We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Sub-£300 laptop bargains.
Former_MSE_Lawrence
Posts: 975 Forumite
What's the deal?
If you're in the market for a new laptop, and you don't need it to play state-of-the-art games or solve Einstein's unfinished theorem, then it's well worth checking out the range of sub-£300 machines available these days. I've only included models supplied with at least 1GB RAM, the minimum needed to run Microsoft's latest Vista operating system without it being time-crunchingly slow, and enough to run XP quite quickly.
Where from?
Only need really basic functions?
Anything else?
Whilst laptops are usually marketed to give you the idea that you can now do your work absolutely anywhere, the reality's never quite the same. Battery life is usually around an hour and a half for cheaper models, and they won't perform nearly as well as they do on mains power. Furthermore, the battery life will diminish with each charge, so after a while you'll always be tethered to a wall by a power cable.
Whilst the machines above have good specs for the price, it's still a fair wad of cash, so make sure you can really afford it before spending, and bear in mind that these days a decent-enough desktop machine can be bought for a little over £100.
-Lawrence
[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]
If you're in the market for a new laptop, and you don't need it to play state-of-the-art games or solve Einstein's unfinished theorem, then it's well worth checking out the range of sub-£300 machines available these days. I've only included models supplied with at least 1GB RAM, the minimum needed to run Microsoft's latest Vista operating system without it being time-crunchingly slow, and enough to run XP quite quickly.
Where from?
- Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo Mobile V5535 with extra 1GB RAM. £279.99 delivered
Based on a 1.86Ghz Celeron mobile processor (from Intel's budget range of mobile processors), this is the cheapest fully-featured machine available at ebuyer. It packs 1GB RAM as standard, but a current offer means you'll get sent an extra samsung 1GB stick on top for free, giving you 2GB total when installed (it's usually quite easy to do, though if in doubt take it to your local PC shop). It also has a 120GB hard drive, a DVD-writer and in-built wi-fi, making it ideal for most applications.
Quick Spec: Processor: 1.86 Ghz Celeron M 540 RAM: 2 GB (1 GB pre-installed) Hard Drive: 120GB Display: 15.4" 1280x800 TFT Graphics: SiS Mirage 3+ Graphics, 64-256 MB shared memory Optical Drive: DVD writer Battery Life: 1.2 hrs approx Wi-Fi: Yes Operating System: Vista Home Basic
- Toshiba Satellite Pro A210-1AZ Laptop, £290 delivered after cashback (£340 outlay)
If you don't mind filling in the forms and applying for cashback, this Toshiba at MicroDirect, suggested by boatman below, is hard to beat. Based on an AMD dual core 1.80 Ghz processor (which'll give it plenty more oomph than the Celeron above), it also has a 120GB hard drive, and decent ATi graphics controller. To get it at this price you have to register it with Toshiba within seven days, fill in the relevant Cashback Claim Form, and send that in with your original invoice. You'll get £50 back from Toshiba in the form of a cheque.
Quick Spec: Processor: 1.80 Ghz AMD Athlon 64 X2 RAM: 1 GB Hard Drive: 120GB Display: 15.4" 1280x800 TFT Graphics: ATI Radeon X1200 Optical Drive: DVD writer Battery Life: 1.6 hrs approx Wi-Fi: Yes Operating System: Vista Home Basic
- Sold out: Refurbished Advent 9117 Laptop, £269.99 delivered.
Currys currently has a range of slightly older refurbished laptops on its site. This one specifically has two main selling points; it sports an intel dual core processor rather than a Celeron (1.46 Ghz) making it faster than the Celeron model above, and it has a 17" screen. It comes with 1GB RAM, but is upgradeable to 2GB. As a refurbished model, it comes with a 12-month warranty. Go quick if you want one.
