The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

milgo

Hi, whilst surfin came across this site that look to have a few good deals.
http://www.mncgroup.co.uk/products/laptops

Sarfaraz

RE: Everything Electrical

They have this somewhat dubious clause in their T&Cs:

The information about the goods on our website constitutes an "invitation to treat" and is not a contractual offer from us which you may accept. This means that we reserve the right to correct any errors in that information without liability to you. It also means that in no circumstances will we be contractually bound to supply you with goods on the basis of any incorrect information, even if that information is repeated in your order.


Try paying by Credit Card if that option is available and also remember you have the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Act which gives you 7 days to try out the goods and if need be return them with a full refund.

I too would be interested if anyone has any joy because there are some other 'bargains' on the site - some quite unbelievable!

I share the thoughts of other forum members here in that you approach the site with some caution.

I'd like to be proved wrong!

poundhappy

My uncle sent the weblink for Everything Electrical, and I ordered the laptop from them at the beginning of August. I payed with Paypal, in the knowledge that there was buyer protection. I received an email saying the delivery date would be 24/9/04. I emailed asking for it to be brought forward, as my sister was due to start uni before then and it did say that it should be within 28 days. It got moved forward to the 10th Sept, but never arrived. When I rang, was told there was a courier problem. The new date was the following Friday and each time we rang, were told that everything from the previous weeks delayed order was on board. However, it still didb't arrive. I have since had 2 further dates and 2 no shows. I last rang on Thurs to cancel the order, but was told that Tom Cahill was out till that afternoon. Ever since then, I've only got the answerphone. I was initially reassured given that I've spoken to at least 4 different members of staff, who answered the phone and always seemed to have a rational explanation, however, the answerphone today didn't mention "Everything Electrical" unlike last week and my emails sent today were returned as "mailbox full". I'm now in the process of sending a formal letter in the hopes of getting a full refund. Will keep you posted on the outcome - in the meantime, don't order anything

adjests

just seen this meaage on the Everything electrical website

This site has been suspended as of 30/9/04.
The site owner of https://www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net is currently under investigation.

Please contact your local CID (Police) and Trading Standards for more information or advice.

SiteBuilder

Fifer

Not the cheapest laptop as such, but I think I just got a pretty good deal. I wanted WiFi and decent (4hrs-ish) battery life, so just bought a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Celeron-M 1.5GHz, 256MB, 40GB Drive, CDRW/DVD, XP Home from Technoworld for £633.91. They also do a 1.3GHz version for £597. It's the best WiFi/Centrino deal I've seen.

http://!!!!!!.com/45hnb

The service was excellent. I tried to buy it on Friday morning but my credit card transaction was declined! Turned out that Sainsbury's computers were down for practically the whole day. They kept trying and eventually the transaction went through at 4pm. Their normal cut-off time for shipping is for orders placed before 2pm, but the guy promised it would ship that day and be with me on Monday (shipping was £14). I had my doubts, but it arrived on Monday - when I was out so the carrier took it away again. :-[( However, they delivered today (just as my wife was leaving for work - last minute again) and I'm really pleased. Great product, exactly what I ordered and brilliant service from Technoworld. It's the first time I've used them and I bought purely on price, but I am impressed.

freeonline

I think this will take some beating.

Bear in mind that I have never ordered off this company so I cannot verify.

FUJITSU LAPTOP £399.99 - New!!!!!!!! Pentium

FUJITSU AMILO D7830 LAPTOP

P4 2.66Ghz CPU,
256 memory,
40gb HDD,
DVD-RW,
15" TFT,
ATI RADEON 9000,
CDRW/DVD ,
USB,
XP & Works,
1 year warranty

http://www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net

Click on Computers, then Laptops!

I doubt this can be beaten, but I hope someone proves me wrong!!!! ;D

"This site has been suspended as of 30/9/04.
The site owner of https://www.everythingelectrical.buzzsites.net is currently under investigation.

Please contact your local CID (Police) and Trading Standards for more information or advice".

I proved you wrong
;D

As far as the weight's concerned any idea where can i find cheapest, lightest laptop computer?

JeffLad_2

Hi
Have done some research for you including some of the sites previously mentioned and some new ones. The results show that you can go from the unbelievably cheap (Sub £80 incl VAT) for very old low spec notebooks, through the still cheap (sub £300 incl VAT) refurbed, low spec machines right upto the brand new, high speed 1.5ghz processor, long life battery technology, wireless network enabled machines for less than £690 including VAT & delivery.
You really do not need to spend more than £700 for a laptop. If you are strapped for cash, look at the sub £300 items - but if you can afford mid to top range, then it's worth the extra for getting brand new, guaranteed equipment that you could always sell on in a year or two and get a good chunk of your cash back. If you do this using Martin's 0% credit card tips, you are in effect getting very cheap computer lease, interest free for say 18months or 2 years, before you then upgrade again.

