The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

paulb369uk

Hi all is this computer value for money ? £514.65 + free 3G card. All help greatly appreciated. Will only be used for internet and a few games.


Product Description Acer Aspire 3003WLMi - Mobile Sempron 1.8 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36.4 cm x 27.9 cm x 3.9 cm
Weight 2.8 kg
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor AMD Mobile Sempron 3000+ / 1.8 GHz
Cache Memory 128 KB - L2 Cache
RAM 512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700 ( 2 x 256 MB )
Hard Drive 60 GB
Optical Storage DVD±RW - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix WXGA (1280 x 800) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller SiSM760GX
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Input Device Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery Lithium Ion
Run Time (Up To) 1.5 hour(s)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty


Details


General
System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Width 36.4 cm
Depth 27.9 cm
Height 3.9 cm
Weight 2.8 kg
Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free) 2 ( 0 ) x memory
1 ( 1 ) x CardBus - type II
Interfaces 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x audio - line-in/microphone - mini-phone 3.5mm
1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Traveller warranty - 1 year
Processor
Processor AMD Mobile Sempron 3000+ / 1.8 GHz
Features 3DNow! Professional technology, PowerNow! technology
Chipset Type SiSM760GX
RAM
Installed Size 512 MB / 2 GB (max)
Technology DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance PC2700
Configuration Features 2 x 256 MB
Storage
Hard Drive 60 GB
Networking
Networking Network adapter
Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Remote Management Protocol DMI 2.0
Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Miscellaneous
Features Locking device keyhole (cable lock), administrator password, system password, wake on LAN, Wake on Ring
Compliant Standards ACPI 1.0b
Power
Power Device External
Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Storage Controller
Type IDE
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor SiSM760GX
Video Memory 128MB Shared Video Memory (UMA)
Audio
Audio Output Sound card
Audio Input Microphone
Display
Display Type 15.4" TFT active matrix
Max Resolution 1280 x 800 / 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Features CrystalBrite
Cache Memory
Type L2 Cache
Installed Size 128 KB
Optical Storage
Type DVD±RW - integrated
Input Device(s)
Type Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Telecom
Modem Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate 56 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications ITU V.92
Features Wake on Ring
Battery
Technology Lithium Ion
Installed Qty 1
Capacity 29 Wh
Run Time (Up To) 1.5 hour(s)
Operating System / Software
OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton AntiVirus, Microsoft Works, Acer System Recovery, Acer Launch Manager, NTI CD-Maker, Acer eManager, Acer GridVista, Acer Arcade

Thanks

codetown

paulb369uk wrote:

Hi all is this computer value for money ? £514.65 + free 3G card. All help greatly appreciated. Will only be used for internet and a few games.

Paul, in short: no great value!
The laptop is good, but the price can be better.

Yesterday I was looking at this very good offer:
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_3003LM_LX.A5505.678/version.asp

It is a very similar model to what you quoted. Only differences: 256 MB of RAM (instead of 512) and 40 GB HD (instead of 60GB).
But it costs only 399 pound inc VAT (and it also has the free 3G Vodafone card)!

I reckon you can easily source in many places 512 MB of extra RAM for 25-30 pounds if needed. And for the HD I would suggest to wait until you really need a larger one and at that time buy a USB external one (they are getting cheaper and cheaper!). 40GB are plenty of space for normal use as you mention.

So that saves you over 20% while still giving an excellent laptop.

Brodel

wow, the 630m price dropped by about 50 quid today.

Base Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
Hard Drive 40GB (5.400rpm) Hard Drive
Modem Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
8X DVD+/-RW with Software (No Media)
Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card
Standard Warranty 1-Year Collect and Return service
Primary Battery 6 Cell 53WHr Primary Battery
LCD 14.1 inch WXGA (1280x800) LCD Panel Std

enter e-value 1 - N02631a
change the warranty to 1 year

Unit Price Incl. VAT £468.84

I'm going to pick one of these up today for sure, I was sooo close to ordering last night too

Electrolite

Brodel wrote:

wow, the 630m price dropped by about 50 quid today.



I'm going to pick one of these up today for sure, I was sooo close to ordering last night too

How did you get the price down to that on the website? I can't get it lower than £782!!!

Brodel

Electrolite wrote:

How did you get the price down to that on the website? I can't get it lower than £782!!!

Follow the link below, and change the Support to '1-Year Collect and Return' service

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukdhs1&kc=25445&oc=N02631a&x=12&y=11

Electrolite

Brodel wrote:

Follow the link below, and change the Support to '1-Year Collect and Return' service

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukdhs1&kc=25445&oc=N02631a&x=12&y=11

Ahhhhhh-haha! Thanks very much. Not a bad price at all.

coolforcash

The Inspiron 630m deal looks pretty good. Better than the Inspiron 6000 I ordered last night before the "deal" expired!

Just called to cancel my order and found it surprisingly easy. They didn't even ask why and said it would be done this afternoon. I was expecting to be offered some sort of discount to avoid losing the sale but nothing was offered!

(I called the order tracking number -0870 906 0010)

slojo

Is this a good deal? http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N02606&rbc=N02606&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6000_2

Change the support to one year and it comes out at £649 inc VAT and delivery. This is for a 1.86GHz 2MB L2cache 533MHz FSB processor, 1024 MB memory, 60 GB hard drive and 15.4" widescreen LCD, as well as a 64 MB graphics card, Windows MCE and Mcafee security.

I would be inclined to upgrade the screen to WSXGA (1680x1050) for £35.25 or WUXGA (1920x1200) for £82.25 as I would be using it for DVD watching too, and also perhaps upgrade the graphics card to 128 MB for £58.75.

All in all seems a pretty good spec for under £650, or with the upgrades around £750-800.

Comments welcome.

Hillfly

In todays press you can get the Latitude 1300 for £299 delivered:
E-Value code is NPUK5-N02135.

It doesn't come up at thi sproce on the website so is worth calling about.
The cheapest new branded wireless dvd burning lappy you'll get i reckon.


Celeron M 370 1.5.ghz
256mb
8xdvdrw
wireless 1370 802.11b/g

coolforcash

slojo wrote:

Is this a good deal? http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N02606&rbc=N02606&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhsrsinspn_6000_2

Change the support to one year and it comes out at £649 inc VAT and delivery. This is for a 1.86GHz 2MB L2cache 533MHz FSB processor, 1024 MB memory, 60 GB hard drive and 15.4" widescreen LCD, as well as a 64 MB graphics card, Windows MCE and Mcafee security.

I would be inclined to upgrade the screen to WSXGA (1680x1050) for £35.25 or WUXGA (1920x1200) for £82.25 as I would be using it for DVD watching too, and also perhaps upgrade the graphics card to 128 MB for £58.75.

All in all seems a pretty good spec for under £650, or with the upgrades around £750-800.

Comments welcome.

This is pretty much the same one I ordered last night after getting a lot of advise from an IT expert at work. I went for the basic screen because he said it wasn't worth upgrading because it's such a (comparatively) small screen anyway it would be hard to tell the difference.