Quick Spec: Processor: Dual core 1.46 Ghz T2310 RAM: 1 GB Hard Drive: 120GB Display: 17" 1280x800 TFT Graphics: Mobile Intel GMA X3100, shared memory Optical Drive: DVD rewriter Battery Life: 1.2 hrs approx Wi-Fi: Yes Operating System: Vista Home Basic
- Refurbished Advent 8117 mini Laptop, £289.99 delivered
Another refurb worth checking at Currys, the selling points of this are its portability (it has a 12.1" widescreen) and its processor. This one packs a 1.5 Ghz Core 2 Duo, which is considerably faster than even the dual-core processor in its bigger brother above (If you speak jargon, it has a 2MB cache as opposed to 1MB above). Again, a 12-month warranty is included.
Quick Spec: Processor: Core 2 Duo 1.5 Ghz T5250 RAM: 1 GB Hard Drive: 120GB Display: 12.1" 1280x800 TFT Graphics: DX10 Shared UMA Graphics Optical Drive: DVD rewriter Battery Life: 1.2 hrs approx Wi-Fi: Yes Operating System: Vista Home Premium
Found a better deal? Post below and I'll add it here.
Only need really basic functions?
- Asus 'Eee' sub-laptop 4GB £199.99 delivered (2G version).
Asus' bite-sized Eee PC has been the toast of many a recent technology blog, becoming something of an icon in the process. It's an ultra-portable (about the size of a hardback, and under 1KG) laptop with 2GB shock-proof solid state storage space (up to 8GB available on other models, all upgradeable via SD/SDHC card by another 4GB), a Celeron 800hz Mobile CPU, 512MB RAM and a teeny 7-inch screen. Compared to the specs above, it falls by the wayside, but it wasn't designed to compete with full-blown laptops.
Instead, it was designed expressly to do basic things, such as web surfing, emailing, and general word processing/spreadsheets, very well. It's based on a variant of the open-source operating system linux, and takes around 20 seconds to start up. It includes built-in Wi-Fi that instantly detects and connects to nearby networks, and a few open source applications, such as Firefox and OpenOffice. While it won't replace a 'proper' PC, it's ideal if you just need to do the little things, and because it's so small, the battery'll last a bit longer too. Available for £199.99 at PC World.
Other slightly faster and more upgradeable versions of this machine are available for a little extra.
Quick Spec: Processor: Celeron Mobile 800 Mhz RAM: 512 MB Hard Drive: 2GB, flash Display: 7" TFT Graphics: onboard Optical Drive: N/A Battery Life: 2.5 hrs approx Wi-Fi: Yes Operating System: Linux-based
Found it cheaper? Post below and I'll add it here.
Anything else?
Whilst laptops are usually marketed to give you the idea that you can now do your work absolutely anywhere, the reality's never quite the same. Battery life is usually around an hour and a half for cheaper models, and they won't perform nearly as well as they do on mains power. Furthermore, the battery life will diminish with each charge, so after a while you'll always be tethered to a wall by a power cable.
Whilst the machines above have good specs for the price, it's still a fair wad of cash, so make sure you can really afford it before spending, and bear in mind that these days a decent-enough desktop machine can be bought for a little over £100.
-Lawrence
[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]
0
Comments
-
As one could expect, Clearance laptops tend to be very limited in stock. So the items you've listed are already gone and shopping for a refurbished laptop is one of the rare instances where I ask people to "grab and go" rather than "sit and wait" for the best bargains.
As for sub £280 lappies with 2GB, there's a thread on HUKD (http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/163372/toshiba-a210-1az-laptop-1gb-120gb-h) which points to a Toshiba laptop which comes with a £50 cashback and is widely available.:rolleyes: Links are a man's best friends.com0 -
£280 for a single core laptop thats a celeron is hardly good value.
This will be terrible at running vista so its false economy.
