The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

Jolaing_2

Hello folks,

Please could you help!

I was on the absolute verge of buying this.... and then I thought I should get a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion, or ideas of other deals.

Dabs deal

I only really want a wireless connection so I can use the laptop to access the 'net while the kids are on the PC. I need to buy a router(?) as well.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

Jo

codetown

Jo,
there always very good deals on ebuyer:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=15929088744&action=c2hvd3N1YmNhdGVnb3J5X3NlYXJjaA==&cat_uid=10&stid=5

For example for the same price of your deal there is a laptop with 20 GB more of HD, larger screen etc. and if you wait a few more days you might get the deal back on this 410 inc vat nice laptop:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99084

Also I would spend a little bit more and go at least for 512 MB ram.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=99085

or at least try to get separate memory to put in, as that is an element which makes the difference if you use multiple programs at once. As usual read a lot of comments from customers from different models to discover any real nice or bad points!

Jolaing_2

I bought this one:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...oduct_uid=99085

Thanks for the recommendation. Better price for a better product.

Delivery is (hopefully) Wed.

Brodel

From HotUKDeals:

Dell are doing quite a nice deal, not exactly budget but not too far off.

307-N02631a
(Home) - Was £740 Now £529 (Drop the support down to 1 Year collect & return)
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
40GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel Std
8X DVD+/-RW with Software (No Media)
Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card
FREE - Dell Colour Printer 720
Free 15 month McAfee Security SW upgrade

Only downside as far as I can see is it's 2x 256 rather than 1x 512 RAM which could be a bit of a pain upgrading. You can however get a longer lasting battery for £11:75.

codetown

Hi Brodel,
the Acer model above that Jo bought has better specs and lots of good reviews from actual happy users.

This is the the general description on ebuyer:
Acer Aspire 3613WLMi Cel-M 370 1.5GHz 512MB 80GB DVD±RW 15.4"CrystalBrite WLAN XPH at 485 inc VAT.

Sometimes Dell offers are good. Someother times are just attempts to get and match those who offer better products. So, every single offer needs to be carefully evaluated. I do not feel the 307 is generally very good. Both HD space and limited RAM expandibility will hit you soon!

I would say much better to go with Acer and enjoy a very good and more future proof model.

marbar2k

after reading this my head is spinning round and round! i am after a laptop for around £600 but i am flexible on the price. all i need is wireless and a dvd writer. can someone recomend something for me to buy?

Brodel

codetown wrote:

Hi Brodel,
the Acer model above that Jo bought has better specs and lots of good reviews from actual happy users.

This is the the general description on ebuyer:
Acer Aspire 3613WLMi Cel-M 370 1.5GHz 512MB 80GB DVD±RW 15.4"CrystalBrite WLAN XPH at 485 inc VAT.

Sometimes Dell offers are good. Someother times are just attempts to get and match those who offer better products. So, every single offer needs to be carefully evaluated. I do not feel the 307 is generally very good. Both HD space and limited RAM expandibility will hit you soon!

I would say much better to go with Acer and enjoy a very good and more future proof model.

Hi,

The Dell is an Inspiron 630m, similar to the 600, the number was just the referal code. The Celeron M is quite a bit slower than the Pentium M even if they were both 1.7ghz and DDR2 RAM is faster than DDR. Also, some people prefer mobility so a smaller screen and longer battery life might be preferable.

I didn't mean to post it as a better option, just an alternative because for what I would use one for the Dell would suit me much more. It's whatever floats your boat really.

EdCov

marbar2k wrote:

after reading this my head is spinning round and round! i am after a laptop for around £600 but i am flexible on the price. all i need is wireless and a dvd writer. can someone recomend something for me to buy?

Fujitsu-Siemens V2040 from from Staples £549 in shop not on the web. It has wireless, dvd-writer, TV out, 512mb Ram, Pentium M, 60gb harddrive and more.

The only downside I can see is that the keyboard is a bit on the flimsy side, but you can go along to a shop and try on out for yourself.

MickKnipfler

No decent deals at Aldi?

EdCov

MickKnipfler wrote:

No decent deals at Aldi?

I've never thought that any of the laptop deals at Aldi are particularly wonderful, Aldi is great at other things, but the laptops tend to be on the expensive side.