The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

buglawton

I bought a Thinkpad T42 from these folks a while ago. If you are looking for an old-school business machine with a nice matt non-wide screen, XP and 1GB RAM, light in weight yet bulletproof build, then these folks are a now offering T43s for £250:

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/ipodstore/Items/T43%20G4?

Delivery was fine but this supplier offers no real support.- check if it is Lenovo's Warranty (they say 12 months, check that 12 months includes software issues too) - and ensure you use it to resolve any niggles, then you will have a great machine.

To get this price, (1st 50 only) use Promo Code 50ONLY. Normal price is £350.

edit:

The spec list:

• 
  
• Intel Pentium P4 M 1.8 Ghz Processor (Pentium M Centrino processor optimised to get the most out of your battery)
• 1024mb RAM (an incredible 1gig of memory!)
• ATI Radeon X300 video card with 64mb dedicated video memory
• 40Gb Hard Drive
• 14.1" TFT (XGA 1024x768 resolution)
• Windows XP Pro Pre-installed
• 802.11 built in wireless card
• DVD/CD ROM Drive
• 10/100 Networking
• 56k Fax Modem
• Stereo Speakers
• 2 x USB 2.0, Parallel, 2 x PCMCIA, 10/100 Networking, External VGA, Audio Out, TV Out
• 1Gb Ethernet installed via the system board
• Charger & Mains Cable included
• The Battery has been tested as working but the amount of charge held IS NOT GUARANTEED in any way.
• As with any refurbished product the condition is excellent but may display some signs of wear which include marks to the plastics, and a small mark on the screen.
• 1 YEAR RTB warranty

Erica1_2

Hi

I wanted a laptop around £300 that I could store my large quantity of itunes on, use for MS Word/Excel and Inspirations and was light to carry around and that I could use wireless internet on. I've found several under £300 but which do you think? I know nothing about computers, I would prefer one with reliable support if something goes wrong but that's not a necessity.

[FONT=&quot]Toshiba satellite pro l40 or [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Aspire 5310wlmi, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Extensa 5220, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo mobile V5535.

Hopefully hear from you soon! Thanks
[/FONT]

buglawton

If the above includes a genuine Lenovo Warranty it would be worth it at £250.
When you buy new nowadays, you are pushed into Windows Vista. In which case you need 2GB of ram to make it work well. Budget is more like £450 then.

d123

Erica1 wrote: »

Hi

I wanted a laptop around £300 that I could store my large quantity of itunes on, use for MS Word/Excel and Inspirations and was light to carry around and that I could use wireless internet on. I've found several under £300 but which do you think? I know nothing about computers, I would prefer one with reliable support if something goes wrong but that's not a necessity.

[FONT=&quot]Toshiba satellite pro l40 or [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Aspire 5310wlmi, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Extensa 5220, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo mobile V5535.

Hopefully hear from you soon! Thanks
[/FONT]

None of those really match your requirements, all are 15" machines weighing around 3kg, it's the type of machine to replace a desktop when space is tight, not a machine you would want to carry around over your shoulder for any length of time.

buglawton

The T43 is ok at 2.4kg - you would not use it on the bus or carry around on a world tour maybe. Subnotebooks often don't have an internal DVD drive.

d123

buglawton wrote: »

The T43 is ok at 2.4kg - you would not use it on the bus or carry around on a world tour maybe. Subnotebooks often don't have an internal DVD drive.

I agree the T43 isnt that bad, I was referring to the other list

" [FONT=&quot]Toshiba satellite pro l40 or [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Aspire 5310wlmi, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Acer Extensa 5220, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo mobile V5535."

[/FONT]However most modern 12" machines now have a internal DVD writer, For a carry-around type of laptop the extra £50-100 will make a big difference to whether the laptop is carried around or just left at home like a pseudo-desktop.

buglawton

Around £300, and you need 1G with XP or 2GB with Vista (ie most new machines). Plus it must be lightweight. Erica1 is going to have a job getting the ultimate perfect choice here. I rate IBM x32, 12" screen, very portable, wireless, but no inbuilt DVD though and external units can be expensive and a bother. Again a used or refurb buy from £150 on up.

shootingstarXX

I have £400 to £450 to buy a laptop with, I want one to use for internet and photos.

Any suggestions???

froggy_girl128

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1846791864.1204499296@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladedgmmhldjcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=536918&category_oid=
will suit your needs for £450 - you can get cheaper if you are happy with a brand like advent ( and there is nothing wrong with them!)

windswept

Just bought an acer extensa 5220 - 80g hard drive/ 1024 mb ram / 4 x usb ports / 15.4 screen for my daughter to take to uni - £279 delivered, from bt shop. It's a nice looking machine with a business style keyboard for presentations etc.