.4inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel

[DebH]

My sister has just asked me to check out Acer for £399 at Tescos. Seems it's only in store not online. We live 200 miles apart so I can't go and check it out - all she can remember is that HD was 40gb! Has anyone seen these or adverts for them? They just want a basic laptop to replace their tower.

Thanks

Deb

[cheekymole]

These (http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_TravelMate_2423WXMi_LX.TB205.043/version.asp) are the specs. Can anybody give me an opinion please?

[kevingattaca]

MMmmmm how about ;

( £299.99 Dell Notebook )

http://www.shop.bt.com/invt/cal186


K

[Browntoa]

the current Dell Inspiron 1300 is still a better offer, faster processor, double the Memory and a bigger hard disk + wireless card all for £349

the BT one is a bit vague but I think it's the older Inspiron 1100

[griff.]

Have at look at this one on the bt site...

http://www.shop.bt.com/invt/cal179

...a better spec than anything at the same price on the dell site ? and a good graphics memory card ?

# Intel Pentium M725a 1.6Ghz
# 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 400Mhz
# 80GB IDE
# Internal ATI Radeon X300 Hypermemory with 64MB dedicated memory
# DVD Writer R/RW DL 8x max
# Touch pad
# Built in Dell 56K Data/fax modem
# MS Windows XP Home
# MS Worksuite 2005
# SD Card Reader
# 4x USB 2.0
# 10/100BT Wired network 802.11b/g Wireless Network
# 16-bit stereo
# 15.4 Inch WXGA Widescreen

all for £499.99 plus delivery

[offagain]

Just picked this up brand new unopened in store at TOY'R'US for £499;


Medion Intel Centrino 1.73GHz laptop with 1024MB DDR II memory, 3-in-1 DVD re-writer, CD re-writer and DVD ROM plus digital TV tuner. Intel Centrino mobile technology represents Intel’s latest notebook technologies designed specifically for mobile computing with integrated wireless LAN capability, breakthrough mobile performance while enabling extended battery life.

Processor: Intel Centrino 1.73GHz with 2MB cache and 533MHz FSB.
Memory: Latest 1024MB fast dual channel DDR II memory (2 x 512MB)
Graphics card: Latest Intel graphics media accelerator 900 – up to 128MB. Provides incredible visual quality, versatile display options, and 3D performance – all without the additional cost, noise and power that discrete graphics cards can require
Hard disk drive: 80GB
Modem: 56K V.9 Data/Fax/Modem
Optical drive: DVD re-writer – 2.4x DVD+R Dual Layer, 2x DVD-R Dual Layer, 5x DVD-RAM, 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD+RW, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD-RW, 24x CD-R, 10x CD-RW
Monitor: 15.4” XGA TFT widescreen (1200 x 800 resolution)
Sound: 2 channel audio
Built-in wireless LAN 802.11G (54 Mbit/s)
TV Tuner: Digital and analogue TV tuner and remote – receive up to 30 Freeview channels (depending on coverage)
Ports: 3x USB 2.0, Firewire (IEEE 1394), VGA monitor out, 10/100 Mbit LAN, Modem port, PCMCIA port (Type II)
Battery life: up to 2.5 hours (depending on usage)
Weight: 2.7kg (including battery)
Software: Microsoft XP Home Edition (Service pack 2), Medion Power Cinema, Power DVD, Power Producer 2 video editing suite and Musicmatch Jukebox, e-Trust Antivirus, Nero 6 CD/DVD burning software, Works 8 including spreadsheet, database, calendar, e-mail and internet tools and My Organiser.

[sc03tye]

Wow, that does sound quite the bargain!! Its a Median..., its not a great 'well known' brand, however, MSE is about saving money etc, so yes, I'd say this is a good buy. Only thing people should be aware of is, the gfx obviously arent for the newer games - though I'm sure will play older 3d games! (be it not on high settings).

[anley1]

Off, that looks like a good deal, don't know about 'Medion' though.

What about this one by Acer using a dual core intel chip with 1024mb ram

The Acer 5612wlmi at £665 (incl VAT) Comet have it cheaper because P&P is free

Comes with a free Vodafone 3G card (if you don't want it looks like you can sell it on ebay for £20-£40)
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5612WLMi_LX.A9305.057/version-1.asp

[alun4]

Has anyone an opinion on the Notebook Traveller 15.4” 836W MT34 being sold at Lidl shortly.Notebook Traveller 15.4” 836W MT34

Specifications:
AMD Turion 64
MT34 AMD!
100GB HARD DRIVE
- 5,400rpm
- 1.80GHz, 1024KB cache
LG Multinorm DVD±RW Burner
- 8x Double Layer DVD
1024MB (2 x 512MB SO-DIMM/DDR333)
Analogue TV-Tuner, DVB-T Tuner and FM radio
2 integrated stereo loudspeakers - Realtek® ALC655
5.1 Surround Sound analogue Ports:
Ports:
- Integrated 6 in 1 card reader (SM, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, XD-Card)
- FireWire IEEE 1394a
- 4 x USB 2.0
- Audio IN, Line In, Mic IN, S-Video In, Digital TV In, Composite In/Out
High-End Equipment:
- Integrated 56K analogue V90 modem includes cable
- Infrared remote control
- Integrated webcam with snap shot function
- Integrated wireless LAN and Bluetooth
- Supplied with: mains adaptor, SCART cable, DVI adaptor, Microsoft Works Suite 2006, E-Trust Antivirus and much more
Price per item £899

[ioscorpio]

Tesco has an Acer Travelmate 24223WXMi notebook for £398.97

On Acer website this laptop is £394.95 with free vodafone data card worth £199

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_TravelMate_2423WXMi_LX.TB205.043/version.asp
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Vodafone_Offer/page.asp

Discounted desktops Acer Aspire T120E for £285.95

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Factory_Outlet_Desktops/prod.asp

[kevingattaca]

Just seen that Morgan have Factory reworked Acer 2413LN's ;

Factory rework notebook with DVD writer and 15" TFT display

Intel Celeron-M 1.5GHz processor (400MHz front side bus)
256MB RAM, 40GB hard disk and dual layer DVD writer
15" TFT colour display, on board sound and graphics
56K modem, LAN, 4 x USB 2.0 ports and touchpad

With Microsoft Windows XP Home

Stock Status
Factory rework stock
Boxed in immaculate condition

Warranty
Six month warranty


Not a bad price for a "Walk-in" Notebook ??

K

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=3446

[ptben]

Help.......confused. I need a laptop for home use but able to hook uo a digital camcorder and burn home DVD's to send out to the family (xmas, holidays etc). I have read all the info and don't really know what to go for. I have a budget max £700. Is it possible to get what I need? Would also like a colour printer in that if possible.

[westferret]

I am looking for a laptop for university and maybe playing games on but not a priority. I have £800 pounds to spend and have till about november. It needs to be wireless and have a decent processor. Can anyone give any sugestions and where they found it.

[John LG]

ptben - you'll need to make sure it has a firewire port (1394) for your camcorder and a DVD RW to burn to DVD.

This is an example of what you might look for.
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Name=hp+laptop at £465

Always check the laptop you are buying has an operating system (or budget for another £60 to get one!). In general memory/RAM is more important that just processing power, so 512MB RAM is more acceptable than 256MB. Storage: this one comes with an 80GB hard drive, which is OK, especially at this price, but many will start at 30GB.

Are you sure a laptop is what you actually need? PCs are cheaper and more upgradable, without the battery life concern, which is still a major downside to the portablility of laptops.

westferret - the above example may be of interest to you too, as it has a wireless card built in too. The latest games will always struggle in terms of graphics, but then, I'd always play those of a PC and large monitor. A bit of casual racing, or footy management, sims etc would all be OK...

Good luck,
J

[ptben]

I'm only after a laptop to save space but would consider a desktop if it is the better option. I would just have to get something to put it on in the spare bedroom. Thought I'd have to pay around £800 so £465 is a good surprise. Been told I need at least 1GB RAM though.

[john-306]

Toshiba Satellite Pro L20 - PSL2YE-00D006EN

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L20_PSL2YE-00D006EN/version.asp

Our Price : £349.95

Intel Celeron-M Processor 360 1.4GHz
256MB DDR SDRAM - Low cost double memory offer – call for details!
40GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and large Dual Layer DVD
15" XGA TFT Screen
ATI Mobility Radeon xPress 200M 128MB graphics
Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
Integrated wireless 802.11b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
FREE Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years for only £99!

FREE Vodafone 3G Data card Offer!


A bit light on RAM (new 512 only £25 ish)but what can you expect for £350.
Add a laptop bag £5 reduced from £25 and get free delivery.

[westferret]

Found a laptop on timeuk's website looks pretty good what do people think about it.
http://laptops.timeuk.com/pc_specification/power_laptops/17397/61319/TIME_TRAVELLER_A760_WIN

[MortgageMamma]

Tesco has an Acer Travelmate 24223WXMi notebook for £398.97

On Acer website this laptop is £394.95 with free vodafone data card worth £199

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_TravelMate_2423WXMi_LX.TB205.043/version.asp
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Vodafone_Offer/page.asp

Discounted desktops Acer Aspire T120E for £285.95

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Factory_Outlet_Desktops/prod.asp


I'm thinking of buying the laptop for £394.00 tommorrow and get the free 3G card. Has anyone done this? any comments on acer in general?

[dc2447]

Toshiba Satellite Pro L20 - PSL2YE-00D006EN

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L20_PSL2YE-00D006EN/version.asp

Our Price : £349.95

Intel Celeron-M Processor 360 1.4GHz
256MB DDR SDRAM - Low cost double memory offer – call for details!
40GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and large Dual Layer DVD
15" XGA TFT Screen
ATI Mobility Radeon xPress 200M 128MB graphics
Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
Integrated wireless 802.11b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
FREE Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years for only £99!

