The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

JamesN

@wazza, yes its 10% discount

@startedsaving, 17" screen is good for dvd's. though its more about personal preference. They tend to be heavier so not as fun getting them around. for the same money you'd get a very nice desktop that would easily play the sims. I think it should be fine to play the sims on that laptop. But dont quote me on that. I dont know what you mean by get wireless? i've not seen a laptop or a desktop in a very long time that didnt have wireless.

@skintslimmer, they may have increased but they have come quite far in the past 6 months. You can get a lot for £400, and i dont think they'll come down too much because windows 7 has just come out so will be keeping the premium up. The keyboards i dont think change that much, if at all. There does seem to be a standard size, though i could be wrong.

I'm not much of an expert when it comes to warranties as they are expensive, i just take the extra care to look after my stuff.

Security is all about preference, windows is enough, they have improved a lot in recent times. Norton and others have a lot of background stuff which i dont like because it can slow computers down. I use spybot search and destroy which is brilliant and FREE

Hope this helps.

Also as a quick note, people tend to avoid the celeron processors which i believe the £329 has if im thinking of the right one.

JDPower

Skintslimmer wrote: »

Final question is that a friend who works in IT (I have no idea what he does!) has said that windows security is sufficient for my security needs: I am shocked by this, I thought I would need an independant piece of software e.g. Norton, Panda. Any thoughts on this?

I would never recommend anyone using Windows run without an antivirus (probably Avira free or Avast free, certainly not Norton)

JamesN

i think he meant windows defender and windows firewall? thats what i assumed anyway.

startedsaving

JamesN wrote: »

@wazza, yes its 10% discount

@startedsaving, 17" screen is good for dvd's. though its more about personal preference. They tend to be heavier so not as fun getting them around. for the same money you'd get a very nice desktop that would easily play the sims. I think it should be fine to play the sims on that laptop. But dont quote me on that. I dont know what you mean by get wireless? i've not seen a laptop or a desktop in a very long time that didnt have wireless.

Thanks very much for your reply - my reference to wireless is i meant i have not got wireless set up at home, helpful to know new computers all come with the option though, so thanks again. Do you think the one I am looking at represents fair value for money? Or should I look elsewhere? Are Dell usually good value? Also re the 17'' screen, i was thinking this would be better for DVDs but obviously it does make it more expensive, and as mentioned heavier, wondering now if just as well stick with 15-16''? if anyone has any more advice i would be more than grateful - thanks to those with the knowledge who kindly spend time helping.

Skintslimmer

JamesN wrote: »

i think he meant windows defender and windows firewall? thats what i assumed anyway.

I think I meant Microsoft Security Essentials.

http://www.microsoft.com/Security/

I am aware I will need a firewall and antivirus as well as something to deal with malware/spyware etc. Are the free ones really any good? I have heard bad things about them, namely that they make their money through having back doors that let in all sorts of nasties... although that was told to me by a PC World employee, so not too sure I believe anything they say lol!

Any other recommendations on decent security packages then?

JamesN

the free ones can be great, i've not had an issue in 2 years but im quite an experienced user. You've got to be careful and not download anything suspicious. Also running a full scan once a week. This works for me but as i say i am experienced and i can usually tell what is and isnt a virus before i download it.

spybot search and destroy gets my vote.

it's up to you on the screen size, i dont think it ups the price too much as on bigger screens its easier to fit components in. If you would like wireless you will need to buy a wireless router, which is often free with your internet provider, who are you with internet wise?

Weight is only an issue if you're going to carry it around a lot.

As for dell it depends when you buy, they usually have good deals on, and use these to sell so soon enough good deals always come along, i hear you can also haggle with them over the phone.

As for the one you are talking about, could you post a link and i can tell you if its good value for money.

rev_henry

Well I got my HP DV6-1210SA refurbished from PC world set up last night. I'm really pleased with it, delivery was very quick (quicker than advertised) and the computer shows no signs of previous use whatsoever. To Anyone looking, PC world online refurbished gets my vote.

dreamon100

@ Skintslimmer

John Lewis do the extended warranties 'free', I think I've seen them somewhere else on my searches as well but can't remember where. Try google ?

gorgirl

Do you think it would be possible to have a "cheapest netbook" thread as well as this one? I'm on the hunt for a Samsung, and it would be great to have a smilar thread to this for netbooks.

JDPower

gorgirl wrote: »

Do you think it would be possible to have a "cheapest netbook" thread as well as this one? I'm on the hunt for a Samsung, and it would be great to have a smilar thread to this for netbooks.

You mean like THIS ONE

(Search is a wonderful thing )