The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

[westferret]

just to let everyone know this is a cheapest laptop hunt forum not handbags at thirty paces for anyone looking through this it's just people are disagreeing with each other. Hopefully they'll get back to the correct subject soon.

[bloodnok]

Glad someone else is on the same wavelength Westferret............See post #725 of this discussion.

[westferret]

Good I think this should be renamed The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt and then argue about it. As thats the way it seems to be going. Currently the person who invents a solar powered torch would have more sense than some of the people on here.

[Lord_Chris]

ok, well just espresso (no offense intended) saying it, i thought i was right, but if you lot are agreeing then im gonna assume that you lot are right. might only be 16 (which you probably think is quite young), however im not too childish to admit when im wrong.

but that is honestly what ive been told (and heard) at the computer shop where i worked until recently. and to be fair, i was never involved in selling anything, just building and fixing comps, so i had no reason to doubt the aformentioned subject.

My apologies to anyone who was confused or mislead by what i said, but read above. and espresso, while as much as in can understand you standing up for what you belive/ know i didnt really appreciate the 'little troll' comment, which im guessing you made because you know my age from previous posts, which i actually found quite offensive.I hope you appreciate that unlike most people my age, i resisted the temptation to hurl abuse in the terms of many asterisks your way, and admitted that i was wrong.

I will consider this end of topic, hope you will do the same (bury hatchet and such)

i should really go to bed :|

[bloodnok]

This deal is back on at Comet.
It's the Acer 3004 WLMI and it's £499.00.
I'm still looking for one, can any of you nice techies give your opinion of this computer and how is it for value for money ?
I've copied the details from the Comet web-site, sorry, don't know how to copy just part of the spec, so you've got loads of irrelevant details
Thanks

************************

Product detailsBrand ACER
Processor AMD Sempron The entry level processor from AMD. Great for basic office use such as email, internet and home office
Processor model number 3100+ The model of the processor- the higher the number the better
Processor speed 1.8 GHz the clock speed of the processor measured in Ghz. The higher the number, the faster the laptop will perform
Processor bus 1600 MHz How quickly the processor can recieve information to work on - the higher this number, the more powerful the laptop is
Processor cache 128 Kb The buffer of the processor - the larger it is the smoother the laptop will work
Memory (RAM) 1024 Mb Allows more functions to be performed at once. More memory means a faster PC
Screen size and type 15.4" brightwidescreen The size and shape of the screen. Widescreen gives you laptop a cinematic shaped screen, great for watching films. Look for bright screens which are clearer, and easier to read in bright lighting such as outdoors and on trains
Storage (hard drive) 100 GB Also known as the hard disk, where all your files, such as documents, MP3 music and games are stored. Larger drives can store more. 1GB = 200 MP3 music songs
Dual layer DVD Yes Records double the amount of a standard DVD, giving 9.4GB instead of 4.7Gb
Dual format DVD +/- Yes Records in every DVD format - your DVDs will play on any DVD player
Lightscribe No
Plays CDs (maximum) 24x Play CDs on your laptop. The higher the speed, the faster it will install software
Records CDs (maximum) 24x Allows you to store lots of information on a CD, great for storing MP3 music files and creating your own CDs
Plays DVDs (maximum) 8x Play DVDs on your laptop. The higher the speed, the faster it will install software
Records DVDs (maximum) 8x Record DVDs on your laptop. The higher the number, the less time it will take to record a DVD
Graphics 128MB shared This makes the screen show what the PC is displaying. It is measured in MB and comes 2 ways - shared, suitable for basic tasks, and dedicated which is faster. Dedicated is essential for video editing and gaming
Built in wireless networking Yes Allows easy connection to a existing wireless network such a s in a office or even to any wireless hot spot. You could th en dowload your emails or surf the internet wirelessly.
Media card slots Not featured
Bluetooth Not featured
Play and record live TV Not featured
Remote Control included Not featured
Product weight (kg) 2.8 kg The weight of the laptop measured in KGs. Look for a light laptop if you are going to be using the laptop on the move.
Battery Life (approx) 1:30 hours The approximate life of the battery in hours. This is dependant on what the laptop is being used for.
Battery Type Lithium batteries are the new generation of battery, which let you recharge without the battery having to be flat first
Speakers Standard ste produces sound from the laptop. Great for watching DVDs, li stening to music and playing games.
USB 2.0 slots 2 Lets you connect peripherals such as printers and digital cameras to your laptop
Firewire Not featured
Application software tbc
Operating system Windows XP Home What you use to access your laptops files and programs. Windows XP is the current standard.
Wired networking Ethernet Yes Lets the laptop plug into a wired network
Dial-up Modem included Yes Lets you use the internet. 56k dial-up modems are now becoming obsolete as broadband internet becomes more popular
PC card slots

[anley1]

I went with the HP AMD 64 with 1024gb ram from John Lewis. Cost was £699. Staples and PC World have the Centrino version also at £699.

I went with John Lewis though because a) they're John Lewis b) they double the warranty from 1 to 2 years.

Although I liked some of the Acer's I didn't like the sound of the support and HP support is generally very good.

What I've learnt about buying laptops is you really do pay for what you get as someone here rightly said.

So far I'm very happy with the HP, nice speed, good looks, pretty good battery life etc.

[garcia]

anley whats the noise level like on the HP AMD 64? I am very fussy when it comes to noise - especially fan noise.

Thanks.

[Hillfly]

Get some earplugs - will save you a bundle compared to getting an expensive laptop! :rotfl:

fyi
I am a big acer laptop fan - but i must say they tend to be fan noisy.

[TonyB]

:confused: Probably not the right theme, but have just subscribed to Screen select & USwitch through a popup "WINNER" from Consumer Saving Centre.
This offers a free laptop if you subscribe to 2 of there listed organisations.
I think I may not get this item!!! Anyone else seen this offer?:rolleyes:
TonyB

[rainbow12]

I've seen the following laptops availabe for under £300 and would like some advice on whether they're any good - I do want to be able to get wireless and dont know if these can or not:

eSys E320 Via 1.2GHz 256MB 40GB CD-RW/DVD 14.1" LAN XP Home eSys Mobi Book Notebook £264.32 inc VAT
As above but with Linux £249.10 incl VAT

VIA C3 CPU 1.2GHz CLE 266 Processor

256MB DDR Memory

40GB Hard Disk Drive

CD-RW/DVD Internal COMBO Drive

14.1" XGA Display

Integrated 2.1 Audio Speakers

56K V.90 AC Link Modem

10/100 Ethernet

Universal AC Adapter

4 Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack

Microsoft Windows XP Home

eSys Mobi Book Notebook
Core Logic VIA® CLE266+8235

Memory Expansion 1 slot of 200pin SO-DIMM DDR module, 512MB total memory capacity
LCD Display 14” XGA (1024 x 768) TFT LCD display
Video & Graphics Embedded Castle Rock GFX in CLE 266, AGP4X,
Hard Drive 2.5” 9.5mm height, ATA 66 /100 supports
Pointing Device Synaptics touchpad
Size 315mm(W) x 255mm (D) x 35.5 mm(H)/37mm(front/back
Application Launch Key
E-mail, internet, Volume up / down, Power
Output: 19V DC, 3.16A, 60W

Battery
4 cell Li-Ion battery pack

Battery Charge
3.5 hrs charge time to 100% capacity while system off
5 hrs charge time to 100% capacity while system on

Battery Life
More than 1.5hours by 4 cell battery pack
Approximately 3.5 hours by 8 cell battery pack

BIOS
AMI, Support PnP, password

Communication
10/100 Base-T LAN on board
Built- in MDC V.90 56Kbps FAX/Modem

USB Connector
Four USB2.0 ports, up to 480Mbit/s

Power Management
ACPI 2.0 compliance
Support Stand-by, Suspend to Disk, Suspend to RAM

Security
Kensington Lock,BIOS password protection

Weight
2.7 kg with 14.1” panel, 4 cell battery and Optical drive installed

Accessories
Packing Accessories
Quick Guide, Support CD (Driver, Utility, Manual), AC Adapter, Power Cord, Battery Pack
Factory Option
Bootable external USB 1.1. FDD
Optical Device: CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Combo Drive (DVD-ROM+CD-RW)
Spare Li-Ion Battery Pack





Thanks

[Lord_Chris]

@ rainbow12

you get what you pay for, and in this case, you might aswell buy a cardboard box for 26p (saving yourself a couple hundred £) and write 'laptop' on it in big bold letters.

If you want a reliable laptop thats not going to break and generally work better than the aforementioned cardboard box, be prepared to spend a bit more than £300.

[belfastgal]

ordered the dell inspiron 6400 on monday after seeing it on here for £549 Great spec and great laptop, it came with laptop bag, double memory and a webcam.i oredered on monday and hubby shouted at me for spending over £500 on darling son so rang them to cancel it on tues and they offered me £50 off as it had been dispatched so on wednesday the laptop arrived ( AND HUBBY HAS CALMED DOWN ...LOL ) slightly...
its brilliant for £499

[bigvince76]

Can anyone help me find a good deal on a 17” laptop? I don’t care about spec as long as it has a DVD player. The best I can find is around £800. I do not want the latest bells and whistles, just a bloody big screen. 17inchers have been around for ages now, so any clues as to where I can get ‘last years model’ would be much appreciated.

[pete1024]

Would highly recommend the AMD turion 64 processor, it uses less power overall than a centrino (because it has a built in memory controller), it has as much claut, 64 bit extensions, its cheaper & it's more stable as its basically a low power opteron CPU.

[candygirl]

Sorry to be a total simpleton.i need a laptop for using upstairs.i already have a desktop pc connected to braodband downstairs, so what would i have to do or buy to also have my laptop on braodband upstairs!!:confused: :confused:

[Hillfly]

Sorry to be a total simpleton.i need a laptop for using upstairs.i already have a desktop pc connected to braodband downstairs, so what would i have to do or buy to also have my laptop on braodband upstairs!!:confused: :confused:

If you have a phone socket upstairs you can plug your modem in and off you go - however you wont be able to have your downstairs pc on at the same time.

The best solution would be to get a 'wireless modem router' eg. Netgear DG834G.
You could plug this in to your phone socket downstairs and connect your pc to it. Then get yourself a laptop with wireless and you should be able to connect to the wireless router anywhere in your house ( you may also get a laptop without wireless and buy a speerate wireless card for the laptop). Search the techie forum some more and you will find some guides on how to set up a wireless network.

[Hillfly]

Can anyone help me find a good deal on a 17” laptop? I don’t care about spec as long as it has a DVD player. The best I can find is around £800. I do not want the latest bells and whistles, just a bloody big screen. 17inchers have been around for ages now, so any clues as to where I can get ‘last years model’ would be much appreciated.


How about this for £599 if you are not fussed about enything but screen size!

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7103WSMi_LX.ACK05.057/version-1.asp

If you can find the extra funds why not buy this 20.1 inch beauty!
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_9802WKMi_LX.AAZ05.043/version-1.asp

[anley1]

Garcia

Seems pretty quiet to me, got it running next to me now and cannot hear anything apart from the fan going on my desktop PC.

John Lewis are good people, I'm sure if you go in there and ask them to unplug the PC (from where it's on show) and take it into a private back room to hear it for yourself. I doubt this would be a problem.

Like I said I'm very happy, especially with the 2 year warranty. Tried to do everything possible to knock the price down from £699 but they wouldn't budge :)

[belfastgal]

Hi could you tell me what spec you got for that price? as i might buy one aswell, thanks alot!
its the Inspiron 6400 , its in the papers most days, came with 1.85gh 80gb harddrive widescreen 15.4 and a dell laptop bag and logiteck web cam which son thinks is great foe msn. daughter also has acer aspire 1642 which is also brilliant but the dell worked out cheaper. check their website or look in the sun . daily mail etc

[anley1]

I think PC World are advertising a dual core HP at £799. I don't know the specs but it seems like a good price.

But then again, is dual core really that? I've got a dual core Dell desktop and to me it doesn't really seem any faster (for email, Word, Internet, not games etc) than my HP Laptop which is sign core AMD Turion 64.

Maybe the new Windows will need dual core but I'm not planning to buy that when XP has got at least 3-4 more years left in it.

[IcyEars]

My favourite shop for all PC Stuff is CCL (www.cclonline.com). Pretty much everything they do is good quality stuff and it's usually some of the cheapest I've managed to find on-line.

Just thought I'd mention it since I've never seen their name on here but their cheapest is currently £387 for a reasonable spec Tosh laptop. Their range is quite good and they do pretty much everything PC related.

To save even more, if you are based near Bradford, W Yorks, you can collect your order and save on Postage.

Just so everyone know's, I'm not a rep for them but everything I have bought to build my own PC's since 1994 had come from them and it has always worked out cheaper than buying a ready made PC.

Well worth considering.

[Joe_Millionaire]

I am looking for a laptop about £400.00 (ISH) and have found this little baby.



What do you guys think?

Is it :eek: or :beer:



NEW - Acer Aspire 3633 Stock No : LX.ABU05.068_LSB

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/images_small/misc/small-logo/acer.gif

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/images_big/aspire3000.jpg


Overview of the Acer Aspire 3633
Processor Type (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#57) Celeron M
Processor Speed (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#57) 1.5GHz CPU
R (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#58)AM 512MB
Hard Drive (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#27) 60GB
Display (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#display) 15.4 inch TFT display
Widescreen Type (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#display) WXGA (1280 x 800)
Video Chipset (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#videochipset) SiS M661MX
Optical Drive (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#opticaldrive) Dual DVD
Operating System (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#46) MS WinXP Home
Wireless LAN (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/miscpages/glossary#71) Built in Wireless LAN 802.11g 54Mbps
Weight Kg 2.80

£339.00 ex vat

£398.33 inc vat


(http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/Acer-Aspire_3633WLMi_LSB-insurance-1-n2.htm)Details and Specs relating to the Acer Aspire 3633


http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/acer-aspire_3633wlmi_lsb-laptop-2-n2.htm

They also have a
Buffalo 54Mbps Wireless Router for £34.99?????????

Please help :o

[griff.]

Looks good for £398 Joe. But what will you maybe be using it for ? - a year from now ?

[Joe_Millionaire]

I think i will be using it for the same thing as i will be now,

Word processing and to surf the net,

Can we get it cheaper than £398????????

[whitedot]

Would anyone recommend this Acer for £348.99 from Comet: http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_336483.html

The equivalent offer at Dell has a smaller screen meaning i'd be saving £36.25 going with the Acer. Other than that I think all vital statistics are the same.

Thoughts? Many thanks in advance.

[Kilty]

I wouldnt reccomend anything Acer.

I've held that very model in a Comet store and I just felt like I'd break it within months (and I look after my posessions with great care).

Go for Dell's cheapest offering, I have one and its fantastic, feels far more solid than the Acers do.

[steady__eddie]

I am not suitably qualified to comment on the laptop but the retailer...........
Don't you know anyone that could lend you a barge pole ?

[whitedot]

Not sure what the problem with Comet would be, I bought a laptop from them last year and had no issues whatsoever.

With regards the build quality, I read up on PcPro and saw this earlier model :http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/78822/acer-travelmate-2403wxci.html and they reckon it's solid?

[Kilty]

Not sure what the problem with Comet would be, I bought a laptop from them last year and had no issues whatsoever.

With regards the build quality, I read up on PcPro and saw this earlier model :http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/78822/acer-travelmate-2403wxci.html and they reckon it's solid?

Getting paid to write a review is one thing.

Standing in Comet with laptop in one hand and £400 in the other is a different matter altogether, and I, based upon the impression it made, say to avoid.

Your money, your choice.

[thetheboy]

high im looking to buy a laptop with some game playing capabilities - am curently lookinat an acer like this (http://!!!!!!!.com/u6j0). what are your thoughts - i have about £600 - £700 to spend. I need a gig of ram decent proceesor. dvd burner. and all the usual. and a decent ish graphics card.

Help appreciated

[nej]

Would anyone recommend this Acer for £348.99 from Comet: http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_336483.html

The equivalent offer at Dell has a smaller screen meaning i'd be saving £36.25 going with the Acer. Other than that I think all vital statistics are the same.

Thoughts? Many thanks in advance.

Same one available from some Tesco's for £299 but they are going FAST.

I've got one and 1st impressions are good. Obviously the build quality is not up to IBM standards, but then neither is the price. Treat it well and it'll be fine.

[MickKnipfler]

How does the tesco spec compare with the insperion 1300?

[steady__eddie]

Not sure what the problem with Comet would be, I bought a laptop from them last year and had no issues whatsoever.

Go to the consumer Vent board and do a search for Comet. There is plenty there to keep you occupied.

[Kilty]

How does the tesco spec compare with the insperion 1300?

Looks very similar apart from the battery life.

Inspiron can be upgraded to the 4 hour battery for £11, this Acer cannot, then there is the issue of build quality that I mentioned before.

[nej]

Basic Acer Tesco spec is:

15.4" widescreen.
1.6Ghz Celeron
256MB Ram (easily self-upgradable)
40Gb HDD
DVD-Writer
Built-in Wireless
2-hour battery life (claimed.... not tested it yet!)

Build quality is not that bad. I've got a Dell Latitude at work and frankly there isn't much difference really. Again, you pays your money, you takes your choice. It's good enough for me, it may not be good enough for other people.

[Kilty]

Press the back of the lid when its turned on and watch that screen ripple :)

Doesnt give it much hope if you drop it.

you pays your money, you takes your choice..

Amen.

[nej]

Press the back of the lid when its turned on and watch that screen ripple :)



My Dell Latitude does that as well (though perhaps not quite so bad) so not just the cheapie ones... plus the keys are raised a bit, so if there's any pressure on it when it's closed it puts a nice mark on the screen. That was a bit of clever design! At least the Acer keys are flush with the body.

[Kilty]

My Dell Latitude does that as well (though perhaps not quite so bad) so not just the cheapie ones... plus the keys are raised a bit, so if there's any pressure on it when it's closed it puts a nice mark on the screen. That was a bit of clever design! At least the Acer keys are flush with the body.

:eek:

I thought Latitudes had the magnesium alloy casing.

My cheap Inspiron doesnt do that! :cool:

[Holeypockets]

I just picked up 2 of the £299 acers at the local Tesco - they will be for the kids Christmas. Having been an Acer user of laptops for 2 years I have no complaints. I set up expensive Dells and HP's at work all day long and still firmly believe Acer are good value for money. Mine did have to go back for repair once after a HD problem, but as the Acer repair centre is just up the road from me I walked it in. They replaced the 60GB HD for an 80GB in a one day turnaround.

[nej]

:eek:

I thought Latitudes had the magnesium alloy casing.

My cheap Inspiron doesnt do that! :cool:

It's about 3 years old, maybe the newer ones are better.

[Joe_Millionaire]

Does anyone have the link to the Acer Laptop that is in Tesco????

[nej]

There is a thread about it in the "Shop But Don't Drop" board called £299 laptop at Tesco" or words to that affect.

If you look at the Comet site at their Acer for £349 it's the same one. There is nothing about it on the Tesco website though.

[Holeypockets]

Tesco are advertising it as a 'back to school' promotion that appears on leaflets in the local free papers. I have just connected one of my 2 £299 acers to my wireless network and I must say I am ver impressed. The screen is superb, speed is good, 2 hours battery life - it is ideal for my 2 kids

[phatty]

the Tesco offer is great:money:, I think there are a lot of laptop snobs here who ridicule buying a laptop with 256MB Ram from Tesco

[Kilty]

Heh, I ridicule buying an ACER with 256mb RAM :D Just my personal preference though.

My cheap Dell with 256mb RAM is great, just needs more RAM for the use I put it to.

[FrappaMCL]

So after 800+ posts (including three entertaining squabbles) is the present conclusion?...

...if you're looking for a laptop for around £500 for web browsing, emails and word processing (i.e not for gaming) some options to consider are:

Dell Inspiron 1300 (£349)

Acer TM2414WLMI (the £299 one from Tescos) - similar to Dell Inspiron 1300 but battery life not as good

Acer Aspire 3633 Stock No : LX.ABU05.068_LSB (£400)

Dell Inspiron 6400 (£519)

I appreciate you get what you pay for. Some models according to this thread appear to offer better value overall than others (based on the criteria of what it wil be used for above).

On this basis I'm minded to go for the Dell 6400 but tempted by the Acer for £299 as I really will only use it for the limited purposes I mention (I note the warranty point about repairs taking longer if you buy from Tesco etc).

Anyone able to make my mind up for me?! No liability to those who do ;-)

[Meatbingo]

Well, I went for the Tesco £299 Acer. I'll post my impressions once I've set it up and had a play with it.

[Holeypockets]

Anyone able to make my mind up for me?! No liability to those who do ;-)[/QUOTE]


Well, as I say, I set up a lot of laptops for a living and I'd say the Acer tops VFM - which is what moneysaving is all about.

[espresso]

Heh, I ridicule buying an ACER with 256mb RAM :D Just my personal preference though.

My cheap Dell with 256mb RAM is great, just needs more RAM for the use I put it to.

:confused:

It's just as easy to add RAM to an Acer so why the ridicule?

:rolleyes:

FrappaMCL

Be aware that the Dells now have an ExpressCard slot rather than the much more common PCMCIA expansion slot, which may be a problem as the cards are almost as rare as rocking horse sh!t.

HTH

:eek:

[akcl]

I am thinking of buying the following Dell, any comments, I need it for the end of the month, do you think I can get a better deal by then? Thanks.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
N08642 Inspiron 6400 Qty 1
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (incl Symantec PC Restore Recovery) Unit Price Excl. VAT £539.00
Catalog Number: 202 N08642
Module Description Show Details
Base Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (incl Symantec PC Restore Recovery)
Memory 1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
Keyboard Internal Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
Video Card Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
Hard Drive 120GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
Floppy Drives No Floppy Drive Option
Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
CD/DVD Drives Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW with Software
Sound Cards Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Wireless Local Area Networking Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Duo Processors
Shipping Documents System Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference List N08642 - BSD 6400 (2)
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 7.0 - English
Standard Warranty 1-Year Collect and Return service
Cover It with Dell Support Services No service upgrade selected - 1-Year Collect and Return service only
AntiVirus & Security Software No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
Power Supply 65W AC Adapter
Digital Photography Combo: Paint Shop® Pro and Photo Album® Trial
Order Information Inspiron Order - UK
Primary Battery 9 Cell, 80Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Carrying Cases No Carrycase
Dell System Media Kit No Resource CD
Ghost 10 Ghost 10 - 90 Day Trial
Colour Choice No Snap on LCD Back Cover
Dell Media Experience Dell™ Media Experience 3.0 Basic
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 6.0 - English
Promotions Hidden Option Class Memory Upgrade from 512MB to 1024MB
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Network assistant Network Assist - 90 Day Trial
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display

TOTAL Excl. VAT:£539.00

[Kilty]

:confused:

It's just as easy to add RAM to an Acer so why the ridicule?

:rolleyes:

FrappaMCL

Be aware that the Dells now have an ExpressCard slot rather than the much more common PCMCIA expansion slot, which may be a problem as the cards are almost as rare as rocking horse sh!t.

HTH

:eek:

Build quality is the reason I ridicule them.

I've held the same model that Tesco are selling in a Comet store, was considering buying it for £399 at the time.

Compared with this Dell, it felt like paper.

As for ExpressCard vs PCMCIA, the only thing that I can think of that you'd need would perhaps be a 3G data card, in which case you'd be better buying a machine with PCMCIA.

[Joe_Millionaire]

Can the Tesco Laptop with 256Mb Ram be upgraded?

[Kilty]

Can the Tesco Laptop with 256Mb Ram be upgraded?

Yes, I believe it can.

[Joe_Millionaire]

It appears that every Tesco in the North West has SOLD OUT of these £299.92 Acer TM2414 Laptops......................... DOH!

[Joe_Millionaire]

HA HA Just got one and quite impressed with it.......SO FAR!

[Meatbingo]

HA HA Just got one and quite impressed with it.......SO FAR!

:beer: Yeah, I'm on mine right now. Very pleased with it. Lovely screen. Wireless works flawlessly. Sat here listening to MP3s streaming over the network from my desktop in the bedroom, nice sound on headphones. Had to install new Synaptics drivers to get the scroll function to work in Firefox, but that seems like a known issue and was no trouble. Only major issue I could see with this is if you need a long battery life, but let's not forget that it costs £299! This is a seriously good laptop for that money, IMO. No qualms about build-quality here either. Seems pretty solid I reckon.

[Joe_Millionaire]

:beer: Yeah, I'm on mine right now. Very pleased with it. Lovely screen. Wireless works flawlessly. Sat here listening to MP3s streaming over the network from my desktop in the bedroom.

This is what I am trying to achieve, Am i right in saying that i need to get a Router with built in modem.......................

HELP :confused:

[swizzle]

Hi

I`m looking at this but is it any good

From www.laptopsdirect.co.uk for £398.95 a student bundle

Acer Travelmate 2424WXMI Laptop Is this the same as the Tesco one?
Targus CN31 Bag
Targus wired mini optical mouse

You can also apply for a free Vodafone mobile connect 3G data card which is suposse to be worth £199

Thinking I could give the children the desktop pc- get rid of my broadband and sit in bed and surf the web?

But coulsd I do better-cheap?

Thanks

[Browntoa]

this is a smaller screen than the tesco one , it only has 14.1 inch, the tesco one is 15

same spec otherwise

[swizzle]

CAn I buy the Tesco 1 online or is it just in stores?

[Browntoa]

in store only, and I suspect only the bigger stores

[Meatbingo]

This is what I am trying to achieve, Am i right in saying that i need to get a Router with built in modem.......................

HELP :confused:

Well, that's what I have. A Linksys WAG354G connected to my desktop. To share files you need to set up sharing on the folders you want to share (right-click > sharing and security). I'm no networking expert at all, but I managed to sort it out with a bit of help from Google. TBH, I'm still learning about all this!

[Joe_Millionaire]

Would this do the job?

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2041681314.115478326 2@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfeaddihkhgfhlcflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=459034&category_oid=
Do I need the Laptop card as well?

If I get this I can discard of my current adsl modem and just plug this into my pc, plug the card into the laptop and off I go with a wireless laptop that can connect to the internet.

Can you file share with this as well?

[Meatbingo]

That's very similar to my router, so it should be fine. But you don't need the laptop card if you are connecting with the Acer laptop because it has wireless capability built-in. I got my brother to help me set it up, but yes your router will replace your ADSL modem and allow you to share files over a wireless network.

[Joe_Millionaire]

Thanks,

I have just got a network card for my pc and the wireless modem but can't seem to be able to take the case of my DELL base unit????????????

It seems to have rivets rather than screws!

[swizzle]

I have rung around all the local Tesco`s and no laptop`s left.

So which is best bet the Acer travelmate 2424WXMI from laptopsdirect for £379 or the Dell Inspiron 1300 at £349.

Just need it for home stuff, surfing the web, photos etc.

Thanks

[Joe_Millionaire]

I have rung around all the local Tesco`s and no laptop`s left.


They are meant to be getting more in stock each day......... for the money it seems to do the job

[Joe_Millionaire]

Thanks,

I have just got a network card for my pc and the wireless modem but can't seem to be able to take the case of my DELL base unit????????????

It seems to have rivets rather than screws!

Done it!

But my wirless router won't let me connect to the internet now!:mad:

[Kilty]

I have rung around all the local Tesco`s and no laptop`s left.

So which is best bet the Acer travelmate 2424WXMI from laptopsdirect for £379 or the Dell Inspiron 1300 at £349.

Just need it for home stuff, surfing the web, photos etc.

Thanks

Dell without a doubt.

I'd reccommend the £350 Inspiron over the £299 Acer, nevermind the Acer machine at £380 :)

[swizzle]

Having been looking at the Dell, at the mo it comes with 1024mb and 60Gb as free upgrade, but what about this Express card slot instead of the normal PCMCIA?
What differance does that mean?

[Kilty]

Having been looking at the Dell, at the mo it comes with 1024mb and 60Gb as free upgrade, but what about this Express card slot instead of the normal PCMCIA?
What differance does that mean?