FREE Vodafone 3G Data card Offer!


A bit light on RAM (new 512 only £25 ish)but what can you expect for £350.
Add a laptop bag £5 reduced from £25 and get free delivery.
looks good, don't worry about RAM it can be easily upgraded for little cost

[dc2447]

I'm thinking of buying the laptop for £394.00 tommorrow and get the free 3G card. Has anyone done this? any comments on acer in general?
acer has a very poor reputation.

Thr datacard won't do anything without a contract afaik

[MortgageMamma]

The datacard is pay as you go but i really don't mind going on a contract as I'll be using it quite a bit

[dc2447]

The datacard is pay as you go but i really don't mind going on a contract as I'll be using it quite a bitget ready to spend some money

[MortgageMamma]

get ready to spend some money


All part of my job im afraid. not at luxury to take much time off work i usually do 15-16 hour days.

[dc2447]

All part of my job im afraid. not at luxury to take much time off work i usually do 15-16 hour days.
why not get a £20 contract from t-mobile - unlimited traffic (2gb fair usuage)

[Hillfly]

acer has a very poor reputation.

Thr datacard won't do anything without a contract afaik


I've seen a lot of positive comments about Acer's. I don't think they have a poor reputation at all.
Everyone has their own opinions but I personally i would reccomend Acer for a good value laptop.

[tshabs]

Hi there,

I own an IT company so am quite aware of the trade sector of the industry, and can say that your are in luck if looking for a good quality affordable laptop.
One of the large distributors is currently dishing out some ACER TRAVELMATE 2423WXMi 14.1" CM-370 256M XPHOME laptops for £322 + VAT to trade for a more than decent laptop.

A quick search on price runner brings up a fair few people selling this laptop cheaper than I can provide it, so I wont even bother trying to sell it to youi ;) but comet seems to be your best bet.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_316261.html?cm_ven=Pricerunner&cm_cat=Feed&cm_pla=Laptops&cm_ite=316261_ACER_TM_2423WXMI

If that link doest work just take a peek at comet.co.uk and search. If you use greasypalm.co.uk you can get 1.75% cashback on that.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Tom.

[HeyBigSpender]

Hi there,
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_316261.html?cm_ven=Pricerunner&cm_cat=Feed&cm_pla=Laptops&cm_ite=316261_ACER_TM_2423WXMI

I have that one, although I bought it about a year ago for much more than that. It's good. My only complaint is that I could never get the DVD writer to work, but that could be me being technically stupid. (It's frustrating because I would love to record my DVD video camera disks onto normal size disks. The video camera disks are small, expensive and hard to come by.)

Otherwise, it's a decent reliable piece of kit. My last laptop was a Packard Bell. It was constantly overheating and had a fan like a helicopter. And it died when I couldn't charge it up any more for some reason. Avoid!

[Hillfly]

You may find the DVD is quite 'choosy' about which media it will accept. Have yout tried using a different brand of DVD's. Usually there are more problems with the cheaper ones.

[ioscorpio]

http://www.cheap-it.com/pages/specials.asp

What are Advent laptops like, there's a new Advent 7000 for £329 inc free case and free delivery

ADVENT 7000 NEW MACHINE
THE BUDGET DVD-BURNER IS BACK!!!
Celeron M 350 Processor, 1mb cache, 256Mb DDR SDRAM, 40Gb Hard Disk Drive, DVD+/-RW (Dual Layer DVD Burner!!!), 14.1" XGA TFT Colour Screen,64mb Intergrated Graphics, AC97 Stereo Sound, 56K V.92 Modem, 10/100 LAN, 4x USB 2.0 Port, 8.0 Microsoft Works, Intervideo (WinDVD 5), Only 2.3kg in weight, Windows XP Home Operating System.
FREE Carry Case!!!
FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY

1-Year RTB Warranty

[Chippy_Minton]

Acer TravelMate 4062LCi - Manufacturer code: LX.TAK05.293

* Intel Pentium-M Centrino 740 Processor 1.73GHz
* 256MB DDR SDRAM
* 40GB Hard Drive
* DVD/CDRW Combo Drive
* 15" XGA TFT Screen
* Intel GMA 900
* 3 USB 2.0 Sockets
* Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
* Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN
* Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
* Weight 2.91kg

Order from http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=TOPACERNB4
Includes FREE Mouse & Carry Case
£319.99 + VAT = £375.99
Next business day delivery £10.99 + VAT
Total £388.90

Full spec - http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=605636 (don't buy from here).

As it uses an Intel processor, this laptop qualifies for the free Vodafone 3G Mobile Connect card (http://uk.insight.com/static/specials/vodafone.php). These are currently going on eBay (http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=vodafone+3g+card&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=) for over £50.

