The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt [Archive]

blondierowe

04-08-2004, 10:54 PM

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 :()

They currently have 9 Laptops listed for sale ranging from £399 for a refurbished one - with 1.7Ghz Celeron Processor with windows XP, 20GB hard drive, 256 memory and loads of other stuff
up to the highest priced one for £799 Notebook Intel® Pentium® 4 with 2.6 GHz MD6488 with Microsoft® Windows® XP Home, Intel® Pentium® 4 with 2.6 GHz, 15" TFT XGA Colour Display, 512 MB DDR-RAM, 40 GB hard disk, DVD/CD-RW Combo drive Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce# 4 488 Go with 64MB DDR-RAM along with a few bits of software - Microsoft Works 2003, Cyberlink Power DVD and Nero Burning Rom. If they are anything like the ones Aldi get in I am sure they will be well worth the money. I have no link at all to Aldi or Medion but I do now that Computeractive always reviews Aldi's computers and gives them top marks.

esuhl

05-08-2004, 1:49 AM

www.computerbargains.co.uk have got an Intel Celeron 1.2GHz laptop, 128MB RAM, 20GB hard disk for £399. Brand new with a year's warranty and Windows XP Home...

Can anyone beat that? I'm thinking of getting one myself!

SONIC

05-08-2004, 12:45 PM

Can't beat the £399 post but I have a rival for Martins laptop.

http://www.laptopsuperstore.co.uk/ seem to have a lot of reasonable new and used laptops for sale. £15 more than Martins laptop gets you a brand new AMD Athlon 1.4GHz with DVD, CD/RW, & 256mb RAM. Not bad, but probably not the best ...

::)

agerrard

05-08-2004, 3:04 PM

I got a brand new 2.2GHz Compaq EVO N800c with trimmings for half price by going to my local friendly independant tech shop and talking to them. They were able to source it as a factory return. New, boxed and warrantied. It wouldn't have been the cheapest laptop on this discussion (RRP was £2k at the time), but you may just have someone local to you who can do similar deals and get something really cheap - as a return, bankrupt/clearance stock, unsold inventory etc.

Andrew

jimbobthomas

05-08-2004, 6:53 PM

You could also try www.novatech.co.uk or www.bigpockets.co.uk , both great sites for cheap consumables and systems.

royalsteve

05-08-2004, 9:24 PM

Ebuyer have various laptops some on offer...

Note that the 399 post doesnt include vat, still cheap though...like everything sometimes its worth paying a little ectra for a better spec..Toshiba have been regarded for some time as one of the better makes for laptops

a) Bit like the 399 one, you get what you pay for:-
PC Chips Desknote A530 Notebook Transmeta 1GigaPro 20GB 128MB CDRW/DVD 14"TFT WLAN/Modem - Our Price £386.27 (£453.87 inc VAT)

B) slightly more but much better spec:-
**Special Purchase** Acer Travelmate 244XE Notebook Celeron 2.6GHz 20GB 256MB CD 14"TFT Windows XP Home
434.03 plus vat (509.99 inc VAT

c) cheapest Toshiba on this site:-
Toshiba Satellite Pro A40 Notebook Celeron 2.6GHz 256MB 30GB DVD 14"TFT Windows XP Home £474.31 +VAT (557.32 inc VAT)

royalsteve

05-08-2004, 9:28 PM

you can getthis at eurpoc for 359 plus vat but its a refurbished one...

- Famous Brand - iGo 3203
- Windows XP Home
- AMD Athlon 1600Mhz Processor
- Notebook 256Mb DDR SDRAM pc266Mhz
- 30Gb IDE notebook hard drive
- 15" TFT screen
- Notebook 1.44Mb internal FDD
- Notebook internal DVD
- CDRW Combo
- Graphics on Board
- Sound on board
- Standard onboard 10-100 RJ45 NIC
- Modem 56K
- Three USB ports
- 0 notebook PCMCIA slots used 2 free
- UK keyboard layout
- 1 DIMM slot used 1 free
- Microsoft Works

royalsteve

05-08-2004, 9:49 PM

seen cheaper refurbed ones at various places including
http://www.mncgroup.co.uk/

from 297+vat (350 inc) for a 650mhz based machine

or try british computer fairs - http://www.britishcomputerfairs.com/
start at £245 inc vat for a very low spec 400mhz based machine

tluscombe

05-08-2004, 10:21 PM

if you are looking for refurbished equipment, these guys are pretty good http://www.rdc.co.uk/shops/main.php and they have an "end of line" store for new kit.

I've used them a few times and never had a problem - but beware, there is no warranty or guarantee on a used battery. Better allow around £75-£100 for a new battery, just in case.

Airedalecomputers

06-08-2004, 2:04 AM

My brother bought a good spec Fujitsu Siemens laptop with DVD ReWriter from PCWorld (Tsssssssssss) for £699

www.tc24.co.uk (trade account) have the new Toshiba A40 14" notebook AMD 2.6GHz 256/40/56K/CDW-DVD Combo for just £510 + vat

sallyforth

06-08-2004, 1:06 PM

Life expectancy of colour screens?

Beware refurbished,; they might have a short-lived display..
I don't know how long colour screens last. Monochrome screens don't last long. I've had to chuck out two monochrome laptops, a Palm Pilot and a mobile phone becuse the display conked out and were not repairable.

If anyone knows the life expectancy of colour versus monochrome, please tell all. Ans does anyone know why there are so many refurbished laptops on the market?

wjoyce

06-08-2004, 11:21 PM

You can pick up a bargain here

Ebay (http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?GetResult&sid=111975156&fp=0&srchdesc=y &query=hp)

They are discontinued or remanufactured (returned and refurbished) but the prices look good and all kit comes direct from HP with a 12 month warranty.

;)

Bod.

Boardguide comment:- Long link shortened.

SomaJ

07-08-2004, 4:06 PM

New QUALITY Notebooks available from Misco (http://www.misco.co.uk) - from £479.00

Toshiba Satellite Pro A40 - C 2.6 GHz (http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/76851/WW/SATELLITE_PRO_A40_C2.6GHZ_256MB_30GB_14TFT_DVD_LAN _XP_HOME/index.htm)
http://193.114.46.153/cnetimages/I221223.jpg

Ted_Hutchinson

07-08-2004, 5:04 PM

Save a Tenner use Dabbs
Sat Pro A40 Cel 2.6GHz 256MB XP Home £551.07 inc VAT (£469.00 ex VAT) (http://www.dabs.com/uk/shopbybrand/toshiba/mobilecomputing/notebooksandtabletpcs/ProductView.htm?quicklinx=3530)

You can save another 3% by clicking through Greasypalm Greasypalm (http://www.greasypalm.co.uk/retailers.php?cat=2)

123sl456

07-08-2004, 5:19 PM

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

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

willum

08-08-2004, 2:27 PM

FOr basic Info on Celeron / Pentium, have a look here :
http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/processors/index.htm?iid=ipp_dlc_celeron+foot_proc&

spoonthumbs

09-08-2004, 2:36 AM

;)

A great and timely subject for me - just looking for a cheap but competent Laptop to run a web business from.

If you want to spend less than £500 on a good quality refurbished laptop, take a look at

Tiptop Laptops (http://www.tiptoptechnologies.co.uk/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=47&recorprod=7&ph=cat&keywor ds=&recor=1&SearchFor=&PT_ID=1)

Dell C400 laptop, for £400 inc Vat. Seems to be loads of parts available across the internet and ebay, one of those laptops they may not have been the best, but is easy to maintain, upgrade, is less than 2kg and is 'portable'.

Keep up the great work at the site! ::) ;D

Boardguide comment:- Long link shortened.

narncruiser

13-08-2004, 5:14 PM

;D going to kick this discussion back into life
Tiny doing a £499.99(incl vat) brand new with a better spec that pc world INCLS CD REWRITER !
find it at http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=10752
the spec is
Processor - AMD® Athlon XP1800+M Genuine Mobile Processor
Operating System - Microsoft® Windows XP Home
Memory - 256MB DDR RAM
Hard Disk - 30GB Hard Disk
Optical 1 - CD-Rw Re-Writer / DVD-ROM Combo Drive
Display - 15" XGA TFT Screen (1024 x 768)
Graphics - 32MB Integrated Graphics
Modem - 56K V90 Modem
Internet Access - Supanet Internet Access Preloaded
TV Out - TV Out For Large Screen Presentations
Network - 10/100 Ethernet Port For Home Networking
Sound - Built-in Microphone and Twin Speakers
Keyboard etc. - Advanced keyboard and Two Button Track Pad
Ports etc. - 4x USB2.0 Ports, 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery & A/C Charger, PCMCIA
Software 1 - Microsoft® Works Version 7
Software 2 - Microsoft® Office XP - 60 Day Trial
Software 3 - Cyberlink PowerDVD Software Suite

narncruiser

13-08-2004, 5:18 PM

deal number 2 also BRAND NEW is from Novatech http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/NBrange.html?MVK
£515.00 buys you:
14.1" XGA TFT Screen

Mobile AMD K7 Athlon XP 2200 Processor

10/100 Base-T Network Port

4 x USB 2.0 Ports

56K Internal Modem

Glidepad with 2 buttons & scroll button

256MB PC2100 266MHz DDR RAM
(Supports up to 512MB)

1 x Type II PCMCIA Slot

1 x IEEE 1394 Firewire Port

sS3 ProSavage8x Graphics

1 x Mic-in,1 x H'phone/Speakers

CDRW/DVD Combo Drive

Weight - 2.7 kg with battery

Dimensions (mm) - 38.5h x 302w x 253d

12 Mths RTB

firewire allows you to do video editing & other fun things

Matt_F-Smith

13-08-2004, 11:16 PM

http://www.e-inbusiness-affiliate.com/u/europc/t.asp?id=1622

I bought a NEC Versa M320
Pentium 4, 2200, 256mb ram, DVD-ROM 16x, ATI mobility gfx card, 30gb HD for a very reasonable £445 inc VAT and delivery

see this-------->http://forum.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Referrers;action=display;num=109235 2812

topic

Matt

Bargainbabe

14-08-2004, 12:01 AM

http://www.student-laptops.co.uk/acatalog/New_Laptops.html

Thats the cheapest and most powerful laptop i can find...

£499 Toshiba Satellite Pro A60 with DVD and CD-RW including delivery and VAT.

nic.stone

14-08-2004, 4:57 PM

I agree with the above, the Satellite Pro A60 is a new model, very reliable and £499 inclusive is a bargain. Avoid the cheaper manufacturers if you're looking for 'trouble free' computing as the built quality, driver and technical support can be abysmal. (especially with Time/Tiny/Advent etc.). IBM best for support, great website.

www.student-laptops.co.uk also has good prices for reconditioned lappies too.

If you're buying reconditioned, check the machine comes with software, you'd be surprised when you read the small print how many companies will supply you with a blank hard drive!

circuit

24-08-2004, 6:52 PM

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread... I'm going to make a decision on my new laptop today and will post it here when I'm done :)

dsle99

25-08-2004, 11:30 PM

Hi, Try www.laptopsdirect.co.uk for Acer laptops just bought a 292EXC. This has centrino technology which means battery last much longer than normal, it has a 1.3Ghz chip which is approx equal to 2.6Ghz. Check this spec out, and they will haggle a little on price especially if your getting extras.

The first option in the Acer Travelmate 290E series has an efficient Intel Celeron 1.3 GHz processor, 10/100 LAN adaptor and a combined DVD / CD-RW drive. The long "average battery life" of 4.5 hours makes this laptop a good choice for mobile users such as professionals and students.

Intel Celeron-M 1.3GHz Processor
256MB DDR SDRAM
30GB Hard Drive
14.1" TFT Screen
Intel 852GM 64MB Graphics
CD-RW / DVD Combo Drive
Integrated 10/100 LAN and 56K Modem
2 Hour Average Battery Life
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre-Loaded
1 year warranty upgradeable to 3 years collect and return policy including accidental damage for only £99!

circuit

26-08-2004, 2:18 AM

I promised I would update on my buying decision... as it turned out, I found a used Vaio on Ebay for a good price... it's the best option for me as Vaios are very good for audio visual work.

However, had I not gone for the Vaio, the Toshiba A60 from Student Laptops completely trounces all the others mentioned in this post. It is an absolute bargain if you have the £500 going spare. I charted out all the specs and the A60 is the best value by FAR.

Incidentally the Medion refurb is out of stock, otherwise that would have been my first choice.

F1F1

26-08-2004, 11:44 AM

We've also plumped for www.laptopsdirect.co.uk.

Went for the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V1000 -

£715.57 inc vat:

Intel Mobile P4 2.2GHz processor
1 x 512MB DDR SDRAM Upgradeable to 1GB
60GB hard drive
CD-RW/DVD Combo
15.1" Ultra-bright TFT XGA display
56k modem
Wired 10/100 LAN
Integrated Graphics
Weight - 3.2Kg
Battery Life - 3 hours
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition Pre-Loaded, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Nero, WinDVD, F-Secure Anti-Virus
1 year collect and return warranty upgradeable to 3 years warranty for only £99!

We didn't take the extended warranty but did upgrade the memory to 1GB.

F1F1

26-08-2004, 11:46 AM

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V1000

Also free battery and free delivery just now. <see last post>

Dread

26-08-2004, 2:46 PM

A few things to remember when choosing your laptop. I recently bought a second hand Compaq EvoN1015v notebook from Ebay and am delighte with it. It has an AMD processor, why is this significant? Well as I understand things, it runs a lower clock speed but it's architecture means it frequently outperformes the equivilant Intel model and it uses less power.......this bit is very important to laptop users!

I had to compromise on a slightly smaller than the norm, 14.1" screen and felt a little cheated at the time but now I'm laughing up my sleeve as a friend of mine bought almost the same machine from PC World (Spit!) but its an Intel with a 14.1 inch screen, I can use my machine for general use, surfing (wireless so the PC card has to be powered as well) for 3 to 4 hours before I have to use external power. His machine gets only 2 hours running and frankly, there is no discernible difference in performance.

Save money on a laptop? Go for an AMD processor, smaller screen and more RAM (although this also uses slightly more power).

Hope it helps.

Sarfaraz

27-08-2004, 1:45 AM

Travelmate 2001XCe C2.6 256Mb 30GB Combo 14" XPH

Ex. VAT
£417.19

Inc. VAT
£490.20

Details @

http://www.savastore.com/products/product.asp?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=1027 7374&pid=45&tid=14

Good luck!

