The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

crayon_2

Thanks moob - so are HP reliable and decent build quality? - not had one before. Think I'll go crucial with the memory. What was cheapest accessory you found?
Sorry for all the questions lol - curious and nosy I guess. Sorry.

Gib_Gib

* Mobile Sempron 3400+ / 1.8 GHz
* 512 MB Ram
* 60 GB Hard Disk Drive
* DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
* Wireless Lan 802.11a/b/g
* 15" TFT 1024 x 768 ( XGA )
* Biometrics - Fingerprint Reader
* Windows XP Professional
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/117785/rb/22096325436
£400

lyricalgangsta

Hi Guys

Im really keen on a lenovo laptop, the build quality is amazing, howver they are expensive.

To cut costs I was thinking of buying from the US, where the same laptop is the same price but in dollars !!

Imagine the saving on a £1300 laptop. !!

However are there any pitfalls, compatibility issues with this and would I need a power adaptor etc ??

moob_2

crayon wrote:

Thanks moob - so are HP reliable and decent build quality? - not had one before. Think I'll go crucial with the memory. What was cheapest accessory you found?
Sorry for all the questions lol - curious and nosy I guess. Sorry.

I never bought an accessory mate, couldn't be bothered. I've been after this very laptop for over a month now, and it's only just come into stock in a few places.

HP are well known for their build quality, superior to Dell Acer Fujitsu Siemens etc, and their battery life is superb.

This one has audio and S video out, if you wanna connect it to your tv, it also has biometric fingerprint reader, 7 in 1 card reader and firewire. AFAIK, nothing else in this price bracket comes close to the features in this laptop.

moob_2

Gib_Gib wrote:

* Mobile Sempron 3400+ / 1.8 GHz
* 512 MB Ram
* 60 GB Hard Disk Drive
* DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
* Wireless Lan 802.11a/b/g
* 15" TFT 1024 x 768 ( XGA )
* Biometrics - Fingerprint Reader
* Windows XP Professional
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/117785/rb/22096325436
£400

Add p&p to that, and their slow delivery time into the 'bargain' if you excuse the pun, and the one from laptopsdirect is a better deal. The CPU is also faster.

PizzaCake

Saw this Fujitsu Siemens Amilo V2085 15.4" Widescreen Laptop Notebook at http://play.com/Electronics/Electronics/GENEC/298/383/-/1138163/Fujitsu_Siemens_Amilo_V2085_15_4_Widescreen_Laptop_Notebook/Product.html?searchtype=genre

our price: £389.99 Delivered

availability: In stock.
Usually dispatched within 24 hours.
RRP: £699.99 You save: £310.00 (44%)

Specifications

Processor:- Intel Pentium-M 735A - 1.7GHz, 400MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache
RAM:- 256MB DDR2-533MHz
Hard Drive:- 40GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
Screen:- 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10)
Optical Drive:- DVD/CDRW Combo
Graphics:- Integrated Graphics supporting 128MB
Wireless LAN:- 802.11b/g
Battery Life - 5 hours
Weight:- 2.9kg
Software Bundle:- Drivers & Utilities, Adobe Acrobat Reader, NERO Burning ROM
Operating System:- Windows XP Home Edition
Windows Vista Compatible
Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
56k Dial-Up Modem
S-Video Output
Firewire Port
4 x USB Port
Flash Memory Card Reader (MMC, MS, SD)
PCMCIA Type II Slot
Built-In Stereo Speakers

pin

HotUKDeals have this very good Dell Core Duo going very cheap:

305-N10645 - £498.75 or less deliverd
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
80GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW with Software
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Duo Processors
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Microsoft® Works 8.5 - English

As usual reduce the warranty to minimum for the above price and buy Via Quidco for 4.5% cashback



http://www.hotukdeals.com/deal/6578/dell-inspiron-coreduo-6400-laptop-1






And this one as well:



305-N106M5 - £528.25 or less delivered
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2 (Does not include Operating System Re-Installation CD)
14.1" Wide Screen WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
Fixed Internal 8x DVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive With Software
6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card for Core 2 Duo Processors
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™ Audio- Trial Version
Microsoft® Works 8.5 - English

Reduce the warranty to minimum and buy via Quidco for 4.5% extra savings.



http://www.hotukdeals.com/deal/6580/dell-inspiron-640m-core2duo-1-66ghz

alikat_3

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/Offers/Clearance as these are clearance they will be open box, while some may not include an OS or power supply etc, (CHECK PACKAGE) although most do, prices are constantly changing & if you want the cheapest you should be able to pick up a laptop for around £250 - £300. These are 1 off's but over a week you should find a £250 - £300 laptop, price you see will not include VAT or P&P until you put in basket.

alikat_3

lyricalgangsta wrote:

Hi Guys

Im really keen on a lenovo laptop, the build quality is amazing, howver they are expensive.

To cut costs I was thinking of buying from the US, where the same laptop is the same price but in dollars !!

Imagine the saving on a £1300 laptop. !!

However are there any pitfalls, compatibility issues with this and would I need a power adaptor etc ??

I agree, I like Lenovo too. I recently bought a z60m on ebay for £550, else where it was around £1000, although I think seller mispriced.

My daughter has a Toshiba laptop which was sent from US by her Dad, it has a power adapter pluged into UK converter, which you would find on ebay for a few quid.

If you buy from US, I would make sure your laptop has international warranty, so if something goes wrong you don't have to return to US.

indiegirl_2

This is the cheapest I've seen this one online, but someone may be able to offer a better option:
http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=1353%2C1896,1398&webid=V384782

• Platform: Core Duo 1.6ghz (T2050)
• FSB: 533MHz
• Cache: 2MB L2
• Hard Drive: 60GB SATA
• DVD Multiformat Dual Layer
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 128MB
• 15.4 WXGA Crystal View Screen
• Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b/g
• Audio: 2 x Built in speakers
• Card Readers: Yes
• Software Priority 1: Win DVD
• 6-cell Lithium-ion battery

It comes with XP Home (but you can't have everything...!!)

£499 in store, £424.68 in store - I can't see anywhere that says that's excluding VAT (although £424.68+VAT = £499). Checkout didn't give any clues.

Currently showing out of stock today, was in yesterday. Would you wait for this to return to stock, or buy something else (and if so - what?!)