[bloodnok]

We have a couple of models in that are a promotion from NEC who are trying to raise business in the consumer market, also we have a Dell inspiron 1300 model ( which I see has been heavily discussed already ) it works out about £150 cheaper than the same spec from dell. To be honest the better buy is the NEC's they are Centrino with a great spec (DVD RW etc ) and look great. The dell looks a bit like a childs first computer. I'll pop the links below only got limited stock on the NEC's as they are a Loss leader for them. All of these models are below £400 inc vat and for example one of the NEC's spec is Centrino 1.7GHz 512Mb 60Gb 15" DVDRW XP Home

http://www.think4.com/notebooks_laptops/nec/iselect_nn962000101_wifi_dvd_writer_xp_home_15.htm l

http://www.think4.com/notebooks_laptops/nec/iselect_nn962000401_wifi_dvd_writer_xp_home_15.htm l

http://www.think4.com/notebooks_laptops/dell/dell_inspiron_1300_cel_m_16ghz_dvdrw_14_laptop.htm l
:confused: :confused: :confused:

I've posted before on this laptop hunt board but I'm still looking for a good laptop for my daughter who's going to university in September.
The NEC shown above seems to be something like I'm looking for, but not being computer savvy, I'd appreciate any comments regarding the make NEC and the spec and the value for money.
I've also not heard of "Think4" and how customers rate them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Think4]

NEC specialise in this market and most of their PC product goes into education. They are looking to move into the general consumer market and have given us great deals to use while stocks last. Think4 cannot continue to sell at these prices once the stock is sold. As for wether you have heard of us or not is a different matter, we have been around for 10 years under Eurosimm Ltd and for the last 5 years on the net for Eurosimm.com. Think4 is a trading name used this year on our new web site. Hope that helps

Plus any problems you can always call us we answer the phone not like some other sites !!!!

[bloodnok]

Hi Think4,
I sent you a private message.
Thanks

[hex2]

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_TravelMate_4062LCi_LX.TAK05.293/version-1.asp

Intel Pentium-M Centrino 740 Processor 1.7GHz
256MB DDR SDRAM - Double the memory to 512MB for only £20– call to place order!
40GB Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs
15" XGA TFT Screen
Intel GMA 900
3x USB 2.0 Sockets
Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
2-hour Battery Life
Weight 2.9kg
Comes with the vodafone card thing as well

I know it is heavy, but I dont carry mine round much. Any advice gratefully received.

[Chippy_Minton]

hex2, see post #708 for the identical machine, £11 cheaper and with free Acer carry case (good quality) and optical mouse.

Edit: it appears the bundle deal is now discontinued on the Insight link in post 708! However, the computer can be ordered upon request at http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=ARRYA40621. £388.90 in total.

[Tharweb]

hex2, see post #708 for the identical machine, £11 cheaper and with free Acer carry case (good quality) and optical mouse.

Edit: it appears the bundle deal is now discontinued on the Insight link in post 708! However, the computer can be ordered upon request at http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=ARRYA40621. £388.90 in total.

I was keeping an eye on the Insight deal for a mate. There were 51 available yesterday lunchtime and only 4 last night! Not surprised as it was a cracking deal! My mate lost out :doh:

[griff.]

I am a bit amazed here...there are a number of recommendations for laptops that fall short of having at least 512 ram. No-one who is serious about getting a desktop would settle for less than 1024mb. Why accept less from a laptop ?

[Lord_Chris]

:confused: :confused: :confused:

I've posted before on this laptop hunt board but I'm still looking for a good laptop for my daughter who's going to university in September.
The NEC shown above seems to be something like I'm looking for, but not being computer savvy, I'd appreciate any comments regarding the make NEC and the spec and the value for money.
I've also not heard of "Think4" and how customers rate them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

1) NEC are crap, always have been always will as are IBM, Packard Bell etc.

2) cheap laptop = crap laptop

The best bet for Uni student would be a Dell (altough i personally dislike them) and if you can streth the extra money get a SONY VAIO. Mine cost around £750 from Comet late last year, but the best thing about them, apart from the fatc that they are great laptops, is that their warantee service is excellent - december 23rd last year my dvd writer broke.. sony collected it christmas eve, and has it back to me december 28th. Now thats good service, and for Uni student thats important, if something does go wrong you want it sorted asap.

ohh, and one last thing:

NEVER buy a computer or laptop from Tescos or Woolworths. You wouldnt buy a loaf of bread from PC World so don't buy a computer or laptop from Tescos.

Best bet is to take a look at the laptops on display at Dixons or Currys, the displays provide a lot of info, and it makes it easier to pick with them in front of you (buy em online once you've picked though :P )

[Lord_Chris]

Griff, 512mb is standard on laptops, and honestly, having 1024 on a laptop is pointless... ram only works as well as the processor.. and since most laptops are under 2ghz, 512 works best. 256 your right tho is unaccepatable.

