Opinions please, laptop, router, office....

giggles_alot

Basically i'm starting a new course in May (hopefully the first of many) for this i need to buy a laptop suitable for the course (word processing, internet usuage, email, etc etc), also personal use (listening to music, uploading photographs, messenger, live chat etc etc), i also run a small business and would need occasional usuage for that too. So i think ideally i need a high spec laptop but to be honest i don't know where to start

These are a couple i have seen,

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/557073

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0337543328.1232218167@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdfadegeldljfkcflgceggdhhmdfoj.0&page=Product&sku=908015

Opinions please, or if someone could recommend something that suitable for my use?

MS office is half price when bought with a laptop from Currys so under £50, or has anyone seen it for less than this?

We have Virgin Media broadband with the desktop computer (can't guarantee to be able to use desktop as regular as needed hence the laptop) so as i understand i would need a route to be able to use internet on the laptop, this i where my understanding becomes murky so any help but be great. I've seen the following router http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=226475&C=Value09&U=Clearance
Is this all i would need?

My overal budget is ideally £500 for the lot (obviously cheaper if possible - although i do see this as an investment so wouldn't be looking to replace for a long time) Is this budget realistic?

Thank you in advance, any input would be gratefully recieved. :beer:

slimzee

Hi

A old £100 laptop can do all that, but if you want a new one no need to spend more than £400, then it comes down to your taste and which exterior look of the laptop appeals to you.

Next time your in Comet or pc world play around with a Hewlett Packard laptop, which is what I have and I love it.

Little_John

£50 office is Microsoft Office 2007 Home & Student any use for business breaks the terms of the licence agreement therefor becomes illegal.

The use you are saying doesnt need anything special out of the 2 laptops you posted I would go for the HP as it will have better build quality over the Dell the lower drive space is worth the sacrifice especailly but the price is a fair bit more. I would look at Toshiba first then HP for build quality spec wise you don't need anything special.

The laptop should come with wireless built in most do now so buying that bundl of a router and addaptor is a bit of a waste but it is an N class router which is the fastest available but I would not be sure regarding the brand I have never heard of it. The speed of the router connection will not have any effect on your internet connection speed. the max available is 50mb standard g wireless is 54mb.

giggles_alot

Thank you for your replies, i'm trying to do my research and get an idea of what i want before i hit the shops (don't want to be charmed by salesmen or swamped with jargan).
Little John - funny you should mention Toshiba, i was just looking at this one, http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=398034&affixedcode=WW+

devizes18193

personally some thing to consider is what the service level is like if it goes wrong

amcluesent

Something from the Dell Inspiron range (i.e. 1525) would be fine. The D-Link DIR-655 wireless router is excellent.

giggles_alot

Thanks Devizes thats a good point, was also trying to stick with big companies - hoping they are more stable with the economic situation.

giggles_alot

amcluesent wrote: »

Something from the Dell Inspiron range (i.e. 1525) would be fine. The D-Link DIR-655 wireless router is excellent.

Thank you, i'll have a look

odowdchr

giggles_alot wrote: »

Thank you, i'll have a look

The DIR-655 is brilliant. It supports the latest 802.11n "wireless local area network" (WLAN)....so if you go for it I'd look for a laptop with a wireless adaptor that also supports 802.11n.
Mine connects at 300Mbits/s...which is far better if you want to use the laptop for streaming music and video...and it's more future proof.

giggles_alot

odowdchr wrote: »

The DIR-655 is brilliant. It supports the latest 802.11n "wireless local area network" (WLAN)....so if you go for it I'd look for a laptop with a wireless adaptor that also supports 802.11n.
Mine connects at 300Mbits/s...which is far better if you want to use the laptop for streaming music and video...and it's more future proof.

Thank you, I'm not really good on all the technical stuff, but thankfully some kind people on here are pointing me in the right direction.