Saf

elstree-it

02-09-2004, 3:56 PM

I'm surprised no one has mentioned ebuyer.com and insight.com/uk/, both of whom compare well with DABS (who told me that a returned laser printer wasn't faulty after the manufacturer had told me it was, which put me off them) and have proved to be reliable suppliers when I have used them. They both sometimes have specials that are worth checking out as well.

I would recommend always to check them before buying computer items elsewhere.

squidzin

04-09-2004, 11:51 AM

F1F1

04-09-2004, 12:45 PM

Has anybody noticed that the laptop bargainbabe told us about, i.e. ...

http://www.student-laptops.co.uk/acatalog/New_Laptops.html
Toshiba Satellite Pro A60 with DVD and CD-RW including delivery and VAT.

...was priced at £499 on this site but was out of stock is now back in stock but priced at £619!

This is the same laptop isn't it or am I missing something here??
Yes, I mentioned it yesterday in another forum and just happened to have a look at the page again. Was shocked to see it had risen by £120!!

It also appears that there are various versions of this laptop with the same name, so it would be wise to check specs carefully when doing price comparisons.

Toshiba Satellite Pro A60
40Gb, 14" & XP Home
40Gb, 15" & XP Pro
60Gb, 15" & XP Pro

mattb

08-09-2004, 2:11 AM

Ok, this might not quality as a 'decent' laptop in a lot of people's eyes, but I am looking for a Pentium 2 laptop for my sister in law and don't want to spend more than £150. I think a basic P2 laptop running Windows 98SE would be fast enough as she only wants to surf, email and use MS Office. From my research so far it seems ebay is about the only place you can get a Pentium 2 laptop at that price, and even then they usually seem to sell for £200 or more.

Can anyone help?

lagrian

09-09-2004, 3:31 PM

My input on old laptops is if you are after an old laptop say a P2, from experience with working in IT is to ask your IT department at work (If you have one) or your friend to ask theirs for old laptops.

Most departments will have lots of old equipment that is never used anymore including laptops. Each company will have its own policies on what to do with old equipment, my fathers for instance just throw them out, my work place give them to charity, but if someone else wants them we just try and get a favour out of them.

Warning with old laptops though they may be more trouble than they are worth, i.e. Batteries are very rarely chargeable and sourcing new batteries for old laptops is either impossible or expensive (unless you get lucky on ebay). This goes with most parts.

I would rarely pay any money for a used/refurbished laptop.

Mattb, I would ask your sis in law if she actually needs a laptop, as you can build a decent small desktop for a simliar price or even buy prebuilt for a little more using Mini ITX boards (which are actually found in some laptops).

Also old laptops in my opinion don't give us the benifits that are associated with laptops today (eg. Portablility) An old laptop can wieght allot, have no chargable battery, poor performance and a poor screen so if the person doesn't need portability I would suggest a cheap desktop instead.

My girlfriend recently wanted a laptop and I asked her why , she couldn't really come up with a practical reason , the reason I got was that was she thought they were stylish and she liked the thought of looking business like , which I suppose is fine if you aren't on a budget. A desktop would suit her allot more.

Of cource with old laptops you can still shove them under the bed out the way and use them as a very large paper weight.

So remember you IT department at work, and give them a break while you are at it.

Matt_F-Smith

13-09-2004, 10:59 PM

Not sure how often people check, but Europc have more laptop stocks in right now. They won't be around long

http://www.e-inbusiness-affiliate.com/u/europc/t.asp?id=1622

(affiliate link again)

Matt

mattb

16-09-2004, 11:28 AM

My input on old laptops is if you are after an old laptop say a P2, from experience with working in IT is to ask your IT department at work (If you have one) or your friend to ask theirs for old laptops.

<snip>

Mattb, I would ask your sis in law if she actually needs a laptop, as you can build a decent small desktop for a simliar price or even buy prebuilt for a little more using Mini ITX boards (which are actually found in some laptops).

I managed to get one from the IT department! A P3 Dell laptop at a very reasonable price (£50 donation to charity) so I'm a very happy chap :-)

You're right, desktops are generally much better value - I was surprised at the high prices for old laptops on ebay, even Pentium 1's. In my case, my sister-in-law just has a room in a shared house so a desktop would have taken up too much room.

USELESSHIPPY

16-09-2004, 2:22 PM

Re: £499 for a PRO A60 ---the link does'nt show anything like that price. Have i missed something? For £499 i'll have one but it needs to come down to around that or below of course....any help much appreciated

chelleon

16-09-2004, 3:13 PM

lagrian

16-09-2004, 8:02 PM

I think this will take some beating.

I totally agree, this is really good for the price, if you find cheaper I'd be very suprised.

I'd love to hear if anyone actually has had experience with this company and what they thought, anyone ?

TaBunny

17-09-2004, 3:14 AM

www.student-laptops.co.uk also has good prices for reconditioned lappies too. !

If you're buying reconditioned, check the machine comes with software, you'd be surprised when you read the small print how many companies will supply you with a blank hard drive!

[/quote]
Thanks for this site they were so helpful on phone, I told them everything I needed for my daughter for uni and they suggested one a lot cheaper than I was originally going to buy, in the end got an IBM 600E thinkpad with a brand new battery (on ebay they are £60 new) dvd, floppy, pentium II, windows ME installed and lots of office, word and desktop publishing, USB's etc, etc all for £249 I took the extra 3 year insurance out for £120 making a grand total of £369 with free postage I reckon I got a bargain. Hope my daughter will like it. I checked on ebay and the same models are going reconditioned by power sellers for over £400 and thats without a guaranteed battery wow so I'm happy and it was well within my meagre budget so thanks to the person who pointed out this site and they had excellent customer service.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

hi123

18-09-2004, 10:30 PM

managed to get a sony vaio415b ,celeron processor 2.8,512 ddram,40gb hard drive,with floppy drive ,dvd and cdrewriter 15inch screen
from catalogue bargains at castleford,marked for £775 but was given 100£ off on top
that i thought was good price but bad news is wife wants sony tr2 the slim line stuff

adjests

19-09-2004, 1:39 AM

Hi, I'm new to the site.
I am considering buying the laptop and find it astonishing that it is almost half the price compared to any other retailer.
Has anyone bought anything from 'Everything Electrical'? I would be interested in any feedback before I take the plunge.

Cheers

zcaprd7

19-09-2004, 12:02 PM

Tabun 38 - I'm not sure the insurance was worth it - could you not buy another one for £200 odd if anything went wrong? !

You might also get some insurance coverage on your household policy and in any case your daughter probably should get some cover of her own?

Sorry, a bit late now but...

I just got a cheapy laptop from http://www.morgan-auction.co.uk/ !for £120 - P2 400Mhz - nothing special but should be (just about) good enough to network with my main PC and use for internet/Office applications.

trouty

20-09-2004, 12:51 PM

I too was drawn in by the price!! Waited until this morning to phone everything electrical and make an order - I was told laptops were in stock and to order I would have to print off order form and post to them with a cheque. I said I would like to pay over the phone by credit card but was told they did not accept credit cards?
I printed off the form and had a look around the site which looks very 'amateurish', lots of spelling mistakes even in the postal address!!?? I'm not saying that this suggests anything particularly suspect but doesn't make me feel too confident when I'm about to post a chunky cheque to them.
Only living an hour away from their HQ I decided to ring back and say that I would visit them and pay cash for my goods - I was told I wasn't allowed to do this!? I asked for history on the company and the telephonist said she was just on reception and couldn't answer such questions but would get someone to ring me - I'm waiting for the call.
I'll keep you posted and am keen to know how the original poster found the site? I've done many searches and it's never returned a result?
May be a great 'money saving' tip but I suggest 'caveat emptor' for the time being!!

crazygirl

20-09-2004, 1:02 PM

I was drawn in by the price too, and was waiting until Friday (payday!) to get it, but the website does look dodgy. I'm torn on what to do now. Even their email address doesn't look right - everythingelectrical@emailaccount.com
?
I'd be grateful if you do report back on what you find out!

kevbo

20-09-2004, 5:27 PM

I have been tempted by the price offered by everything electrical and at the risk of being duped I sent a cheque safe in the knowledge I could cancel it if things didnt go well. I have treid to find out if my order has been recieved on several occasions today only to have my details taken and offered a call back. Not impressed, cancelled cheque, will be buying elsewhere. hope this helps

wingatewood

20-09-2004, 5:55 PM

I am yet another person who has been tempted by the offer from Everything Electrical. Have spoken to two different woman there this morning and on the second occasion I asked to speak to the propriator Mr Cahill and was informed that he was out doing deleveries - how many directors do you know who carry out their own deliveries?

I also asked if the goods were either reconditioned or catalogue returns and was told that they were not. I also enquired as to why I could not pay for the laptop online and was told that their server was down but I could send a cheque! I DON'T THINK SO!

Enquired as to how long delivery would take and was told possibly 14 days, why so long I asked and was told that they wait for several orders to build up before despatch - again very odd indeed.

I don't know if anybody has noticed this yet, have a look on their website and click the little tab under the header panel (top right) you will see that this is a link to a Do-It-Yourself web building site
which explains why the site looks so tacky.

Almost forgot I was told that Mr Cahill would return my call tomorrow (Tues).

Will report back if I hear anything and please post if anybody else hears anything as well.

ds3727

21-09-2004, 1:14 PM

Not to jump on the band wagon but I had pretty well the same responses as wingatewood yesterday, the first woman I spoke too ( and possibly the only one in the office) said they take PAYPAL but this was currently not working. Surely PAYPAL just requires a valid e-mail address as supplied on the quality website, this also implies to me that they do accept credit card transactions and the story they only take cheques to keep the costs down falls away...as I think PAYPAL charge them about 2% for each transaction.
I hope this is all of us looking for something to be wrong as I WANT TO BELIEVE....... ???

mc1958

25-09-2004, 12:16 AM

Did anyone have any joy with the £399 laptop advertised on everythingelectrical website? I would be interested but don't really want to commit myself until some positive feedback from this company.Has anybody bought anything from them? ??? ::)

milgo

28-09-2004, 12:32 PM

Hi, whilst surfin came across this site that look to have a few good deals.
http://www.mncgroup.co.uk/products/laptops

Sarfaraz

28-09-2004, 8:52 PM

RE: Everything Electrical

They have this somewhat dubious clause in their T&Cs:

The information about the goods on our website constitutes an "invitation to treat" and is not a contractual offer from us which you may accept. This means that we reserve the right to correct any errors in that information without liability to you. It also means that in no circumstances will we be contractually bound to supply you with goods on the basis of any incorrect information, even if that information is repeated in your order.

Try paying by Credit Card if that option is available and also remember you have the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Act which gives you 7 days to try out the goods and if need be return them with a full refund.

I too would be interested if anyone has any joy because there are some other 'bargains' on the site - some quite unbelievable!

I share the thoughts of other forum members here in that you approach the site with some caution.

I'd like to be proved wrong!

poundhappy

29-09-2004, 12:06 AM

My uncle sent the weblink for Everything Electrical, and I ordered the laptop from them at the beginning of August. I payed with Paypal, in the knowledge that there was buyer protection. I received an email saying the delivery date would be 24/9/04. I emailed asking for it to be brought forward, as my sister was due to start uni before then and it did say that it should be within 28 days. It got moved forward to the 10th Sept, but never arrived. When I rang, was told there was a courier problem. The new date was the following Friday and each time we rang, were told that everything from the previous weeks delayed order was on board. However, it still didb't arrive. I have since had 2 further dates and 2 no shows. I last rang on Thurs to cancel the order, but was told that Tom Cahill was out till that afternoon. Ever since then, I've only got the answerphone. I was initially reassured given that I've spoken to at least 4 different members of staff, who answered the phone and always seemed to have a rational explanation, however, the answerphone today didn't mention "Everything Electrical" unlike last week and my emails sent today were returned as "mailbox full". I'm now in the process of sending a formal letter in the hopes of getting a full refund. Will keep you posted on the outcome - in the meantime, don't order anything

adjests

05-10-2004, 12:28 PM

just seen this meaage on the Everything electrical website

This site has been suspended as of 30/9/04.
The site owner of www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net is currently under investigation.

Please contact your local CID (Police) and Trading Standards for more information or advice.

SiteBuilder

Fifer

05-10-2004, 10:45 PM

Not the cheapest laptop as such, but I think I just got a pretty good deal. I wanted WiFi and decent (4hrs-ish) battery life, so just bought a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Celeron-M 1.5GHz, 256MB, 40GB Drive, CDRW/DVD, XP Home from Technoworld for £633.91. They also do a 1.3GHz version for £597. It's the best WiFi/Centrino deal I've seen.

http://!!!!!!!.com/45hnb

The service was excellent. I tried to buy it on Friday morning but my credit card transaction was declined! Turned out that Sainsbury's computers were down for practically the whole day. They kept trying and eventually the transaction went through at 4pm. Their normal cut-off time for shipping is for orders placed before 2pm, but the guy promised it would ship that day and be with me on Monday (shipping was £14). I had my doubts, but it arrived on Monday - when I was out so the carrier took it away again. :-[( However, they delivered today (just as my wife was leaving for work - last minute again) and I'm really pleased. Great product, exactly what I ordered and brilliant service from Technoworld. It's the first time I've used them and I bought purely on price, but I am impressed.

freeonline

06-10-2004, 11:13 PM

I think this will take some beating.

Bear in mind that I have never ordered off this company so I cannot verify.

FUJITSU LAPTOP £399.99 - New!!!!!!!! Pentium

FUJITSU AMILO D7830 LAPTOP

P4 2.66Ghz CPU,
256 memory,
40gb HDD,
DVD-RW,
15" TFT,
ATI RADEON 9000,
CDRW/DVD ,
USB,
XP & Works,
1 year warranty

http://www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net

Click on Computers, then Laptops!

I doubt this can be beaten, but I hope someone proves me wrong!!!! ;D

"This site has been suspended as of 30/9/04.
The site owner of www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net is currently under investigation.

Please contact your local CID (Police) and Trading Standards for more information or advice".

I proved you wrong
;D

As far as the weight's concerned any idea where can i find cheapest, lightest laptop computer?

JeffLad

07-10-2004, 1:20 PM

Hi
Have done some research for you including some of the sites previously mentioned and some new ones. The results show that you can go from the unbelievably cheap (Sub £80 incl VAT) for very old low spec notebooks, through the still cheap (sub £300 incl VAT) refurbed, low spec machines right upto the brand new, high speed 1.5ghz processor, long life battery technology, wireless network enabled machines for less than £690 including VAT & delivery.
You really do not need to spend more than £700 for a laptop. If you are strapped for cash, look at the sub £300 items - but if you can afford mid to top range, then it's worth the extra for getting brand new, guaranteed equipment that you could always sell on in a year or two and get a good chunk of your cash back. If you do this using Martin's 0% credit card tips, you are in effect getting very cheap computer lease, interest free for say 18months or 2 years, before you then upgrade again.

