The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

Mr_Frugal

Thanks to all you guys for posting views etc in here as it has helped me really narrow down my selection.

I am finally down to 2 laptops and guess I would like views from you all as to which is the better all round buy.

I am between the HP G70-120EA and the Sony VGN-FW21L.
There is just over £100 difference between the two and I guess I want to know if the Sony is worth the extra £100 ?
Seems the main differences are that the Sony has a bigger hard drive, 4GB ram (as opposed to HP 3GB) and I can hook Sony up to TV.

Am I missing anything else ?

If so what are others opinions, which one would you buy ?

Thunderbird_2

You can connect the hp to the tv via its HDMI port.

The sony, has got a better webcam, a bit more RAM ( the hp is at its maximum 3G RAM), more storage and 64 bits computing according to sony's website.

You need an advice on the dedicated graphic cards as I don't know which one is better! (both 256 Mb dedicated, but different brands)

Is the better webcam and extra one G RAM with extra 90G HDD in a SONY worth the extra £100? Between these two machines, and money is not an issue, I would go for the SONY provided it's graphic card is better.

Good luck

Thunderbird_2

Esmerelda wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking for a good value, small (less than 15" screen), lightweight laptop. A netbook is probably too small for me, and I'd like a DVD drive and half decent graphics for watching the odd DVD. Any suggestions please?

This samsung is promising with up to 6hrs battery time from staples, click here I think for about £490

if you don't mind an acer, this could fit the bill from pcworld, click here for £479 ( plus possible 2.5% cashback via quidco)

Both got the graphic memory shared!! Check the spec on both and decide. If you want a dedicated graphic card for this size laptops, I think you might feel the need to stretch a bit more than £500.

If you only wanting a dedicated graphic for playing DVDs, I don't think a shared graphic would be bad as you would feel it when playing games!

Good luck

ETA: I have just seen this acer cheaper here at MISCO for £399! £80 cheaper than pcworld, not bad for this processor and this HDD! Click here

SuperSal

I am looking for a laptop but haven't a clue what to get.
At the moment I am running a Dell Inspiron 530Son vista home Premium and am quite happy with it, however to stop war breaking out I think it's time to get another computer.

This will be mainly used for surfing the net and e-mails We don't play games or do any other stuff really, but may use it occasionally for copying dvd's/cd's
not keen on a notebook as the screen needs to be min 15". The laptop will probably be in the same room as the desktop and although I have just got a BTHUb 2 I am running the desktop wired to an ethernet cable and will probably do the same for the laptop for now.

I get so confused with different spec etc but have read if I'm using vista I need at least 2gb as it takes up a lot of space and also the better the processer the faster the programmes load. Is this right?

I have looked at Dell, Fujitu and Acer all at under £350 and to be quite honest i don't really want to pay anymore than that.

I heard that from our local computer shop that one make is always breaking down and not to get that one but I can't remember if he said Asus or Acer.
We'll be going into look at a few on Monday, I've never used a laptop before so will need to try a few out for ease of use.

Another point is do you need to recharge the battery everytime it is used even for an hour?

giggles_alot

http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=398034&affixedcode=WW+

Hi, I'm looking to get a laptop and router plus ms office for around £500 in total. Not really sure what i'm looking for in a laptop (not very technically minded). i'll need to use it for a new course i'm starting, emails, internet research and personal use - facebook, youtube, music and loading photographs. Could anyone give opinions on the laptop above? spec v price and meeting my needs. Thanks

retiredlady

Hello everyone, I am looking for some advice. I guess I should say that I am not very computer savvy and my present laptop is about 3 years old and really needs replacing (even the keyboard has given up the ghost and almost daily a new key falls off!):rotfl:

I have been looking at the laptop on sale this week at Aldi and there seems to be a lot of stuff on it that actually means nothing to me , but basic question is - it is an ok machine for the money? It costs £450.

Thanks for your help - here is the link : http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_8630.htm

Marion

SuperSal

Is there anybody out there?????

Don't forget Staples price is excluding vat, I missed that at first as I was looking at the Toshiba model at £339

I'm sure the Aldi one has 3years warranty which makes it a good bargain in my eyes, that alone must be worth over £100

I hate doing research, whenever you think you've cracked it, there is always someone who'll say 'I wouldn't touch ***** with a bargepole'

Please someone take pity on the last 3 posters!

boobbby

You can puchase a laptop from £300 to £1500 and you can be sure within a few months it will be superceeded by a better value machine. The Aldi machine above is a good example of how things move on. A few months ago most laptops had a 2GB RAM at that price. Smaller hard drive, smaller battery etc!! The question you have to ask yourself is "what do you want the laptop to be able to do" Do you want to be light so you can carry it around, do you want to play modern games at a reasonable speed, Do you want to download loads of films and how often are you able to charge the laptop. If you need any of these it will cost more dosh. On the other hand if you just want to surf the net and use it for data then stick to the £300 - £450 computers. For those that can put off getting the computer until the end of this year the new operating system (windows 7) seems to worth waiting for as it has some good early reports unlike the response when they was bringing out windows Vista.

SuperSal

Thanks Bobby for replying.
The more I read the more confused I am, I do not play lots of games or watch T.V. on my computer. not bothered about it being lightweight, do need DVD rewriter and it will be mainly used as a desktop.
The Medion at Aldi seemed to suit especially with te spec and 3 year warranty, however they are sold out and although have loooked at the Medion site they do not seem to have any either, so it's back to the drawing board.

MiM

I'm still deliberating!

I've just discovered that Toshiba are offerijng £30 to £100 cashback on selected laptop models bought before the end of the month.

Here's a link to a PDF of the inlcuded models...

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/images/en/cashback/downloads/cashback.pdf

Anyone got any thoughts on whether this tips the balance in Toshiba's favour?