You can get a from Ebuyer
Toshiba Satellite Pro L40-15D Pentium Dual Core T2310 1.46GHz 512MB 80GB 15.4" WXGA TFT Windows Vista Home Basic. £304.99inc vat Delivered
- Product DescriptionToshiba Satellite Pro L40-15D - Pentium Dual Core T2310 1.46 GHz - 15.4" TFTDimensions (WxDxH)36.5 cm x 27 cm x 3.7 cmWeight2.8 kgLocalisationEnglish / United KingdomSystem TypeNotebookBuilt-in DevicesStereo speakers, wireless LAN aerialProcessorIntel Pentium Dual Core T2310 / 1.46 GHz ( Dual-Core )RAM512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - 667 MHzHard Drive80 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpmOptical StorageDVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAMDisplay15.4" TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours) - TruBriteGraphics ControllerIntel GMA X3100Audio OutputSound cardTelecomFax / modem - 56 KbpsNetworkingNetwork adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11gInput DeviceKeyboard, touchpadPowerAC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )BatteryLithium IonRun Time (Up To)3.2 hour(s)Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows Vista Home BasicManufacturer Warranty1 year warranty
Martins money is about saving money and this laptop will last longer as its about 3 times faster than the fujitsu for a tiny bit extra.
The GFX are better has wireless has considerable longer battery life and is and is all round better value0 -
try going to the Dell website and typing in Vostro into the search box...if you just visit the Dell site they only show Insiprion and Latitude laptops (and desktops) the Vostro range is much cheaper. there is a good spec basic lappy with dvd/rw etc etc dual core processor at £179..plus postage, you can change the spec or go for a different model the next one is £189 !!! and so on..my sister now has two (business use) in daily use - most of the day thats 6 hrs + and no probs.What goes around - comes around
give lots and you will always recieve lots0 -
I agree with gags - a single core processor with Vista will run like a pig on stilts I got a new Advent 9415 from PC world a few weeks ago - 2gb memory, 120gb hard drive pentium dual core processor for £321 (after Quidco etc) which I am really pleased with0
-
I think you'll find the Toshiba A210- 1AZ hard to beat, its got better spec than the L40-15D mentioned above, Its dual core with 120Gb hard drive, maximum memory upto 4Gb(1Gb fitted) and Vista Premium. It works out to about £280(Quidco £14, Toshiba £50 cashback).
http://www.microwarehouse.co.uk/catalogue/item/A0397458
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/jsp/productPage.do?PRODUCT_ID=145747
If you want to spend more get the Dell Vostro for £324 here (much better core2duo processor, bigger 160Gb hard drive and a dedicated graphics card, downside is its a Dell(think marmite!love/hate) and it looks a bit plain!).
.0 -
The price of Laptops will tumble over the next few weeks.
The fuji has poor 3100 graphics no modem built in and a problem with connecting to the internet.
Battery life is also only around 60 min.0 -
Just got a Vostro 1000 for my son's 21st - good basic labtop, spill proof keyboard, spec is perfectly alright - OK, it's not top spec but it is good enough for general use. Best of all - you can still get XP on it.What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare0
-
The price of Laptops will tumble over the next few weeks.
The fuji has poor 3100 graphics no modem built in and a problem with connecting to the internet.
Battery life is also only around 60 min.
How come the price is going to tumble, and how long do you think I should wait
Phil0 -
Jane_Blackford wrote: »Just got a Vostro 1000 for my son's 21st - good basic labtop, spill proof keyboard, spec is perfectly alright - OK, it's not top spec but it is good enough for general use. Best of all - you can still get XP on it.
Thats the Dell Entry Model. Best of all if you have a registered business (or your company likes you) you can take advantage of some of Dells great business offers that they will have upto 06 April 08 with laptops sometimes as cheap as £99 + VAT (March 08 Dell Catalogue).
Basically they are doing this as IT departments need to spend their budget before the tax year is over so they will buy surplus stock. If they dont use their budget they wont get the same amount next year and if they use all of it they will get more to spend next year.
Hope this helpsScrimping and saving!0 -
- BasicManufacturer Warranty1 year warranty
Martins money is about saving money and this laptop will last longer as its about 3 times faster than the fujitsu for a tiny bit extra.
The GFX are better has wireless has considerable longer battery life and is and is all round better value
Just to let you know that with all new laptops under vista, if the manufacturer finds out you've been tinkering with the laptop (adding ram or hdd) then the warranty for the laptop is void. In the case of HP and Toshiba even if PC World Techguys do it they void the warranty straight away so be careful with new machines.Scrimping and saving!0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.8K Spending & Discounts
- 244.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.1K Life & Family
- 257.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards