Tesco Direct - Acer Laptop £374 Delivered

rthirlby

I work as a Laptop Repair Engineer so ive seen more laptops than most people have had hot dinners, so I know a good deal when I see one !!
Well ignoring the fact that its an Acer machine whos support sucks !!


If you think you can beat this offer then please post below



My personal preference when buying a laptop is to choose one with a GOOD graphics card capable of playing games but most sub £400 laptops only have basic Intel or SIS rubbish graphics cards that just cant handle any modern games.

So Ive been hunting for a laptop under £400 with either an ATI Radeon or Nvidia Gforce graphics card and this is the best offer ive found !!


http://direct.tesco.com






Acer Aspire 3053WXMi Notebook

Mobile AMD Sempron™ 3400+ (1.8 GHz, 256 KB L2 cache)
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 integrated 3D graphics, with up to 128 MB of shared system memory
60GB hard disk drive
512MB of DDR2 memory
Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition
8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
14.1" WXGA TFT LCD, 1280 x 800 pixel resolution
Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g Wi-Fi



I know most people tend to look for the gimmick of a super large screen 15.4" or 17" but in a laptop that you want to carry round with you 14"'s what you really want !!


The AMD Sempron processor is better than the Intel Celeron processors that you normally get in a laptop this price and the much improved graphics card will make the laptop a better long term investment


They wont deliver before Christmas but if you can find a store with them in stock then pounce on them !!
Im sorely tempted to buy one now but I cant help but wonder what offers there will be in the sales


Dont forget Quidco cashback for a further 3% off !!! (EDIT Tracks as £7.87)
Also Tesco Clubcard points = 374


Hope this helps someone

DMUK

Seems like a good deal. A tad more expensive that the cheapest Dell but the spec more than makes up for that in this case.

I am after a desktop replacement so the screen is a little too small for a long term purchase.

rthirlby

Checking against Dell, an equivelant would cost nearer £600 new and £400 from the Dell Outlet store but neither has a decent graphics card !! Granted dell will do you one with more memory or a bigger screen but its a waste if your losing out on a better graphics card.


EDIT: Ive gone and ordered one

Total cost £374.82

Quidco 3% (EDIT Tracks as £7.87)
Clubcard points 374

Saving of £11.61 including clubcard points

james32_uk

What difference does a branded graphics card make if it doesnt have dedicated memory? A 128MB ATI Radeon shared card will do exactly the same as an 128MB Intel shared card. Won't it?

rthirlby

Dedicated memory is always better than shared no matter what make of card but thats irrelevant to this laptop and 99% of other laptops avaialble in this price range as they will almost certainly all use shared memory.


A generic Intel or SIS graphics card is absoloutely useless when it comes to playing games that require any form of high end 3D acceleration like any first person shooter etc... It just wont have the features you need !!

A branded card from either Nvidia or ATI will have more features and more capabilities and will also be supported by the games manufacturers to ensure that games will work !!

Read the required specs on a recent PC game and it will probably list features that a graphics card must have to run the game. For example Pixel Shaders versions and Hardware Texture and Light Support.


If your not at all bothered about playing games on your laptop then either card will do you just fine. However when you come to sell the laptop, if it has a 3D graphics card inside of it It will be worth more. So it makes sense to choose a laptop with the better card rather than plumping for a cheap and chearful Intel or SIS card


What makes this deal so good is that it has the better card but its as cheap if not cheaper than those with the basic rubbish Intel or SIS cards

rdwarr

I used to sell laptops and now buy them for my company, normally Acers. Happy to confirm that the OP is spot on with this one - he knows his stuff!

rthirlby

Thanks

Thousands of laptops have passed under my gaze in recent years so I can spot a good one

Chris_Preston

Any idea what battery life would likely be, please?

rthirlby

To confirm my Quidco has now tracked at £7.87



Battery Life as stated on an obscure foreign website :

Li-ion battery pack (6 cell) Up to 2.5 hours battery life

rowantoad

Thought this might be of interest

Acer Advantage 3 Years International Warranty & Accident Cover for notebooks £69.99 plus delivery

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/62482

bennnneb

has the tesco one got a dvd/rw or a dvd rom drive?