The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

MrG_2

I struggled to find availability through Dell at these prices - ended up speaking to their call centre and being quoted 750 GBP

I went for the 600 GBP Acer Aspire 1363wlmi

AMD Semperon 3000, 15.4" widescreen (!), 60gb hdrive, dvd dual drive +/-, 512mb ddr ram, wireless, 64MB GeForce graphics card, XP

It's not the cheapst I found, but it was the best value

https://www.cclonline.co.uk

FateFirst

Nice find eposmike.

Had a few refurbs from https://www.bigpockets.co.uk but now you can seem to custom build your laptops so much at DELL that more often then not you can create a very decent spec for very little money...some even cheaper then the refurbs at bigpockets.

Chip_Butty_3

Looking at a lap Top for a member of the family under £500. Come up with this on ebuyer for £499 (Just over with P &P).

Its for general home use & to use for photography (Downloading from camera & the odd manipulation).

Has anyone any ideas as to its suitability ?

Run the product through Kelkoo/Price Runner & Deal Time & ebuyer seems to be the cheapest.

tryingtosave_3

Dabs have some interesting ones - specifically this Acer Aspire at 443.98.
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=3NRG

They have two other in their "notebook madness" section:
http://www.dabs.com/uk/learnmore/hardware/notebook+madness.htm

My other favorite (might have already been posted) is Morgan computers -
http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/ - but nothing jumps off the page for me at the moment.

AuntyJean

I really want a laptop but in a couple of years time will need to change my old PC so, the laptop has to be on a budget but be totally functional.

I have been watching for Dell specials but as soon as I get on the website I start adding little extras here and there and end up with a £1,500 pc instead of the budget laptop I was looking for.

Being a complete NON-Techie I have not got a clue as to what is best, I can only go by what has served me well in the past and in this respect it is my old Intel processor. From there, I want a DVD Rewriter and, this is the bit I am really confused about, I want to be totally mobile but still use the internet!

With regard to the latter, can anyone tell me if this is possible when I am connected to Blueyonder broadband via cable on my PC? When they instralled the external Motorola 'box' they left the packaging box behind with all the cables in and the guy said, 'you may need that if you get a new pc'. But I haven't a clue what it is.

Having searched for a couple of days I have come across the following and would like you techie's opinion please.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=6925053595&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=86368

Is this likely to be better than a Dell (using any offers Dell have at the moment). I have noticed that they are offering double memory for on certain laptops and this offer ends in 2 days so have to decide soon.

The main use of the laptop will be internet access, Word and Excel. I am also itching to try out a game as in the five years I have had this pc I have never played a game on it and want to try out Eve Online!!! (I used to love Elite).

Help Guys please!!!

Aunty Jean

tryingtosave_3

AuntyJean - quick response. The laptop on ebuyer you link to doesn't have a DVD Rewriter; it does have a CD-Rewriter though (this is how I read the spec; usually CD-RW/DVD means CD-Rewriter and DVD reader)

I also can't see any mention of word or excel in the spec. You'll probably need to buy a copy, which can add quite a lot to the price (price on Amazon is £280 for MS Office). Very few laptops will come with it though. There are alternatives - free ones like open office - but they're not quite the same and you might not like them. Have a look at https://www.openoffice.org

Not sure I can help on the mobility question, as I don’t know your set up. I’m also not sure what you mean by total mobility – you mention cables? That laptop does seem to have built in wireless, but that is only half the equation – do you know if you have a wireless modem / router?

If you could post more details, i.e. model of Motorola box, someone else might be able to help.

Good luck!

AuntyJean

Thank you, didn't notice that.

I still have the discs I bought with my PC so could load Office 2000 Professional, presuming they will work with the OS.

All I know about the modem is it is a Motorola surfboard cable modem.

Can anyone tell me if I can access Blueyonder broadband with a suitable laptop without plugging it in to a telephone line? What spec do I need to look for in a laptop please? Would I have to buy anything extra?

Aunty Jean

Edinburghlass_2

You would need to have a wireless router/modem that did the pc and the laptop but as cable broadband is slightly different from BT I am not sure of the technicalities of this

tryingtosave_3

I’m assuming you’re still talking not talking about wireless connections?

If this is your cable modem, then you can connect computers/laptops to it via either ethernet or USB.

Assuming that that is your modem, and it's set up properly, other than a cable, you shouldn't need to buy anything extra. You might even have a spare cable - in the packaging box you mentioned.

Almost all windows pcs/laptops come with USB (now mainly USB2), and most laptops come with ethernet (it may be listed as 10/100 Base-T or 10/100 BT Ethernet). The laptop you linked to did, plus it also said it had wifi as well, so if you have the wireless version of the motorola cable modem, this is also an option for you (more complicated but far more mobile).

Hope this helps - if there is anyone using blueyonder with the same modem, can you confirm / correct me? It's difficult to give a definitive answer without being sure of your set up and kit - sorry.

If you're just trying to add another computer to your broadband connection, it might be pretty easy; if you're actually trying to put together a home network, i.e. get your
existing computer talking to your new laptop, it might be quite a challenge. I know IT professionals who have spent days trying to get these up and running.

PS. Office 2000 should run on Windows XP, but I've not tried it (having neither product ...)

AuntyJean

Thank you to everyone.

Can anyone give me some 'for's and against's' of buying a Dell machine.

Also, if you can access the internet with a mobile phone (which is completely wireless) why can't you do the same with a laptop?

Surely I would just need to contact my ISP (blueyonder) for set-up details?

Aunty Jean