[Lord_Chris]

think4, using a forum for advertising.. wow thats desperate.

think 4 arent particularly cheap, either way most of the models on the think4 site are available cheaper from well known companies such as Comet.

It pains me to say it, but Comet are the absolute best for good quality laptops (entry level and mid range anyway) at good prices.... never thought id say that about a high street store :( i feel dirty, time for a shower

[Tharweb]

think4, using a forum for advertising.. wow thats desperate.

think 4 arent particularly cheap, either way most of the models on the think4 site are available cheaper from well known companies such as Comet.

It pains me to say it, but Comet are the absolute best for good quality laptops (entry level and mid range anyway) at good prices.... never thought id say that about a high street store :( i feel dirty, time for a shower

This isn't the only board Think4 has been advertising on :rolleyes:

Comet...mmm...not sure I agree. For example the cheapest Centrino they have is £70 dearer than elsewhere.

Tesco were doing 20% discount off all laptops earlier this year. My mate got a Centrino for £383, great spec with a DVD burner, nowhere could beat it. What's the difference between buying from Tesco and Comet? My PC came from ALDI...:confused:

griff - I upgraded my laptop RAM to 512 very easily and cheaply shortly after purchase. I agree they should have 512 at least but I think 1024 for laptop is overkill.

[Lord_Chris]

ok, the problem with buying computers or laptops from tescos, woolworths, aldis or anywhere else, isnt actually buying them from them, its the makes. I worked in a computer shop until recently (local not chain) and in 2 weeks we had more than 10 tesco and aldi computers bought in for repairs, most were less than 2 weeks old.

The problem is also with the warantee - tescos, woolworths and aldi arent the people who deal with the warantees, so if something goes wrong you end up waiting at leats 3 to 4 weeks for tescos to send it, get it checked out, then they argue with the manufacturer, then they finally repair it, and you get it back several months later usually.

The fact of the matter is, with computers and more notably, laptops, you get what you pay for.

You wouldn't go to PC world for bread and milk, so dont go to a supermarket for computers.

[espresso]

:question:
1. having 1024 on a laptop is pointless...
2. ram only works as well as the processor.. and since most laptops are under 2ghz, 512 works best.

:wall:

Would you care to fully explain these two statements that you have made:question:

:doh:

[Lord_Chris]

Would you care to fully explain these two statements that you have made?





Your processor and your RAM work with each other, if you have crap RAM and a decent processor, you will lose out on your processors potential and this applies t'other way around too. Laptops with 1024 RAM have very little performance difference compared to those with 512, so why pay more for something you dont need?

[espresso]

1. having 1024 on a laptop is pointless...

:rotfl:

That is a ridiculous thing to say, because it depends on what applications are being run i.e. an application like PhotoShop which you have claimed to know all about, will run much better with 1Gb of RAM.

2. ram only works as well as the processor.. and since most laptops are under 2ghz, 512 works best.

:rotfl:

This statement makes no sense at all and you haven't explained your statement regarding "most laptops are under 2ghz, 512 works best"

"if you have crap RAM and a decent processor, you will lose out on your processors potential and this applies t'other way around too."

:rotfl:

More meaningless waffle! First you talk about quantity and then about quality!

satisfied dumbass?

:naughty:

Yes totally satisfied now, that you do not know what you are talking about and give incorrect advice which may actually be believed by some less knowledgeable forum members!

:rolleyes:

[Lord_Chris]

sorry, you are correct when you say i said decent processor, i meant fast processor. My mistake. However, photoshop runs fine on 512.. hell Maya and thats a real guzzler on memory even runs at an acceptable speed on 512. So excuse me if i dont feel like being insulted by some jackass who has nothing better to do than slag me off (ohh god and now im taking the bait)

If you think (emphasis on think) im wrong about something, fine, go ahead and post your OPINION (but remember thats all it is most of the time) in a lot of my posts on the techie forums people have thanked me in seperate threads for giving them correct solutions. just remember theres no need for the attitude and outright rudeness, it just makes you sound like an 8 year old.

[bloodnok]

Any chance of you knowledgeable tarts kissing and making up and helping a non-savvy techie to find a good and reasonably priced laptop for my daughter !
I thought this was the "Cheapest decent laptop hunt" not "Handbags at 30 paces".
Any help gratefully accepted.
Come on "Girls" !!!!!!

