Which Laptop?

earthmother

This could well be one of those piece of string questions, but -

If you only had the choice of the £600 and under laptops here - http://www.empirestores.co.uk/electricals/computing/laptops/e/b/4873/s/price,1/r/100.end?trail=4739-4872-4873 - which would you go for?

I know these will be far from the best deals out there, but it has to come from here as we don't have the lump-sum cash or a credit option, but may be able put it on someone's club book account.

It'll be for surfing, word processing and (some prety hefty) spreadsheets, photos and a little music. No gaming or video-streaming, but playing DVDs may be on the cards.

DH killed his last Fujitsu in just under 4 years (a long time for tech to survive with him) so something pretty tough would be useful too.

I don't know what half the numbers and terms mean, so I'm a little lost.

Help!

Millionaire

They are really overpriced. The Tosh L450 on there for £499 can be had for £329.

The Samsung R519 for £479 can be had for £349.

You sure you cannot purchase from elsewhere?

earthmother

Yes, unfortunately, this is our only option if we want to get it this year. The lappy is dead, and the desktop following in its footsteps rather faster than I'd like, so we need to do something as it is truly a lifeline at times.

Millionaire

In that case the Samsung is fine for your needs, gets 5 star rating from the user reviews.

earthmother

Thanks - will admit it was one of the ones we were looking at based on reviews, but weren't sure about the (meaning of) the specs.

Millionaire

earthmother wrote: »

Thanks - will admit it was one of the ones we were looking at based on reviews, but weren't sure about the (meaning of) the specs.

The Spec's are perfectly fine for your requirements. I have been recommending this laptop on the 'Decent laptop for under £400 thread'. It is a good laptop and seems to get get good reviews from all sources.

earthmother

Just had a quick look at it on Amazon (in case we can raise the funds) - and they are selling Home Office as an 'extra' - does this mean Word/Excel aren't already loaded - is this another expense we need to account for, or just Amazon being crafty?

Millionaire

earthmother wrote: »

Just had a quick look at it on Amazon (in case we can raise the funds) - and they are selling Home Office as an 'extra' - does this mean Word/Excel aren't already loaded - is this another expense we need to account for, or just Amazon being crafty?

Microsoft office will be an extra, it never normally comes with a PC other than trial version. So you will have to account for the cost of it.

On the other hand there is Open Office which is simliar to MS office but free, and you can download and try it to see if it is suitable for you.

http://www.openoffice.org/

chrisw

If you get the higher spec r519 from Argos for £399 it also comes with 3 year warranty and bag. It goes out of stock as soon as it comes in so you have to check daily.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5082432/c_1/1|category_root|Office%2C+PCs+and+phones|14418968/c_2/3|15701344|Laptops+and+Netbooks|16164797/c_3/4|cat_16164797|Laptops|16164800.htm

outlaw777

www.insight.com/uk

Usually have some bargains. I would recommend a Sony Vaio, Toshiba or a Lenovo.

earthmother wrote: »

This could well be one of those piece of string questions, but -

If you only had the choice of the £600 and under laptops here - http://www.empirestores.co.uk/electricals/computing/laptops/e/b/4873/s/price,1/r/100.end?trail=4739-4872-4873 - which would you go for?

I know these will be far from the best deals out there, but it has to come from here as we don't have the lump-sum cash or a credit option, but may be able put it on someone's club book account.

It'll be for surfing, word processing and (some prety hefty) spreadsheets, photos and a little music. No gaming or video-streaming, but playing DVDs may be on the cards.

DH killed his last Fujitsu in just under 4 years (a long time for tech to survive with him) so something pretty tough would be useful too.

I don't know what half the numbers and terms mean, so I'm a little lost.

Help!

John_Gray

chrisw wrote: »

If you get the higher spec r519 from Argos for £399 it also comes with 3 year warranty and bag. It goes out of stock as soon as it comes in so you have to check daily.

Don't be tempted to buy the 'Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student' from Argos for £100 (or even £75) when you can get it from (say) Amazon for £64! (It can be installed on three PCs or laptops).