son wants a laptop for his birthday

bluepricey · 31 August 2008 at 5:19PM

hi my son is twelve in two weeks and starts high school tueday wants a laptop for his birthday but can only afford a reconditioned one or one off ebay what is the things i should be looking for on it sorry a bit of a techno phobe he just wants to do his homework on it go on the internet and do music for his mp3 and pics thaqnks in advance

tradetime · 31 August 2008 at 5:41PM

Roughly what sort of budget are you thinking of?
PC world does reconditioned laptops.
I'd be thinking of 1GB RAM unless it's Vista then 2GB
>1.6 Ghz Processor wouldn't worry about dual core
70+ GB Hard drive.

globalds · 31 August 2008 at 5:42PM

If you tell us how much you can afford to spend ,you may be surprised by what people here can find .
You would be far better off buying new .Laptops tend to be treated differently to desktops and second hand ones can be a bit of a gamble ..Things like batteries not holding charge .

bluepricey · 31 August 2008 at 5:44PM

around £150 to £200

Browntoa · 31 August 2008 at 5:48PM

this is just over budget at £228 new, it's via Dell business but you just enter a name for business (you may be starting a home business

) and they never even ring to check 99% of the time

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/235761/dell-vostro-1000-laptop-amd-sempron

quote:-

Great if you dont want to spend too much on a laptop and still be able use it for every day tasks. Apply the 10% voucher i've uploaded to get this price (GLTV1QH8DCMLWF). Dont forget use quidco to get £7.76 cashback bringing it down to just £220.31

Remember Voucher expires at the end of AUG 31st

Detailed specifications -

Catalog Number: 202 N0910003

Base AMD® Sempron Mobile Technology 3600+

Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® Vista Home Basic with Service Pack 1 - English

Memory 1024 MB 667MHz Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x 512 MB)

Video Card ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemory (integrated)

Hard Drive 80GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive

Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK

Optical Devices Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software

Wireless Networking Dell Wireless 1395 Mini-Card (802.11 b/g)

Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0 - English

Standard Warranty 1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day
Enhanced Service Packs 1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day Onsite

Power Supply 65W AC Adapter

Primary Battery 4 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (29 Whr)

Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)

LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display

johnmc · 31 August 2008 at 5:50PM

I'd have to ask why he specifically wants a laptop. I wouldn't be happy sending mine to school with a decent mobile, let alone a laptop.

I would suggest a desktop which is going to be bigger storage, more memory, better graphics etc. But then it's HIS birthday.

Needless to say, if it's on Ebay it's old.

Take a look on Currys.co.uk for refurbished laptops.

If it's running on Vista I suggest that you need 2Gb of RAM, minimum.

globalds · 31 August 2008 at 5:51PM

Just a quick search returns this
http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/235761/dell-vostro-1000-laptop-amd-sempron/

Hotukdeals is a good site to bookmark as it gets new offers listed daily .
Could you not persuade him to get a desktop ?

EDIT*Damn My slow typing (again)**

bluepricey · 31 August 2008 at 5:52PM

thanks browntoa that sounds great didn't think i could afford dell

tradetime · 31 August 2008 at 5:52PM

I think PC worlds refurbs start around £229, the advantage of a refurb from here is you have an easy point of contact if it goes wrong, I would be hesitant about a refurb laptop off ebay myself.

Browntoa · 31 August 2008 at 5:56PM

my daughters both have basic Dells, ample for what they do

tradetime · 31 August 2008 at 6:02PM

Also try Pricerunner
http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/cl/27/Laptop-Computers?price_min=&price_max=&sort=3&saved_products=0

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son wants a laptop for his birthday

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