1. Windows 95 Colour Laptop £79
http://www.student-laptops.co.uk/acatalog/Basic_Laptops.html

Product Specification
All specifications are minimum, you may recive a much higher spec machine!
Processor type - 80486
Memory - 8Mb (min)
Hard Disk - 200Mb (min)
Drives - Built in floppy drive (spare disks supplied)
Full Colour Screen
Power supply for mains use
Although this product is fully reconditioned it is unlikely the battery will hold a charge and is therefore intended for mains use only. Unfortunately, batteries are too expensive to replace on the lower specification machines when reconditioning, although they can be sourced if necessary. These machine will work perfectly when plugged in to the mains using the adapter provided.
Includes three month warranty on hardware, warranty excludes battery and software.
See terms and conditions for full details.

2. Dell Latitude CPI PII-366MHz Notebook for £292.57 including VAT

http://www.computerbargains.co.uk/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16246&cat=&page=

Dell Latitude CPI Notebook with Intel Pentium II 366MHz Processor 128MB Ram 6GB Hard Drive 13.3" TFT Screen CD ROM & Fax/Modem. These notebooks are ex corporate and have been refurbished with 6 months warranty.

3. DELL L400 ULTRA PORTABLE £310 including VAT
http://www.tiptoptechnologies.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=7&product=154&cat=47&ph=cat& keywords=&recor=1&SearchFor=&PT_ID=1

£310 DEAL - CDROM & FLOPPY
High Performance, Ultra Portable! Nice looking, slim & Lightweight! One of the most popular Ultra Portable Notebooks but at an affordable price. The excellent connectivity and high spec. allows for added versitility.
Ex-Corporate Refurbished
Excellent Condition
Mobile Intel PIII 700MHz CPU
20GB Hard Disk Drive
256MB Ram
12.1-inch XGA TFT
AGP graphics
Stereo Soundcard (Mic, Headphones)
56KBS Modem v.90
Type I or Type II slot External ports: one serial, one USB
Printer Port
15-hole video connector
IDE connector
Battery: Li-ion
External Drives (Original Dell)
CD-Rom drive
Floppy drive 1.44MB
Free Original Dell Carry Case
PLEASE NOTE CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS WILL INCUR A 2% CHARGE
Code No. Ex Tax (£) Inc Tax (£)
L400CD 310DELL 263.83 310.00

4. Del Inspiron 510m £681 incl VAT and delivery
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_510m?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Processor
Intel® CentrinoT Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 705 (1.50GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB) & Intel® Pro/Wireless 2100 (802.11b)
Operating system
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Memory
256MB 266MHz DDR SDRAM
Harddrive
40GB Hard Drive
Monitor
14.1" XGA TFT (1024x768) Screen
Graphic Card
Integrated Direct AGP Graphics
Optical Drive
Modular 8xDVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive
Modem
56k Data fax modem with unlimited AOL Broadband from £19.99 1
Service
1 Year Euro Collect and Return Service

----
Personally, I'd go for option 4 at 0% interest then sell it in two years for about third to half price (effective cost £15 to £20 a month) then upgrade again. With this option - it's new & guaranteed equipment - 2nd hand laptop batteries can fail and can be expensive to replace £90+ for some.
Alternatively, if strapped for cash, option 3 would seem better than option 2 as for another £18 you get higher spec processor & much larger hard disk and carry case.
Hope this helps
Jeff-Lad

JeffLad

07-10-2004, 1:46 PM

Hi all

Just found what looks like an even better value item than option 4 in my previous post.

Dell Inspiron 1000 (N1000A) 2.2GHZ £521 including VAT & Shipping

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N1000A&qbc=N 1000A&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhstvhpnotebook1

The following are included in the Base:
Mobile Intel® Celeron® 2.20GHz
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
256MB shared DDR SDRAM & 30GB Hard Drive
8-cell NiMH Battery
CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
Microsoft® Works 7.0
Inspiron 1000, 2.2GHz Cel ,14"XGA Screen, 256MB DDR RAM, 30 GB HD, 8 Cell NiMH
---
As mentioned before, if you go for something like this at 0% interest (see Martin's credit card tips elsewhere) or have cash up front, then you are getting a very high spec machine for very little outlay.
If you spread the £521 over three years, comes to £14.72 per month. If you then manage to sell it on for even a third of original price= £171.93 - your effective outlay over the three years is £9.73 a month.

With this option - it's new & guaranteed equipment - at a price that's not much more than the 2nd hand/refurbished, lower spec equipment offered elsewhere (2nd hand laptop batteries can fail and can be expensive to replace £90+ for some).

I think you'll agree that this meets the criteria of Cheapest Decent Laptop.

Let me know if you find a better offer than this £521 machine as I'm seriously considering getting it.

JeffLad

Jummy

07-10-2004, 5:11 PM

There is an article in todays Daily Mirror newspaper (page 23) about everythingelectrical.
It says if you are owed money to contact them.
P&g Investigate
Daily Mirror
1 canada Square
London
E14 5AP
email-investigate@mirror.co.uk.
Tel-02072933572
:)

smelly

08-10-2004, 4:30 PM

great thread this will help me find a good laptops for my Girlfriend

Thanks for all your help

duggyfresh

10-10-2004, 4:49 AM

Good luck, smelly, but I think they only take money... ;-)

Seriously though, this thread will be invaluable...

Duggy.

12-10-2004, 3:54 AM

Jefflad just wrote that the inspiron N1000a is going for £521. If you choose to customise your order instead of Dell recommends, you get the same (N1000d) for £491.
I must say I'm proud to beat the :o£499 :o with good specs, but what have I missed? Is it the 256kB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB? Or is it the case
??? ??? ??? >:( ???

This offer ends on the 13th, but if everyone grabs it, they might pull it early, like all the other shops!
Can I pick up from the shop?

Go to this page to see the two choices:
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_1000?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

If you do buy, think about a case, and find out how long the battery lasts for, it may only be 1.5hrs. Also go via greasy for the 1.5% (or Rpoints) and I'm sure you knew all that!

12-10-2004, 5:44 PM

There are two more chats about laptops, on this site. There needs to be better rules about what can be posted.
One of them has this code: N??1SWSBSDHH41 for £30 off the Inspiron.
I spoke to Dell today, it took them ages to answer. The N1000a is 256Mb 30gb 14" and so is the N1000d, but the D model has optical advantage of CDRW, hence the extra £30. Niether come with any case, and both have the same 8 cell battery.
Dell seems to be poor service and slow delivery. Lots of people seem to say the AMD athalon is far better for quality.

N9eav

13-10-2004, 12:56 PM

Is there any reason a Laptop imported from the USA would not work in the UK? The power transformer is now worldwide universal..Any catch?

calibrax

13-10-2004, 4:42 PM

Is there any reason a Laptop imported from the USA would not work in the UK? !The power transformer is now worldwide universal..Any catch? !
It will work fine... except that the keyboard will have a US layout.

Basically, if you set up Windows to use a US keyboard layout everything will be fine, but you won't be able to type the £ symbol in the usual way. And if you set up Windows to use a UK layout, then you will be able to type £ by typing #, and vice versa. There may be problems with other symbols as well (I think the double quote is in a different place on a US keyboard?)

Getting repairs under warranty could be difficult as well.

Also remember that if you buy from outside the EU, and the laptop is worth more than £18, then customs will most likely charge you for VAT when it's imported.

Hope this helps!

Steve ;D ;D

Jolly_Roger

13-10-2004, 9:23 PM

The code mentioned by ym does still work and you do get a £30.00 discount! Also, by ignoring the recommended version of the Dell computer and "customising" (you do nothing different!!!) your purchase, it is also cheaper. I have been following this debate for ages and last night used my 0% on purchases Barclaycard to pick up this bargain, which worked out about £100.00 cheaper all round. Thanks to everybody who has contributed. Now, I just have to hope that the Dell I receive is a good one, as oppossed to some of the rubbish Dell computers that are the stuff of chat rooms!!!!

JeffLad

13-10-2004, 9:38 PM

This ends today 13th Oct - so get in quick!!! Includes VAT and delivery.

This is the same spec machine as I posted earlier -
also, you should be able to get LineMyPocket or GreasyPalm discounts on top - which may give another 1.5% off = £483.86. Of course, if you have cash back on your credit card, could be effectively less.

Be quick though, this is the last day for this offer.

Click on this link:
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N1000A&qbc=N 1000A&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhstvhpnotebook1

Click on "continue" at the bottom of the screen, then "continue" again, then add to basket and it should automatically show £491.43 - if it doesn't, put in coupon number N??1SWSBSDHH41 and apply it. This will then show the correct price.

JeffLad
The following are included in the Base:
Mobile Intel® Celeron® 2.20GHz
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
256MB shared DDR SDRAM & 30GB Hard Drive
8-cell NiMH Battery
CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
Microsoft® Works 7.0
Inspiron 1000, 2.2GHz Cel ,14"XGA Screen, 256MB DDR RAM, 30 GB HD, 8 Cell NiMH

david_skinner

21-10-2004, 11:20 AM

Give these people a try. I've been well served by
them on other PC equipment.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/NBRanges.html

Jezza101

21-10-2004, 1:16 PM

As far as the weight's concerned any idea where can i find cheapest, lightest laptop computer?

Im afraid you pay a premium for small/light laptops at the moment. !

Think carefully about your needs before buying a cheap laptop - although a £399 machine will be perfect for some users others may quickly regret not spending more. !

This comes from my own experience of cheaper laptops not being fully featured (inferior connectivity, no DVD writer, etc), having inferior screens (can only be viewed from 1 angle, blur during animated display, etc), tend to be larger and heavier and with poor battery life.

If mobility is important I would strongly recommend checking out more expensive slimline models as some cheaper ones are not very mobile at all! ! Your cheap model may look portable and yes you will be able to lift it, but a modern Sony Viao for example will slot into your back pack without you knowing it is there, whereas your old skool machine will need a seperate case and trust me, they are heavier than they look...! People dont seem to notice the weight problem until they've actually owned one!

My experience with users is that !many come back wanting to exchange their large cheap version with a fully featured slim line model that actually suits their needs!

If you are just looking for a PC that doesnt take up much space at home, or to pack in your student daughter/son's bag then the bargin bucket is for you - at the end of the day any new PC will have the power to run modern software. !

Note: Check what 'free' software is supplied with your new machine, perhaps you save hundreds on hardware but will have to splash out hundreds on software eg a new copy of Office - no you cant (legally) just install the one that came with your desktop :P. !I find that you save much more in the long run by getting good software deals - eg a recently paid £10 more for a DVD-writer than I needed to but it came with Nero - worth £40. !I guess not a consideration for the Long John Silvers out there - ooo arr!

Good luck :)

Effective_savings

21-10-2004, 7:03 PM

As a virgin money-saver I am aiming to make a good impression so apologise if my first posting appears a bit needy :)

Like many of you, I am working up to buying the best spec laptop I can for the least money. I have read and re-read much of this site and have just taken a look at the Dell offer(s) mentioned - albeit a bit late in the day.

Anyway, can anyone tell me if they can match or better the following Dell offer for a similar or better spec laptop?

Dell Inspiron 1150 - £767.18 incl. VAT

Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor (2.80GHz);
15" XGA;
Microsoft Windows XP2 Home Edition;
Memory 512MB 266MHz DDR RAM;
Hard Drive 40GB;
Modem Internal 56K v.92;
CD ROM/DVD ROM Fixed Internal 24x CDRW/ 8x DVD
Combo Drive with Software;
Microsoft Works 7.0;
8 Cell 65WHr LI-ION Primary Battery

;D Thanks so much!

flyingflea

21-10-2004, 9:20 PM

Have a look at ebay.co.uk . I bought a laptop which was less than a month old and had only been used a few times (basically new!) for £560.00 inc. delivery.

Specs are as follows:

Packard Bell 15.1" TFT Screen
Intel P4 2.8gHz
512mb RAM
40gB HDD,
SD, MMC, Compact Flash Card Reader,
6 x USB
Firewire
DVDRW
CDRW
Audio,
Lan
Modem
Carry Bag & AC Adapter

and very nice it is too!

Just make sure the buyer has more than 20+ feedback and hasn't had a recent burst of negative feedback.

Jolly_Roger

22-10-2004, 3:09 AM

My bargain basement Dell laptop (mentioned above) is due to be delivered tomorrow. So, why buy such a machine? Well, like Martin, I am a freelance journalist. I already have a very nice £1600 desktop computer, but recently started using Dragon voice-recognition software to try and speed up some mundane tasks involving material acquired either from the Internet or sent by email. I find that by using voice recognition software, I can speak information from one document into a Word document using a split screen. Unfortunately, if you want to work at any speed -and I do- then you really need a much larger Word document in front of you, not the squeezed up box that you are reduced to when working with HTML documents. So, by using two computers, you can open a Word document on one and use the other to have a full screen display of an original document. By using split screen applications, I have cut much of my work timings by a third. This actually helps me save money by giving me more time to either do more work or use that additional time in other ways. Being self-employed, computers are tax deductable at a rate of 25% a year, so effectively pay for themselves in around four years. While I agree that cheap laptops don't have the all singing, all dancing approach of my desktop, they nevertheless do have a role to play. In fact, most people, myself included, overpay for all computer equipment, buying too high a spec for the work that we actually need to do with the machine. So many deals you can get through PC mags are aimed solely at people requiring gaming power; if you just word process or surf the Net then more basic equipment is not needed. I always get blackmailed into more expensive purchases by the offspring, who also cannot wait to get their grubby little hands on the laptop to do homework on.
Just one word of warning: everytime I buy a computer, the manufacturer goes bankrupt within a year. Maple went under to be followed by Multivision. The only exception to the rule so far has been Mesh; but I would never recommend anybody buying their equipment, given horrible experience with customer service!

zaxxon

22-10-2004, 6:03 AM

Piii 500 with 256mb of ram 14.1 tft screen lan/usb/56k/
£205
http://www.complete-computer-care.co.uk
prices include VAT and there is no delivery charges if you live in Northern Ireland, £15 to mainland uk (role reversal for a change....)

Normandie

22-10-2004, 12:33 PM

As a virgin money-saver I am aiming to make a good impression so apologise if my first posting appears a bit needy !:)

Like many of you, I am working up to buying the best spec laptop I can for the least money. I have read and re-read much of this site and have just taken a look at the Dell offer(s) mentioned - albeit a bit late in the day.

Anyway, can anyone tell me if they can match or better the following Dell offer for a similar or better spec laptop?

Dell Inspiron 1150 - £767.18 incl. VAT

Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor (2.80GHz);
15" XGA;
Microsoft Windows XP2 Home Edition;
Memory 512MB 266MHz DDR RAM;
Hard Drive 40GB;
Modem Internal 56K v.92;
CD ROM/DVD ROM Fixed Internal 24x CDRW/ 8x DVD
Combo Drive with Software;
Microsoft Works 7.0;
8 Cell 65WHr LI-ION Primary Battery

;D Thanks so much!

Hi,
I've just bought the Dell Inspirion 1150 with the same spec as above, except for I chose 2.6GHz, and added the Wireless 1350 802.11 a/b/g mini PCI card for WiFi. The total cost including VAT and delivery was £585.19, from the Dell site, which I thought was quite good.

Dell are doing an extra 10% off prices for the Inspirion laptops bought online. This offer only lasts until the 25 Oct, so you have to be quick. Code needed is $zpb1rhpnt1m4d

philiprann

22-10-2004, 6:14 PM

Warning re everything electrical. Looking at their site today - a message appears as follows:

This site has been suspended as of 30/9/04.
The site owner of ww.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net is currently under investigation.

Please contact your local CID (Police) and Trading Standards for more information or advice.
:-[

RICHie_K

22-10-2004, 10:21 PM

Regarding importing laptops from the states, I remember reading a thread on this site about that topic. I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure it said something along the lines of, laptops being imported from America are not liable to any kind of tax, there was a link to the information but I can’t find it. You could try contacting the HMC&E Tariff Classification Service on 01702 366077.

freeonline

27-10-2004, 12:43 AM

Im afraid you pay a premium for small/light laptops at the moment.

Think carefully about your needs before buying a cheap laptop - although a £399 machine will be perfect for some users others may quickly regret not spending more.

This comes from my own experience of cheaper laptops not being fully featured (inferior connectivity, no DVD writer, etc), having inferior screens (can only be viewed from 1 angle, blur during animated display, etc), tend to be larger and heavier and with poor battery life.

If mobility is important I would strongly recommend checking out more expensive slimline models as some cheaper ones are not very mobile at all! Your cheap model may look portable and yes you will be able to lift it, but a modern Sony Viao for example will slot into your back pack without you knowing it is there, whereas your old skool machine will need a seperate case and trust me, they are heavier than they look...! People dont seem to notice the weight problem until they've actually owned one!

My experience with users is that many come back wanting to exchange their large cheap version with a fully featured slim line model that actually suits their needs!

If you are just looking for a PC that doesnt take up much space at home, or to pack in your student daughter/son's bag then the bargin bucket is for you - at the end of the day any new PC will have the power to run modern software.

Note: Check what 'free' software is supplied with your new machine, perhaps you save hundreds on hardware but will have to splash out hundreds on software eg a new copy of Office - no you cant (legally) just install the one that came with your desktop :P. I find that you save much more in the long run by getting good software deals - eg a recently paid £10 more for a DVD-writer than I needed to but it came with Nero - worth £40. I guess not a consideration for the Long John Silvers out there - ooo arr!

Good luck :)

Thank you so much for your generous reply.
I' ve been asked by a GP to investigate as he was interested in a lighter one.
I found in this month PC pro mag the following reviews:
Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook p7010 given 5 stars. 1.3 k.g screen 10.5.= £1,650
Sony VAIO VGN-X505VP given 3stars. 0.825 k.g. screen 10.4.= £1,780
Too expensive!!!
I think he will be pleased with a 2.5 k.g =cheaper.
The problem that many sites don't mention anything about
weight !!!!

Thanks again

SaleHunter

31-10-2004, 5:58 PM

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the "done thing", but I will be getting plenty of offers on laptops from now until christmas, one of my suppliers has an agreement with his supplier that he will shift 1000 of them by the end of the year.

Most of these laptops will be going on ebay, however, i'm willing to offer MSE'rs first option on them at a reduced price (as I wont have to pay ebay fees).

The first I have on offer is an ECS Desknote A929 which I have created a listing for, with full specs here http://www.platinumcomputing.org.uk/Auctionpics/Laptop/ECS%20Desknote%20A929.htm I have 5 of these, ebay price was due to be £400 + shipping but mse'rs will get £15.00 off. You'll notice in the listing that the warranty section is blank, i'm just awaiting an update from my supplier as to whats offered on this, it will probably be a full manufacturers warranty.

I have some Sony Viao's in stock, but I dont want to go on at length in case I get a slap from the mods.

I understand there will alway be concerns about the authenticity of relatively new posters offering expensive electrical goods, and rigtly so. However, i'm happy to accept payment by escrow (by a site of the buyers choosing, providing it's legit) although I would recommend pppay.com (run by the owners of ebid.co.uk) as it's only £0.99 per transaction.

Apologies in advance if this goes against board policy, but this is a genuine offer that will allow mse'rs to save cash on already well priced laptops.

PM's welcome

Cheers
Salehunter

pepemia

03-11-2004, 12:46 PM

[The first I have on offer is an ECS Desknote A929 which I have created a listing for, with full specs here http://www.platinumcomputing.org.uk/Auctionpics/Laptop/ECS%20Desknote%20A929.htm I have 5 of these, ebay price was due to be £400 + shipping but mse'rs will get £15.00 off. You'll notice in the listing that the warranty section is blank, i'm just awaiting an update from my supplier as to whats offered on this, it will probably be a full manufacturers warranty.

I have some Sony Viao's in stock, but I dont want to go on at length in case I get a slap from the mods.

Hi
Looking for a lap top , could anyone give me an honest opinion of the above , does this seem an ok offer ?
Many thanks to all that can help

Malestrom

05-11-2004, 9:21 AM

Did anyone else see the feature about Everything Electrical on Watchdog this week? Sounds like a lot of people got ripped off through PayPal :(

Remember, if something looks to good to be true, it usually is!

sablade

05-11-2004, 2:17 PM

yes I did, its disgusting paypal allow just 30days to claim and this website takes more than 30days to send items, mind you alot of mail order states please allow 28days delivery.

Mind you a professional website taking paypal??

be wary

raeble

07-11-2004, 12:01 PM

Well if you paid by credit card via paypal you should be able to get them to look into it. I would have thought.

lesley2004

09-11-2004, 12:17 PM

This lap top is available in aldil from 11.11.04.

Is this a good deal?? I want it mainly for games and internet use.

Can someone explain to me how a firewire works! Does this allow me to use existing broadband on desktop pc? and if so is it easy to set up for a novice like myself?

Laptop £999.99
•Intel® CentrinoTM Mobile Technology •Intel® Pentium® M processor 735 • Intel® Pentium® M processor 735(1.7Ghz) • Multi Format DVD Burner • DVD–+ R/RW • Intel PRO/WIRELESS • LAN 2200 b/g • ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128MB • High resolution • 15.1” SXGA+ Display • 80 GB Hard disk • 512 MB DDR RAM 333MHz • 4 in 1 Card Reader • Soundsystem • 2 internal speakers, internal • microphone connection • 3x USB 2.0, • Firewire IEEE1394 • VGA-Out, Mic-In, • Line-Out, • TV-Out (s-video) • 56k Modem V.90 and fast ethernet 10/100Mbit LAN (includes telephone cable) • Battery: Smart Li-Ion battery (8 cells).

Chippy_Minton

09-11-2004, 8:14 PM

Can someone explain to me how a firewire works! Does this allow me to use existing broadband on desktop pc? and if so is it easy to set up for a novice like myself?
Firewire is a high speed serial port, typically used for connecting a camcorder, digital camera or MP3 player to the computer. I'm not aware of any way of using Firewire to connect to a broadband connection (i.e. ADSL router/modem). You would use USB or a PCI network card to connect wirelessly or via network cable to the router/modem.

mjr600

10-11-2004, 4:57 PM

lesley, below is what I consider to be just about the best spec per £ on the market at the moment and nearly £400 cheaper than the supermarket special.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&pro duct_uid=66432

Unless you really need a 9700 graphics engine for the lastest games then the ebuyer laptop is first class.Its even widescreen making watching dvd's a treat.

lesley2004

10-11-2004, 7:23 PM

Hi

Thanks for your reply

Have you purchased from ebayer before??
Are they a well known company?
Do you know if the after sales care good?

I have looked at the spec above this one which seems to have dvd rewriter also, it works about 690 incl delivery. Seems a good deal also.

Trouble is I dont understand all the technical jargon, and there are so many to choose from.

Are Acers a decent make?

Sorry so many queries.

mjr600

10-11-2004, 9:30 PM

I have bought lots of bits from Ebuyer, they are a large concern, I've never dealt with aftersales since nothing I bought has been faulty.
ACER are one of the largest laptop producers in the world.
This laptop is an award winner, see here....

http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/cPM6JBpoJoyL1w.html

Ask yourself if you need a DVD burner.

To burn a full DVD with data takes about fifteen minutes and are you really going to need 4.7 gigabytes of data storage ? its a great deal. Whilst it is burning you won't be able to use the laptop properly and it will be sucking power from the battery at an alarming rate.

If you want to copy prerecorded DVD's, films etc then a laptop just is not suitable. It'll take up to an hour to 'rip' the film, an hour to compress it and then another quarter to burn it to the blank DVD and you wont be able to use the laptop during the process.

If you want to put digital video from a digital camcorder onto DVD my advice is use a desktop PC.

These sort of heavy memory/battery/processor applications are not the stuff of cheap laptops.

Stick with the cheaper machine.

If you want to play the latest games or get into DVD burning buy a desktop.

grahawk

11-11-2004, 10:28 AM

I've been looking at replacing my Sony Vaio laptop. !Can anyone tell me what advantages you would gain with a Celeron model? !The processors seem to be fewer ghz, and I wondered why.
Thank you

There are fairly new mobile Celeron processors which are a cut down version of the Centrino processor. The design is very different and they are comparable to older processors with faster speeds. The older Celerons were some of the worst processors ever made and were beaten by far slower older rival AMD processors. It's highly likely that a new 1.3ghz mobile Celeron will be much better than an old 2.8ghz Celeron.

The main difference between the mobile celeron and centrino is that it has a 512kb cache (the more cache the better), which is half that of the centrino (but 4 times that of the older Celerons and the main reason these older processors are poor), and it doesn't have the power saving speed stepping technology which I know little about except it adjust the processor speed to save power.

The mobile celeron and centrino use less power, thus increasing battery life, and run cooler so the laptops are usually much quieter as they require less in the way of cooling fans.

sk79

11-11-2004, 1:20 PM

I bought the aldi laptop when it was first released in September (it went on limited sale back then) and have only had one slight problem with the battery, but this was replaced in the last fortnight.

All in all, the laptop performs superbly and is superb value for money. I'd say buy it - you won't get better for that price.

Any specific questions about it, just ask...

flyer

11-11-2004, 2:25 PM

Anybody have any views on Tiny Computers? They have some very good deals. Don't know anything about quality, service etc

grahawk

11-11-2004, 4:01 PM

Anybody have any views on Tiny Computers? They have some very good deals. Don't know anything about quality, service etc

Tiny Computers, along with Time Computers who own them, have one of the worst reputations for service.

libra10

11-11-2004, 8:10 PM

Thanks Grahawk, for your great reply and information

flyer

12-11-2004, 3:19 PM

The ACER Aspire 1362WLC has been discontinued and superceded by 1362WLMi. Costs more but is better spec (so they tell me)

shaz1000

12-11-2004, 3:34 PM

Can anybody tell me if I will be able to load my windows xp on to a laptop with no operating system?. My xp software came with a Dell computer that I bought in July. I have a disk.
Thanks. :-/

Figment

13-11-2004, 12:38 PM

Can anybody tell me if I will be able to load my windows xp on to a laptop with no operating system?. !My xp software came with !a Dell computer that I bought in July. I have a disk.
Thanks. :-/

No. The software supplied with your Dell PC is only licensed for use on that PC.

lmpd

13-11-2004, 3:50 PM

Ok, I have got around £600 to spend on a new laptop (well its for some one else). Anyone got some suggestions, or advice for good stores to look at?

Not to bothered about the size or battery life as it is for around the house.

Lopo

14-11-2004, 12:24 AM

@lmpd

Centrino based Pentium 4 M 1.5 GHz for a little more at £649 - item sku 219096 at comet online....1.5 GHz Centrino is roughly equivalent to a Desktop Pentium 4 2.8GHz.....ok brand Acer with DVD/CDRW....& wireless....just chuck some more memory in it if need be after a while and it while be quite a swanky machine to have around the home!

Kelbel

14-11-2004, 5:25 PM

Hi,

This is my first posting on this site although have been receiving the weekly tips for a while!
Been reading through a lot of the tips on here about laptops and just wanted some basic advice.

There is a Toshiba Portege 7020 featured on this website which was mentioned above:

http://www.student-laptops.co.uk/acatalog/Internet_Suitable.html

for £219 including VAT.

Several people have mentioned that Toshibas are good - what do people think of this one?

Specifications at a glance - Pentium II 366 MHz, 128Mb, 6Gb, floppy, 13.3" TFT, Windows ME and Office 97. You can add an external CD-ROM or CD-RW.

I am not bothered about watching DVDs on it or playing games etc - I just want something simple and reliable with a reasonable spec, mainly to be able to use the Microsoft office packages and to connect to the Internet at a reasonable speed.

I have just bought my first house so money is a little tight at the moment so don't want to spend a fortune!!

Thanks.

raeble

14-11-2004, 6:29 PM

Do you need a laptop for any particular reason? If not why not get a desktop, they are usually better value for money?

Smokeyone

17-11-2004, 12:06 PM

I have been looking at laptops as well. IBM & Dell seem to be the offerings of the moment. Have looked at Student laptops & a couple of other firms mentioned. Hoping for windows xp, modem and as a bonus only the ability to play the micrsoft 2004 flight game. Any hope at the £300 mark.

Thanks
Smokeyone

bolam56

21-11-2004, 8:47 AM

I had been holding out for prices to come down before I bought my first laptop... Glad I did! My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw one for $500 (US). That's with XP Home!

I don't mind paying for quality in a desk top, but I can't see dropping big bucks on something to web surf from my comfy chair or travel with. Found a unit... "Mercury Green320" (Fry's GQ MX-3201) and bought it on the spot. It comes starved for RAM (of course) so I added a 512 MB card. Less than $600 US, out the door.

Well... Surprise surprise; the little guy works! Works great! It's got a VIA (formerly Cyrix) "C3" 1.2 GHz processor. Not the best choice for high end gaming, but I later learned this chip runs cooler than the competitors. As laptops are often troubled with overheating, I found this an added plus in my new toy.

This model just hit the market, but should be available more widely soon. I've seen it at Fry's outlet site: http://www.outpost.com/

The integrated graphics shares the pathetic 128 MB of RAM that comes with the unit, leaving only 90 MB for windows to run on, so the memory upgrade is a MUST. Splurge on a 512 upgrade, then go into the BIOS and up the "shared memory" and AGP aperture for best results.

Cheers!

raeble

23-11-2004, 1:03 AM

26-11-2004, 12:30 PM

Overseas laptops come with a whole host of problems. What about the warranty? Or the power adaptor? What about when customs whack VAT on top of the price? I'm sure you have to pay for anything over £18 in value.

I generally agree, but occasionally do buy smaller (cheaper!) items, can't recall the customs level but it's on their site - around £70

Anne1954

28-11-2004, 12:18 PM

??? Sorry I am confused and looking for help. I want to buy my husband a laptop for Christmas but don't know what to look for, what to avoid and where to look. Can some of you knowledgeable people give me some advice.

Laptop to be used for Word, Excel and e-mail, will be transported and used connected to printer at home.

Currently running Windows 2000,Office package on desktop.

Also, to use e-mailon desktop do I need a separate ISP account than desktop.?

Anne1954

28-11-2004, 12:19 PM

Sorry forgot re. last post. Don't want to spend more than have to and certainly not more than £500.

grahawk

28-11-2004, 3:04 PM

There's not a huge choice at this price level but I'd say get the £499 Acer laptop from Comet. This has a very decent processor for the price which will easily cope with office applications.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_220876.html

It has a good screen, enough RAM and adding a bit more if required won't cost too much (less than £30) and a cd writer, which is a must.

Comet will try to sell there 3year £199 warranty. Just tell them you can buy a 3 year Acer warrenty for £99 which includes accidental damage or £59 without it if you want to waste money/have peace of mind (depending on your view point).

You won't need a seperate ISP account for laptop and desktop.

raeble

28-11-2004, 3:43 PM

ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&pro duct_uid=66430) has an acer with better specs and £4 cheaper not including delivery. Ebuyer also has customer reviews on a lot of their products. It is currently out of stock but they seem to get new stock pretty frequently and they have loads of other laptops around the £500 mark.

grahawk

28-11-2004, 5:14 PM

Thats excluding VAT though. The hard drive is bigger but the processors are different and my guess is the Comet option will be more powerful, though they may not be poles apart (the processor speed is not the key factor here).

Anne1954

29-11-2004, 12:49 AM

Thanks for the help so far. If i increase my spend to £700 does this help my choiceand what should I look for ina laptop?

grahawk

29-11-2004, 6:29 PM

That certainly gives you more options. If the laptops going to be carried around a lot the lighter the better. I'd go for one with a Centrino processor. These tend to be lighter, run cooler and will run on batteries for longer.

The fan noise from Pentium or AMD based models is rather too much in my opinion and Centrinos/Celeron-M laptops are much more pleasent to use. The drive should 40gb at this price and there should be 512mb RAM. You can find laptops with DVD writers at this price.

mjr600

01-12-2004, 3:25 AM

Packard Bell C3 300 bargain....

here for the full spec...

http://www.packardbell.co.uk/products/node1601.asp?partNumber=P910R00001

reduced from £599 to £569 here...

http://!!!!!!!.com/6v539

add this code AFF10PC at checkout to get it for £520

its fairly light with a good processor/hard drive and dvd burner as well

Bargainbabe

01-12-2004, 1:03 PM

http://!!!!!!!.com/6v539

This link isn't working?

sleep_loser

01-12-2004, 6:46 PM

OK, been here for my nephew trying to get a deal for around 450-550 inc P&P. I work in IT so know my way around most computer equipment. First things first is the cost will be dependent on mostly two things, Processor Brand+Type, and then Spec. For example

1. AMDChip+14.1TFT+128mbRAM+20/30GbDrive
2. IntelChip+15.1TFT+256mb RAM+ 40/80GbDrive

Spec 1 is alot lower spec than 2 but probably would satisfy what most office type users would need, but the options of things like infrared or firewire and the number of usb ports are all dependent on manufacturer so don't take them for granted that they'll be on there.

AMD chips are usually cheaper than Intel and are usually the same processing power so don't be fooled by thinking Intel is more powerful as it's not although it was out before AMD stated making chips so it's a better household brand name than Intel.

I got a deal from www.comet.co.uk 3 months ago as it had about £100 off it's entry level laptop making it £549 including free P&P (not using vouchers), I made a little trip to the shop to check and sure enough it's Fujitsu laptop was £649. Bargain!!

The problem with PCWorld is this.....People who go in there are two types, either clueless about everything computing (no offense), or totally switched on know what they want and go in for a techie browse to see what the dearest shop on the planet is selling what they are looking for so they can have a price guide for shopping on the net. I was in there a few weeks ago and I heard this girl with her mum getting sold this laptop for around £750 and to be honest it was so overpriced it wasn't true in fact the comet deal was for a better spec laptop.

As far as Tiny, there are problems with type of company, delivery is usually expensive, and there support lines are usually like £1 a minute so danger must be highlighted here as the support offereings seem good but can outweigh any savings made by shopping around.

Thanks
Paul
;D

grahawk

01-12-2004, 7:15 PM

AMD doesn't mean lower spec. AMD chips may be cheaper but they generally outperform Intel chips. At the desktop level the latest fastest AMD chips are better than Intels (some say way better). It has been suggested AMD chips are less stable.

The cheaper AMD Sempron outperforms the latest Celeron desktop processors though this processor has bought Intel closer to AMD at this level. These processors are found in laptops. The AMD Sempron 3100 is perhaps the best ever cost/performance processor.

The message should be - don't consider AMD lower spec. AMD though haven't got a competitor for the Centrino/Celeron-M range.

sleep_loser

01-12-2004, 7:36 PM

If you actually read what I said I divided it into two parts Proc Brand/Type + Spec, so please lets not start a bun fight over nothing daft things.

Proc Type/Brand is I guess AMD/Intel and then it's models in both brands.

Spec is screen size, RAM, video mem, hard disk, etc.

I use both AMD and Intel for diffrent jobs so it's horses for course but I think you'll find that AMD is usually that bit cheaper.

I never said anything about AMDvsIntel chip, in a specification way as we could be there all day.

I was trying to be general in my terms for all to understand.

Thanks
Paul

lesley2004

01-12-2004, 8:01 PM

Hi sleep-loser

I am one of those "techie thick" people who buy things in PC world!!

What I am looking for is some good technical advice on buying a Laptop for christmas

I will want to connect to internet

Watch DVDs

Kids will want to play-
Sims2
age of empires clash of titans
Lord of the rings new age.

Connect digital camera and camcorder to download pics and video onto laptop

I am looking to pay an absolute maximum od £750 but the cheaper the better

Any tips, having been looking at the acer aspire range on ebuyer, but unsure of buying from online company.

Any advice greatly appreciated

Lesley

grahawk

01-12-2004, 9:52 PM

For example

1. AMDChip+14.1TFT+128mbRAM+20/30GbDrive
2. IntelChip+15.1TFT+256mb RAM+ 40/80GbDrive

Spec 1 is alot lower spec than 2

Hi sleep loser - it was this headline statement that prompted me to reply. I just wanted to emphasise the point you went onto make that AMD is not lower spec.

lesley2004

04-12-2004, 3:31 PM

Can anyone tell me if this is a good deal

Packard Bell h5315 laptop

Mobile Intel Pentium 4 538 3.2GHz

533 MHz FSB

1Mb cache

512 Mb RAM

60 Gb Hard Drive

DVD±RW Drive

15.1 " TFT display

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

64 Mb nVidia GeForce FX5100 graphics

1 Year FREE warranty

£799 at curries

down £727 incl postage using 10% code

grahawk

04-12-2004, 9:03 PM

At £727 it looks quite good to me. Having a seperate grahics card (as opposed to the Intel Extreme graphics) should help with games. It's not the best graphics but should be fine for most current games I think.

mjr600

05-12-2004, 2:20 AM

Comet have the Acer 2303 with widescreen display, mobile celeron and DVD writer for £550 online. Thats a good price.

Click here for a demo, you'll need broadband.

http://www.lara.on.ca/acer2303.html

buttertubs

05-12-2004, 12:37 PM

Just bought a PATRIOT 2006 VIA 1.2 with cd writer from Currys at £449.

Use code AFF10PC to get 10% off. I also used my egg card to get a further 5% cashback (you have to click through the link on the egg.com site.)

Total I paid inc egg cashback was £392.33 inc postage.

Scrabble

08-12-2004, 10:11 AM

buttertubs

What is the Patriot laptop likes with performance? Its tempting to get it just to be used to surf the web and do regular word processing and emailing.

Any suggestions guys?

Scrabble

Anne1954

08-12-2004, 1:41 PM

Sleep-loser/grahawk,

Thanks for your help so far. I am finally going shopping for THE Laptop. From info. given I think this is the spec. I should look for.

Processor - Centrino/Celeron
256MB RAM/40GB - although 256/30maybe o.k.
DVD/CD Rewriter
15.4" black screen- probably can only get 15.1" inmy price range.

Have I got this right? Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Once again thanks.

Anne

grahawk

09-12-2004, 10:51 AM

Just to clarify the Celeron should be a Celeron-M and not a Celeron-D which are also found in laptops. There should be a sticker on the laptop with Celeron-M written on it. Make sure you avoid older Celerons which some places are still try to flog (the sticker will just say Celeron).

At your budget you should be able to get a 40gb drive and if you can get 512mb RAM then that's a good option. If it has 256mb RAM while that should be OK but I would still budget to get another 256mb of RAM (about £30 from the highly respected http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.asp ).

You may even manage to get a DVD writer.

As long as it's not going to be used for recent and new games and highly complex graphics work there's not too much to worry about.

Anne1954

09-12-2004, 12:14 PM

Thanks. Merry Christmas

Anne

roversno1fan

09-12-2004, 6:50 PM

Anne1954

10-12-2004, 7:47 PM

I've done my research and these are my choices, any help in deciding which would be best would help.

I really appreciate all the help I have received so far.

Choices - E - Buyer -IBM Ts Thinkpad R50e Pentium M Processor,Centrino, Bluetooth, Firewire. £ 571.11

E- Buyer - Samsung P28 Centrino Celeron M Processor, DVD/CDRW, 15.1", £564

Curry's - Packard Bell E4710, Pentium M Processor, DVD RW & CD RW, 15", Wireless Enabled £649

Comet - Acer TM4001LC1, Pentium M, No DVD Recorder,15",Wireless Enabled £600

Thinkpad is only one with Bluetooth , I'm still trying to get further spec.

All specs seem similar to me. Am I better to go for Samsung with CeleronM & Centrino or Pentium M with built in wireless facility?

Anne

grahawk

11-12-2004, 9:57 AM

All specs seem similar to me. Am I better to go for Samsung with CeleronM & Centrino or Pentium M with built in wireless facility?

Anne !

If it's in your budget I would always go for a Centrino/Pentium-M.

grahawk

11-12-2004, 10:01 AM

Hi guys,

This is my first post, but i've been browsing the forums for a while now...

Just wanted to seek out your advice. I've got about £500 to spend on a laptop, and I want to know what good deals are out there, and what can I get for my money...

Look forward to your reponses...

Danny

The best deals I've seen are the Acer Travelmate 2303LC at Comet and an Acer Aspire with an AMD Sempron 2800+ at Staples store. Both cost £499.

tandeh

11-12-2004, 11:10 AM

Anne1954

11-12-2004, 2:26 PM

grahawk

11-12-2004, 2:51 PM

hi im after a gaming laptop, it has to have 512mb Ram, a Centrino (i am told they are the best) and Radeon 9700 (or should i wait for the Radeon Xseries mobile processor). i want to do some serious Half lifing on the move.

Oh a nice screen and a decent weight and slim as possible (like the samsungs)

i am willing to pay around £600-£700

can anyone help please !???

The answer is - you'll be lucky at that price!

Firstly for serious gaming the only Centrino to go for is the latest 2ghz model. This is similar to a Pentium 3ghz in performance. However it's not the best for games. Centrinos weren't designed for gaming though this model has a following in the gaming community and is considered the first Centrino that can compete. Forget other Centrinos.

Heres a test including this Centrino from a gaming site:

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=gmso&page=1&MSCSProfile=

You can get Pentium 3ghz based laptops for £700 but I'm not sure you would find one with a decent graphics card. I don't know much about gaming laptops otherwise except that I've read a budget of about £900-£1000 is what is required.

grahawk

11-12-2004, 3:48 PM

Grahawk,

It looks like the Currys- Packard Bell E4170 @ £649 with Pentium M, 256MB, 40GB, DVD RW & CD RW, 152 display, and wireless enabled will be the best deal then.

The Thinpad is good but I can't find spec for DVD RW, etc.

Thanks,

Anne

Looks good - I was a bit confused by the processor as I couldn't find it on the Intel site. It is a latest generation version of the Centrino and should be similar to at least a Pentium 2.2 - 2.4ghz processor if anyone asks. It's also available at PC World.

tandeh

11-12-2004, 4:23 PM

thanx for the reply Grahawk, what i really need is a desktop relacement, meaning i need gaming power to play latest games aswell as doing all other stuff, i am willing to expand my budget by another £100 or so, any suggestions, if possible any decent Laptops from PC world, currys or dixons as i live near all of them and would have less problems getting repairs etc.

alrabbit

17-12-2004, 3:22 PM

Some thoughts on buying laptops... ::)

I've bought and worked on many different brands over the years and IMHO here's my input...

Wherever possible, go for a tier 1 manufacturer (I'll list a few with some strengths and weaknesses in a mo'). I've found that the quality and longevity of these against the smaller brands is nearly always better. (Probably because of the massive R&D budgets these companies have). I've also found that shopping online means you can get a similar spec laptop by say IBM for the same price as you'd pay for something of a little less quality in a store.
Best to do some online price comparisons and particularly check dabs, ebuyer, simply & savastore.

I like....

IBM - Strong, well made, will take some knocks so good if you're accident prone or mobile.
Toshiba - Very good all round, good support.
HP - Again, pretty well made - the compaq heritage is the key here.
Sony - My personal choice as style and quality are immense, but better as a desktop replacement as the more affordable models seem to weigh a ton!!
Acer - Pretty average all round.

I wouldn't touch with yours...

Dell - In my experience.. start falling apart after a year or so, bad support.
Packard Bell - Although NEC are a massive tier 1 company, the quality control seems a bit sketchy.
Time/Tiny - If they're still going... bleugh...

Specs to worry about are the things that aren't easily upgradable - mainly the screen. Personally 15" minimum and check the refresh rate and viewing angles... the new Sony black screens are fantastic to use. I'd also make sure of a dvd/cdrw combo minimum but pref dvd-rw (+&-compatible)
Of the upgradables 256 is just about ok but bear in mind you'll want 512 in a year or less (+£30to£50).
Hard drives are always a bit skimpy in laptops but 40Gb is a good start - you can buy bigger later if needed.

All this leads to what I'd recommend at the moment... well, it seems to me xmas has either depleted stocks or pushed prices up as there aren't many great deals around... An HP nx9020 comes in at about £560 inc. VAT on PC World business (www.pcwb.com) but don't have !time to shop round and get a better price... best time to buy is when manufacturers bring out a new model and discount the older models or when they are having a big sales push (IBM at the moment)....

Anyways, apols for the long post but hope my experience may help some peeps... ! !;D

lesley2004

17-12-2004, 5:50 PM

Have you purchased from pcworld business before.

The prices seem quite cheap

grahawk

17-12-2004, 6:20 PM

The prices seem quite cheap

The prices shown are excluding VAT as the site is designed for business.

lesley2004

17-12-2004, 7:58 PM

Oh right that explains that

What do you think of the acer aspire range

I am so undecided on laptop to buy, it is driving me mad!!

I keep going back to acernotebooks.co.uk and looking at 1672wlmi at £799 and 2023wlmi at £974.

Do you think either of these is a good choice for the price. Must be able to play games such as rome total war/sims2/battle for middle earth

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

raeble

18-12-2004, 12:53 AM

The system requirements for the sims 2 are here (http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=21). You should be able to pick a laptop that matches those requirements at the very minimum, if you are playing games you really need a dedicated graphics card. I would say that second laptop (http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=1&product=203&cat=79) on this page should be ok for the sims 2.

grahawk

18-12-2004, 10:18 AM

Gaming is not something Im entirely sure about but I'd say it has to better to get a laptop with a 128mb card. Not just for now but for games released during the next year. One of these games had a minimum requirement for a 64mb card and I would be wanting something more than a minimum.

Your more expensive choice is a 1.6ghz Centrino and I'm not sure how good this will be for gaming. From what I've read Centrinos aren't great for gaming though of course most games will work well enough.

malcolmord

19-12-2004, 12:37 PM

I'm not to keen on Apple - tends to be more expensive

Iffy_Wallet

19-12-2004, 5:53 PM

Well I've just followed Martin's original link to PC World, "EI SYSTEM VIA 1.0GHZ PROCESSOR" which is now showing price inc vat £299.97 (HURRAH), but not surprisingly "Temporarily Out of Stock".

Oh well !

ccluedo

23-12-2004, 1:35 PM

Hi all,
I originally posted this question on the another thread (Dell), but realised I should have posted it here :-[

I am contemplating buying this power laptop from Tiny(Time) in January...(waiting for any sales/incentives). Would be grateful for any/all opinions on if I could do better for my dosh? Also, what is better..and why?..AMD64 or P4 (prescott). Reasons thus far for considering Tiny are that I already have one which is 4.5 yrs old and has given me no probs at all :)(so far)! and that I can get interest free for 6 months! ;D ;D ;D

Spec as follows:
Processor - Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz HT Processor (Prescott)
Operating System - Microsoft® Windows XP Home
Memory - 1024MB DDR RAM
Hard Disk - 80GB Hard Disk
Optical 1 - DVD-Rw / CD-Rw Multiformat DVD Burner Drive
Display - 17" WXGA Ultra-High Resolution TFT Screen (1400 x 900)
Graphics - 128MB ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 Pro (M11) Graphics
PC-TV System - Mini PC-TV Tuner Fitted
Modem - 56k V90 modem
Internet Access - Supanet Internet Access Preloaded
TV Out - TV Out For Large Screen Presentations
Network - Gigabit LAN Ethernet built-in for ADSL router and networking
Wi-Fi - 802.11b Wi-Fi Wireless Adapter
Firewire - 1394 Firewire (Camcorder) Port
Card Reader - Multi-Format Card Reader & Writer
Sound - 5.1 advanced sound system and built-in microphone
Keyboard etc. - Advanced keyboard and Two Button Track Pad
Ports etc. - 4x USB2.0 Ports, 12 Cell Li-Ion Battery & A/C Charger, PCMCIA
Weight; Dimensions - 4.5Kg; 395 x 285 x 39 mm
Software 1 - Microsoft® Works Version 7
Software 2 - Microsoft® Office XP - 60 Day Trial
Software 3 - Cyberlink Power Suites (DVD / CD Creation Software)
Model - N2919

Cost: £1099

TIA

im333

25-12-2004, 2:02 AM

can someone please post an in-depth review of the gericom aldi laptop that is coming on sale on the 27th?

raeble

25-12-2004, 7:25 PM

There's a thread here (http://www.pcreview.co.uk/thread-6963.php) and here (http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=4170). here (http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=161165)

lofty

31-12-2004, 1:59 AM

Whats the best Centrino or decent battery lifed P4 i can get for 1100 Inc VAT?

Ive looked at Mesh, they have a kick !!! P4 laptop in price range but battery life is 32 mins.

Im told centrino has like 4 hours or so life which would be better but i am after at least 2 hours life with a charge.

webhamster

31-12-2004, 3:59 AM

Those savvy will know of savrow , alienware type laptops , ones with prices that could choke a donkey.

Managed to find some unbadged versions here WITH 3 YR warranty inlcuded.

http://www.rockdirect.com/rockshop/itemlist.php?findclas=24 for 999 ex vat.

http://www.rockdirect.com/rockshop/itemlist.php?findclas=49 smaller hd , processor and ram for 899 ex vat.

lofty

31-12-2004, 12:08 PM

any idea what the battery life is like on these?

webhamster

31-12-2004, 5:26 PM

On rocks site some of them can take a second battery in the floppy slot , missus.

But they are essentially dtr (desktop replacements) for the gamer on the move , so battery life would be poor is an understatement.

I only started checking out rock after lots of satisfied customers statements , and of course they won som eserious reviews too.They have 3yr warranty as standard , some charge more like dell and laptopsdirect and yet the screen isnt covered etc.

lofty

31-12-2004, 7:51 PM

Im after something to take to lectures at college and some of them last a few hours, so you see 30 mins wouldnt be long enough, need a min of 2 hours life

webhamster

31-12-2004, 9:50 PM

You can forget about p4 then , and any decent gaming watching dvds.What you need is centrino 1.5 12 inch tft 512mb , second battery , onboard graphics , that would garuntee you 2 hrs.

check out dell , evesham or rockdirect , look for those with a 3yr waranty as standard that covers accidental and screen (not just labour fro the screen , sneaky)and the ability to add a 2nd battery or upgrade the original one to 12cell.

hope my imparted wisdom helps , keep us posted.

scholesy

02-01-2005, 2:42 PM

Just a word of warning Lofty, if you take your laptop to lectures you will look very out of place. after nearly 4 years at Uni only once have I seen a laptop in a lecture. Everyone was asking each other why they needed it there! Just some advice.......... ;)

But very good for group projects, presentations holidays etc

lofty

02-01-2005, 5:11 PM

Its for notes, I have an educational Disabillity meaning I cant write Legibly. Its SAAS that are paying for it not me. Im in college now so not too many lectures but in future there are bound to be more.

grahawk

02-01-2005, 5:31 PM

Staples are doing a Centrino laptop for £599. I was looking at this today and was very tempted. It has a 1.5ghz Pentium-M processer and DVD writer.

Edit - and now I've got one. It's a real good deal.

lofty

02-01-2005, 6:41 PM

Im looking for something of a grand minimum (as anything less i have to pay back)

scholesy

02-01-2005, 10:17 PM

I've found the dearest laptop at ebuyer, over £12000

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&pro duct_uid=77952

Typo I think!!

lofty

03-01-2005, 2:03 PM

big typo, its not worth all that :p

lofty

03-01-2005, 8:37 PM

Has anyone tried one of those tiny deals? what they like?

Nurse_Bambi

03-01-2005, 10:35 PM

I've just ordered a AMILO L 7300 Celeron M 340 1.5 GHz 256mb DVD-CDRW 15" TFT Display
It was £499.99 inc VAT from Dabs.com

Seems like a good deal. Am i right? I don't need a really high spec supa dupa machine so this one suits me.

anyone got one?

grahawk

03-01-2005, 10:57 PM

Yes I think your right - it is a good deal. However you should add an additional 256mb RAM.

raeble

04-01-2005, 12:54 AM

Tiny? Usual advice is steer well clear. My sister got a mac, printer, scanner and mini disc recorder under that student disability thingie. Plus various bits of software. Do you want to look at ibooks and powerbooks? Cheapest one is about £650 with educational discount for an ibook. Powerbooks start at about a grand.

lofty

04-01-2005, 1:47 AM

tbh im not a great fan of macs. prefer PC's, must have a look at dabs tho.

raeble

04-01-2005, 9:36 AM

Ok, but ibooks seem to have better battery life than pc laptops. Have you tried laptops direct? (http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/asp/default.asp). There's also a list of suppliers here (http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=93426). You might also what to check out the main what laptop forum, people are always asking for laptop advice. I think there is a student there at the moment asking about laptops around the thousand pound mark.

steve237

06-01-2005, 11:58 AM

Hi all,

I'm after a lightening fast Sony Vaio laptop with DVD recorder. Can anyone advise the best place(s) to get the best prices on Vaio's?

alexspratt

06-01-2005, 10:39 PM

After research am considering the ACER Aspire 1362WLMi laptop.

Should I be concerned about abilities of AMD Sempron 2800+ processor? I like the idea of 3 hours of battery which nothing other than a Centrino can provide and that costs too much...

Otherwise I'm after 15.4" widescreen and DVDR/W, and preferably 512MB RAM, 40 GB HD and dedicated graphics. Not planning any video editing, just internet, digital photos, powerpoint and the odd vid clip in powerpoint.

Finally before I buy for £673 incl Vat (from Simply Computers) does anyone have any last minute better prices / laptop suggestions up their sleeve? ???

Thanks, Alex.

webhamster

07-01-2005, 12:08 AM

Sempron is basically a crippled full athlon processor , much like a celeron to a pentium.

If you can stay clear of sony , the name is all your buying , usually older tech too.Try rockdirect , comes with 3 yr warranty as standard and more importantly with an althon full rather than its chopped little brother.

Insist on a notebook with at least a 512 mb ram config.O f the current setup its centrino , then athlon then p4 for battery life.....there is also other consdierations like more screen more power usage , more ram more power !and less cell in the battery less life.

Onboard shared video is fine if all your going to do is type and copy the occasional cd , but for video and gaming choose a dedicated setup for the graphics , like radeon 9600 and up , gfx 5200 and up , the more memmoury in the "gpu" the better , or the worse if looking for battery life.

Sometimes the deciding just gets harder.

For prices use a price checker , i would reccomend for support as the industry has awarded the best rockdirect.com , they give long warranties.For price of "semi" brands like the acer you mention either acernotebooksdirect or technoworld.com.

Hope I have helped.

milgo

08-01-2005, 4:11 AM

grahawk

08-01-2005, 10:17 AM

It's a Acer Travelmate 292LMi

See it here (http://www.office-world.co.uk/livp/webliv.pgm/wwgoto=web510/wwrts=y/wwlevel=3/wwcatg=030026001000/wwsearch=findall/wwtab=SHOP/wwsubmenu=1)

milgo

08-01-2005, 5:17 PM

It's a Acer Travelmate 292LMi

See it here (http://www.office-world.co.uk/livp/webliv.pgm/wwgoto=web510/wwrts=y/wwlevel=3/wwcatg=030026001000/wwsearch=findall/wwtab=SHOP/wwsubmenu=1)

The reason that I asked is that i was in my local office world and they had on offer the acer 291LCi for £499 inc VAT it looked like a good machine too me.

lofty

08-01-2005, 10:58 PM

Have Staples sold laptops for a while, Their support might not be very good if its a new thing to them. Remember the problems with them back during the free speakers promotion!

lofty

09-01-2005, 6:43 PM

Found a nice laptop from Acer Notebooks.

Under a Grand b4 vat.

2.0ghz Centrino
512mb ram
80gb hd
15.4" monitor

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=1&product=148&cat=79&ph=&key words=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=

grahawk

09-01-2005, 9:20 PM

Have Staples sold laptops for a while, Their support might not be very good if its a new thing to them. Remember the problems with them back during the free speakers promotion!

I wouldn't expect to much support from Staples except to get it fixed if it goes wrong. However for £70 you can take out Acers own 3 year support for repairs and free telephone support.

lofty

10-01-2005, 12:11 AM

been thinking more about rock direct now as they offer warrenties on the monitor as well so im told. acer charge €100 + tax on monitor repairs and their the most vunerable part on a laptop i find.

Boojum

12-01-2005, 4:11 PM

Just had an email-shot from Aria advertising a Digimate M5725 laptop with the following spec:

AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor
512 Mb cache memory
40 GB HD
256 Mb DDR SO-DIMMs
CD-RW/DVD
14.1" screen
VIA KN-266 ProSavage 8, integrated AGP 3D video
2 year warranty

all for special offer price of £464 including VAT

Is this a good deal?

Boojum

lofty

12-01-2005, 5:19 PM

looks ok for the money likes...

Bargainbabe

12-01-2005, 9:11 PM

Just had an email-shot from Aria advertising a Digimate M5725 laptop with the following spec:

AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor
512 Mb cache memory
40 GB HD
256 Mb DDR SO-DIMMs
CD-RW/DVD
14.1" !screen
VIA KN-266 ProSavage 8, integrated AGP 3D video
2 year warranty

all for special offer price of £464 including VAT

Is this a good deal?

Boojum

Excellent deal, wish i had seen this a couple of weeks ago!

grahawk

12-01-2005, 11:48 PM

It doesn't include an operating sytem though si it's not quite the bargain it seems.

AUSTIN

15-01-2005, 12:13 PM

Hiya, I am trying to find the best deal for a laptop. My husband wants to rush out and buy the first one he can find, this obviously horrifies me.

He wants to be able to watch DVD's, play his football manager game(requires 60gb hardrive, 512 mega ram and needs a 2gb? processor) neither of us are particulary computer boffs, he has also stated he wants a 3 1/2 inch floppy for his college work. I would a modem as well but I am aware that the above things might be expensive. Can one of you IT gods advise please, I lookedat the ones on laptops direct but I have trouble reading through the specs

grahawk

15-01-2005, 12:47 PM

What sort of budget do you have? There are plenty of options though fewer with a 60gb drive. A modem will come as standard. You'll be lucky to get a floppy drive these days. Personally I can't see the point of having one as a CD writer is standard these days and you can get CDs quite cheap these days. If you need a floppy you can get an external drive that will plug into a USB port for £20 so don't worry if it hasn't got one.

Other questions are - do you want a light quiet laptop with decent battery life? In which case one with Pentium-M processor is recommended (those wih Centrino technology). Many of these have processors with speeds less than 2Ghz but the performance is well beyond a 2Ghz Pentium.

AUSTIN

15-01-2005, 12:59 PM

Wow, I didn't expect a reply so quickly, We have a budget of up to £700, maybe £800. I really don't want to spend that much but I supose it's an investment. My husband has it fixed in his mind that he wants a floppy drive but I think that cd roms are the way ahead. I have looked around and the centrino looks good, the one I have looked at is the ws 1.8 ghz but thats sooooo expensive, from novatech.

grahawk

16-01-2005, 10:34 AM

For the price you can also get the heavier and nosier Pentium 4 laptops like this one at Comet.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_219126.html

Personally I hate fan noise and because these run quite hot they usually have a lot of fan noise.

You'll probably find many Pentium-M/Centrino notebooks with 256mb RAM but adding more is very easy so I wouldn't worry about that.

On the floppy isue why would anyone use something with a tiny capacity when for no additional cost you can use something with 500 times the capacity.

grahawk

16-01-2005, 10:39 AM

Here's a rather good deal for anyone looking for a cheap laptop. It's a Comet package including a bag for £499. It comes with a 1.5ghz Celeron-M which is a decent processer not to be confused with any other type of Celeron:

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/993043.html

rm-lewis

24-01-2005, 11:16 PM

BUMP.......anyone seen any decent (cheapish) laptops with centrino or celeron-m with a dedicated graphics card. Was going to get the office world one but was too late.

apintofstella

25-01-2005, 9:39 PM

I wouldn't expect to much support from Staples except to get it fixed if it goes wrong. However for £70 you can take out Acers own 3 year support for repairs and free telephone support.

We've got it at work - 4 times we've had an engineer out which on average we have requested 3 weeks before each of his visits. Absolutely useless! They haven't a clue.

Nile

03-03-2005, 10:22 AM

I've been thinking about (and talking to friends about) buying a laptop computer for months........ but as a technophobe it's a daunting prospect.

I know we have some 'puter wizzards on this site......so was wondering if someone knowledgeable would give me some advice on what is the minimum spec I should be looking for.

I am prepared to buy a well known brand rather than the cheapest price but unknown quality version.

I would be using it to run MS Office Professional software........and hope to transfer my cd's to an MP3 player (and for the same reasons I haven't bought that yet either)........but don't need to play games on it.

Hope you can help.

grahawk

03-03-2005, 4:12 PM

You have lots of choices. The first thing to decide is whether you want a light notebook (less than 3kg) with longer battery life which will probably be much quieter. Or whether you want to get a larger heavier model which are described as desktop replacements.

The former have Pentium-M processors (and Centrino technolgy which includes wireless connectivity) or Celeron-M processors which are cheaper but good (and similar to Pentium-Ms in performance).

The latter will have Pentium processors or Celeron-D (D for desktop) processors (which aren't so good but would be fine for your needs) or AMD processors. These will run warmer and require more cooling and thus tend to have louder fans. I can't comment about AMD processors in laptops.

You'll be fine with shared graphics (Intel) but in all cases you should get 512mb RAM. Many come with 256mb so you'll need to include getting 256mb more in your budget.

If you want cheap and good get a Celeron-M laptop or AMD Sempron (Semprons are better than the Celeron-D s). If you want to spend more either a Pentium-M, pentium or AMD Athlon. Personally considering your needs I'd get a Celeron-M or if available a cheap Pentium-M laptop but then I like light and especailly quiet (the difference in noise can be great - I now have a Pentium_M laptop which is very quiet compared to my old laptop which had an older type of Celeron. Watch out for Celeron-D processors being called mobile Celerons though.

Party_Animal

03-03-2005, 4:41 PM

What sort of price Grahawk?

Edinburghlass

03-03-2005, 5:13 PM

and from where? :)

Fran

03-03-2005, 5:31 PM

Nile,

Have you had a look through the Great Cheapest Decent Laptop Hunt (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1993) thread?

grahawk

03-03-2005, 6:57 PM

At the momment this Celeron-M laptop looks like a good price for most tasks except recent games and highly complex graphics and music production applications (although it was £479 until recently).

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_232823.html

Party_Animal

04-03-2005, 9:54 AM

Thanks Grahawk.

Nile

04-03-2005, 10:40 AM

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially Grahawk for the shortcut to the Comet page.

I don't have a credit card so need to pay in cash at a store, not buy on t'internet.

Edinburghlass

04-03-2005, 11:09 AM

I just emailed the link to my pc guy and he said "snap it up, I'd buy it now"

Thanks Mike, I might just do that :)

Fran

04-03-2005, 2:09 PM

Nile,

I hope you don't mind but I've merged your thread into the "laptop discussion" thread, which has loads of viewings. I hope this doesn't confuse you but helps you to get even more info.

Fran

The StuSter

05-03-2005, 10:25 AM

Silverblack

05-03-2005, 8:02 PM

I was thinking of getting the DELL 1150 (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_1150?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) laptop but would need a wireless option for internet at some stage is it worth buying the Dell card or are they easy enough to fit yourself and probably cheaper ?

Dell Wireless 1450 802.11a/b/g Mini-PCI Card [add £40.00
Dell Wireless 1350 802.11a/b/g mini PCI Card [add £30.00

Nile

07-03-2005, 7:59 AM

I went to Comet on Saturday and saw the ACER model that Grahawk suggested. Unfortunately they didn't have the FUJITSU SIEMENS model that JPS suggested, for me to compare the two.

So I'm still making my mind up. I picked up a copy of 'The Computing Buyer's Guide' from Comet.......which will help me with the technical jargon.

Thanks for your help.

Edinburghlass

07-03-2005, 2:16 PM

Nile, I think it would help the experts on here as to how/what you want to use the laptop for. I had already spoken to my pc guy beforehand about a laptop and he knew that as I already have a desktop with wirelss connections, dvd rewriter etc so he knew that the Fujitsui Seimens laptop in Comet was fine for my use.

For the money it appears to be a great buy but then I will just be using it for surfing and email by adding a wireless connection as it doesn't have a modem.

I store my photos on my desktop and my daughter plays her games on the desktop too which this laptop is not particularly equiped for.

grahawk

09-03-2005, 6:16 PM

Well this one is now £449 - a real bargain.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_232823.html

Meanwhile Comet who seem to always have good deals are doing this Pentium-M/Centrino for £569.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/228230.html

Edinburghlass

09-03-2005, 9:19 PM

Well this one is now £449 - a real bargain.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_232823.html

I have ordered it grhawk and its being delivered on Tuesday, thanks for the link :j

sarinkov

10-03-2005, 11:27 AM

Hiya

Please can someone advise me? I've read the thread but I have no idea about laptops so it's all a bit confusing!

I'm looking for a laptop, max spend £600ish. I wil be using it for basic office stuff, the internet and maybe writing dvd's. I would like it to have the wireless thing so I can use the internet anywhere in the house.

Can anyone recommend one for me please??

TIA

Nile

14-03-2005, 1:23 PM

Hello Sarinkov

If you have a branch of Comet nearby, have a look at the laptops on display to help you make your mind up.

I found their information boards very helpful. Like you, I'm confused about what to buy. I picked up a copy of Comet's 'The Computing Buyer's Guide' book......it is packed with useful information.
Hope this helps.:confused:

Paul123

14-03-2005, 7:22 PM

Wonder if anyone can help...

Currently have an IBM Thinkpad X22 which has been great zipping up and down on the train up to London and back. Also good for sitting in front of the TV with.

Trouble is Im going to be working away from home for 3 - 6 months staying in hotels and B&B's. Couldnt have happened at a worse time!

Im going to need to replace the laptop for something with a bigger screen, doesnt matter what the girls say 12" just isnt enough when your trying to read cisco labs. Ive seen a Toshiba A60 A60 (http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10278793&pid=204&rstrat=2693) on Watford and Ebuyer for just over £500 but its a celeron and ive never really been a fan.

Are there any really good deals about at the moment?

Ideally i want centrino with 512mb ram but i can easily upgrade the ram myself and the hard drive if necessary (laptop will have to dual boot linux and xp).

Yeah ive waffled long enough, any good deals on centrino laptops would be appreciated :cool:

temin

15-03-2005, 7:55 PM

Does anyone know if this is a good deal?
It's a Dell Inspiron 1000 and costs 400 pounds if you enter the following code for 5% off:

$X1P2CR6XK11B6 valid till 16/03/05

Processor
Mobile Intel® Celeron® Processor (2.20GHz, 256kB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB)

Operating system
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Memory
256MB 266MHz DDR RAM

Monitor
14.1" XGA TFT (1024x768) Screen

Harddrive
30GB Hard Drive

Optical Drive
Integrated 8x DVD-ROM/24x CDRW Combo Drive

Modem
56K Data Fax Modem with Unlimited AOL Broadband from £17.99 1

Graphic Card
Integrated Direct AGP Graphics

Service
1 Year Euro Collect and Return Service¥

grahawk

15-03-2005, 8:27 PM

Wonder if anyone can help...

Yeah ive waffled long enough, any good deals on centrino laptops would be appreciated :cool:

See my Comet suggestion above.

grahawk

15-03-2005, 8:30 PM

Does anyone know if this is a good deal?
It's a Dell Inspiron 1000 and costs 400 pounds if you enter the following code for 5% off:

$X1P2CR6XK11B6 valid till 16/03/05

Processor
Mobile Intel® Celeron® Processor (2.20GHz, 256kB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB)

At least it's one of those older Celerons with a 256kb cache though I don't know how these stack up. I'd spend the extra £50 and get the Comet suggestion above.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_232823.html

A much better processor.

mick21

15-03-2005, 8:32 PM

Hi can anyone recommend the best laptop I can get for around £1000,
I need to be able to transfer footage from miniDV camcorder (with Firewire) to DVD with a little editing.
Other uses surfing movies, office. possibly few games as well.
I don't mind if its not too portable and if the battery life is rubbish, although it would be nice if the noise was bearable.
I know I'll get more for my money if I buy a PC but I'd like to be able to go from room (so wireless) to room inorder to get away from the kids for an hour or two.
any help would be appreciated.

Ta

temin

15-03-2005, 8:47 PM

Grahawk
Do you know if the FUJITSU SIEMENS has a DVD/CDRW drive?
Really torn between the Dell and the Fujitsu and I need to make a decision ASAP!!!
Thanks

Edinburghlass

15-03-2005, 10:19 PM

Grahawk
Do you know if the FUJITSU SIEMENS has a DVD/CDRW drive?
Really torn between the Dell and the Fujitsu and I need to make a decision ASAP!!!
Thanks

It is a CDRW but only plays DVDs, hope this helps! I was supposed to take delivery of mine today but Comet messed it up and its now coming tomorrow!

grahawk

16-03-2005, 6:55 AM

It is a CDRW but only plays DVDs, hope this helps! I was supposed to take delivery of mine today but Comet messed it up and its now coming tomorrow!

Must admit although I like the prices I don't trust Comet or any of these big retailers to deliver on time. I'd rather go to the shop and pay the extra. Hope it arrives today.

shanti

17-03-2005, 2:51 AM

I bought a laptop from the laptop superstore and have had nothing but problems ever since. I wasn't cheap at almost 400 quid (second hand) and I had to chase them up for basic stuff like the drivers cd! after threatening them with trading standards and a useless laptop for weeks, I eventually got the cd. Since then, I have had to get the darn thing repaired twice - the hard drive is knackered - I have to stop here because I can feel the old stress levels going up just thinking about them!!!! Don't buy off these people - they are useless and rogues!

temin

19-03-2005, 10:09 AM

I ended up buying the Fujitsu laptop as it seems to have marginally better specs and Dell haven't even bothered to answer the questions I've emailed them!
It is now 449 pounds even in the Comet stores, so I could go and pick it up myself, rather than having to wait for delivery.
Have also managed to set up wi-fi broadband so I'm very proud of myself!!!

Edinburghlass

19-03-2005, 1:22 PM

You made me go and check the prices, lol, and its now £10 cheaper at £439.99 buying online. However, if you can buy it instore I would go for that at £449.99 as the Comet delivery team leave a great deal to be desired :rolleyes:

Only been using it a couple of days so still trying to work out what I am doing with it but so far so good. I do miss my mouse and find posting on here still quite fiddly with the touch pad :o

grahawk

19-03-2005, 5:30 PM

Only been using it a couple of days so still trying to work out what I am doing with it but so far so good. I do miss my mouse and find posting on here still quite fiddly with the touch pad :o

I find touch pads really hard to use. Just get a USB mouse - makes life so much easier. In fact if I'm doing a lot of writing I plug in a USB keyboard as well.

Garret

22-03-2005, 7:00 AM

Try one of these:
www.alphasmart.co.uk

Available cheaply from:

http://www.portabletechnology.co.uk/erol.html#262x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.co.uk%252Fsearch%3Fie% 3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26q%3Dalphasmart+neo

If the link doesn't work try teh short version and click around a bit:
http://www.portabletechnology.co.uk

It uses the palm operating system rather than windows, which brings some disadvantages, but the benefits are over 24 hour battery life per charge, instant boot up (yes instant) full size keyboard - much easier typing, touch sensitive screen and it is very light. I've just ordered one on 30 day approval so I'll let you know what I think of it but it looks very impressive at £245 plus VAT brand new.

Garret

tandeh

23-03-2005, 4:12 PM

hi anyone know how i can get the new dell inspiron XPS gen 2 laptop fully loaded for around £1500-£1700 , i want the UK version, anyone got this yet, it's supposed to be the don of dektop replacements

Nile

29-03-2005, 2:35 PM

I've got the cash but I'm still dithering over which laptop to buy:confused: . I had a look at the Comet laptops on display and was very impressed with the X-black type wide screens.

Thanks to good advice from JPS, Grahawk and Vanoonoo.......I'm a little better informed.

I'd like to buy a Sony but they seem to be very expensive:rolleyes: . I get the impression that Dell aren't brilliant........especially customer support. I've heard good reports about Acer/Fujitsu/Siemens and HP.

I need another helping hand or a kick up the backside.

grahawk

29-03-2005, 6:16 PM

I think your right about Sony being overpriced. Widescreens may seem good but if you do the maths you get less on screen than normal screens - someone, somewhere did the maths and found this is the case.

tandeh

29-03-2005, 6:19 PM

the dell XPS gen is the most powerfull latop out, esp for games, it even beats some powerfull destops.

it comes with special support department just for the laptop.

thats why i want one.

Edinburghlass

29-03-2005, 11:21 PM

I find touch pads really hard to use. Just get a USB mouse - makes life so much easier. In fact if I'm doing a lot of writing I plug in a USB keyboard as well.

Lidl are doing a laptop optical, usb mouse this week for £7.99, I'll be there on Thursday :D

peachy997

31-03-2005, 2:50 AM

grahawk

31-03-2005, 2:27 PM

also bit confused bout which is fastest intel mobile chip atm,wether it is the centrino or the mobile p4 +ht.ive looked at the specs and the p4 seems to look a lot faster on paper and jus wonderin if ive read it right cheers

The fastest Pentium-M (as found in Centrino laptops) is about 2ghz at present. This is similar in performance to a 3ghz Pentium (the mobile Pentium you mention). However for certain tasks the 3ghz Pentium is better and the opposite is probably also true.

mak_attack

01-04-2005, 4:09 PM

hi,

any one got the FUJITSU SIEMENS AMILO L 7300 £439.99 laptop from Comet?

i need it for:
word processing, presentations, internet, email, photo viewing, rare photo editing, dvd viewing and a few other non taxing things.

how does it/will it cope for the above tasks?

anyone got pics of it in actions?

is it speedy? slow? how is the battery life?

thanks,

HLK

01-04-2005, 9:33 PM

I'm also looking at a FUJITSU SIEMENS AMILO 1630 A 34.

The spec as follows - http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_238830.html

Looks quite impressive fro £799 online.
Need to use it for everything really- home office desktop replacement(wireless) and to humpf with us when we go away at weekends so that son number 2 can run games.
Reviews seem a bit mixed any help would be appreciated.

rm-lewis

01-04-2005, 10:04 PM

Can't believe no one has mentioned this laptop yet from savastore.

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10280033&pid=125

It is amazing for the price considering it contains a dedicated 128mb graphics card. It has scored very high on all magazine reviews 5*. I have had mine on delivery for 5 weeks now and is finally being delivered next week!!

Ps Paid extra for a 1.7 centrino

Tommo

01-04-2005, 11:16 PM

Hi,i've been looking at this as my first laptop http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_237914.html
Could anyone tell me if it looks a good buy?

grahawk

02-04-2005, 7:45 AM

[/url]
Could anyone tell me if it looks a good buy?

I'd say it's a good buy. You don't gt too many Pentium-M laptops under £600. You would probably need to add more RAM.

tandeh

02-04-2005, 11:55 AM

hi i've been lookin for a top spec laptop for a while and looked at the dell xps.but found better spec and priced laptops at both alienware.com and meshcomputers.com. was jus wondering if ne one had found any others that might be worth considering, at the moment find my self leaning towards the mesh as seems best value.

also bit confused bout which is fastest intel mobile chip atm,wether it is the centrino or the mobile p4 +ht.ive looked at the specs and the p4 seems to look a lot faster on paper and jus wonderin if ive read it right cheers

hi i don't think the those two sites really have better spec laptops, the big difference here is the Geforce 6800 Ultra, it even beats some high end 6800 desktops, the ultra is exlusive to DELL at the moment.

i really like this laptop as it has a Centrino which usually very quiet (last thing you want is a good laptop with excellent sound and all u hear is the fan - LOL)

mac_534

06-04-2005, 8:36 PM

After days of trawling through this very useful thread I've decided to buy the Dell Inspiron 1000 for £399, it seems to be a good price for a laptop which has everything I need, comet seem to also have a few good deals but don't deliver to Northern Ireland. The only confusing thing about trying to buy this laptop from Dell is that the website shows that an ac adapter is included with the base but as you go through the buying process an option is offered to buy an adapter showing as otherwise not included? Very strange, anyway, thanks to everyone for their comments which I've found very useful.

eposmike

09-04-2005, 5:09 PM

Dell Inspiron 1000 (N04105) 2.2GHZ £349 Includes VAT & Shipping
Mobile Intel® Celeron® 2.20GHz Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
256MB shared DDR SDRAM & 30GB Hard Drive 8-cell NiMH Battery
CDRW/DVD Combo DriveMicrosoft® Works 7.0 60W AC Adapter Inspiron 1000
WWW.dell.co.uk
Make sure you select 1 Year European Collect and Return Service NOT the default one

MrG

14-04-2005, 9:27 AM

I struggled to find availability through Dell at these prices - ended up speaking to their call centre and being quoted 750 GBP

I went for the 600 GBP Acer Aspire 1363wlmi

AMD Semperon 3000, 15.4" widescreen (!), 60gb hdrive, dvd dual drive +/-, 512mb ddr ram, wireless, 64MB GeForce graphics card, XP

It's not the cheapst I found, but it was the best value

www.cclonline.co.uk

FateFirst

14-04-2005, 9:31 PM

Nice find eposmike.

Had a few refurbs from www.bigpockets.co.uk but now you can seem to custom build your laptops so much at DELL that more often then not you can create a very decent spec for very little money...some even cheaper then the refurbs at bigpockets.

Chip_Butty

19-04-2005, 11:11 AM

Looking at a lap Top for a member of the family under £500. Come up with this on ebuyer for £499 (Just over with P &P).

Its for general home use & to use for photography (Downloading from camera & the odd manipulation).

Has anyone any ideas as to its suitability ?

Run the product through Kelkoo/Price Runner & Deal Time & ebuyer seems to be the cheapest.

tryingtosave

19-04-2005, 11:29 AM

Dabs have some interesting ones - specifically this Acer Aspire at 443.98.
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=3NRG

They have two other in their "notebook madness" section:
http://www.dabs.com/uk/learnmore/hardware/notebook+madness.htm

My other favorite (might have already been posted) is Morgan computers -
http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/ - but nothing jumps off the page for me at the moment.

AuntyJean

19-04-2005, 3:29 PM

I really want a laptop but in a couple of years time will need to change my old PC so, the laptop has to be on a budget but be totally functional.

I have been watching for Dell specials but as soon as I get on the website I start adding little extras here and there and end up with a £1,500 pc instead of the budget laptop I was looking for.

Being a complete NON-Techie I have not got a clue as to what is best, I can only go by what has served me well in the past and in this respect it is my old Intel processor. From there, I want a DVD Rewriter and, this is the bit I am really confused about, I want to be totally mobile but still use the internet!

With regard to the latter, can anyone tell me if this is possible when I am connected to Blueyonder broadband via cable on my PC? When they instralled the external Motorola 'box' they left the packaging box behind with all the cables in and the guy said, 'you may need that if you get a new pc'. But I haven't a clue what it is.

Having searched for a couple of days I have come across the following and would like you techie's opinion please.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=6925053595&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=86368

Is this likely to be better than a Dell (using any offers Dell have at the moment). I have noticed that they are offering double memory for on certain laptops and this offer ends in 2 days so have to decide soon.

The main use of the laptop will be internet access, Word and Excel. I am also itching to try out a game as in the five years I have had this pc I have never played a game on it and want to try out Eve Online!!! (I used to love Elite).

Help Guys please!!!

Aunty Jean

tryingtosave

19-04-2005, 4:43 PM

AuntyJean - quick response. The laptop on ebuyer you link to doesn't have a DVD Rewriter; it does have a CD-Rewriter though (this is how I read the spec; usually CD-RW/DVD means CD-Rewriter and DVD reader)

I also can't see any mention of word or excel in the spec. You'll probably need to buy a copy, which can add quite a lot to the price (price on Amazon is £280 for MS Office). Very few laptops will come with it though. There are alternatives - free ones like open office - but they're not quite the same and you might not like them. Have a look at www.openoffice.org

Not sure I can help on the mobility question, as I don’t know your set up. I’m also not sure what you mean by total mobility – you mention cables? That laptop does seem to have built in wireless, but that is only half the equation – do you know if you have a wireless modem / router?

If you could post more details, i.e. model of Motorola box, someone else might be able to help.

Good luck!

AuntyJean

19-04-2005, 5:54 PM

Thank you, didn't notice that.

I still have the discs I bought with my PC so could load Office 2000 Professional, presuming they will work with the OS.

All I know about the modem is it is a Motorola surfboard cable modem.

Can anyone tell me if I can access Blueyonder broadband with a suitable laptop without plugging it in to a telephone line? What spec do I need to look for in a laptop please? Would I have to buy anything extra?

Aunty Jean

Edinburghlass

19-04-2005, 5:57 PM

You would need to have a wireless router/modem that did the pc and the laptop but as cable broadband is slightly different from BT I am not sure of the technicalities of this :confused:

tryingtosave

19-04-2005, 9:05 PM

I’m assuming you’re still talking not talking about wireless connections?

If this (http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/sb5100/) is your cable modem, then you can connect computers/laptops to it via either ethernet or USB.

Assuming that that is your modem, and it's set up properly, other than a cable, you shouldn't need to buy anything extra. You might even have a spare cable - in the packaging box you mentioned.

Almost all windows pcs/laptops come with USB (now mainly USB2), and most laptops come with ethernet (it may be listed as 10/100 Base-T or 10/100 BT Ethernet). The laptop you linked to did, plus it also said it had wifi as well, so if you have the wireless version of the motorola cable modem, this is also an option for you (more complicated but far more mobile).

Hope this helps - if there is anyone using blueyonder with the same modem, can you confirm / correct me? It's difficult to give a definitive answer without being sure of your set up and kit - sorry.

If you're just trying to add another computer to your broadband connection, it might be pretty easy; if you're actually trying to put together a home network, i.e. get your
existing computer talking to your new laptop, it might be quite a challenge. I know IT professionals who have spent days trying to get these up and running.

PS. Office 2000 should run on Windows XP, but I've not tried it (having neither product ...)

AuntyJean

20-04-2005, 6:14 AM

Thank you to everyone.

Can anyone give me some 'for's and against's' of buying a Dell machine.

Also, if you can access the internet with a mobile phone (which is completely wireless) why can't you do the same with a laptop?

Surely I would just need to contact my ISP (blueyonder) for set-up details?

Aunty Jean

AuntyJean

21-04-2005, 7:50 AM

Will this one do?

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_6000?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab#tabtop

Could somone please advise whether this is the best bargain offer for my needs or, customise it to suit please.

I want completely wireless internet access (so I can sit in a room without a telephone point), a DVD RW if possible and the best speed & storage for the lowest price. Would probably opt for a mouse as I cannot seem to get used to the 'thing' you use on the laptop.

Cheers everyone

(Edinburghlass, can you help? I am still undecided)

Coldfinger

21-04-2005, 6:50 PM

Dabs have details of these three sub £500 notebooks which don't look too bad

** Referral Removed - only on the referral board please. Edited by Abuse Controller **

Edinburghlass

22-04-2005, 7:59 AM

Is there a link to this page that doesn't have a referral link to it?

Aunty Jean I've had a look at the Dell and it seems okay to me.

Regarding the broadband you would probably need a different modem to the one you have as you want wireless and obviously you need one that is particular to cable.

ka7e

22-04-2005, 1:17 PM

I've been looking at the Acer Aspire range. Does any one have any knowledge of them - build quality/reliabilty/after-sales service etc?
Model 1362LC - AMD Sempron 2800+ Processor, 256 MB DDR SDRAM (upgradeable), 40 GB hard drive, CD/DVR RW combo, 15" XGA TFT screen for £448.96 + postage.
Slightly different packages available at £487 to £618.95.
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_1360_Laptop/prod.asp

tryingtosave

26-04-2005, 2:42 PM

This (http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=1811) on Morgan looks quite good for £469.99 incl vat. Slightly higher spec on some things - and includes what I believe is a DVD writer. Details from Morgan:

Intel Celeron D 335 notebook with 256MB/40GB and DVD SuperMulti Drive

* Intel Celeron D 335 (2.80GHz) processor
* 256Mb DDR RAM, 40GB SMART hard drive
* DVD SuperMulti drive (No floppy drive)
* 15" TFT display and Radeon ATI 7000 64Mb graphics (shared)
* 56K modem, 10/100 LAN, 3x USB 2.0, 1 x Firewire and Li-ion battery
Supplied with MS Windows XP Home and MS Office OneNote 2003 - PSA67E-00300C8J-EN

Having looked up (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000BZ54M/202-5690717-6895050) "MS Office OneNote" I'm fairly certain this is very different from Office and doesn't include word etc. It loooks interesting though ...

grahawk

30-04-2005, 8:20 AM

Acer laptop is now £399 at Comet online.

http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/320_237930.html

Celeron-M 1.3ghz. 256mb RAM (probably will need to be pgraded to 512mb).

gemma1585

05-05-2005, 10:58 PM

Hello everyone!

Aunty Jean I have been reading your posts and I am having the same dilemma as you are.

I am moving to London in a couple of months for 1 year and would like to buy a laptop which I can use whilst there and also when travelling back and forth from home (scotland).

My mum has agreed to give me £500 towards any laptop I wish to buy. I currently have an e-machines pc and am clueless when it comes to laptops really.

I have been looking at all the usual consumer sites, comet, currys etc as well as DELL.

I am unsure of purchasing a laptop from DELL as I can understand most of the terms but not all.

I am ideally looking for an:

intel pentium processor - not celeron
at least 512 mb
probablt more than 40gb hard drive but would like more
a CD and DVD RW drive
bluetooth
plenty of USB ports

But other than that I'm not too sure what I should be looking for. I will be requiring wifi as the flat I'm going to stay in has wireless broadband installed. I will be using the laptop mostly for the internet and e-mail, word processing, downloading pictures from digital camera, compiling music cd's etc.

I'd appreciate any advice what so ever!

Thanks, :j

grahawk

06-05-2005, 8:41 AM

I am ideally looking for an:

intel pentium processor - not celeron
at least 512 mb
probablt more than 40gb hard drive but would like more
a CD and DVD RW drive
bluetooth
plenty of USB ports

But other than that I'm not too sure what I should be looking for. I will be requiring wifi as the flat I'm going to stay in has wireless broadband installed. I will be using the laptop mostly for the internet and e-mail, word processing, downloading pictures from digital camera, compiling music cd's etc.

I'd appreciate any advice what so ever!

Thanks, :j

If it's going to carried around a lot and used while travelling it's best to get something light and with reasonable battery life. As you also need Wifi you may as well go for a Pentium-M/Centrino laptop as this fulfills all these requirements. Considering the use your going to put it to a Celeron-M (the performance difference between these and Pentium-M isn't great) would be fine, though the battery life isn't as good, but it would be far cheaper.