The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

codetown

Adamsk1 wrote:

I've used them and service is usually very good. Beware of the £12.99 delivery price though. I've done a quick search and found a similar spec Acer machine for a bit less money.http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/do/sort?catPath=uk%2FlaptopsBasic&catId=113501&manufacturer=I&lap=ok&keywords=aspire+5003&searchId=1010201_1161252933880_1277631044&from=shopbot&tsSearchId=1161252933879&JServSessionIduk=j1fw94u8y2.L35J2uk&field=totalprice&sortcolumnid=total_price

Careful to what you compare. The list above included different machines with different specs. As far as I can see the Tecnoworld one is STILL the cheapest with a good spec.

Also beware that some machines in the kelkoo list above have only 256 MB ram. That is really a bad suggestion to buy! And they are even dearer than those from technoworld

HCDayantis

indiegirl wrote:

£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?!)

Using Firefox Search, it was not hard to see the answer - at the bottom of the page, it say 'All prices are Exclusive of VAT'.

I would like to throw a Lenovo with sound reviews (although the speakers are truly dire, from what I've read) into the mix:
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenovo_3000_N100_TY06VUK/version-1.asp

Core Duo, inbuilt camera and mic., decent HD. It's all looking good

This one, however, also looks very appealing:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Aspire_Aspire_5101_AWLMi_Laptop_LX.ABH0J.083/version.asp

Does anyone have anything they could say about either of these? Both look very tempting, and for some unknown reason I'm drawn to the Lenovo! The Lenovo has half the memory and dodgy speakers, but it beckons me like a siren...

Spikey_2

Just seen this.. DELL ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

HCDayantis

Spikey wrote:

Just seen this.. DELL ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

Well, when you say poss. 500, I'm in a similar situation. I'm looking for something a bit more futureproof, so I had to stretch the budget. I'm gunning for the £520 lenovo here

It has a Centrino Core Duo, which is basically a power-efficient, very fast and
erm... good processor. Details are here.

Many computer experts are saying great things about duos, so that's where I want to put my money. I've read countless glowing reviews on the Lenovo itself, after some uber-research. Basically, it's all good when it comes to keyboard, performance and the like. The speakers are atrocious, so he'll want headphones or speakers. I've already got portable speakers, so I'm alright on that front.

I looked at the Dell link, and created a custom one that had equivilant performance to the Lenovo, but less so on the processor front (no duo, for shame!). It cost £528.24. All I did was go for the basic model that has a minumum of £399.99 and add an 80GB HD for an extra £35. When it says 'from £x', it must mean without VAT, regardless of what the site says; the price leaps when you press 'customise and buy' before you even select anything! The advantage of the Dell, I suppose, is that you get a 3 year warranty, as opposed to the 1 year from Lenovo. Still, it's your/his choice! (The Lenovo is my preference, and I intend to buy it.)

EDIT:

What does he want the laptop for? (More demanding needs equals more money, as a general rule!)

EDIT THE SECOND: Oh, and the Lenovo link really is a very good deal for what it is. I've seen that exact one for ~£600 in countless other places. They don't lie when they say 'You save £91.03'.

However, should you want double the RAM on said Lenovo, do not use that site! They quoted me £51 exc. VAT, and want to charge £10 (exc. VAT) for installation.

Rather, go for this site here. The memory is the exact same part # they use, only it costs £40.66 inc. VAT! This is 512mb official Kingston, compatible stuff. I highly recommend that above site for buying RAM upgrades!

jbatista

Spikey wrote:

Just seen this.. DELL ...........can this be beaten........mate got 300 - 400 poss 500 to spend in next week............any help appreciated...

TIA

Spikey

I have had my Inspirion 1300 for 3 weeks now, its my first laptop and I am very pleased with it. With wireless it was a case of plug and play literally, I was online in 10 mins. From today I am fully wirelessly networked :rotfl: :T
I would definitely buy again from Dell.
Mine cost me £342 with the better battery and upgraded memory.

espresso

jbatista wrote:

With wireless it was a case of plug and play literally, I was online in 10 mins. From today I am fully wirelessly networked.

:think:

Have you set up strong encryption :question:

jbatista

espresso wrote:

:think:

Have you set up strong encryption :question:

Not sure about that, I have a netgear router, if that helps!!!

skinnerneil

Just got emailed from Staples...

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi1505
Intel Core duo processor. T2050
512 Mb RAM
100 Gb HDD
DVD +/-RW
15.4 inch widescreen

£ 499

That sounds pretty good to me . I have been holding out for a core 2 duo at a resonable price but I mainly only do office work on mine so will this be speedy enough for me?? My current 2 yr old celeron IBM R40e is now feeling very slow.

HCDayantis

jbatista wrote:

Not sure about that, I have a netgear router, if that helps!!!

So do I, but you have to set the password yourself. you do either 128bit (recommended) or 64bit encryption, and set a password. The code is derived from the password, so in the Netgear interface you just type in password as words. Then, when you need to connect to the router, just do the same again. Make sure that if you used 128bit for the router, you have 128bit for the passcode generation for getting on as well!

espresso

jbatista wrote:

Not sure about that, I have a netgear router, if that helps!!!

That's a no then!

:eek:

Follow this step by step guide to make your network secure and to stop others using it.

:beer: