The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

codetown

Frugal_Moose wrote:

I presume there are wireless hotspots in europe same as here, I (mistakenly) thought that centrino mobile meant you could access the internet from anywhere.

Hotspots are still sporadic. You find them basically only in airports, hotels and some major cities. A good tool to check them is:
http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm

Frugal_Moose wrote:

Battery life will be important since he wont always be near to a mains hook up to recharge it. Weight not that important as he wont actually physically carry it anywhere.
Do you know how good the battery is with the Toshiba model from Currys?

The technical specs on the Currys site mention:
Battery life (up to) 3.4 hours

This is probably more or less equivalent to the 'reader' test of mobile mark (i.e. test under very low usage conditions). At around 200 min is not exceptional but I would say starts to be useable. Probably the real-life productivity test for the Toshiba would be around 130-160m (which is close to the A110 similar model reported in here http://www.reportlabs.com/testbed/version1/nbv1/detnb.php?rcnb=117).
For comparison the Dell 640m has 538 min in the reader test and 473 min in the productivity test (i.e. lasts far more than double without need for recharging).

I have a Pentium M Dell laptop and wanted to future proof this new one for him so will go for a Centrino duo rather than the Packard Bell one.
Thanks a lot for responding.

To be very frank, that is a bad parameter to track. Unless you do professional 24x7 video editing (or professional gaming) the processor is not a critical parameter. They change all the time with continuos improvements. And yet you can do an exceptional good job with any of the typical office/internet tools with any processor even dated 6-7 years ago if coupled with a decent amount of RAM. I still have an exceptionally good server running all the time at high volumes of traffic and is centered around a Duron 700 MHz processor (more than 6 years of life). I have no problems whatsoever with that one!

Today I would buy an Intel Core 2 Duo (or a Turion 64x2) only if it is sold at a decent price. Keep in mind that Intel has already announced the Core 2 Quadro which will arrive in the next 3-4 months for desktops and then very soon after for laptops. And AMD will do the same.
You cannot afford to play their game! Choose the processor that suits your needs today and use it knowing it will be out of date anyway (whatever you buy) in 6 months time.

Being out of date does not mean unusable. I used a wonderful Pentium 100 MHz laptop (bought in 96) until 2003 and was still going strong in any of the Productivity Tools (not gaming of course, but good with Internet, Office, text editing, programming etc). And I stopped using it after about 7 years not because of its age, but because the screen crashed and it was not worth repairing it! The CPU still runs perfectly well and was not an issue at all!

In short: check again your needs against your budget.
At present I would either go for a slightly lower spec at bargain price of ~350 pounds (and there are often deals) keeping in mind I can change it in 2 years time (if I wish to), or spend a little more (but not more than 600 pounds) and get more mobility for example with the Dell D640m (9 cell and great battery life) or this nice Philips at 569 pounds (very light and decent specs for such a portable laptop):
http://www.hotukdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32850&highlight=laptop

nev808

Has anyone actually got one of these x56 from Currys/Dixons ?

The spec seems great for the price but surely there must be a catch ?

Nev

HCDayantis

codetown wrote:

Keep in mind that Intel has already announced the Core 2 Quadro which will arrive in the next 3-4 months for desktops and then very soon after for laptops.

Hopefully this will drive down the price of duos.:D


Oh, and as for the advantages etc. of Duos and the like, I have two happy links for all!

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/146/cpu-megatest/products.html - brief comparison of mobile processors (click for detail on each)

http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=192535 - A simple guide to dual-core.

rourkey

i've just been on the dell wabsite and the cheapest laptop is £399.

While i was there i seen a notebook for £329

i only want to surf the web and run my OU software should i get a note book.

Are there any cheaper notebook's than dells £329?

would appreciate any feedback

HCDayantis

I have absolutely no idea how demanding OU software is on any level, I'm afraid. I mean, for 'cheaper' you've only got to look at older models on ebay and the like. Similarly, many sites have 'refurbished' sections, like Apple and laptopsdirect. They are often consideably cheaper.

navig8r

Don't forget to disable the wireless network on a laptop when you are not actually on the intenet ...it slows some down to a crawl as it constantly looks for a signal.

Dave

codetown

If you are after a Dell, aslo worth considering their own 'Oulet', i.e. their section on refurbished laptops. Most of these are just returns out of users who saw the product and immediately did not like it or even changed their mind 1 days or so after ordering and even before receiving it.

The link should be this:
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=uk&cs=&l=en&s=dfo&~ck=mn

The laptops in there vary frequently, but every so often you get a good bargain! Check their final price tough (i.e. after adding VAT and delivery, which I think is 60 pounds).

mcgsp

Had decided to go for the Toshiba A100-147 at £450 (with 10% discount) as there seems to be agreement that it offers good value but I cannot find a discount code which has not expired; can anyone help me to obtain the discount?

phillip3153

Yes, try 10EMAIL (home delivery only)

mcgsp

Thank you. Discount code successful for £50 discount