Is this any good?

financial_unadviser

Hi

looking to buy a (n extremely) cheap laptop, mainly for surfing and downloading a bit of music -know very little and would appreciate any opinions on this find:

Specifications

Product Description MaxData 600IW Intel Celeron-M 410 1.46Ghz
Processor Intel Celeron-M 410 1.46Ghz
Hard Drive 2.5" SATA 40GB Fujitsu
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
RAM 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 667
PC-Card Slot ExpressCard/54
Graphics Controller VIA UniChrome Pro VN800
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Display 14.1" TFT active matrix WXGA
Optical Storage Slim DVD-RW
OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP-Home SP2
Dimensions (WxDxH) 335 mm x 275 mm x 36 mm
Weight 2.3 kg
Manufacturer Warranty 2 Years

This is for 333.99 delivered. I have a router but am unclear as to whether I woul need to buy a wireless card thingy.

PeteHerts

I've never been impressed with Celeron but it depends what you want to do with the laptop. It has a wireless aerial built in by the looks of things so no need for an extra card.
Have a look at the link below just incase something else takes your fancy.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=337958

aj3001

Not sure if it has wireless, but you can pick up the adapters for £30, but it looks a good deal I would say go for it

theboylard

Ok, in plain english it has:

wireless - supports both b (11mbit) and g (54mbit) standards, so will work with the vast majority of kit out there.
512MB ram, fine.
Built in 56k modem for "old-style" dial-up networking!
Network port for hard-wired connection to broadband modem/router or local network.
14.1" screen, small by modern standards but perfectly acceptable.
Built in graphics - this is NOT a games machine!!!
DVD burner - check whether it burns both + and - flavours, it will say specifically somewhere. At this price it's likely to favour just one format.
40GB hard disk - not a lot in this day and age but can easily be upgraded.
Sillyron processor - definitely not the fastest, but if all you are doing is surfing and a bit of music downloading then should be fine.
2 Year warranty - better than some, check the terms though, is that labour only after 1st year etc?

Otherwise, not bad price if that's all you are going to do with it.
I'd also look at some other places for competitive prices - https://www.ebuyer.com, https://www.cclonline.com, https://www.aria.co.uk etc.

hapless

bobbarley

Lots of cheaper laptops here mate

http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/Clearance/Clearance%20Computers/Clearance%20Notebooks

colin79666

this acer is good value:
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-4446/btnResultSort.x%3d348/btnResultSort.y%3d481.aspx
£369.97

Blacksheep1979

30111987 wrote:

this acer is good value:
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-4446/btnResultSort.x%3d348/btnResultSort.y%3d481.aspx
£369.97

There's a difference between good value and cheap . Personally I wouldn't ever buy acer as I've seen far too many probs with them, however at this end of the market you will be getting cheapish components no matter what.

and to that end

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=119776&_LOC=UK

^^ has a far better processor for a slight increase in price.

thomas01155

It has wireless wait another month or two and they will be even cheaper.

Blacksheep1979

thomas01155 wrote:

It has wireless wait another month or two and they will be even cheaper.

And if you wait another couple of months after that they will be cheaper or you will be able to get a better one for the same price and so on and so on.