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Sub-£350 powerful laptops discussion

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  • Elysium
    Elysium Posts: 8 Forumite
    edited 23 August 2010 at 9:21PM
    I found the following spec on a HP Presario CQ61 for £349.99
    It's refurbished with a full 12 month warranty.
    Just wondering if anyone can make comments about good/bad bits and pieces. Cheers.


    Processor

    - AMD Athlon™ II Dual-Core M320 Processor
    - 2.1 GHz
    - 1600 MHz HT
    - 1 MB L2 cache

    Operating System

    - Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

    RAM

    - 2GB installed RAM
    - 2 user accessible memory slots
    - supports up to 4GB DDR2 memory

    Graphics card
    - ATI Radeon™ HD 4200 integrated graphics processor
    - up to 1022 MB total available graphics memory

    Screen type
    - LCD TFT screen

    Screen resolution
    - WXGA
    - 1366 x 768 pixe

    Screen size
    -15.6"

    Screen features
    - BrightView technology

    Hard drive
    - 320GB SATA 7200rpm

    Optical disk drive
    - Lightscribe Super Multi (+/-R +/-RW) dual-layer DVD writer

    Memory card reader
    - 5-in-1 memory card reader

    USB
    - 3 x USB 2.0 ports

    FireWire
    -
    No

    Modem/Ethernet
    - Yes

    Wi-Fi
    - 802.11 b/g/n WLAN

    Bluetooth
    - No

    Video interface
    - HDMI, VGA

    Audio interface
    - 1 x headphones
    - 1 x microphone

    TV output
    - HDMI, VGA

    Extension card slot
    - No

    Sound
    - Built-in loudspeakers

    Webcam
    - Yes

    Battery
    - 6-cell lithium-ion battery

    Size
    - 378 x 252 x 35.1 - 41.2 mm (W x D x H)

    Weight
    -
    2.68 kg


    Also, it has no expansion card slot, so say I wanted to add a firewire port at some time I know I would have to do it via a USB converter/hub thing. Can anyone tell me if they actually work. It would be used just to copy video of my DV Tape digital camera on to the hard disc, to be burned on to dvd.
    Thanks
    ~Elysium
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    clairbear wrote: »
    Shes managed to save up £300( god bless) I will add if necessary but am looking for 'good value' (definitely not top end ) a machine that she can 'grow' into so typical teenager's capacity/functions

    These are from Argos Returns. From here you will get the best value for money. The machines will be shiny and new(if not, send it back), but the boxes can look rough. :)

    This is a good starter machine: Toshiba Satellite L450D-11V for £274.

    If she's not going to be doing any serious gaming, she's unlikely to need more. Spending more is not likely to make the laptop last longer.
    The only other thing that a teenager might miss is Bluetooth. But you can add it for £4.

    The only thing stopping me from wholly recommending this ASUS X5DIJ for £264, is that it has only 2GB of RAM.
    I think it will be entirely adequate for your daughter, but more RAM when it comes to young 'uns is always good.

    Though if you want to, you can spend more for a higher specification.
  • thelawnet
    thelawnet Posts: 2,584 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    clairbear wrote: »
    My 10 yr old wants a netbook/laptop for bit of browsing,storing photos bit of gaming she wants 'powerpoint & publisher' which I have seen as downloads for £120 each!
    Can anyone recommend a suitable machine preferably with software included?

    Office is £39: http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Office_2010_Professional_Plus-details.aspx
  • I have dealt with these companies,
    http://www.accomputerwarehouse.com/
    https://www.aria.co.uk
    Both based in Manchester, sometimes have discounted laptops under £350 with 1 year warranty.
    And remember any software shipped with laptops, are never free and usually close to end of shelf life. Best to buy seperate sometimes..
  • JDPower
    JDPower Posts: 1,689 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Elysium wrote: »
    I found the following spec on a HP Presario CQ61 for £349.99
    It's refurbished with a full 12 month warranty.
    Just wondering if anyone can make comments about good/bad bits and pieces. Cheers.




    Also, it has no expansion card slot, so say I wanted to add a firewire port at some time I know I would have to do it via a USB converter/hub thing. Can anyone tell me if they actually work. It would be used just to copy video of my DV Tape digital camera on to the hard disc, to be burned on to dvd.
    Thanks
    Looks reasonable value IMO. If the firewire requirement is purely for connectivity a hub may work (I've no experience of them), but if the firewire is needed for speed then any USB converter/hub will be a waste of time as the data can only be transferred at USB speeds
  • JDPower wrote: »
    Looks reasonable value IMO. If the firewire requirement is purely for connectivity a hub may work (I've no experience of them), but if the firewire is needed for speed then any USB converter/hub will be a waste of time as the data can only be transferred at USB speeds

    im not entirely sure. i was told video from dv tapes needs firewire for speed as it copys in real time, but im not entirely sure.

    thanks for the post
    ~Elysium
  • JDPower
    JDPower Posts: 1,689 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 24 August 2010 at 1:45AM
    Elysium wrote: »
    im not entirely sure. i was told video from dv tapes needs firewire for speed as it copys in real time, but im not entirely sure.
    Yup (sorry, missed the DV tape bit), so a usb converter would be of no use for your requirements then. You'll have to find one with either a Firewire port or possibly an express card slot and buy a firewire express card adaptor.
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    Elysium wrote: »
    I found the following spec on a HP Presario CQ61 for £349.99
    It's refurbished with a full 12 month warranty.
    Just wondering if anyone can make comments about good/bad bits and pieces. Cheers.




    Also, it has no expansion card slot, so say I wanted to add a firewire port at some time I know I would have to do it via a USB converter/hub thing. Can anyone tell me if they actually work. It would be used just to copy video of my DV Tape digital camera on to the hard disc, to be burned on to dvd.
    Thanks

    If you can live with Vista or know how to upgrade to Windows 7, then this Toshiba Satellite A300-21H has all that you need for £344

    Specs here.
    Press F5 to refresh the page if the page has expired.
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    clairbear wrote: »
    Shes managed to save up £300( god bless) I will add if necessary but am looking for 'good value' (definitely not top end ) a machine that she can 'grow' into so typical teenager's capacity/functions

    The Acer Aspire 5542 that you asked about, offers excellent value for money.

    Though I am reluctant to wholeheartedly recommend ACER, due to complaints about reliability and customer service.

    But that is hearsay. Maybe you can order one online, in order to take a look at it and to try it out for yourself.

    The specification is certainly good enough for her needs.
  • May be a bit off topic, but I would actually like to get into selling laptops etc (have access to some very good prices)... any tips on how to get started?
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