Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

D.K.

Is it possible to buy a laptop without an OS?

Cheaper of course!

clio

fedup now
Nah give it a miss and put a bit extra to the 150 odd you were going to spend and you,ll get a better 1. that laptop uses ancient hardware it would surf the net at a push though .

have a look here even this Dell at £289 which is only £130 more and it's is far far a better buy. it will get him around the net/studies etc champion.
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Dell_Inspiron_6400_21470166/version.asp

clio

Even this Hewlett Packard 550 at £304 is what £15 more than the Dell and it,s wireless.
and it has a few nice features that the Dell hasnt got as well.
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_550_FS328AA/version.asp

shona_2

We've gone the Curry's refurb route...
Advent, £290, core 2 duo, 17" screen, 2gb ram, 160 gb hard

I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives!

Shona

Ed_Zep

fedupnow wrote: »

Ok ..... another one with a kid going to uni. but this one wants to spend as little as possible.

Just need to access internet for e mail and bit of research.... no doubt a little music downloading and facebook too.... and then word processing...... excel... perhaps a powerpoint???

what do y'all think of this lot.

http://www.val-u-computers.co.uk/acatalog/cheap-laptops-under-200.html

thanks

I think the Dell is ok but they're all lacking in RAM. Also, XP will be desupported next year for us normal home users, so I think any machine you buy should probably have Vista on it (I use Vista Home Basic and it's fine).

If I was really, really not wanting to spend much, I'd get a second-hand machine and put Ubuntu Linux on it, for several reasons:

It would run quickly (assuming 512Mb)
Ubuntu and Office-style software (Star Office/Open Office) are all free! They're also compatible with MS Office formats, like Word.
Running Linux means you're far less likely to encounter viruses.

So I'd either do that or spend a few quid more and get a laptop with a Celeron processor in it and 1Gb RAM. Loads of them on Ebay.

Else still, get a refurbished one from Dixons, PC World, etc.

The ones on that link aren't great value for money in my opinion.

Good luck and let us know what you buy!

Ed.

D.K.

Ed_Zep wrote: »

I think the Dell is ok but they're all lacking in RAM. Also, XP will be desupported next year for us normal home users, so I think any machine you buy should probably have Vista on it (I use Vista Home Basic and it's fine).

If I was really, really not wanting to spend much, I'd get a second-hand machine and put Ubuntu Linux on it, for several reasons:

It would run quickly (assuming 512Mb)
Ubuntu and Office-style software (Star Office/Open Office) are all free! They're also compatible with MS Office formats, like Word.
Running Linux means you're far less likely to encounter viruses.

So I'd either do that or spend a few quid more and get a laptop with a Celeron processor in it and 1Gb RAM. Loads of them on Ebay.

Else still, get a refurbished one from Dixons, PC World, etc.

The ones on that link aren't great value for money in my opinion.

Good luck and let us know what you buy!

Ed.

Hi Ed,

That's why I was asking a bit further up, if it was possible to get a new one with no OS.
I can't really see XP going unsupported next year...Unless they get 7 out. Vista is not the answer.

Cheers,
D.

Ed_Zep

Hi D.

I haven't seen machines sold without an OS in a long time.

I do like Ubuntu, though. Fedora is too big a distribution. I also like these distros that you can put on a USB stick.

I think you're right. They're going to have to get a move on with Windows 7. I actually quite like XP.

Cheers,
Ed.

D.K.

I'm OK with XP too. The small distros are impressive for their size. I was looking in Currys at their note pads...great prices then I saw they were using Linux, & in the small print too. I hope people buying them are aware!

Note pad screens are too small for my eyesight anyway!

allen36_0

Much appreciate the advice on this site - I was needing an urgent replacement so, after a few hours internet research, agreed the Tesco Acer offer seemed the best.

I was quite keen on Dell - £50 pricier but bigger harddrive but especially for the 4 year maintenance offer now running (4 years home for £100) but their extreming irritating and confusing website and slow delivery times proved a killer. tesco was nice and simple plus use the TDX-NCCL code to get an extra £5 off at the end

D.K.

Good luck and let us know what you buy!

Ed.[/quote]

An HP 550 from L.D. @ £320.00.