Need to buy a laptop- advice please?

samhan

You'll probably want a laptop that has a minimum of 1 GB of memory if you're gonna upgrad to Vista.

Idiophreak

samhan wrote:

You'll probably want a laptop that has a minimum of 1 GB of memory if you're gonna upgrad to Vista.

and 1gb will probably help if the gfx shares the main system memory anyway - on my acer 512-128mb graphics memory only leaves 384mb, which is pushing it a little for XP. Looking to upgrade now.

retepetsir

Yes, OpenOffice is compatible with PowerPoint, and also has its own version of the program.

I installed the latest version myself last night (for the first time) on a laptop that I have just repaired.

It's amazing, and very very similar to Microsoft Office!!!

samhan

Idiophreak you should think about getting another stick of 512 MB of ram for your laptop as it is usually easy to fit memory into laptops, should be a panel on the underside that you can screw off and just slot in the memory.

The extra 512 MB ram will cost around £35 and you should see a marked improvement.

foreign_correspondent

Hi,
I have just bought myself a laptop for similar purposes - I was looking for something with 1gb of RAM, and after a lot of searching this was the best spec I could find within my budget (£400) - £399, reduced from £499.
http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ww_p2/product/index.jhtml?pid=50790683

Info from the webpage:

Description

Fulfil all your digital needs with this super smart, sleek Amilo L732GW Laptop from Fujitsu. Ideal for students, your home office and professionals on the go, it boasts a large 15.4" TFT widescreen with CrystalView, so it's fantastic for watching DVDs and gaming. The built-in wireless connectivity means you can go on line whenever and wherever you are, be it at home or abroad. Other features include a battery-friendly Intel Celeron M Processor and a whopping 80Gb hard drive.

Features

Intel Celeron Processor M390
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
15.4" Widescreen TFT with CrystalView (Resolution: 1280 x 800)
Huge 1024Mb of memory (2 x 512MB) DDR2
80GB PATA hard drive 4200rpm
Up to 64Mb shared video memory
Built-in speaker
3 x USB Ports (2.0)
Multi-format DVD writer for recording onto DVDs and CDs
Integrated Wireless LAN (802.11 b/g)
Li-ion battery, 3 cells, 11V (approx 1hr 30mins battery runtime depending on usage)
Size: 36cm (w) x 27cm (d) x 4cm (h) 2.8kg

magyar

KittyKate wrote:

That will cover browsing the net, playing/writing DVDs and music, wifi, word processing, games, everything you'd need.

This PC would certainly do all but one of those perfectly well, but just to be clear, would be astonishingly hopeless at most games. Appreciate that's not what you were after, dextersmum, but just in case anyone else reads this.

Xeorix

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy an Acer Laptop.
They may seem like good buys but I can assure you that they are not.
I bought an Acer Aspire:

2GHZ Processor
256mb Graphics Card
100gb HDD
1gb RAM
Memory Card Readers
Wifi
Dual Layer DVD Burner
XP Home
3 Year Warrenty Extension

In total this cost me around £1200. It was the best deal on the market at the time however these are the problems:

2 Months after having it the screen broke. It went for repair and took over 1 mnth to repair
Hard Drive has been corrupt ever since, keeps crashing etc
Gets very hot
Fan came loose after 5 months and went for repair
Now keeps overheating

Note: I am an ICT student and know what im on about etc lol. I have not changed anything with this laptop, it is just pure crap. I would recommend buying a desktop as they are better value for money and you can upgrade it. If you really need one then get one, I thought I could use a laptop for taking into Uni but I dont do that, it just sits in my room.

Hope This Helps

Blacksheep1979

Agree with greghesp - steer clear of acer and celeron processors, and like anything else you do get what you pay for.