[bloodnok]

Does anyone of you techies think that the Acer AS5622WLMI on sale at Comet for £599.99 is a good laptop?
They also have a the AS5612WMLI.057 for £594.99.
They both look exactly the same spec to me, but the first one is supposed to sell for £150 more in store and the second one £5 more in store.
Is one perhaps a later model, or are these discounts just a load of old rubbish.
If anyone can explain their differences and merits or how bad they are I'd be very grateful
Thanks

[westferret]

Does anyone of you techies think that the Acer AS5622WLMI on sale at Comet for £599.99 is a good laptop?
They also have a the AS5612WMLI.057 for £594.99.
They both look exactly the same spec to me, but the first one is supposed to sell for £150 more in store and the second one £5 more in store.
Is one perhaps a later model, or are these discounts just a load of old rubbish.
If anyone can explain their differences and merits or how bad they are I'd be very grateful
Thanks
You could use the laptop on the link below. It got better processor speed, wireless and more usbs. The only problem is worse graphics but seeing as it is for Uni graphics aren't really going to be a problem. Plus they are the same price.

http://laptops.timeuk.com/pc_specification/power_laptops/17397/61319/TIME_TRAVELLER_A760_WIN

[Tharweb]

You could use the laptop on the link below. It got better processor speed, wireless and more usbs. The only problem is worse graphics but seeing as it is for Uni graphics aren't really going to be a problem. Plus they are the same price.

http://laptops.timeuk.com/pc_specification/power_laptops/17397/61319/TIME_TRAVELLER_A760_WIN

Just don't expect the company to still be in business this "Time" next year...:eek:

[espresso]

Does anyone of you techies think that the Acer AS5622WLMI on sale at Comet for £599.99 is a good laptop?
They also have a the AS5612WMLI.057 for £594.99.
They both look exactly the same spec to me, but the first one is supposed to sell for £150 more in store and the second one £5 more in store.
Is one perhaps a later model, or are these discounts just a load of old rubbish.
If anyone can explain their differences and merits or how bad they are I'd be very grateful
Thanks

I would recommend either of these Acer laptops, due to good previous experiences with Acer products.

The two models are indeed very similar specs but if you look at the full specifications, you will see the main differences are that the 5612 supports Dual Layer DVD and Dual Format DVD +/- and has economy Intel 224Mb graphics which borrows system memory. This is only suitable for basic computing and is not recommended for digital photo editing, video editing or gaming etc. The 5612 has 4 USB ports.

The 5622 does not support the Dual Layer DVD or Dual Format +/- but it has better graphics i.e. 512Mb ATI 1300 but only has 2 USB ports.

As only you know exactly what you will be using it for, the final choice has to be yours but they are good well made, reliable machines.

HTH

;)

[bloodnok]

Hi,
My daughter doesn't need the laptop for gaming, video editing etc.
She'll probably use it for watching dvds, some music and the rest for loads of writing essays etc.
She won't be burning any dvds , perhaps copying cds.
So which of the Acers would you recommend.
Don't think I'd go for the "Time" laptop.................Too much bad history there, no matter how good they may be.
If you know of any other good deals ?
Thanks for all your wisdom.

[Tharweb]

Hi,
My daughter doesn't need the laptop for gaming, video editing etc.
She'll probably use it for watching dvds, some music and the rest for loads of writing essays etc.
She won't be burning any dvds , perhaps copying cds.
So which of the Acers would you recommend.
Don't think I'd go for the "Time" laptop.................Too much bad history there, no matter how good they may be.
If you know of any other good deals ?
Thanks for all your wisdom.

As she doesn't need a DVD burner and won't be using it for gaming/video editing you could save yourself a few quid. The Acer Travelmate 4062LCi seems to be the cheapest Acer Centrino available at the moment, it has been mentioned earlier on this thread. Curry's have it but they're not the cheapest, try here (http://www.misco.co.uk/HPSinfo/~122745~WW~/Acer%20TravelMate%204062LCi%20Intel%C2%AE%20Pentiu m%C2%AE%20M%20740%201.73GHz%20Notebook%20PC.htm)fo r £381 delivered, Spec obviously not as good as your original choices, no DVD burner but CD burner, would defo need a RAM upgrade (a further 256 would cost around £20) but this is easy to do, smaller hard drive. May be worth a look?

[griff.]

Hi,
My daughter doesn't need the laptop for gaming, video editing etc.
She'll probably use it for watching dvds, some music and the rest for loads of writing essays etc.



Bloodnok, when you say she 'doesn't need', no offence meant, but it's better having a computer that's capable of responding to 'future needs' (within a reasonable limit) than curtailing your opportunities.

In my experience, people like a reasonably fast computer, that's capable of making the 'media' experience of graphics more accessible. A good test of any machine is how it deals with the BBC website, particularly downloads or live streaming video (particularly those areas of the BBC that support the nat. curric.)

Look for a laptop that gives added value, and not just one that fulfills strictly office based functions.

[scotnan]

Can anyone please advise me what would be the best wireless laptop to buy atm..............I know this is a money saving board but speed rather than money saving is of the essence on this occasion (although it would be helpful to know of any good deals going lol ) so would prefer to buy it from the high street :(

Need it for watching movies, emailing, msn and listening to cd's, possibly playing games but that's not essential.
This is for someone who travels abroad a lot.

Thank you :)

[Lord_Chris]

scotnan wireless connectivity is not really something you need to worry about when it comes to buying a laptop. If its a good make (Sony, Dell, Acer, Toshiba etc.) and it says it has Wi-FI or wireless connectivity, it will work.

