The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt

bloodnok

Glad someone else is on the same wavelength Westferret............See post #725 of this discussion.

westferret

Good I think this should be renamed The Great 'Cheapest Decent Laptop' Hunt and then argue about it. As thats the way it seems to be going. Currently the person who invents a solar powered torch would have more sense than some of the people on here.

Lord_Chris

ok, well just espresso (no offense intended) saying it, i thought i was right, but if you lot are agreeing then im gonna assume that you lot are right. might only be 16 (which you probably think is quite young), however im not too childish to admit when im wrong.

but that is honestly what ive been told (and heard) at the computer shop where i worked until recently. and to be fair, i was never involved in selling anything, just building and fixing comps, so i had no reason to doubt the aformentioned subject.

My apologies to anyone who was confused or mislead by what i said, but read above. and espresso, while as much as in can understand you standing up for what you belive/ know i didnt really appreciate the 'little troll' comment, which im guessing you made because you know my age from previous posts, which i actually found quite offensive.I hope you appreciate that unlike most people my age, i resisted the temptation to hurl abuse in the terms of many asterisks your way, and admitted that i was wrong.

I will consider this end of topic, hope you will do the same (bury hatchet and such)

i should really go to bed

bloodnok

This deal is back on at Comet.
It's the Acer 3004 WLMI and it's £499.00.
I'm still looking for one, can any of you nice techies give your opinion of this computer and how is it for value for money ?
I've copied the details from the Comet web-site, sorry, don't know how to copy just part of the spec, so you've got loads of irrelevant details
Thanks

************************

Product detailsBrand ACER
Processor AMD Sempron The entry level processor from AMD. Great for basic office use such as email, internet and home office
Processor model number 3100+ The model of the processor- the higher the number the better
Processor speed 1.8 GHz the clock speed of the processor measured in Ghz. The higher the number, the faster the laptop will perform
Processor bus 1600 MHz How quickly the processor can recieve information to work on - the higher this number, the more powerful the laptop is
Processor cache 128 Kb The buffer of the processor - the larger it is the smoother the laptop will work
Memory (RAM) 1024 Mb Allows more functions to be performed at once. More memory means a faster PC
Screen size and type 15.4" brightwidescreen The size and shape of the screen. Widescreen gives you laptop a cinematic shaped screen, great for watching films. Look for bright screens which are clearer, and easier to read in bright lighting such as outdoors and on trains
Storage (hard drive) 100 GB Also known as the hard disk, where all your files, such as documents, MP3 music and games are stored. Larger drives can store more. 1GB = 200 MP3 music songs
Dual layer DVD Yes Records double the amount of a standard DVD, giving 9.4GB instead of 4.7Gb
Dual format DVD +/- Yes Records in every DVD format - your DVDs will play on any DVD player
Lightscribe No
Plays CDs (maximum) 24x Play CDs on your laptop. The higher the speed, the faster it will install software
Records CDs (maximum) 24x Allows you to store lots of information on a CD, great for storing MP3 music files and creating your own CDs
Plays DVDs (maximum) 8x Play DVDs on your laptop. The higher the speed, the faster it will install software
Records DVDs (maximum) 8x Record DVDs on your laptop. The higher the number, the less time it will take to record a DVD
Graphics 128MB shared This makes the screen show what the PC is displaying. It is measured in MB and comes 2 ways - shared, suitable for basic tasks, and dedicated which is faster. Dedicated is essential for video editing and gaming
Built in wireless networking Yes Allows easy connection to a existing wireless network such a s in a office or even to any wireless hot spot. You could th en dowload your emails or surf the internet wirelessly.
Media card slots Not featured
Bluetooth Not featured
Play and record live TV Not featured
Remote Control included Not featured
Product weight (kg) 2.8 kg The weight of the laptop measured in KGs. Look for a light laptop if you are going to be using the laptop on the move.
Battery Life (approx) 1:30 hours The approximate life of the battery in hours. This is dependant on what the laptop is being used for.
Battery Type Lithium batteries are the new generation of battery, which let you recharge without the battery having to be flat first
Speakers Standard ste produces sound from the laptop. Great for watching DVDs, li stening to music and playing games.
USB 2.0 slots 2 Lets you connect peripherals such as printers and digital cameras to your laptop
Firewire Not featured
Application software tbc
Operating system Windows XP Home What you use to access your laptops files and programs. Windows XP is the current standard.
Wired networking Ethernet Yes Lets the laptop plug into a wired network
Dial-up Modem included Yes Lets you use the internet. 56k dial-up modems are now becoming obsolete as broadband internet becomes more popular
PC card slots

anley1

I went with the HP AMD 64 with 1024gb ram from John Lewis. Cost was £699. Staples and PC World have the Centrino version also at £699.