1. Windows 95 Colour Laptop £79
http://www.student-laptops.co.uk/acatalog/Basic_Laptops.html

Product Specification
All specifications are minimum, you may recive a much higher spec machine!
Processor type - 80486
Memory - 8Mb (min)
Hard Disk - 200Mb (min)
Drives - Built in floppy drive (spare disks supplied)
Full Colour Screen
Power supply for mains use
Although this product is fully reconditioned it is unlikely the battery will hold a charge and is therefore intended for mains use only. Unfortunately, batteries are too expensive to replace on the lower specification machines when reconditioning, although they can be sourced if necessary. These machine will work perfectly when plugged in to the mains using the adapter provided.
Includes three month warranty on hardware, warranty excludes battery and software.
See terms and conditions for full details.

2. Dell Latitude CPI PII-366MHz Notebook for £292.57 including VAT

http://www.computerbargains.co.uk/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16246&cat=&page=

Dell Latitude CPI Notebook with Intel Pentium II 366MHz Processor 128MB Ram 6GB Hard Drive 13.3" TFT Screen CD ROM & Fax/Modem. These notebooks are ex corporate and have been refurbished with 6 months warranty.

3. DELL L400 ULTRA PORTABLE £310 including VAT
http://www.tiptoptechnologies.co.uk/asp/product.asp?recorprod=7&product=154&cat=47&ph=cat&keywords=&recor=1&SearchFor=&PT_ID=1

£310 DEAL - CDROM & FLOPPY
High Performance, Ultra Portable! Nice looking, slim & Lightweight! One of the most popular Ultra Portable Notebooks but at an affordable price. The excellent connectivity and high spec. allows for added versitility.
Ex-Corporate Refurbished
Excellent Condition
Mobile Intel PIII 700MHz CPU
20GB Hard Disk Drive
256MB Ram
12.1-inch XGA TFT
AGP graphics
Stereo Soundcard (Mic, Headphones)
56KBS Modem v.90
Type I or Type II slot External ports: one serial, one USB
Printer Port
15-hole video connector
IDE connector
Battery: Li-ion
External Drives (Original Dell)
CD-Rom drive
Floppy drive 1.44MB
Free Original Dell Carry Case
PLEASE NOTE CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS WILL INCUR A 2% CHARGE
Code No. Ex Tax (£) Inc Tax (£)
L400CD 310DELL 263.83 310.00

4. Del Inspiron 510m £681 incl VAT and delivery
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_510m?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Processor
Intel® CentrinoT Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 705 (1.50GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB) & Intel® Pro/Wireless 2100 (802.11b)
Operating system
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Memory
256MB 266MHz DDR SDRAM
Harddrive
40GB Hard Drive
Monitor
14.1" XGA TFT (1024x768) Screen
Graphic Card
Integrated Direct AGP Graphics
Optical Drive
Modular 8xDVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive
Modem
56k Data fax modem with unlimited AOL Broadband from £19.99 1
Service
1 Year Euro Collect and Return Service

----
Personally, I'd go for option 4 at 0% interest then sell it in two years for about third to half price (effective cost £15 to £20 a month) then upgrade again. With this option - it's new & guaranteed equipment - 2nd hand laptop batteries can fail and can be expensive to replace £90+ for some.
Alternatively, if strapped for cash, option 3 would seem better than option 2 as for another £18 you get higher spec processor & much larger hard disk and carry case.
Hope this helps
Jeff-Lad

JeffLad_2

Hi all

Just found what looks like an even better value item than option 4 in my previous post.

Dell Inspiron 1000 (N1000A) 2.2GHZ £521 including VAT & Shipping

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N1000A&qbc=N1000A&s=dhs&sbc=ukdhstvhpnotebook1

The following are included in the Base:
Mobile Intel® Celeron® 2.20GHz
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
256MB shared DDR SDRAM & 30GB Hard Drive
8-cell NiMH Battery
CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
Microsoft® Works 7.0
Inspiron 1000, 2.2GHz Cel ,14"XGA Screen, 256MB DDR RAM, 30 GB HD, 8 Cell NiMH
---
As mentioned before, if you go for something like this at 0% interest (see Martin's credit card tips elsewhere) or have cash up front, then you are getting a very high spec machine for very little outlay.
If you spread the £521 over three years, comes to £14.72 per month. If you then manage to sell it on for even a third of original price= £171.93 - your effective outlay over the three years is £9.73 a month.

With this option - it's new & guaranteed equipment - at a price that's not much more than the 2nd hand/refurbished, lower spec equipment offered elsewhere (2nd hand laptop batteries can fail and can be expensive to replace £90+ for some).

I think you'll agree that this meets the criteria of Cheapest Decent Laptop.

Let me know if you find a better offer than this £521 machine as I'm seriously considering getting it.

JeffLad

Jummy

There is an article in todays Daily Mirror newspaper (page 23) about everythingelectrical.
It says if you are owed money to contact them.
P&g Investigate
Daily Mirror
1 canada Square
London
E14 5AP
email-investigate@mirror.co.uk.
Tel-02072933572

smelly_2

great thread this will help me find a good laptops for my Girlfriend


Thanks for all your help