Your best off focusing more on picking a laptop wich is 1) a decent make and 2) has decent specs in light of processing, memory, hard drive.

You will pay a lot of money buying a 'gaming' laptop, however the graphics cards available for laptops are very limited at the moment... i have a sony vaio which is not designed for gaming, and will play all but the most heavy duty games. Ignore what it says on the tin when it comes to gaming, particularly since its not an essential to you.

[niceguyrichy]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop at the moment and heres the spec i want,

Intel 1.83Ghz Core Duo
1gb RAM
80-100gb Hard Drive

you say (lord chris) that there's no point getting 1gb RAM if the processor is under 2Ghz, how exactly do you know this to be the case?

I want the very best spec possible and i have 1gb RAM on my desktop and i would really love 1gb in my laptop too, but at dell, the cost of upgrade from 512gb to 1gb RAM is £141 which is alot, so are you saying 512mb is good enough? i assume you have a laptop with 512mb of RAM, is it honestly good enough? wouldn't you ever be tempted to slide in another 512mb stick?

depends what you plan to use it for.
not sure exactly what post you're referring to as regards the "not worth it under 2ghz", but that's only true if you are talking about a P4. An amd64 or Core duo around the 2ghz mark will of course benifit from having a gig of ram as opposed to 512mb, so long as you're using mem hungry games or apps that require it :)

[niceguyrichy]

firefox uses up to a quarter gig of ram itself, think i will get 1gb after all

sounds like a good reason to migrate to Opera ;)

(and having just read the posts you were reffering to, think I'll stear clear of that)

[dominus99]

Hello Subscribers :D I'm asking for a bit of help if anyone thinks they can point me in the right direction.

A friend of mine wants to buy a laptop for himself. He's can spend up to £600 but i think he can get what he wants for cheaper than that. He wants the laptop for ms office, internet use, and playing black and white, the requirements of which are quite low. Now, i know playing black and white requires very little from a modern laptop, but can anyone suggest a laptop that could provide the following for around £500 as i think it would give him more for his money...

Any 1.5 ghz processor or upwards (so xp doesn't run like a heifer)
512mb of Ram or more
WiFi
at least 2 usb ports
Possibly a dedicated graphics card of 64mb or or maybe a little more... :shocked: !!!

I don't know if you can get glossy finish on a tft screen for this price, i'm guessing not. Acer's in general are preferable as they a) look smart and b) tend not to cost a packet??

Thought all this was a bit challenging, but i'm throwing it into the ring anyway :o

Thanks for any help :kiss:

[dominus99]

Thank you Arzon, very kind of you to offer your help.

I'm open to any further suggestions if anybody would like to try their hand?

[Lord_Chris]

@ dominus99

Sony Vaios are far better in my experience than Acers... i mean Acers are okay.. but that all.

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10286329&pid=45&tid=2

thats the newer model of what i have (ive got fs315b, thats the fs415e)

My laptop is great for games, and im telling you, forget dedicated graphics cards, becuase in laptops at the moment, they are all crap. Im sure you can find the 415e cheaper if you look around too.

[dominus99]

Thank you Chris for your help. I agree that sony's are in general the better laptop as they usually look better and have a better build and probably sport a better quality of component.

Money is a factor though and thats what leads me to Acer as they tend to be cheaper and they still have a great build quality from what i've seen & heard. I saw this http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?product_id=10286769&catalog_name=Savastore&page=productspecification&pid=45
and thought that it was a comparable product. If you can be bothered (and thank you in advance if you do) could you tell me how they compare in your eyes?

As an aside, i take it that you'd favour a laptop with a decent processor and a gig of ram over one with an ever so slightly slower processor, 512 of ram, and 64-128mb of dedicated graphics?

[Lord_Chris]

dont get me wrong, Acer laptops are good, they are solidly built, however sony provide an extremely good warantee repair service. My dvd drive broke on december 23rd last year, they collected it christmas eve, and i had it back on the 27th or 28th.

the acer (as you posted) looks pretty good to me, if price is that much of a constraint then certainly go for that rather than a sony. The only thing that i would mention, is that the acer has a rather limited battery life at only 2 hours. having said that, the sony standard tends to be only around 3 and a half (on the FS series).

Most laptops in the given price range are around 1.7 ghz, and despite what espresso has said in previous posts, a gig of ram, is NOT worth the extra money (if its included then fine) but your ram is only as good as the speed of the processor. With a 1.7 ghz processor, your processor cannot utilize the extra ram (if that makes sense?). This Acer is almost identical to my Vaio, so if this meets your needs get it, it works great; however if you can afford the Vaio, do it, if only for the excellent warantee service and the fact that they look cool :)

and dedicated graphics, again, not really worth it, they use up battery life, and to be honest in this price range, you will not get a good graphics card. Unless this laptop is intended for high end programs for photo editing/CAD in which case this price range will simply not do, you do not have any need for a dedicated graphics card.

