The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

Mandark

Spudnik wrote: »

Okay, thanks. It's unlikely that I'll use the laptop for gaming, but I will use it quite heavily for most other processes so I want a fast machine. Do you think that I need the dedicated graphics card? If not, for £40 less I can get the Inspiron 1545. The 1545 also has a 250GB HDD rather than 500GB, but I don't think I really need 500GB anyway. So it's mainly a question of whether it's worth spending the extra £40 for the graphics.

If money isn't too tight, I'd get the higher spec model. That's a really good spec for the money and you might find you use programs (video editing packages are one example) that can take advantage of the beefed up graphics. And you can never have too much HDD space really. We always end up using more than we expected over the years.

Mandark

Tariq_M wrote: »

Hi,

Can someone help me decide a laptop. I've looked around extensively and I'm choosing between the Sony Vaio NS20Z/S (Tesco £590 but I have 10% discount) or the Toshiba Satelite A300-21H (£500 at Argos).

In terms of brands which is better? And is the 3GB memory on the Toshiba going to make a significant difference compared to the 4GB on the Sony?

Thanks for any help.

Check out this What Laptop review of the Sony. Seems all right to me and the Vaios are an upmarket brand.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/sony-vaio-vgn-ns20z-s-492023/review

loopy_lass

what do people think of the laptop/notebook asda are selling? i really dont understand all the techi bits, just wanted one for my daughter to use the net.. its around £250

thanks loops

heather8

Can anyone help me please.

I'm looking for a laptop for my 11 year old. He will use it for homework etc, play games, club penguin and a war game, he uses iplayer too and it will get heavy internet use from me!!

I currently use a dell inspiron 1100 which i have had for around 5 years and is very, very slow, as it is very very old. But it is still going strong.

I don't want to spend a fortune, as it will be his main Christmas present, and i will also need to spend the money on other stuff.

Might be best sticking with dell, but I'm unsure of which one to get. I would like it to last for around 5 years, at which time I will get him a new one for Uni, if he makes it there!!

All suggestions welcome, not sure what type of memory, game cards, etc to look for, you know all the techi stuff.

buglawton

It's worth remembering that desktop computers are cheaper to buy, much more repairable, upgradeable and robust than laptops. Plus they encourage a better sitting position where you don't look down, screen can be adjusted for a proper sit-up position, avoids the famous laptop crick-in-the-neck.

Smokeyone

After searching around for yonks I came across this offer from Aldi.
As I am looking at smallish laptops (have been checking out Samsung & Acer 10" ) is this a fair offer or is there better to be had. I need something that I can travel about with easily.
Thanks

Medion Akoya E1312 with 11.6" screen mini notebook £339.99
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_10383.htm

StockportGerbil

Hi!
My mum has decided she needs a computer so she can access the Internet from home and presumably do some word processing on it. I know I’ll be supporting the thing and given Mum is 200 miles away so I want the thing to be reliable!

Mum’s requirements

- Laptop (so it can be cleared away when not in use)
- Cheap, she’s asked about refurbished / second hand, at most £250 preferably a lot less.
- Min 15” screen (she has had issues with her sight before and staring at a small netbook screen isn’t going to help.)
- Windows XP, she has some experience of XP
- Able to access the internet – this will have to be via a ‘mobile broadband’ dongle at a guess as the expected use is going to be intermittent.

Having read the conversations on this subject I notice recommendations for Laptopsdirect, Big pockets, Medion shop and the ebay Argos clearance shop. Are there any other suggestions / recommendations?

I note the Dell C640 that bigpockets are selling ticks a lot of the right boxes especially at £139, but I suspect (given the dates of the reviews) it’s getting on a bit – does anyone have any experience of these things?

Thanks

Kevin

notcosi

Hi - Could anyone tell me if this is a good deal, or is there something better out there for the money ? Thanks
I know that this forum is not as busy as it used tobe but I was wondering if anyone out there could tell me if this was a good deal or not? Thanks
# STUDIO 15 (N0053503)

Module Description Show Details
Base Intel® Pentium® Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 BIT) - English
Memory 4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4570
Hard Drive 320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Optical Devices Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
Wireless Networking Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
Cables 1 Meter Power Cord (3 Wire) - UK
Shipping Documents English - Documentation Studio 1545
Gedis Bundle Reference N0953503
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Enhanced Service Packs 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
PalmRest Silver chainlink palm rest – with Black Chainlink cover only
Wireless Wan Card Mobile Broadband: Dell Wireless 5530 Card and VF Connection Manager with 60 Day Trial SIM included
Bluetooth No Bluetooth Upgrade
Order Information Studio 1555 Order - UK
Primary Battery Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Carrying Cases No Carrying Case
Dell System Media Kit Studio 1555 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Camera 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
Colour Choice Black chainlink
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year
Labels Wireless Label - Pentium Dual Core
LCD 15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife

Protect your new PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection
Sub-total
Incl. VAT £479.00

rev_henry

Hi, I'm after a cheapish laptop with a half decent graphics card for gaming.
I was all set on getting this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SAMSUNG-R505-AMD-2-1GHZ-3GB-RAM-15-4IN-LAPTOP-REFURB_W0QQitemZ360191740989QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Laptops_EH?hash=item53dd19cc3d&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

But now they've sold out. I'm hoping they'll get more in (they did last time) but is there anything else around that price range that's similar?

notcosi

rev_henry you can get the samsung at Argos :
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500001801&langId=-1&searchTerms=samsung+r505&Submit=GO+%3E