I went with John Lewis though because a) they're John Lewis b) they double the warranty from 1 to 2 years.

Although I liked some of the Acer's I didn't like the sound of the support and HP support is generally very good.

What I've learnt about buying laptops is you really do pay for what you get as someone here rightly said.

So far I'm very happy with the HP, nice speed, good looks, pretty good battery life etc.

garcia

anley whats the noise level like on the HP AMD 64? I am very fussy when it comes to noise - especially fan noise.

Thanks.

Hillfly

Get some earplugs - will save you a bundle compared to getting an expensive laptop! :rotfl:

fyi
I am a big acer laptop fan - but i must say they tend to be fan noisy.

TonyB

Probably not the right theme, but have just subscribed to Screen select & USwitch through a popup "WINNER" from Consumer Saving Centre.
This offers a free laptop if you subscribe to 2 of there listed organisations.
I think I may not get this item!!! Anyone else seen this offer?:rolleyes:
TonyB

rainbow12

I've seen the following laptops availabe for under £300 and would like some advice on whether they're any good - I do want to be able to get wireless and dont know if these can or not:

eSys E320 Via 1.2GHz 256MB 40GB CD-RW/DVD 14.1" LAN XP Home eSys Mobi Book Notebook £264.32 inc VAT
As above but with Linux £249.10 incl VAT

VIA C3 CPU 1.2GHz CLE 266 Processor

256MB DDR Memory

40GB Hard Disk Drive

CD-RW/DVD Internal COMBO Drive

14.1" XGA Display

Integrated 2.1 Audio Speakers

56K V.90 AC Link Modem

10/100 Ethernet

Universal AC Adapter

4 Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack

Microsoft Windows XP Home

eSys Mobi Book Notebook
Core Logic VIA® CLE266+8235

Memory Expansion 1 slot of 200pin SO-DIMM DDR module, 512MB total memory capacity
LCD Display 14” XGA (1024 x 768) TFT LCD display
Video & Graphics Embedded Castle Rock GFX in CLE 266, AGP4X,
Hard Drive 2.5” 9.5mm height, ATA 66 /100 supports
Pointing Device Synaptics touchpad
Size 315mm(W) x 255mm (D) x 35.5 mm(H)/37mm(front/back
Application Launch Key
E-mail, internet, Volume up / down, Power
Output: 19V DC, 3.16A, 60W

Battery
4 cell Li-Ion battery pack

Battery Charge
3.5 hrs charge time to 100% capacity while system off
5 hrs charge time to 100% capacity while system on

Battery Life
More than 1.5hours by 4 cell battery pack
Approximately 3.5 hours by 8 cell battery pack

BIOS
AMI, Support PnP, password

Communication
10/100 Base-T LAN on board
Built- in MDC V.90 56Kbps FAX/Modem

USB Connector
Four USB2.0 ports, up to 480Mbit/s

Power Management
ACPI 2.0 compliance
Support Stand-by, Suspend to Disk, Suspend to RAM

Security
Kensington Lock,BIOS password protection

Weight
2.7 kg with 14.1” panel, 4 cell battery and Optical drive installed

Accessories
Packing Accessories
Quick Guide, Support CD (Driver, Utility, Manual), AC Adapter, Power Cord, Battery Pack
Factory Option
Bootable external USB 1.1. FDD
Optical Device: CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Combo Drive (DVD-ROM+CD-RW)
Spare Li-Ion Battery Pack





Thanks

Lord_Chris

@ rainbow12

you get what you pay for, and in this case, you might aswell buy a cardboard box for 26p (saving yourself a couple hundred £) and write 'laptop' on it in big bold letters.

If you want a reliable laptop thats not going to break and generally work better than the aforementioned cardboard box, be prepared to spend a bit more than £300.