[espresso]

Most laptops in the given price range are around 1.7 ghz, and despite what espresso has said in previous posts, a gig of ram, is NOT worth the extra money (if its included then fine) but your ram is only as good as the speed of the processor. With a 1.7 ghz processor, your processor cannot utilize the extra ram (if that makes sense?)

:mad:

No it does not make any sense!

You have previously said that Photoshop works fine with 512Mb RAM. Photoshop will run fine with 512Mb RAM but try editing a large high resolution image and you will see the difference! Lots of laptops now come with 1GB RAM as standard and can usually take at least 2GB with expansion.

I had decided not to reply to your previous remarks but you keep talking the same old bo!!ocks.

dominus99 had specifically asked for your comments on an Acer machine (if you could be bothered) but you just went on about Sony warranty and your usual comments about processor speed and RAM, without any explanation yet again! Taking a GCSE in ITC does not make you an expert and you do not know what these PC's will be used for and what applications or how many applications will be run by the user.

:rolleyes:

[belfastgal]

Is the Dell Inspiron 6400 a good buy ? intel centrino 1.86ghz , 512mb ram , 60gb hard drive 15.4 screen shared graphics memory up to 128mb ( whatever that is ) and integrated 24xcdrw/8x dvd combo drive at £449 + vat and about £50 delivery. think this is the link
www.dell.co.uk/b2b
got a leaflet in the post today at work
think it works out £580 all in ( work says they can claim me the vat )
what do you think ?

[griff.]

have a look at this, http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_314315.html


* Processor speed: 1.66 GHz
* Processor: Intel Centrino Duo
* Screen size and type: 15.4" brightwidescreen
* Storage (hard drive): 80 GB
* Memory (RAM): 1024 Mb
* Records DVDs (maximum): 8x
Graphics 512MB ATI1300 dynamic

It's only £19 more Belfastgal, and if you think you may get interested in video, gaming or editing, then it's probably worth it.

And even if you don't, it's duo processor with bigger ram, which is always a good thing.

[belfastgal]

have a look at this, http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_314315.html


* Processor speed: 1.66 GHz
* Processor: Intel Centrino Duo
* Screen size and type: 15.4" brightwidescreen
* Storage (hard drive): 80 GB
* Memory (RAM): 1024 Mb
* Records DVDs (maximum): 8x
Graphics 512MB ATI1300 dynamic

It's only £19 more Belfastgal, and if you think you may get interested in video, gaming or editing, then it's probably worth it.

And even if you don't, it's duo processor with bigger ram, which is always a good thing.

comet do fab deals and would have been great when daughtergot her acer aspire 1642 but they dont deliver to northern ireland

[Lord_Chris]

lol espresso. If you have a slow processor, it cannot use loads of ram. There is no point having tons of ram if your processor cannot utilize it. And, another thing, most laptops in dominus' price range have 512.

and btw, GCSE ICT doesnt even touch hardware bar maybe the component names.

Espresso, to be quite frank this a little more than pathetic, so from now on, i'm just going to ignore your posts, do what you want, it really doesnt bother me.

[Hillfly]

"Am I Bothered....." :rotfl:

Just a reminder to those thinking of buying a laptop from Comet you can get a 13% discount if you get yourslef a virgin credit card and order vouchers through the virgin members shop. These have to be used instore though - but i have heard people can sometimes haggle the online price in a comet store as well.:money:

[dc2447]

lol espresso. If you have a slow processor, it cannot use loads of ram. There is no point having tons of ram if your processor cannot utilize it. And, another thing, most laptops in dominus' price range have 512.

sigh, the size of processor does not determine how much ram is used.

[espresso]

sigh, the size of processor does not determine how much ram is used.

But Chris is on a different planet to the rest of us!

:rolleyes:

I don't care what he thinks to be the case, but giving incorrect advice to others is not helpful.

:eek:

[CTID]

not wanting to drag out the argument, but anyone who is after a laptop, please ignore what Lord_Chris is saying it is absolute rubbish, just plain wrong.

More RAM means less disk access. Disk access is the slowest part of a computer so you don't want it. Over a certain amount is not used, but this is DEFINATELY not above 512k! In fact it that statement made me chuckle, so thanks for brightening up my day Lord_Chris.

[espresso]

Thanks for posting, I do not wish to continue this discussion but some readers may actually believe what the little Troll is saying, which is what bothers me!

[niceguyrichy]

Espresso, to be quite frank this a little more than pathetic, so from now on, i'm just going to ignore your posts, do what you want, it really doesnt bother me.

well so long as you're gonna ignore him, I'll be happy to tell you that you're talking absolute cr*p.
I was gonna leave this argument well alone, but I hate seeing people handing out complete mis-information and pretending like they know what they're talking about :(

as regards mem - cpu, you just don't seem to know what you're talking about at all.