Buying a new laptop, buy now or after christmas?

MattLFC

Currently the i7 prices seperately are around £260 for the lowest spec CPU al the way upto £900. So its probably best to add £150 at least over the cost of a C2D system for the forseeable future.

After Xmas though, this will change. The i7 has only just come out and is Intels money make for Xmas lol.

10past6

Falc wrote: »

i will keep my eye out if i see anything, as i am also buying a new laptop at this time i am also doing lots of searching

Thank you so much for your help / advice, I'm a complete numpty when it comes to computers which is why I rely on others to guide me

The person this is for has just retired, and I thought this would be a good gift / Chrimbo present, also the screen has to be a fair size, those less that 12" would be no good, not sure if you noticed my earlier comment, but this is what I'm after:

14” or 15” notebook
XP or Vista
For internet / music no games though
Refurbished or new will do as long as it has a 12 month warranty
1 GB Ram minimum
Around £200 - £300 however, the more I can get one under £300.00 the happier I'll be :j

MattLFC

XP would be much better however due to Microsoft's stupid licensing laws, it is not allowed on laptops with a resolution bigger than 1024x600 nowadays. So it limits users to netbooks only.

Which really leaves Vista as the only option. Its not all that bad, but less refined and stable than XP.

For them specs and the price range, either a DSGi refurb or a Celeron will be in the price range. Whatever you do, DO NOT get a system with less than 2GB RAM for Windows Vista. It will eat 1GB just for the OS in most situations, when installing updates it will use over 1GB, such as installing SP1 uses around 1.4GB at peak.

PC World Refurb - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1881305622.1227224459@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdfadefkdjgjghcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=769561&category_oid=-28487

- Intel Core2Duo T5550 1.8Ghz 2MB
- 2.0GB PC5300 667Mhz DDRII RAM
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive
- DVD-R/RW+- Dual Layer
- Wireless LAN for internet connections etc
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- 15.4" Widescreen TFT

Now with it being from PC World, you can return it to any store for a full refund within 14 days of purchase, if you are not happy with it. Obviously you would need to do an OS reload unless it was just a fault, however as it would be a distance sale, you should have 7 days legally to try it out and not want it.

If you buy the laptop from the Dixons website instead, there is usually some discount codes flying around, that dont tend to be available on Currys or PC World. But they only have a 7 working day returns policy.

eBuyer have had some excellent HP offers during 2008 (Celeron M's with 2GB for £260 for instance), however recently they have dried up.

10past6

MattLFC wrote: »

eBuyer have had some excellent HP offers during 2008 (Celeron M's with 2GB for £260 for instance), however recently they have dried up.

I missed out on them

Do you think internet prices will come down in the next few weeks? most places seem to be having a "Sale" just recently.

I'm wondering whether to buy now, or hold on for a couple of weeks.

10past6

MattLFC wrote: »

If you buy the laptop from the Dixons website instead, there is usually some discount codes flying around

If you knew if a machine that suited my requirement via Dixons, I may well find a code here

MattLFC

I really have no idea to be totally honest; one would think so, given the current slump in retail sales and the fact that a lot of clothes retailers are having mega sales etc...

However, the electronics industry is a tough one to call, most of the online stores are solid financially, and the high street is dominated by DSGi with only really Comet and Jessops etc as serious direct competition. Even the likes of Tesco don't really compete with DSGi on pricing on the high street.

Unless the online stores have a mega sale, I doubt there will be any incentive for the high street stores, but nobody can know for sure in the current financial climate. I was going to wait myself but got impatient.

I think shops will find life VERY hard after Xmas, and there will be some great bargains to be had, much better than the last few years. However, I also believe a lot of retailers may already be nearing their limits with regards profit margins etc... I mean the price of laptops, at £300 or less nowadays, is leaving very little margin for profit, after you consider the cost of the laptop itself, and stafing costs, tax etc...

MattLFC

The laptop I mentioned above is also available from Dixons at http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0026887377.1227225476@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceiadefjldhhgecflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=769561&category_oid=-32665 - must remind you though, it is a refurbished model, although they are usually brand new in all honesty.

The Dixons, Currys and PC World websites usually have the same clearance deals available, bar the odd exception.

Falc

Here is a possible alternative:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150335
I would echo matt's advice about having an extra gb of ram in there

Matt's recommendation has a nicer spec, but i personally no longer buy refurbs as i had a bad experience with my last one, which has has completely died, just over a year after i bought it, and i have given up on. Hence my hunt for a new laptop

10past6

There are a few in this link well under £300.00 are the any good for me?

MattLFC

BTW, the discount code SAVE5 gives you £5.00 off, if you get the higher model, you get a slightly btter processor (although only a 200GB HDD) and can use SAVE10 to get £10.00 off and bring the price down to £299.00.

Beware if you make a purchase that Dixons and co add Norton crap to all systems in the basket, so be sure to remove this before proceeding to payment.