Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

spud17

Well you'd obviously want to check the requirements of a particular Linux distribution before installing it. I'm sure the common Linux distributions are designed with newer machines in mind, but there are definitely options out there for older machines.

Totally agree.
But what I was referring to was the often seen "put Linux on it" post, the laptop I was referring to was full of infections, had been in a cupboard for 2 years.
Not from this forum, but the owner was told "put Linux on it", so the first one the majority come across is Ubuntu, which was totally inappropriate, for a low powered machine.

Personally, I'm not a fan of DSL, preferring Puppy, which I used to have running on 350MHz P2 and 64MB, and still have it on a flash drive, as a means of checking out a PC.

Also, how do you know that XP will run a 256mb machine faster than Linux?

It'll run it a lot faster than Ubuntu, which won't even install, you're falling into the trap of thinking Linux is just the one OS.
I did say it will

run faster than most of the common Linux distros

.

Anyway this is a thread is about laptops and not operating systems so I'm not going to take up more space.

portchieboy

• Dell Studio 1555 Blue
• Core Duo T4200 / 2.0 GHz
• Centrino Duo
• RAM 3 GB
• HDD 320 GB
• 8x DVD±RW
• GMA 4500MHD Video
• WLAN : 802.11a/b/g
• Vista Home Premium
• 15.4" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
• camera intergrated 2 Mega Pixel
• Refurbished in original box & disks
• Dell warranty until July 2010

Any good for home use, simple games, photo's to TV etc?

£379 with balance of Dell warranty.

Thanks.

gallygirl

gallygirl wrote: »

Found this:
Scratch and Dent products are systems with considerable cosmetic blemishes that do not affect performance. They are a great way to save money while still enjoying Dell Outlet's rigorous rebuilding and testing process. Scratch and Dent computers will not have scratches or pits on the screen, missing or illegible letters on the keyboard, or damage to the touchpad or palmrest.

Currently trying to decide whether I am more anal or more tight - think tight will win the day

Edit: got a Dell 17" Inspiron , decent dual processor, 4gb memory, 320HD for £377 inc. VAT & free delivery in basket, Grade 1 scratches. Then chickened out

treepotato1 wrote: »

No way! What is it you're afraid of gallygirl? That really was the one that got away! Awww bless you - I do understand, really. I did this too for ages before taking the plunge.

My Grade 1 DELL has more scratches on it now than I even care about. One of the benefits of getting a PC with a wee scratch on it was that I was much less precious with it. I treated it with respect, but didn't worry about it getting scratched and that helped me ...anally! They completely examine and fix them before they send them out - the problems should only be the scratch. Most of them are just computers that have been returned by fussy people, or they're the wrong spec or they chickened out! some have been taken out of boxes and accidentally scratched and so on.....

I'm sending the PC Godesses to you to give you that last wee push......:A

gallygirl wrote: »

:eek: Damn you treepotato :eek:

Was still available (but at £375!).

Have bought it _pale_

Will be all your fault

PS It's pale blue. Could have had same with black, or cherry red with slightly slower processor. Wanted red but did the manly thing (if it had been plum that would have been a different story :rotfl:)

Well, it's here

This is my 1st post on it

1st impressions?

Good - It's very blue & very shiny & very big . Can't see any scratches at all. Seems v fast :T
Bad - Well, I need to get used to touch pad which I know won't take long. The keyboard is very large - full size I think. This will take more getting used to, especially as I can't type anyway . I keep catching the CAPS lock. Also there is a very easy way to make the windows bigger - I know as I've found it but don't know how/where - just managed to undo it but don't know how .

Overall v pleased so thank you treepotato :T

davester

you mean zoom in on the web pages?
Its your touchpad works same as ipod touch so pinch to zoom out.

jiji

davester wrote: »

you mean zoom in on the web pages?
Its your touchpad works same as ipod touch so pinch to zoom out.

Can someone advise me which one is best from these much appreciate. Thanks.
Samsung N130
Samsung R519
Toshiba L450D

gallygirl

davester wrote: »

you mean zoom in on the web pages?
Its your touchpad works same as ipod touch so pinch to zoom out.

According to my son it should only expand if you are holding the Ctrl key but it will expand without it. Have now worked out it will expand on touch pad but needs the Ctrl key to shrink - not a problem now I know. Not impressed with son though - I grew him for situations like this :rotfl:.

Fully up and running and still v impressed. Battery life is 3 hours which is excellent & I seem to be using as a laptop more than desktop, so v glad I gave myself the flexibility.

rolo1_2

hi Guys -Sorry for butting in. I like Toshiba and was wondering is this good value for price, don't really want to spend any more than £380. Main use is internet, word, basic stuff really, no gaming.
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-4119.aspx £369.

Thanks

jaydeeuk1

rolo1 wrote: »

hi Guys -Sorry for butting in. I like Toshiba and was wondering is this good value for price, don't really want to spend any more than £380. Main use is internet, word, basic stuff really, no gaming.
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-4119.aspx £369.

Thanks

Only a celeron single core cpu I believe.

For that price, you should be able to get a celeron dual core (T3xxx) or pentium dual core (T4xxx) which will feel a lot quicker when browsing / watching youtube etc.

Edit - Ebuyer has some decent ones.

If you don't mind 'Acers' then the two below are decent
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172314
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/182576

Or similar spec with an Asus badge

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191804

calella

Hi guys - please can I get some techie advice? I am after a new shiny laptop just for me! No kids, No Hubby, not for work... Just for me! I want to be as futureproof as possible, and was the best possible spec for my buck! My limit was £400...but creeping up slowly. In PC World today I saw a Dell Inspiron 1564 at £499 (down from £599). I recognise I dont need 500mb hard drive, super duper graphics etc, but it has got an i3 processor which I think is good? So normally, I would steer clear of pc world, but when I tried to get a price for the same spec on the Dell site - it came out more expensive? Have I done something wrong? Could one of you lovely people have a look at the spec and tell me if it is a good buy? Or give me a clue as to what I should be looking for? Main uses will be iplayer, mse (of course!), surfing, watching movies, bit of ms office and photos, but I would like to learn how to edit home video etc. Nothing too dramatic, but I would like it to look nice (I know!) and have a 15-16inch screen. Thank you so much in advance!:T

JDPower

rolo1 wrote: »

hi Guys -Sorry for butting in. I like Toshiba and was wondering is this good value for price, don't really want to spend any more than £380. Main use is internet, word, basic stuff really, no gaming.
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.207-4119.aspx £369.

Thanks

Fairly poor processor and not particularly great value for the spec