Means that you can't use PCMCIA cards with it. If you don't need to use items such as 3G Data Cards then you will not be affected by that, and you will be able to use ExpressCards when (if) they become more popular. :)

As for the 1GB memory, that must be on the higher priced Pentium-M Dell Inspiron 1300, which I don't think is as good a buy as the 6000/640 due to the 400mhz FSB.

[pavlovs_dog]

So after 800+ posts (including three entertaining squabbles) is the present conclusion?...

...if you're looking for a laptop for around £500 for web browsing, emails and word processing (i.e not for gaming) some options to consider are:

Dell Inspiron 1300 (£349)

Acer TM2414WLMI (the £299 one from Tescos) - similar to Dell Inspiron 1300 but battery life not as good

Acer Aspire 3633 Stock No : LX.ABU05.068_LSB (£400)

Dell Inspiron 6400 (£519)

I appreciate you get what you pay for. Some models according to this thread appear to offer better value overall than others (based on the criteria of what it wil be used for above).

On this basis I'm minded to go for the Dell 6400 but tempted by the Acer for £299 as I really will only use it for the limited purposes I mention (I note the warranty point about repairs taking longer if you buy from Tesco etc)

cheers for this. Ive finally decided that i do need a new puter, and that im going to loose my laptop virginity. ive been lost in a see of deals and info overload, so it was nice to have a few pointers in a sensible direction.


im rather taken by the dell inspirion 6400 - its a very nice looking piece of kit. specs aren't bad either.

Module Description BaseIntel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating SystemGenuine Windows® XP Home Edition,
SP2 (incl Symantec PC Restore Recovery)
Memory1024MB 533MHz
Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
KeyboardInternal Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
Video CardIntel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memoryHard Drive60GB (5,400rpm)
Hard DriveFloppy Drives
No Floppy Drive Option
Modem56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
Fixed Internal 8x DVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive With SoftwareSound Cards
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Duo Processors
Microsoft® Works 7.0 -
English Standard Warranty1-Year Collect and Return service
No service upgrade selected - 1-Year Collect and Return service only
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
Power Supply65W AC Adapter
Primary Battery 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
No Carrycase
No Snap on LCD Back Cover
Dell Media ExperienceDell™ Media Experience 3.0
BasicAdobe ReaderAdobe Reader 6.0
Promotions Hidden Option ClassMemory Upgrade from 512MB to 1024MB
LCD15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display

total price £568.99 (inc vat and del..and hopefully cashback via quidco?)



not being one to rush in, i was wondering if anyone knows of anything of a similar spec for less money? i need it for uni work, and would be taking it on an 80 mile round trip on board a coach several days a week, so portability is a must, as is a good battery life.

specs wise, it will mainly be used for coursework (predominantly essay writing with some light presentation/slideshow/dtp work thrown in). i am a heavy net user (although i am a comparatively light downloader) - house and campus both fully wifi enabled and on line

in short: light, fast, reliable, affordable..and if possible nice to look at :beer:

forgot to add.. budget wise, can go to £400-500, bit more if i find something i really really like.

[FrappaMCL]

Obviously lots of demand for the £299 special, the local Tesco Extra sold out and has now started stocking a £349 model TM2423WMX3...[doh!]

[akcl]

Does choosing Small Business option at the Dell website, make any difference to the prices at all?

[Moonlight]

Below is a why to get a good spec laptop without the expense:

At Dell.co.uk a particluar XPS laptop can cost 1600 pounds, the same laptop at dell.com costs $1200 (approx 600 pounds), a big saving!

You can not purchase one of these from outside the US/canada, so if you do not have any relitives or friends in the US that you can use, then there is a way around this.

www.parcel2go.co.uk (part of DHL) has a delivery address in the US that you can use to get purchases sent to (there is a cost to get a US Address with them, 9.99 pounds), it is not a PO Box that company like dell will not ship to, once they recieve the item you have to pay for them to forward the laptop to the UK, Yes, you will get hit with Tax by customs, but after all the costs outlayed to get it sent over here, it is about a extra 250 pounds, so in the end that 1600 pound laptop from dell.co.uk, can be got from dell.com for around 850 pounds.

[nej]

But what happens if it goes wrong and needs to be sent back for repair?

[pgb2006]

The tesco in wokingham (berkshire) had 3 or 4 in stock of of the £299 acer laptops whe I left work at 10pm tonight (8.8.06)

[tomS]

One thing to note, a lot of the cheaper laptops come with Intel® Media Accelerator 900/950 graphics cards. I'm no expert, but i was reading up on laptop graphics cards and apparently these don't run the new shiny Aero interface of the Windows Vista beta.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3056&guide=Graphics+Card+Guide+2006

[LadFromWales85]

Looking at the Medion Pentium M 1.7 Notebook @ Woolworths
http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50701533
I'll be able to buy one of these for £319.99 (work for them) this weekend...I want it for my mother, she generally only browses the web, email etc, flash games and stuff like that. Looks good apart from the fact that it only has 256MB of ram...

For the money, is this a good deal, or can better be bought for up to the £400 mark?

The ability to run Vista/Linux XGL in all its glory would be nice too, although not essential :)

Any advice appreciated :D

[Kilty]

One thing to note, a lot of the cheaper laptops come with Intel® Media Accelerator 900/950 graphics cards. I'm no expert, but i was reading up on laptop graphics cards and apparently these don't run the new shiny Aero interface of the Windows Vista beta.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3056&guide=Graphics+Card+Guide+2006

In all honesty, are people paying £300 for a laptop going to pay £1-200 for Windows Vista?

[Kilty]

Looking at the Medion Pentium M 1.7 Notebook @ Woolworths
http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50701533
I'll be able to buy one of these for £319.99 (work for them) this weekend...I want it for my mother, she generally only browses the web, email etc, flash games and stuff like that. Looks good apart from the fact that it only has 256MB of ram...

For the money, is this a good deal, or can better be bought for up to the £400 mark?

The ability to run Vista/Linux XGL in all its glory would be nice too, although not essential :)

PS, as for memory, www.lowestonweb.com do a 512mb stick for £25.98. Works fine in my Dell laptop and is the same type that the Medion takes.

Any advice appreciated :D

I'd say £320 for that would be a bargain, although as said above it wont run Vista in all its glory as it will use the Intel 900 graphics (like the Dell 1300 does, Acer too I think).

Only thing that worries me with the likes of Medion is the availability of another battery, it is inevitable that you will buy another during the machine's llife.

Another 512mb of memory is £25.98 from LowestOnWeb.com . As long as that machine has an easy access memory bay, it would take you 5 minutes to install.

[LadFromWales85]

In all honesty, are people paying £300 for a laptop going to pay £1-200 for Windows Vista?

I'd imagine the price of Vista will be irrelevant, as just like XP, most people will run it pirate anyway.

All of the last few Medions Woolies have had, have used the same battery, both wide and standard format I think. I know the battery is small, and it would be brill if there were a similarly (or better!) specced laptop around for a similar price, with a bigger battery.

I'm not prepared to pay much more, when it's just going to be a glorified web browser, heh!

As much as I'd love to upgrade all the PC's in this house to Vista upon its launch, I doubt it'll happen! I'll probably purchase a legitimate copy for this PC, and keep the rest on XP for the time being.

The Dell offers end today :( The £349 one only has a Celeron M processor too...what's this Acer one everyone speaks about? Looks like my best value is in the Medion at the moment though...least I'll get a free bag, and I'll probably blag a free mouse too :p

[Kilty]

Nothing wrong with a Celeron-M processor.

You can be sure that the build quality of the Dell is far better than the Medion, and you can upgrade the battery to 6 cell for £11.

New offers will start the day after they end, they always do :D.

You need to think about whether you need a long battery life and something that will take a few knocks, as I'd bet the Medion is down on both counts. The loss in performance going from 1.7ghz Pentium-M to 1.6ghz Celeron-M is nothing if you need a longer battery life and some decent build quality.

[LadFromWales85]

Battery life isn't too important, as the notebook will be used mostly at home, though portability isn't too much of an issue, so looking for a laptop with a big battery would be good :)

I'll take a look at Dell's site after payday, and see what I can do then...might even see what eBay has in store.

[tomS]

There are a couple of Advent PCs at £399 and £449 at PC would that look ok, though i have no idea what they are like as a make.
Sempron 3000+, 1GB Ram, 40gb or 60Gb hard drive, 15.4in widescreen, dvd rewriter multidrive (no idea if DL).
The cheap one has XP home, the more expensive one has media centre edition.

They both have ATI X200 integrated graphics, which should run VIsta Aero a lot better than the intel 900/950 graphics in a lot of other cheap laptops.

What do you think?

[pavlovs_dog]

There are a couple of Advent PCs at £399 and £449 at PC would that look ok, though i have no idea what they are like as a make.
Sempron 3000+, 1GB Ram, 40gb or 60Gb hard drive, 15.4in widescreen, dvd rewriter multidrive (no idea if DL).
The cheap one has XP home, the more expensive one has media centre edition.

They both have ATI X200 integrated graphics, which should run VIsta Aero a lot better than the intel 900/950 graphics in a lot of other cheap laptops.

What do you think?

whats the battery life like on them?

[swizzle]

There seems to be alot of talk about battery life, so what is ideal?

Am i wrong in thinking that if you are at home or say in a hotel room you can just plug it in-with the adaptor that came with it?

Also does it cost alot say to buy a replacement battery that would last longer?

Been looking at an Acer 3634, pricerunner says most popular under £400, but battery only 1.5 hours- which is not alot

[pavlovs_dog]

There seems to be alot of talk about battery life, so what is ideal?

Am i wrong in thinking that if you are at home or say in a hotel room you can just plug it in-with the adaptor that came with it?

the whole reason that i am buying a laptop and not a desktop is the fact that it is mobile. my uni is 40 miles away from home (one way), and computer facilities are not as adequate as they should be. if i have a laptop, then i can do my work wherever i can find somewhere to park my bum. the whole campus is wifi enabled, so net access would not be a problem.

however they do not take kindly to students plugging in their laptop. whilst their are a few powerpoints dotted around where i could get away with sneakily plugging in my lappy, i am fighting the other students with the same idea for access to these. first come, first served and all that jazz

there is no point in me shelling out £500 quid on something that will run for 2 hours, if im going to have 4 -5 hours worth of work to do between lectures. anything less than 4hours batt life just isnt feasable for me.

this is why i cannot even contemplate the fantastic offer tescos currently have. were it not for the battery, that lappy would be ideal. but alas, ive so far only found 2 or 3 lappy in my budget with the specs required and the right level of battery life. and so the hunt continues :rolleyes:

im currently waiting for more details from tchibo about the lappy that they will shortly be selling.

[LadFromWales85]

tomS, took a look at PC World's site...saw the Advent £449 lappy with the Sempron...has a whopping 1.5 hours of battery life. That may sound ideal to some people who won't be away from the mains very often, but laptop batteries grow old quickly, even if not used much. Just a few months down the line, you'd be lucky to hit an hour from a battery that managed 1.5 hours from new.

Cheapest I've seen with a 'proper' graphics chip, although it still piggybacks system ram. At a price of £449 though, I'd be tempted to spend a little more and get a 64bit capable laptop, AMD Turion for example...

[tomS]

The better the components (screen, graphics card especially) the more they eat battery life. 3-4 hours is probably the max you'll get from a laptop.. but it will almost always be a lot less than that if you are using it intensively.

Sahame about the 1.5 hours ont he advent ones.. that is a bit low really. Otherwise they looked good. Still, if you will mostly use it at home and the office, it might be ok.

Ideally i'd look for one with enough battery life to play you a full dvd onthe train.. but then as movies keep getting longer and longer... ;)

[LadFromWales85]

About movie playback...most laptops lack the ability to decode MPEG2 in hardware and/or don't come with playback software which utilises the hardware decoding facilities. In english, this means that playing DVD's will use lots of processing power, decoding the data in software, which means increased battery consumption in comparison to web browsing etc. The optical drive in constant use won't be good for the battery life either...

Think I'll give Comet a call and see what they have available right now...

[Snaga]

Could i suggest going to dell and the dell outlet. If you reduce the warranty to 90 days on most of the standard laptops, you can pick up a well spec'd lappie for ~£500

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N08645&rbc=N08645&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6400_4

Perfect example £516 including delivery and its well spec'd. You can buy ram cheaply from crucial so that can be easily upgraded. And there isnt a nasty Celeron processor in sight!!!

[Kilty]

Nothing wrong with these new Celeron-M chips, Snaga.

[Snaga]

Maybe you are right. However some of those Dell's are still a bargain, compared to a similar spec from a branded company such as Sony for example

[swizzle]

Ok- looks like the Tesco Acer at £299 if I can find 1- Comet are now doing them at an online price of £319.99 with free standard delivery, or the Dell 1 at £350.

But what sort of warranty do you get with the Acer?

Thanks

[Tallymanjohn]

Don't know what the standard warranty is but you can purchase a very good extended warranty direct from Acer, wherever you buy laptop from - go to www.shopacer.co.uk for full options.

[alikat]

Why arn't IBM mentioned in the Laptop survey, of which you would choose? IBM's are probably the best Laptop's & without a doubt the one I would choose to purchase over other makes.

[Kilty]

I was looking at the Tesco Acer today whilst killing some time waiting for an appointment with my bank.

Lovely screen with the gloss finish but I don't know how it would cope outdoors. As for the build quality, it's what I'd expect from a cheap Acer, so I wouldn't buy one (just my opinion though).

[fox650]

Why arn't IBM mentioned in the Laptop survey, of which you would choose? IBM's are probably the best Laptop's & without a doubt the one I would choose to purchase over other makes.

Sadly IBM don't make laptops anymore, but Lenovo bought their brand and stick it on their machines. Still pretty good quality on the higher end ones, but their cheap ones are pretty average.

[FrappaMCL]

Tesco's Acer deal - good if you can find it - £299

Comet Acer deal (same model) is now £329 online.

Dell - 'extras' deal on the 1300 has finished (double the memory etc). No doubt another deal will appear on the Dell but question is when..

[codetown]

this is why i cannot even contemplate the fantastic offer tescos currently have. were it not for the battery, that lappy would be ideal. but alas, ive so far only found 2 or 3 lappy in my budget with the specs required and the right level of battery life. and so the hunt continues :rolleyes:


Not sure about the Tesco laptop, but I used in the past some "battry packs" which plug below the laptop and give a long battery life. They are designed mainly for travellers and should allow you use for 5-10 hours (depending on models). They are not light (prob. 1-2 kg) but are really up to the job of providing further juice to the laptop when needed.
Doa bit of research on these and you might find that your options on laptops are more numerous!

[Erosgirl]

Have you seen the offers in Woolworth? http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/promotions/index.jhtml?fid=feat5550001

[pavlovs_dog]

Not sure about the Tesco laptop, but I used in the past some "battry packs" which plug below the laptop and give a long battery life. They are designed mainly for travellers and should allow you use for 5-10 hours (depending on models). They are not light (prob. 1-2 kg) but are really up to the job of providing further juice to the laptop when needed.
Doa bit of research on these and you might find that your options on laptops are more numerous!

do you recommend any particular supplier/ place to start my hunt? all i seem to be able to find are replacement batteries

[steady__eddie]

There Dell laptops appear to be moving like hot cakes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4793143.stm

[Kilty]

Potentially affected batteries were sold with the following models of Dell notebook computers or separately as secondary batteries:

* Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
* Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
* Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
* XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710



Doesn't affect me then :T

[nej]

Interesting how the cheap Dells don't have the problem.

[swizzle]

Hi

Been looking for a laptop and after reading all the stuff on here was leaning towards a Dell at £350. But for that I only get a 90 day return to base warranty.

Do they have offers on, offering a warranty upgrade?

Or is it that build quality good-so need for warranty?

[Kilty]

You'd get a call after 90 days offering you 3 years for £56.

Otherwise, it's a 12 month warranty (by law) but you must pay to return it to Dell after 90 days.

Build quality is good.

[Bullshine]

I reckon Dell's are excellent for the money. I have 2 desktops and a laptop. 1 of my desktops are 3 years old and the other just a year. my laptop is 6 months old and I have never had a problem with any of them.

[pavlovs_dog]

well ive been looking around and im hard pressed to find anything i like as much as the dell inspiron 6400.

im currently writing this sat in bed, having borrowed FIL's lappy - and i must say, i could get used to this whole portability thing. and my laptop typing and mouse skills are improving by the hour :D

my biggest concern now is the longevity of the battery. can anyone tell me how easy it would be to replace the battery of a dell lappy? also, can anyone offer a ballpark figure as to when the performance of the battery, and its ability to hold its charge and last its full charge will noticeably decrease? (ie how much use can i expect to get out of a battery that can run for up to 5 hours, is good for 300 charge/discharge cycles, and will be used for a few hours a day?)


final question, is there anything i can do to help prolong the life of my laptop battery? ie does running it off the mains where possible help?

thanks again for all the help and advice

p_d

[Kilty]

Replacing a Dell battery couldn't be simpler.

There's a switch on the bottom, push it as far as it will go, battery pops up slightly, lift battery out.

Insert new battery following instructions in reverse. Job done.

[skinnerneil]

Staples is running a promotion for a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo L7320G

Celeron M 1.7 Ghz
40 Gb HDD
15.4 " widescreen
512 Mb memory
DVD RW

£ 399 Inc VAT. http://staples.co.uk.sec-web.com/retail/wk29/wk29.pdf

This sounds pretty good to me.

Can anyone offer me any advice ? Cant find any reviews of this specific model.

[steady__eddie]

Afraid that I can't help with this specific model but I bought the one that they had on offer just before last Christmas. Not much difference from this one as far as I can see (I'm a grade A technothicky) but mine has a 60 Gig drive. The price then was over 500 so deals are deffinitely getting better.
I've had no probs. so far and I must say that the wireless I find to be excellent, good connection anywhere in house and garden where my Tosh seems to struggle.
One word of warning however, STAPLES. They appear to be going down the Comet route, if anything goes wrong with it after 30 days or whatever the short time period is, they will try to fob you off by saying that it is YOUR responsibility to return it to the manufacturer even though Sale of Goods Act etc.

[Supportlounge]

As a local computer company owner, I regularly meet customers who have bought, or are looking to buy a cheap PC or laptop.

Some, though not all of my customers, have less advanced IT skills and require more support. However after using my company, my customers appreciate the value of the service that they get.

Buying a cheap PC is one thing, but what about the support if something goes wrong, or simply if you have a question? Some of the best online deals come from companies that can be a nightmare to deal with if anything goes wrong. Of course it's great when things go right: cheap PC delivered quickly, correct amount debited, and the equipment never went wrong. But you'd be surprised how out of control the foul-ups can get, even when the most senior people have become involved in the situation.

Aggravation and time are worth money. Consider what an extra £10 or £20 gets you from a different company which is set up to provide a service.

Dell has been mentioned previously in this thread. I know some people who have found that dealing with Dell can be a great inconvenience. But they sell cheap PCs.

If all you are looking for is a cheap product, then lower your expectations of after-sale service. If you want support and service after you've paid your money and taken delivery, then please ensure this is one of your buying criteria when looking for a supplier.

The same goes for broadband - cheap broadband currently equals lack of service. If you don't mind running the risk of lousy or non-existent service with ongoing bills then free broadband may be for you. Otherwise I professionally recommend a paid-for product from a reliable ISP until TalkTalk, Orange and whoever else enters the market sorts out their processes and systems.

[Hissey Missey]

Tchibo are selling this laptop for £444, Does this look any good?
http://www.tchibo.co.uk/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/uk/-/GBP/TdUkDisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=0004963
I'm looking for one under £500 preferably with a firewire built in and ready to go.
:confused:
Top-quality 15.4" widescreen
Mobile Intel® Celeron® M 350 processor, 1.3 GHz
60 GB hard drive plus 256 MB RAM
Intel® PCI Express Technology
Multi-standard CD/DVD burner
Modem and network adapter integrated (56 K V.90 modem and 10/100 Mbit Fast Ethernet LAN port)
WLAN (802.11g/b up to 54 Mbit/s)
Li-Ion rechargeable battery
3-year guarantee
Software:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2 (recovery version and CD-ROM)
Microsoft® Works 8.5 (OEM version)
HOME CINEMA Suite (OEM version)
Nero Burning ROM 6 plus Nero Recode 2-SE
eTrust AntiVirus (OEM versions)
Ports:
3 x USB 2.0
1 x PCMCIA type II
1 x TV out
1 x LAN (RJ45)
1 x modem (RJ11)
1 x 1394 IEEE FireWire
1 x audio out, S/P-DIF, digital out
1 x VGA out
1 x microphone in
Measurements (W x H x D): approx. 354 x 34 x 250 mm
Weight: approx. 2.7 kg

[claudio]

Help please.
Is this one any good for £320...?
HP Compaq nx6125
Main Specifications
Manufacturer's Part Number: EY535ES
RAM: 256 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 Year
Networking: Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Battery: Lithium Ion
Input Device: Keyboard, Touch Pad
Hard Drive: 40GB
Telecom: Fax / modem - MDC - 56 Kbps
Weight: 2.7 kg
Localisation: United Kingdom
Optical Storage: CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo - integrated
Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Display: 15" TFT active matrix 1024 x 768 ( XGA )
Processor: AMD Mobile Sempron 3100+ 1.8 GHz
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home

[pavlovs_dog]

claudio and hissey missey - if you can tell us what you would need the lappy for, we can try to advise you :beer:

[Secret Lady]

claudio and hissey missey - if you can tell us what you would need the lappy for, we can try to advise you :beer:


I'm also looking for a laptop, I've looked and looked but the more I look the more confused I become!! I would like it to be fast and have spare memory capacity, if that makes sense?

I want to use it for

e-mail
surfing the net
photo's
exel
word
powerpoint


I do not need it to play games. Any advice or help in what I shouldbe looking for will be much appreciated.

[pavlovs_dog]

I'm also looking for a laptop, I've looked and looked but the more I look the more confused I become!! I would like it to be fast and have spare memory capacity, if that makes sense?

I want to use it for

e-mail
surfing the net
photo's
exel
word
powerpoint
I do not need it to play games. Any advice or help in what I shouldbe looking for will be much appreciated.

you're looking for the same sort of thing as me then! what sort of budget did you have in mind? if battery life isnt too much of an issue for you, then the tesco acer £299 really is a bargain.

unfortunately, i need a long battery life so will probably end up buying a dell inspirion 6400.


to give you an idea, when looking at specifications, something with at least 1.5 GHz processer, 256MB ram and 40-60 GB of memory would be a resepctable starting point.

other than that, its a case of taking your time and doing your research properly. i also found it helped to go to currys/comet/pc world to get a feel for the actual size of the laptop

happy hunting :beer:

[Hillfly]

Comet have a good £299 laptop - same as the Tesco one

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/index.cfm?action=showthread&threadid=252754&forumid=2

Doesn't appear on the website but i have seen the add on tv. This would do nicely for web, email and the odd photo task.

[Hissey Missey]

claudio and hissey missey - if you can tell us what you would need the lappy for, we can try to advise you :beer:
Hi, mainly need it for home use so battery life not so important. Don't do games etc, so mainly photos, (lots of them), video editing, dvd burning, and surfing the web. Decent memory is important as is reliability. Not sure is the Mobile Intel® Celeron® M 350 processor, 1.3 GHz offfered with the Tchibo is any good. ANy thought would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks.

[claudio]

I did read a few reviews on the HP Compaq nx6125 and battery life is c.4 hours. Requirements are basically, e-mail, surfing,word,cd (listen & burn), perhaps photos but not gaming. Is it any good ? As I said, can't get the Acer @ £299.99 for love or money.

[Tharweb]

As I said, can't get the Acer @ £299.99 for love or money.

Have you tried your nearest Comet recently? I gave up with Tescos as they were sold as soon as they came in, but had success at a local Comet store on Friday. They had loads of them apparently. The other Comet in my town was also advertising them on Saturday.

[Hillfly]

I did read a few reviews on the HP Compaq nx6125 and battery life is c.4 hours. Requirements are basically, e-mail, surfing,word,cd (listen & burn), perhaps photos but not gaming. Is it any good ? As I said, can't get the Acer @ £299.99 for love or money.


Order one direct from Comet
08705 425 425.
Its the Acer travelmate 2414WLMI product code 336483.

Be sure to lookup and non 0870 number for your area: http://www.saynoto0870.com/companysearch.php

[claudio]

Success. Phoned up Comet Customer Services who phoned my local branch & told them I would be in later today to buy on a pay & collect basis. It's now ordered & I was told that it should be in Thursday or Monday at very latest. Result

[swizzle]

Hi

Still looking at laptop`s the DEll Inspirion 1300 at £349 and £399, but what is battery life like?

It comes with a standad 4 cell 29WHR or you can upgrade to a 6 cell 56WHR one.

But what is the life of the normal one?

Thanks

[Kilty]

Normal battery is 2 hours maximum, expect 1h-1.5 in normal use.

6 cell quotes 4h maximum, it does 3-3.5 with ease, even when using wifi etc.

[steady__eddie]

Listened to an "expert" yesterday on B.B.C. local radio (W.M.) discussing laptops and 2 things amongst many caught my ear. Firstly, if you don't require mobility then buy a tower system. I could get by without mobility as I only move it if it's a nice day and I want to sit in the conservatory or the vacuum cleaner is prowling about. Do people want the sight of a thumping great tower and monitor ? I for one haven't got the physical space for one.
Secondly, if like me you run off mains power for the majority of the time, every now and again disconnect the mains and run off battery until the battery is fully discharged. Then charge up again, this will apparently extend the life of the battery.

[pin]

Secondly, if like me you run off mains power for the majority of the time, every now and again disconnect the mains and run off battery until the battery is fully discharged. Then charge up again, this will apparently extend the life of the battery.

With the newer Li-ion batteries that most laptops now have, this is no longer the case, you don't need to fully discharge to get longer battery life.

[Moneymaker]

As a technical author I need a laptop which is very portable, good battery life, reliable, spell check in every application, wireless card and user-friendly. That's why I bought two second-hand iBooks off eBay. I fitted new batteries and I've been using them for 3 years without problems. The new Mac laptop looks rather good and feature for feature compares favourably with Dell prices. Well, except the Dell doesn't have built-in spell check for every application.

[jazzeeeee5]

OK - Now I have the bit between my teeth!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=253707

Any better?

Jazz
:)

[anley1]

With the newer Li-ion batteries that most laptops now have, this is no longer the case, you don't need to fully discharge to get longer battery life.

PIN, I read recently that if you use the mains for your laptop power most of the time it's best to take the battery out as this prolongs the life. Only put it in when you really want to be mobile etc.

Any truth in this? Thanks

[jazzeeeee5]

I too am looking for the best laptop under £500. I would prefer mine to be Vista ready and the Toshibas are looking pretty good.

However, I am looking hard for the best storage, ram, memory, processor, speed, graphics cards (preferably not SHARED) in the best make possible and the Toshibas in this price range have low HD storage.

Here are a few links I have found. Its tough cos I want to take some aspects from one and mix them with other aspects of others! I am buying pretty soon, so if anyone has any advice or better offers, PLEASE let me know!

This is one of the cheapest I have found for the specs on offer. Just dont know about Acers? They seem to have OK reviews?
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_336467.html

Same price, less storage, looks better, better make?
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/305220

Same make, better specs
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1741767427.115719682 8@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjaddikejfhelcflgceggdhhmdfho.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=250372&category_oid=

Good make, less specs?
http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0423432333.115719706 3@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfaddikddhfgmcflgceggdhhmdfhn.0&page=Product&fm=2&sm=0&tm=0&sku=334210&category_oid=-28733

Dells best for that price range (scroll down under the price on the right and change the home servicing to 1 year - they automatically put you down for 3 years which adds heavily to the price. It works out at £425) http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...ftdppnotebook1

Would appreciate feedback
Jazz

[Tharweb]

PIN, I read recently that if you use the mains for your laptop power most of the time it's best to take the battery out as this prolongs the life. Only put it in when you really want to be mobile etc.

Any truth in this? Thanks

Don't know/care what the official line is on this one but I do this and still get a good 3-4 hours out of mine even though its over 18 months old. If I do use the battery, I make sure I discharge it fully, then charge it up and put the battery away for the next time.

[Tuxman1]

Gutted, I was on Woolworths website about 1am last night. They had the £299.99 laptop in stock and in my basket, I thought I'll buy it tommorow. Now its not showing.

Just rung Comet. They are out of stock at the moment but are expecting some more in the next two weeks.

[smcaul]

I got one of these http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/LENNB018 about 2 weeks ago, and for the money it is excellent (£380 del. with 256mb upgrade inc vat)- the connectivity software it comes with is excellent as you can set up different profiles - i.e. at home on my wireless lan I dont need a firewall as my router has one, but out and about via wifi or dial up I do need one and it lets you set those options. The battery life is very good with over 4 hours of use surfiing via wifi. It connected with ease to my PDA via built in Bluetooth. I did upgrade the memory to 512mb but that only cost £17 extra, all in all I may buy another one for my other half as it is a really good performer for the money - assuming you only want it for surfing, watching video or normal office applications, I don't think it would handle games too well, but as I am not a gamer that does not interest me.

[anley1]

Don't know/care what the official line is on this one but I do this and still get a good 3-4 hours out of mine even though its over 18 months old. If I do use the battery, I make sure I discharge it fully, then charge it up and put the battery away for the next time.

Thanks, just taken your advice.

[FrappaMCL]

After weeks of deliberating and constantly missing out on the £299.99 Acer offers (Comet - sold out, awaiting stock; Tesco's - my local branches sold out), I decided to opt for the Dell 1300.

The offer they have on the site at the moment is £329 for Celeron M, 256MB, 40GB (including vat and delivery). I asked them what the best deal they could do was and cited some previous deals I'd seen them advertising.

For £40 extra they upgraded it to 512MB, 60GB and included 15 months McAfee Security package.

You could probably get more if you haggled a bit better than I did or waited for them to run the next round of offers. I saw one about 8 weeks ago which offered 512MB, 60GB and a free printer for £349.

Happy laptop hunting

[Derek_A.]

Hi Sonic,
Laptop Superstore has ceased trading, see their website.

[withabix]

Anyone tried DSG's laptop website called RED CRACKER ??

Not sure if anyone has posted about it before OR if the prices are cheaper than their other websites, but worth a look...

http://www.redcracker.com/

Claims to have 'the best laptop deals on the net'.....we shall see!

[DonGotti]

What about this:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/489722

Comes with 512 MB, 40 GB HDD, Wireless Adaptor, and DVD Rewriter.

Battery life is awful but still think price is great.

[withabix]

What are your opinions on this one, a HP Pavilion dv5201eu Entertainment Notebook PC , based on a price of £437 including delivery:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/21675-38187-38191-38191-38191-12435914-77388455.html

[barginboyrob]

can you get laptops without a operating system on, because that could save me some money...

at the moment the best deals i can find are on ebay (if there are in fact deals and not scams)

[smcaul]

Ebuyer do one that comes with Linux, that is about £70 cheaper then buying it with XP.

[ioscorpio]

bargainboybob

I bought a laptop off ebay, it was about 2 years old and it was ok.

I checked the feedback of the seller and went and collected it in person.

[Chai]

Dell are doing a free shipping and double memory (1024mb) deal on at the mo. If you change the support services option it takes the price down to 549 or lower depending on the screen size

[withabix]

What are your opinions on this one, a HP Pavilion dv5201eu Entertainment Notebook PC , based on a price of £437 including delivery:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/21675-38187-38191-38191-38191-12435914-77388455.html

Anyone???????

[jazzeeeee5]

How come if, in effect, they are the same company, and PC World "wont be beaten on price" I have just bought the same model laptop from Currys as one that is a full £100 dearer at PC World?!

The Packard Bell R1938 has
80GB HD
1024 RAM
1.6O Ghz

£499 in Currys
£599 in PC World

in fact, the model below this, in PC world, with far less specs, is £479!!

Cheek!

PS Just seen that Dixons is also doing it at the cheaper price.
http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0299068361.115779107 2@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceaddikkjkfhkcflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=250372&category_oid=

The 'lesser' model
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1795788743.115779121 2@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfladdikkjkfffcflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&fm=1&sm=1&tm=undefined&sku=653874&category_oid=-27751

[hebangsthedrums]

The above is on the pc world site and seems a good buy for someone with basic needs, although it does seem to have a fairly decent graphics card (but I'm no buff). Seems a lot cheaper than elsewhere - is sold out on currys at £499.


Its on the pc world site under clearance, this should be the link

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1543854764.115791503 8@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgaddikkjkfdlcflgceggdhhmdfhm.0&page=Product&sku=492709&fm=17&sm=1&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

HTH

[withabix]

The above is on the pc world site and seems a good buy for someone with basic needs, although it does seem to have a fairly decent graphics card (but I'm no buff). Seems a lot cheaper than elsewhere - is sold out on currys at £499.


Its on the pc world site under clearance, this should be the link

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1543854764.115791503 8@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgaddikkjkfdlcflgceggdhhmdfhm.0&page=Product&sku=492709&fm=17&sm=1&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

HTH

Errr...they're sold out on !!!!yWorld site as well.

[lesley2004]

hi

I am looking for a lap top for general internet use, and to play games such as rome total war/simsunivesity/age of mythology.

I have up to £500 to spend. Any advice would be appreciated

[alikat]

hi

I am looking for a lap top for general internet use, and to play games such as rome total war/simsunivesity/age of mythology.

I have up to £500 to spend. Any advice would be appreciated

This website has some bargains, http://www.redcracker.com/ the HP NX6512 then with the ram boosted & an external hard drive for files, which would keep your PC freeish for running games should work out at about £500, I believe P&P is £5.

[-1-]

I've just gone for a Sony FS515b laptop, not cheap i know.

Anyone got one or know if their any good ?.

[nej]

I've just gone for a Sony FS515b laptop, not cheap i know.

Anyone got one or know if their any good ?.

That's usually the sort of question you ask before you order!

[-1-]

That's usually the sort of question you ask before you order!


True, but i always have 7 days to return it anyway.

I think it has a decent spec, i was just wondering if anyone else had one or one similar.

[r-ingram]

That's usually the sort of question you ask before you order!

I have a Sony laptop (VGN-S series, List price £1800, ebuyer, £1600). Its fab, except it has been back for repairs 4 times in 18 months. They go to France for repairs. DHL bring a box and take it away, fly it to France, gets there next day. Usually back in about 8 days. The system works fairly well, I dare say as well as a UK repair site. However on the first occasion they took 4 weeks waiting for a part. Whilst it was away I realised I would need an extended warranty pack (extra 2 years)so I bought one for £150 (searched online - saved £25 getting it, it is a Sony "accessory" but can be bought cheaper from vendors other than Sony).

I complained about the 4 week delay and they offered me a free warranty pack, but as I just bought one they offered me a choice of 3 Sony gadgets - I chose a £180 MP3 player, so was sort of happy. I didn't have to make loads of fuss to get recompense, so that was a good point.

In all other respects the repair service is good (good online tracking and messaging, they phone to confirm satisfaction etc), just it went wrong once for me.

But the moral of the story is that they do go wrong and repairs are on a menu at 3 levels from £90 (trivial) to £480 (things like screen, motherboard) so I reckon an extended warranty is essential. I have had 2 motherboards, 2 DVD drives, 1 HD Drive and 1 Screen!

In comparison, I bought my son a £500 Acer, plus £70 extended warranty. It isn't so small, light or slick, but has been totally reliable.

I would buy Sony again because I am a sucker for design and ergonomics, but I accept that after the 3 years, if a significant fault occurs it may effectively be beyond economic repair.

Because of these failures I have bought Acronis True Image and make a regular backup of theentire hard disk, which has saved my bacon!

[r-ingram]

I've just gone for a Sony FS515b laptop, not cheap i know.Anyone got one or know if their any good?

Not this model, but on Sony Laptops in general:

I have a Sony laptop (VGN-S series, List price £1800, ebuyer, £1600). Its fab, except it has been back for repairs 4 times in 18 months :rolleyes: . They go to France for repairs. DHL bring a box and take it away, fly it to France, gets there next day. Usually back in about 8 days. The system works fairly well, I dare say as well as a UK repair site. However on the first occasion they took 4 weeks waiting for a part. Whilst it was away I realised I would need an extended warranty pack (extra 2 years)so I bought one for £150 (searched online - saved £25 getting it, it is a Sony "accessory" but can be bought cheaper from vendors other than Sony).

I complained about the 4 week delay and they offered me a free warranty pack, but as I just bought one they offered me a choice of 3 Sony gadgets - I chose a £180 MP3 player, so was sort of happy. I didn't have to make loads of fuss to get recompense, so that was a good point.:T

In all other respects the repair service is good (good online tracking and messaging, they phone to confirm satisfaction etc), just it went wrong once for me.

But the moral of the story is that they do go wrong and repairs are on a menu at 3 levels from £90 (trivial) to £480 :eek: (things like screen, motherboard) so I reckon an extended warranty is essential. I have had 2 motherboards, 2 DVD drives, 1 HD Drive and 1 Screen!

In comparison, I bought my son a £500 Acer, plus £70 extended warranty. It isn't so small, light or slick, but has been totally reliable.

I would buy Sony again because I am a sucker for design and ergonomics, but I accept that after the 3 years, if a significant fault occurs it may effectively be beyond economic repair.

Because of these failures I have bought Acronis True Image and make a regular backup of the entire hard disk, which has saved my bacon! Its very simple to use and has been 100% reliable, highly recommended software!

[r-ingram]

hi

I am looking for a lap top for general internet use, and to play games such as rome total war/simsunivesity/age of mythology.

I have up to £500 to spend. Any advice would be appreciated

I am impressed with the Acer I bought my son - good value for spec, screens are very good (Acer known for this) and the extended warranties are cheap. £450 ish should get you one with a decent HD size and 512mb memory. I find ebuyer often are good value, and delivery is very cheap, reliable and you have a lot of flexibility over delivery day (with varying discounts or surcharges).

[alikat]

I've just gone for a Sony FS515b laptop, not cheap i know.

Anyone got one or know if their any good ?.

Sony's are great machines, I'm an IBM/Lanovo fan, I don't know the model but, I don't think you will be disappointed with a Sony.

I am impressed with the Acer I bought my son - good value for spec, screens are very good (Acer known for this) and the extended warranties are cheap. £450 ish should get you one with a decent HD size and 512mb memory. I find ebuyer often are good value, and delivery is very cheap, reliable and you have a lot of flexibility over delivery day (with varying discounts or surcharges).
Yesterday 11:57 PM

I must say, I said I would never touch a Dell or an Acer but bought hubby a £299 Acer at Tesco & it's great for the price & his needs, personally if I was spending £450, I myself yould not go for an Acer, I'd be looking at Lenovo/IBM, HP, Toshiba etc & if I wanted games I'd be looking at Athlon & their equivilent rather than Intel M or Celeron M.

[lesley2004]

hi alikat


Could you point me towards a laptop that will play games such as rome total war/sims 2. There are so many to choose from I dont know where to start. I did hope to only spend £500, but will spend more if neccessary

[dudeboy]

Click on the links below for super savings on centrino and duo.

www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~Q74274~WW~/Toshiba%20Satellite%20Pro%20L100%20Intel%C2%AE%20C ore%E2%84%A2%20T1300%20Notebook%20PC.htm
Misco.co.uk - Toshiba Satellite Pro L100 Intel Core T1300 / 15 TFT / .256MB RAM / 40GB HDD / Combo / XP Pro / Notebook PC (http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~Q74274~WW~/Toshiba%20Satellite%20Pro%20L100%20Intel%C2%AE%20C ore%E2%84%A2%20T1300%20Notebook%20PC.htm)

www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=74463
Satellite A100 Core Duo 1.66 GHz - EuroPC (http://www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=74463)

cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOSHIBA-SATELLITE-LAPTOP-A105-S4211-DUAL-CORE-CPU_W0QQitemZ280026181824QQihZ018QQcategoryZ177QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
eBay.co.uk: TOSHIBA SATELLITE LAPTOP A105-S4211 - DUAL CORE CPU (item 280026181824 end time 17-Sep-06 21:28:49 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOSHIBA-SATELLITE-LAPTOP-A105-S4211-DUAL-CORE-CPU_W0QQitemZ280026181824QQihZ018QQcategoryZ177QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

www.microwarehouse.co.uk/catalogue/item/TOSAT273
Toshiba Satellite Pro A120SE PSAC1E-04T00YEN from microwarehouse.co.uk (http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/catalogue/item/TOSAT273)

[moob]

Click on the links below for super savings on centrino and duo.

www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~Q74274~WW~/Toshiba%20Satellite%20Pro%20L100%20Intel%C2%AE%20C ore%E2%84%A2%20T1300%20Notebook%20PC.htm
Misco.co.uk - Toshiba Satellite Pro L100 Intel Core T1300 / 15 TFT / .256MB RAM / 40GB HDD / Combo / XP Pro / Notebook PC (http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~Q74274~WW~/Toshiba%20Satellite%20Pro%20L100%20Intel%C2%AE%20C ore%E2%84%A2%20T1300%20Notebook%20PC.htm)

256 RAM & 40gb HDD - why bother?

www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=74463
Satellite A100 Core Duo 1.66 GHz - EuroPC (http://www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=74463)

Item not found!

cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOSHIBA-SATELLITE-LAPTOP-A105-S4211-DUAL-CORE-CPU_W0QQitemZ280026181824QQihZ018QQcategoryZ177QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
eBay.co.uk: TOSHIBA SATELLITE LAPTOP A105-S4211 - DUAL CORE CPU (item 280026181824 end time 17-Sep-06 21:28:49 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOSHIBA-SATELLITE-LAPTOP-A105-S4211-DUAL-CORE-CPU_W0QQitemZ280026181824QQihZ018QQcategoryZ177QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

I'd never consider buying a 2nd hand laptop off eBay, especially with £22 postage!

www.microwarehouse.co.uk/catalogue/item/TOSAT273
Toshiba Satellite Pro A120SE PSAC1E-04T00YEN from microwarehouse.co.uk (http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/catalogue/item/TOSAT273)

See item 1:rotfl:


PS: Are you a Toshiba Rep or something?:rolleyes:

[smcaul]

If only 14 year olds took the time to read the question."The Cheapest DECENT Laptop Hunt" then he would not have posted the tripe that he did.

[alikat]

hi alikat


Could you point me towards a laptop that will play games such as rome total war/sims 2. There are so many to choose from I dont know where to start. I did hope to only spend £500, but will spend more if neccessary

I've PM'd you, I hope you received.

Alice

[alikat]

PS: Are you a Toshiba Rep or something?:rolleyes:

Come, on he's 14.

The Tesco £299 laptop which has been very popular, had 256mg ram & 40 gig hard drive. I wouldn't turn my nose up at these specs alone as Ram is easily upgradeable & 250 gig external hard drives are now available at PC world etc for around £75.

Personally, I've bought 3 very good second hand laptops on ebay, 1 for me which lasted for nearly 5 years & I hammered it & 2 for family members & p&P was around £20. If your sensible & buy off a trader, rather than a private seller with little or no feedback, you can bag yourself a bargain on Ebay.

[moob]

Come, on he's 14.

The Tesco £299 laptop which has been very popular, had 256mg ram & 40 gig hard drive. I wouldn't turn my nose up at these specs alone as Ram is easily upgradeable & 250 gig external hard drives are now available at PC world etc for around £75.

Personally, I've bought 3 very good second hand laptops on ebay, 1 for me which lasted for nearly 5 years & I hammered it & 2 for family members & p&P was around £20. If your sensible & buy off a trader, rather than a private seller with little or no feedback, you can bag yourself a bargain on Ebay.

It depends on how up to date a notebook you're looking for to be honest. I've looked on eBay and, the one's that are worth dishing out your cash for (bargain wise) are seriously out dated. In most cases you're looking at paying anywhere in the region of £250...

Why buy a notebook, like the lad posted above, which is deficient in ram and hdd space for over 400 quid, and is then going to cost you another 100 quid to upgrade it to a reasonable spec', when you can buy one outright that meets the basic requirements for around 400, without having to goto the trouble of upgrading, and therefore potentially invalidating your warranty in the process?

Sorry, I didn't realise the kid was that age, but it's a false ecconomy.

I'm currently trying to purchase one from Dabs that is loaded with features and is only a shade over £400. It's a shame Dabs are a useless retailer however.

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/HPN0064?speedtrapid=froogle&lead=froogle

[tricky01]

I received an offer from

http://www.nicepc.co.uk

They have end of line brand new laptops of high specification from as little as £399.

This is definitely worth checking out. There are some genuinely amazing deals that can't be beaten anywhere else. They are all in stock. I bought an Amilo 1667 and it came next day

[Tallulah22]

Ok im after a real bargain laptop but decent enough to use in Uni.. Any help because i don't know where to start or what i'm looking for?

Thanks

[jbatista]

I have seen this laptop on offer at pcworld,its wi fi and to be honest i havnt got that much to spend.
What do you all think???

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1732823468.115859340 5@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddilhilhiicflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=489722&fm=1&sm=1&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

[espresso]

Battery life up to 1 hour!

:eek:

[-1-]

UPTO 1 hour too.

Goto Tesco see what they have. Some of their Acers are ok.

[moob]

UPTO 1 hour too.

Goto Tesco see what they have. Some of their Acers are ok.


They only tend to get 1.5-2 hrs.

[lapnutty]

Hi

as anyone seen comet the acer 1642 -£499.99 or £479.99 online -sounds ok

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/572_336521.html

i've been looking at dell 1300 works out as £581 for same spec.

choice far too many i'm confused with it all - but it's an expensive mistake if you choose the wrong laptop!

[going2die_rich]

Whats a good average battery time that a laptop should provide?

I am looking for a laptop but need to know what a good battery time is, as thats my biggest requirement due to no mains connections being available where it'll be used.

[cannyscot]

Same here-want a laptop mainly to use word & excel-want ok battery life -to use when travelling and a decent screen -poor eyesight so prefer bigger and brighter.

Searched the thread only got more confused. I have two dell towers so usually would just buy a dell but not sure now.

Also need office at least basic 2007.

Any help by those more technically minded would be much appreciated.

Edit- Inspiron 1300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735a (1.70 GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)


£429 is this any good?

[moob]

Whats a good average battery time that a laptop should provide?

I am looking for a laptop but need to know what a good battery time is, as thats my biggest requirement due to no mains connections being available where it'll be used.


I'd be looking for a min of 4 hours. Otherwise, what's the point in the laptop being portable?

[moob]

Same here-want a laptop mainly to use word & excel-want ok battery life -to use when travelling and a decent screen -poor eyesight so prefer bigger and brighter.

Searched the thread only got more confused. I have two dell towers so usually would just buy a dell but not sure now.

Also need office at least basic 2007.

Any help by those more technically minded would be much appreciated.

Edit- Inspiron 1300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735a (1.70 GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)


£429 is this any good?

Would need more specs to comment, but Dell offer good value most the time. I'd wait and see how their offers change, as they do frequently...

[Kilty]

TBH save the money and go for the Celeron-M equivelant, for word processing it makes no difference and difference in battery life ***on that base model*** is negligible (sp?). Make sure you get the 6 cell battery though.

As for Office, why not run OpenOffice instead? :)

[T4i]

I too am looking into laptops, never owned one before. The only reason I want one is so I can sit downstairs using the net.

I really don't need a beefy CPU as it wont be doing that much work, I'd rather have more memory than the latest CPU speeds, not too fussed about HDD space either as I will be using a wireless network to store files on my desktop upstairs, so oviously needs wireless, but not essential as I can just by a dongle later.

Not really bothered about battery life either as we have plenty plug sockets downstairs to run the laptop off, anyone seen any good offers that suit my needs??

[Meatbingo]

T4i: Definitely have a look in Tesco at their Acers. Don't know if the £299 one is still available, but that is the one I bought and I use it for basically the same purpose as you require. It has been fantastic and I've used it much more than I expected I would. Only thing is that it only has 256MB RAM, but this is easily rectified. I'll be adding another 512MB to mine soon.

BTW, for anyone concerned about Celeron M based laptops - don't be. I run a lot of CPU intensive music creation software. The Celeron M 1.6ghz in my laptop happily beats my desktop Athlon XP2800+ by a decent margin.

[T4i]

Acer 2423WXMI Travelmate Laptop - Can only find this model.

£348.97 - Not a bad price though.

[jbatista]

I too am looking into laptops, never owned one before. The only reason I want one is so I can sit downstairs using the net.

I really don't need a beefy CPU as it wont be doing that much work, I'd rather have more memory than the latest CPU speeds, not too fussed about HDD space either as I will be using a wireless network to store files on my desktop upstairs, so oviously needs wireless, but not essential as I can just by a dongle later.

Not really bothered about battery life either as we have plenty plug sockets downstairs to run the laptop off, anyone seen any good offers that suit my needs??



I have been looking at this 1, as pointed out battery life is not that good though
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1732823468.115859340 5@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddilhilhiicflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=489722&fm=1&sm=1&tm=undefined&tabIndex=1

Or try the toshiba thats in Currys,PC world and Dixons at £399

[Kilty]

The Celeron M 1.6ghz in my laptop happily beats my desktop Athlon XP2800+ by a decent margin.

:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

My Celeron-M 1.5 beats my (now archaic (sp?)) 2.0Ghz Pentium 4 (Williamette core) by a decent margin also :D

[kchok]

I have seen this one on time computers website looks quite good but not sure about the price??
Processor - Mobile AMD™ Sempron 3000 Processor
Time Computer - TIME TRAVELLER A740 WIN3000 - MemoryMemory - 512MB DDR RAM
Time Computers - TIME TRAVELLER A740 WIN3000 - Hard DiskHard Disk - 80GB Hard Disk
Time Computer - TIME TRAVELLER A740 WIN3000 - GraphicsGraphics - ATI Radeon 128MB Integrated Graphics
Time Computers - TIME TRAVELLER A740 WIN3000 - Optical Drive 1Optical drive - Double Layer 16x Multiformat (+/-) DVD-Rewiter Drive
Time Computer - TIME TRAVELLER A740 WIN3000 - DisplayDisplay - 15.4" Widescreen high definition display.Windows XP Home Model
Laptop Price £ 539.00
http://laptops.timeuk.com/computers/bargain_computers/17768

[Browntoa]

Time/Tiny Computers went bust about 18 months ago owing customers loads of money and having no PC's, this is the same family in the same factory under a new name (and run from Saudi where they did a bunk to )

BE WARNED

[withabix]

They won't sell many at that price anyway - it's overpriced by about £100-£140 against the market at present.

I agree with Browntoa - don't touch them with a bargepole. They peddled rubbish and aren't ther most reliable supplier in the market by a long shot.

Hopefully they won't be around for long.

Just got a fairly good price at Tesco for an Acer 3634WLMI (version LX.ABU05.333) for £399.94 for the missus (£384 if you deduct value of Clubcard Deals). Actually quite impressed with the build quality for the price.

Spec here:

Intel Celeron-M 380 Processor 1.6 GHz
1024 MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM
60 GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive
15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen with CrystalBrite Technology
Integrated gigabit LAN
Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
3 X USB2
PCMCIA card slot
Front audio connectors

Graphics are only 64MB shared but it isn't going to be a gaming machine!

[kchok]

Thanks Browntoa.
As far as I know Time computers only put together the different parts.AMD, ddr ram graphic card and all other parts in it are same as any other computers.Beside that They give you 12 months 0% interest free And then I suppose you could settle that with credit card.Thats about the manufacturer's warranty period too.Or am I being naive to think like that?

[Spitfire]

Do Tescos still have those £299 laptops? :)

[Browntoa]

Thanks Browntoa.
As far as I know Time computers only put together the different parts.AMD, ddr ram graphic card and all other parts in it are same as any other computers.Beside that They give you 12 months 0% interest free And then I suppose you could settle that with credit card.Thats about the manufacturer's warranty period too.Or am I being naive to think like that?

the parts are all the cheapest available, poor quality build ( I've seen one with cross threaded screws on the Cd drives where they forced them in) premium rate support (Support for customers without Support Packs: 0906 200 1002. Please note that calls are charged at £1.00 per minute)

12 Month Standard Warranty


http://laptops.timeuk.com/images/grn_tick.gifParts and Labour Costs only (http://laptops.timeuk.com/warranty/home_laptops/17390/ghijkl/TIME_TRAVELLER_E380_LX#)

http://laptops.timeuk.com/images/grn_tick.gifCustomer pays carriage costs (http://laptops.timeuk.com/warranty/home_laptops/17390/ghijkl/TIME_TRAVELLER_E380_LX#)

[T4i]

Any views on this?

FUJITSU SIEMEN AMILO 7320G Laptops - £399.99

Best spec I've seen for the price so far, went in to Curry's and had a look, the display model was playing a DVD - looked crisp!

Also, are there two types of laptop screens? Some I looked at are the ones I kow about - a dull looking plastic

The others I've seen look more like glass, shiny. Does anyone know what I'm on about? lol :confused:

[withabix]

Do Tescos still have those £299 laptops? :)

Not a chance!!

The £299 ones are long gone.

You may still find the other two Acer models in stock, now reduced by £50 to £399 and £549 respectively and marked as 'Reduced To Clear' on the SEL. Take into account the Clubcard points and the 5p off a litre of fuel and they're cheaper still!

If you're REALLY lucky, the SEL will have the reduced price and you will be charged the higher price, resulting in a free laptop!! Had my fingers crossed but it went through at the SEL price!!!

[withabix]

Any views on this?

FUJITSU SIEMEN AMILO 7320G Laptops - £399.99

Best spec I've seen for the price so far, went in to Curry's and had a look, the display model was playing a DVD - looked crisp!

Also, are there two types of laptop screens? Some I looked at are the ones I kow about - a dull looking plastic

The others I've seen look more like glass, shiny. Does anyone know what I'm on about? lol :confused:

Looked at that one and went for the 'Tesco' Acer Aspire 3634WLMi instead. The Fujitsu build quality didn't look as good and it has less RAM, although it was slightly faster processor.

The 'shiny' screens are better in bright light conditions and outside. Also supposedly give a better 'multimedia' experience when watching movies or pictures. Most of the widescreen lappies have these now - flavour of the month!

[Kilty]

the parts are all the cheapest available, poor quality build ( I've seen one with cross threaded screws on the Cd drives where they forced them in) premium rate support (Support for customers without Support Packs: 0906 200 1002. Please note that calls are charged at £1.00 per minute)

12 Month Standard Warranty


http://laptops.timeuk.com/images/grn_tick.gifParts and Labour Costs only (http://laptops.timeuk.com/warranty/home_laptops/17390/ghijkl/TIME_TRAVELLER_E380_LX#)

http://laptops.timeuk.com/images/grn_tick.gifCustomer pays carriage costs (http://laptops.timeuk.com/warranty/home_laptops/17390/ghijkl/TIME_TRAVELLER_E380_LX#)

I agree, do not touch Time unless you want burnt.

Bunch of scamming *****.

Try Dell, no doubt you can spec up an Intel based laptop for less (and Intel laptops are far better for battery life and performance anyway)

[Rumman]

Looked at that one and went for the 'Tesco' Acer Aspire 3634WLMi instead. The Fujitsu build quality didn't look as good and it has less RAM, although it was slightly faster processor.

The 'shiny' screens are better in bright light conditions and outside. Also supposedly give a better 'multimedia' experience when watching movies or pictures. Most of the widescreen lappies have these now - flavour of the month!


hey i think i bought the same laptop, this one acer 3630, 512ram, 80gb dvd rw 1.6 celeron?

i got mine from comet for £400 but got a free 25 quid laptop bag thrown in just by asking

[T4i]

Think I've found all my choices:-

Toshiba 100-179 £399.99
Acer Aspire 5044WLMI £399.99
Fujitsu Amilo L7320 £399.99
Toshiba Satalite Pro M50 £399.99

Or do I take my chances on e-bay......:confused:

[moob]

Think I've found all my choices:-

Toshiba 100-179 £399.99
Acer Aspire 5044WLMI £399.99
Fujitsu Amilo L7320 £399.99
Toshiba Satalite Pro M50 £399.99

Or do I take my chances on e-bay......:confused:


I've been patiently waiting to get this one, it has some major advantages over most of the units you've posted, including 4.5 hr battery life, quality RAM, decent graphics and a DVDRW+/-...

I'm reliably informed it will be in stock between 2-4/10/06.

Forgot link (http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/HPN0064)

[DebH]

Quote
I've been patiently waiting to get this one, it has some major advantages over most of the units you've posted, including 4.5 hr battery life, quality RAM, decent graphics and a DVDRW+/-...

I am looking for decent laptop but was told I may need separate graphics card as I do web design (dreamweaver) and photo editing (photo shop). Is it really necessary or will this graphics card be OK? I follow this thread avidly but am still confused! I keep looking at the Dell website but if I need separate graphics card prices shoot up.

Thanks for any advice.

[jbatista]

Well I finally bought this dell laptop this morning, can you tell me what you all think? and the price too-£342 with free double memory and I emailed the fab customer service guy who gave me 1/2 price delivery too inc in the price.


Base Intel® Celeron® M Processor 380 (1.60 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2

Memory 512MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)

Hard Drive 60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive

Primary Battery 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery

I also paid a bit extra for a dif battery, what are the main differences and how much battery life should I get from this one?

[HeaddyMX]

I bought an Acer Travelmate 2420 from Savastore a few weeks ago, for £400. It's a Celeron-based lightweight computer which has decent specs, including built-in wireless connection.
Unfortunately it doesn't have Bluetooth as I'd like, even though it has the switch.

[Rumman]

They won't sell many at that price anyway - it's overpriced by about £100-£140 against the market at present.

I agree with Browntoa - don't touch them with a bargepole. They peddled rubbish and aren't ther most reliable supplier in the market by a long shot.

Hopefully they won't be around for long.

Just got a fairly good price at Tesco for an Acer 3634WLMI (version LX.ABU05.333) for £399.94 for the missus (£384 if you deduct value of Clubcard Deals). Actually quite impressed with the build quality for the price.

Spec here:

Intel Celeron-M 380 Processor 1.6 GHz
1024 MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM
60 GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive
15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen with CrystalBrite Technology
Integrated gigabit LAN
Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
3 X USB2
PCMCIA card slot
Front audio connectors

Graphics are only 64MB shared but it isn't going to be a gaming machine!

i bought the same one from comet with 80gb instead of 1gb of ram tho but got a laptop bag in for a fiver

[moob]

Quote
I've been patiently waiting to get this one, it has some major advantages over most of the units you've posted, including 4.5 hr battery life, quality RAM, decent graphics and a DVDRW+/-...

I am looking for decent laptop but was told I may need separate graphics card as I do web design (dreamweaver) and photo editing (photo shop). Is it really necessary or will this graphics card be OK? I follow this thread avidly but am still confused! I keep looking at the Dell website but if I need separate graphics card prices shoot up.

Thanks for any advice.

I'm pretty sure it would handle Dreamweaver and photoshop apps, the main thing is the cpu and RAM for such apps, and it's more than adequate.

The RAM on this unit runs at 667...

[lapnutty]

Hi

I gave up trying to find the 'best' deal and bought an acer 1642 wirefree thingy from comet 499.99 or 479.99 online. it's does what i need!

lapnutty

[PizzaCake]

Well I finally bought this dell laptop this morning, can you tell me what you all think? and the price too-£342 with free double memory and I emailed the fab customer service guy who gave me 1/2 price delivery too inc in the price.


Base Intel® Celeron® M Processor 380 (1.60 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2

Memory 512MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)

Hard Drive 60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive

Primary Battery 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery

I also paid a bit extra for a dif battery, what are the main differences and how much battery life should I get from this one?
That's a good deal if I read it rightly. A 15.4" Dell Inspiron 1300 on the Dell website is currently going for £379 incl VAT & Shipping with the following freebies added:
Memory - Now 512MB (Was 256MB) Due to End 01/11/2006.
Save £20 (inc vat) Due to End 04/10/2006.

However did you get the following extras and how much did you pay?
Dell Support Services Basic Package, 1 Year At-Home Service worth £47
Primary Battery 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery worth £23.50
Dell System Media Kit Resource CD - contains Diagnostics and Drivers worth £5.88

Assuming you paid £23.50 for the battery upgrade, £52.88 worth of extras plus £379 is £431.38, so you saved £89.38? :confused: Do you mind sharing how you did it, did you use vouchers, or did you hypnotise the customer service rep. :) My niece wants a laptop for uni and she only has a budget of £350.

BTW, I read in a review the four cell battery gives you 1.5 - 2 hours and the six cell approx 3 hours. Hope that helps.

[jbatista]

That's a good deal if I read it rightly. A 15.4" Dell Inspiron 1300 on the Dell website is currently going for £379 incl VAT & Shipping with the following freebies added:
Memory - Now 512MB (Was 256MB) Due to End 01/11/2006.
Save £20 (inc vat) Due to End 04/10/2006.

However did you get the following extras and how much did you pay?
Dell Support Services Basic Package, 1 Year At-Home Service worth £47
Primary Battery 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery worth £23.50
Dell System Media Kit Resource CD - contains Diagnostics and Drivers worth £5.88

Assuming you paid £23.50 for the battery upgrade, £52.88 worth of extras plus £379 is £431.38, so you saved £89.38? :confused: Do you mind sharing how you did it, did you use vouchers, or did you hypnotise the customer service rep. :) My niece wants a laptop for uni and she only has a budget of £350.

BTW, I read in a review the four cell battery gives you 1.5 - 2 hours and the six cell approx 3 hours. Hope that helps.


I spoke to a nice gent on the phone called Ramakrishna Reddy his number is
Tel.No : 0870-907-5128 Extn: 73569
I will email you the full spec of what I got if you want,along with receipt. I tried to put a copy on here but couldnt. I am really happy wit that offer, I was cheeky :p and asked if I could have free delivery, he gave me 1/2 price delivery and also got £20 off as deal is showing.

[ioscorpio]

A couple of days ago I bid on a laptop on ebay but did not win, then today I received this email via ebay from someone else for the same model. I have emailed the company offering the laptops, but they are based in Italy, so am dubious about getting involved, has anyone heard of them.

I apologise to contact you this way but using the discount code FG621PBA you can purchase the DELL INSPIRON 6400 Laptop (Brand New And Boxed) for only GBP 359 (VAT included) at www.Fontaine-Shop.com (http://www.fontaine-shop.com/) . PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL and e-mail Fontaine Computers at discounts@fontaine-shop.com mentioning the discount code FG621PBA in the e-mail subject field for more details. The discount code FG621PBA also offers you a 30% discount for any online purchase with WWW.FONTAINE-SHOP.COM (http://www.fontaine-shop.com/)

[withabix]

A couple of days ago I bid on a laptop on ebay but did not win, then today I received this email via ebay from someone else for the same model. I have emailed the company offering the laptops, but they are based in Italy, so am dubious about getting involved, has anyone heard of them.

I apologise to contact you this way but using the discount code FG621PBA you can purchase the DELL INSPIRON 6400 Laptop (Brand New And Boxed) for only GBP 359 (VAT included) at www.Fontaine-Shop.com (http://www.fontaine-shop.com/) . PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL and e-mail Fontaine Computers at discounts@fontaine-shop.com mentioning the discount code FG621PBA in the e-mail subject field for more details. The discount code FG621PBA also offers you a 30% discount for any online purchase with WWW.FONTAINE-SHOP.COM (http://www.fontaine-shop.com/)


This will undoubtedly be a scam.

[jbatista]

I definitely think so too

[skintarooney]

Can someone help? I am not exactly computer literate but my dad is looking for a laptop. He wants a large memory, fast processor and a large screen (not necessarily widescreen). He wants this for his own personal daily use instead of using a desktop pc.

He has been looking at Acer laptops in comet today but I thought I would ask you guys for your opinions as you are the experts and have test driven many!

Thanks for your help in advance!

[moob]

Ordered this one today - bargain. Rpoints available at 1% cashback

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_Compaq_NX6325_EY345EA/version-1.asp

[crayon]

Ordered this one today - bargain. Rpoints available at 1% cashback

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_Compaq_NX6325_EY345EA/version-1.asp
Did you get the double ram with it? How much was the offer on the double ram? Cheers.

[moob]

Nah, you get 512mb as standard, they wanted 55 quid for the double ram offer - a bit steep when you can buy it yourself for 35. They also charge 11 quid for deliver, unless you buy an accesory with it, then it's free.

HP build quality here.

[crayon]

Thanks moob - so are HP reliable and decent build quality? - not had one before. Think I'll go crucial with the memory. What was cheapest accessory you found?
Sorry for all the questions lol - curious and nosy I guess. Sorry.

[Gib_Gib]

* Mobile Sempron 3400+ / 1.8 GHz
* 512 MB Ram
* 60 GB Hard Disk Drive
* DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
* Wireless Lan 802.11a/b/g
* 15" TFT 1024 x 768 ( XGA )
* Biometrics - Fingerprint Reader
* Windows XP Professional
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/117785/rb/22096325436
£400

[lyricalgangsta]

Hi Guys

Im really keen on a lenovo laptop, the build quality is amazing, howver they are expensive.

To cut costs I was thinking of buying from the US, where the same laptop is the same price but in dollars !!

Imagine the saving on a £1300 laptop. !!

However are there any pitfalls, compatibility issues with this and would I need a power adaptor etc ??

[moob]

Thanks moob - so are HP reliable and decent build quality? - not had one before. Think I'll go crucial with the memory. What was cheapest accessory you found?
Sorry for all the questions lol - curious and nosy I guess. Sorry.

I never bought an accessory mate, couldn't be bothered. I've been after this very laptop for over a month now, and it's only just come into stock in a few places.

HP are well known for their build quality, superior to Dell Acer Fujitsu Siemens etc, and their battery life is superb.

This one has audio and S video out, if you wanna connect it to your tv, it also has biometric fingerprint reader, 7 in 1 card reader and firewire. AFAIK, nothing else in this price bracket comes close to the features in this laptop.

[moob]

* Mobile Sempron 3400+ / 1.8 GHz
* 512 MB Ram
* 60 GB Hard Disk Drive
* DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
* Wireless Lan 802.11a/b/g
* 15" TFT 1024 x 768 ( XGA )
* Biometrics - Fingerprint Reader
* Windows XP Professional
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/117785/rb/22096325436
£400

Add p&p to that, and their slow delivery time into the 'bargain' if you excuse the pun, and the one from laptopsdirect is a better deal. The CPU is also faster.

[PizzaCake]

Saw this Fujitsu Siemens Amilo V2085 15.4" Widescreen Laptop Notebook at http://play.com/Electronics/Electronics/GENEC/298/383/-/1138163/Fujitsu_Siemens_Amilo_V2085_15_4_Widescreen_Laptop _Notebook/Product.html?searchtype=genre

our price: £389.99 Delivered

availability: In stock.
Usually dispatched within 24 hours.
RRP: £699.99 You save: £310.00 (44%)

Specifications

Processor:- Intel Pentium-M 735A - 1.7GHz, 400MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache
RAM:- 256MB DDR2-533MHz
Hard Drive:- 40GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
Screen:- 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10)
Optical Drive:- DVD/CDRW Combo
Graphics:- Integrated Graphics supporting 128MB
Wireless LAN:- 802.11b/g
Battery Life - 5 hours
Weight:- 2.9kg
Software Bundle:- Drivers & Utilities, Adobe Acrobat Reader, NERO Burning ROM
Operating System:- Windows XP Home Edition
Windows Vista Compatible
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
56k Dial-Up Modem
S-Video Output
Firewire Port
4 x USB Port
Flash Memory Card Reader (MMC, MS, SD)
PCMCIA Type II Slot
Built-In Stereo Speakers

[pin]

HotUKDeals have this very good Dell Core Duo going very cheap:

305-N10645 - £498.75 or less deliverd
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
80GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW with Software
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Duo Processors
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Microsoft® Works 8.5 - English

As usual reduce the warranty to minimum for the above price and buy Via Quidco for 4.5% cashback



http://www.hotukdeals.com/deal/6578/dell-inspiron-coreduo-6400-laptop-1






And this one as well:



305-N106M5 - £528.25 or less delivered
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)
14.1" Wide Screen WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
Fixed Internal 8x DVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive With Software
6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Core 2 Duo Processors
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Microsoft® Works 8.5 - English

Reduce the warranty to minimum and buy via Quidco for 4.5% extra savings.



http://www.hotukdeals.com/deal/6580/dell-inspiron-640m-core2duo-1-66ghz

[alikat]

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/Offers/Clearance as these are clearance they will be open box, while some may not include an OS or power supply etc, (CHECK PACKAGE) although most do, prices are constantly changing & if you want the cheapest you should be able to pick up a laptop for around £250 - £300. These are 1 off's but over a week you should find a £250 - £300 laptop, price you see will not include VAT or P&P until you put in basket.

[alikat]

Hi Guys

Im really keen on a lenovo laptop, the build quality is amazing, howver they are expensive.

To cut costs I was thinking of buying from the US, where the same laptop is the same price but in dollars !!

Imagine the saving on a £1300 laptop. !!

However are there any pitfalls, compatibility issues with this and would I need a power adaptor etc ??

I agree, I like Lenovo too. I recently bought a z60m on ebay for £550, else where it was around £1000, although I think seller mispriced.

My daughter has a Toshiba laptop which was sent from US by her Dad, it has a power adapter pluged into UK converter, which you would find on ebay for a few quid.

If you buy from US, I would make sure your laptop has international warranty, so if something goes wrong you don't have to return to US.

[indiegirl]

This is the cheapest I've seen this one online, but someone may be able to offer a better option:
http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=1353%2C1896,1398&webid=V384782

Platform: Core Duo 1.6ghz (T2050)
FSB: 533MHz
Cache: 2MB L2
Hard Drive: 60GB SATA
DVD Multiformat Dual Layer
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 128MB
15.4 WXGA Crystal View Screen
Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b/g
Audio: 2 x Built in speakers
Card Readers: Yes
Software Priority 1: Win DVD
6-cell Lithium-ion batteryIt comes with XP Home (but you can't have everything...!!)

£499 in store, £424.68 in store - I can't see anywhere that says that's excluding VAT (although £424.68+VAT = £499). Checkout didn't give any clues.

Currently showing out of stock today, was in yesterday. Would you wait for this to return to stock, or buy something else (and if so - what?!)

[RACHIE77]

Hi there,

What are your thoughts on this one....

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=452J&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105,46400000,22

Acer Aspire 5102WLMi Turion 64 TL-50 1.6GHz 1GB 100GB DVD±RW XPHome

£560 incl VAT

I'm looking for a laptop at a good price that will cope with games and graphics etc.... OH wants it to be Dual Core too so can anyone suggest anything cheaper/better than this one??

[pigeonpie]

lyricalgangsta - someone would have to bring the lappy in for you in person as otherwise customs duties would be extremely high.
US laptops are generally not guaranteed internationally unless they belong to someone with a US address (genuine one).

[sarah090182]

I want a laptop but have no idea about them I think this is a good deal. Click on the link. Please quote me if I am wrong it would be very helpful..

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50701533

[shockingmoment]

Hi there,

What are your thoughts on this one....

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=452J&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105,46400000,22

Acer Aspire 5102WLMi Turion 64 TL-50 1.6GHz 1GB 100GB DVD±RW XPHome

£560 incl VAT

I'm looking for a laptop at a good price that will cope with games and graphics etc.... OH wants it to be Dual Core too so can anyone suggest anything cheaper/better than this one??

rachie = pm sent

[withabix]

I want a laptop but have no idea about them I think this is a good deal. Click on the link. Please quote me if I am wrong it would be very helpful..

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50701533

Out of stock.

Doesn't say what the processor speed is.

40GB HDD and 256MB RAM are very poor for something trying to run Media Center.

[crayon]

sarah090182 - I really don't recommend you to buy a medion. Far too unreliable. Suggest Dell, HP, Acer instead.

[sarah090182]

TOSHIBA A105
NEW IN HIGH SPEC BUDGET MACHINE
All you could want from a Mid-Range Laptop!
Factory Refurb as New
Celeron M 1.5Ghz Processor with Centrino Technology, 512Mb DDR RAM, 60Gb Hard Disk Drive, DVD/RW, 15.4" WXGA TRU BRITE TFT 1280x800!!! Colour Widescreen, ATI Radeon Express 200m Video, 56K Modem, 10/100 LAN, Wireless LAN b/g, 4x USB 2.0 Port, S-Video Out, 1x Type II PC Card Slot, Loads Of Free Software and Trials, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Works, Powerpoint Viewer, Microsoft Onenote, Quiken 2005, Yahoo Music Engine, Mcafee Virus scan, Intervideo (WinDVD 5), Sonic Solutions Record Now Basic, ArcSoft Software Siute, QuickTime Player, RealOne Player ,Atheros, Arcsoft Software suite, Only 1.80kg in weight, Windows XP Home Operating System.
FREE CARRY CASE WORTH £29.95!!!
1-Year RTB Warranty
FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY!!!
£429

[alikat]

lyricalgangsta - someone would have to bring the lappy in for you in person as otherwise customs duties would be extremely high.
US laptops are generally not guaranteed internationally unless they belong to someone with a US address (genuine one).

My daughter had a $1000 worth of goods delivered as a gift from her father, she paid around £100 customs duty. I must admit although I've bought goods outside UK, I've only bought cheap goods or books both of which don't involve duty, so can't say if the amount you pay is standard, or can be hit or miss.

With the $ as it is at the moment, even with customs duty, I would guess you can get a good deal if your'e paying the same in $ as you would be in £ in UK. While I agree you should check before you buy, international warranty on laptops is not unusual, even on cheaper models.

[s-j-cooper]

TOSHIBA A105
NEW IN HIGH SPEC BUDGET MACHINE
All you could want from a Mid-Range Laptop!
Factory Refurb as New
Celeron M 1.5Ghz Processor with Centrino Technology, 512Mb DDR RAM, 60Gb Hard Disk Drive, DVD/RW, 15.4" WXGA TRU BRITE TFT 1280x800!!! Colour Widescreen, ATI Radeon Express 200m Video, 56K Modem, 10/100 LAN, Wireless LAN b/g, 4x USB 2.0 Port, S-Video Out, 1x Type II PC Card Slot, Loads Of Free Software and Trials, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Works, Powerpoint Viewer, Microsoft Onenote, Quiken 2005, Yahoo Music Engine, Mcafee Virus scan, Intervideo (WinDVD 5), Sonic Solutions Record Now Basic, ArcSoft Software Siute, QuickTime Player, RealOne Player ,Atheros, Arcsoft Software suite, Only 1.80kg in weight, Windows XP Home Operating System.
FREE CARRY CASE WORTH £29.95!!!
1-Year RTB Warranty
FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY!!!
£429

Where is this from?

[sarah090182]

cant find the link on my dads work PC why>? it was a site we found in The Independant paper

[s-j-cooper]

cant find the link on my dads work PC why>? it was a site we found in The Independant paper

because I am after a laptop and the software included with this looks pretty good!

[Stuartli]

[QUOTE=blondierowe]Not sure if this website will be the cheapest but they are who supply Aldi with all their computer stuff and they now seem to have Laptops etc in their online shop.

www.medion.co.uk (don't know how to do one of those nice links :()

Medion isn't an actual manufacturer - the German company rebadges and distributes products made by specialist companies under the Medion and Tevion brand names.

Savastore has just revealed some very good deals on Acer laptops at pricces from £395 upwards - Acer is a leading laptop producer and many top brand companies rebadge their laptops under their own names.

[Stuartli]

PS

Link to above: http://www.savastore.com/default.aspx?tid=602&celsceech=1

[codetown]

Finally the Turions Laptops are arriving to us with power and low cost!
Just saw two good decent products:

* Acer Aspire 5101AWLMi Laptop
AMD Turion 64 MK36 512MB 60GB 15.4TFT DVDRW Wifi XPH - LX.ABH05.237
http://www.technoworld.com/productdisplay.asp?ProductID=41925
£ 384.23 inc VAT (P & P: £9.39) -> total delivered: 393.62

* Acer Aspire 5101AWLMi Laptop
AMD Turion MK-36 2Ghz 1GB 100GB DVDRW 15.4TFT Wifi XPMCE - LX.ABH0J.083
http://www.technoworld.com/productdisplay.asp?ProductID=41212
£ 484.10 (Inc VAT) inc VAT (P & P: £9.39) -> total delivered: £493.49

Both seem to be good and feature-rich, with included WinXp and most features you would want from a modern laptop. The second one has double RAM (1GB) and a larger HD (100 GB instead of 60 GB) but both are pretty good to me.

Same models are also on sale at ebuyer, dabs and probably many other retailers for similar prices. Definitely worth considering and in my view much better than the old Dell Inspiron Celeron.

[shockingmoment]

Just bought one of each of these. Really pleased with them.

www.simplyacer.co.uk

seemed to be cheapest, with a real telephone number and people (not a call centre). Gave me internet only price, took order over phone

[codetown]

Ok, just checked. This simplyacer have a special offer for October with the delivery free. But this seems to apply only on orders over 500 pounds!!!So NOT to these two nice Turions.

So for these two laptops the final price delivered is still lower on technoworld, as you will have to pay the delivery from simplyacer and their price was higher than technoworld in the first place! So cheapest among the two is certainly technoworld with my original links.

Maybe you got a special deal? Did you get free delivery even if below 500 pounds?
If so, please post details!

[mikeassured]

Regarding the two Acer Aspire laptops mentioned above, has the 5101A model got a decent graphics card in which would be ok for gaming??

Thanks

Sue

[codetown]

The 394 pounds one has the ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 integrated 3D graphics with up to 128MB of shared system memory. I would say this is a good card, even if not top. Also given it uses shared memory if you allocate to it the full 128 MB, your system memory will descrease accordingly. Of course it is not a problem if you buy or fit 1GB of RAM, but should not be even if you stay with the standard 512 MB.

Remeber that the world of gaming travels fast anyway, so this might be good for games written in 2005 and most 2006, but will certainly becaome obsolete very soon if you play the latest releases all the time. In that case it would be better to buy a desktop and continue changing the card year after year

[elliok]

Hi,

really impressed by the acer laptop at Technoworld. I've done a seach and found quite a few threads regarding how cheap they are but nothing about the service? Does anybody have any experience??

Many thanks

[Adamsk1]

I've used them and service is usually very good. Beware of the £12.99 delivery price though. I've done a quick search and found a similar spec Acer machine for a bit less money.http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/sort?catPath=uk%2FlaptopsBasic&catId=113501&manufacturer=I&lap=ok&keywords=aspire+5003&searchId=1010201_1161252933880_1277631044&from=shopbot&tsSearchId=1161252933879&JServSessionIduk=j1fw94u8y2.L35J2uk&field=totalprice&sortcolumnid=total_price

[codetown]

I've used them and service is usually very good. Beware of the £12.99 delivery price though. I've done a quick search and found a similar spec Acer machine for a bit less money.http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/sort?catPath=uk%2FlaptopsBasic&catId=113501&manufacturer=I&lap=ok&keywords=aspire+5003&searchId=1010201_1161252933880_1277631044&from=shopbot&tsSearchId=1161252933879&JServSessionIduk=j1fw94u8y2.L35J2uk&field=totalprice&sortcolumnid=total_price

Careful to what you compare. The list above included different machines with different specs. As far as I can see the Tecnoworld one is STILL the cheapest with a good spec.

Also beware that some machines in the kelkoo list above have only 256 MB ram. That is really a bad suggestion to buy! And they are even dearer than those from technoworld

[HCDayantis]

£499 in store, £424.68 in store - I can't see anywhere that says that's excluding VAT (although £424.68+VAT = £499). Checkout didn't give any clues.

Currently showing out of stock today, was in yesterday. Would you wait for this to return to stock, or buy something else (and if so - what?!)

Using Firefox Search, it was not hard to see the answer - at the bottom of the page, it say 'All prices are Exclusive of VAT'.

I would like to throw a Lenovo with sound reviews (although the speakers are truly dire, from what I've read) into the mix:
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenovo_3000_N100_TY06VUK/version-1.asp

Core Duo, inbuilt camera and mic., decent HD. It's all looking good

This one, however, also looks very appealing:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Aspire_Aspire_5101_AWLMi_Laptop_LX.ABH0J.083/version.asp

Does anyone have anything they could say about either of these? Both look very tempting, and for some unknown reason I'm drawn to the Lenovo! The Lenovo has half the memory and dodgy speakers, but it beckons me like a siren...

[Spikey]

Just seen this.. DELL (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_1300?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

[HCDayantis]

Just seen this.. DELL (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_1300?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

Well, when you say poss. 500, I'm in a similar situation. I'm looking for something a bit more futureproof, so I had to stretch the budget. I'm gunning for the £520 lenovo here (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenovo_3000_N100_TY06VUK/version-1.asp)

It has a Centrino Core Duo, which is basically a power-efficient, very fast and
erm... good processor. Details are here. (http://www.intel.com/products/centrino/duo/description.htm)

Many computer experts are saying great things about duos, so that's where I want to put my money. I've read countless glowing reviews on the Lenovo itself, after some uber-research. Basically, it's all good when it comes to keyboard, performance and the like. The speakers are atrocious, so he'll want headphones or speakers. I've already got portable speakers, so I'm alright on that front.

I looked at the Dell link, and created a custom one that had equivilant performance to the Lenovo, but less so on the processor front (no duo, for shame!). It cost £528.24. All I did was go for the basic model that has a minumum of £399.99 and add an 80GB HD for an extra £35. When it says 'from £x', it must mean without VAT, regardless of what the site says; the price leaps when you press 'customise and buy' before you even select anything! The advantage of the Dell, I suppose, is that you get a 3 year warranty, as opposed to the 1 year from Lenovo. Still, it's your/his choice! (The Lenovo is my preference, and I intend to buy it.)

EDIT:

What does he want the laptop for? (More demanding needs equals more money, as a general rule!)

EDIT THE SECOND: Oh, and the Lenovo link really is a very good deal for what it is. I've seen that exact one for ~£600 in countless other places. They don't lie when they say 'You save £91.03'.

However, should you want double the RAM on said Lenovo, do not use that site! They quoted me £51 exc. VAT, and want to charge £10 (exc. VAT) for installation.

Rather, go for this site here (http://www.orcalogic.co.uk/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=25372&ft=m&st=3). The memory is the exact same part # they use, only it costs £40.66 inc. VAT! This is 512mb official Kingston, compatible stuff. I highly recommend that above site for buying RAM upgrades!

[jbatista]

Just seen this.. DELL (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_1300?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

I have had my Inspirion 1300 for 3 weeks now, its my first laptop and I am very pleased with it. With wireless it was a case of plug and play literally, I was online in 10 mins. From today I am fully wirelessly networked :rotfl: :T
I would definitely buy again from Dell.
Mine cost me £342 with the better battery and upgraded memory.

[espresso]

With wireless it was a case of plug and play literally, I was online in 10 mins. From today I am fully wirelessly networked.


:think:

Have you set up strong encryption :question:

[jbatista]

:think:

Have you set up strong encryption :question:
Not sure about that, I have a netgear router, if that helps!!!

[skinnerneil]

Just got emailed from Staples...

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi1505
Intel Core duo processor. T2050
512 Mb RAM
100 Gb HDD
DVD +/-RW
15.4 inch widescreen

£ 499

That sounds pretty good to me . I have been holding out for a core 2 duo at a resonable price but I mainly only do office work on mine so will this be speedy enough for me?? My current 2 yr old celeron IBM R40e is now feeling very slow.

[HCDayantis]

Not sure about that, I have a netgear router, if that helps!!!

So do I, but you have to set the password yourself. you do either 128bit (recommended) or 64bit encryption, and set a password. The code is derived from the password, so in the Netgear interface you just type in password as words. Then, when you need to connect to the router, just do the same again. Make sure that if you used 128bit for the router, you have 128bit for the passcode generation for getting on as well!