New laptop, advice on where and what to buy??

buzbyxman

Want to buy a laptop for around £750 or under. Need advice about what I can get. I would need DVD RW, 60+Gb Hard drive, fire wire port, wireless network, 512+Mb DDR RAM, lightweight as poss. V.Good quality screen.
What is a good brand? Who are good dealers online?

Need advice on realistic prices for what I need. Would the above be a good spec for a laptop for that sort of price or could I expect more (or less).
Also when going round the shops, don't want to sound like a complete plonker, when talking to the 20 year old assistants, who know far more about these things than me!!! :-)

Things I would like to be able to do: Word, Photo editing, video editing, excel, powerpoint presentations, internet access. Music download.

Thanks

in_my_wellies

My son (who is reading computer science with maths at uni) bought a reconditioned one off the net. He was really pleased, so then we bought one for my daughter. Both had a 3 month warrenty and cost about £375 with excellent spec. She is doing 'A' level IT and fiit's fine.
She had a problem with hers after a week and they sent a replacement hard drive the next day without question and even rang up to check it had arrived and that we had installed it and everything was OK. Brilliant aftersales!
I will ask him their name and post it tomorrow.

itgirlinuk

I bought an IBM laptop last month for a similar spec and to meet a similar need. After walking around Tottenham Court Road for 2 days and working out what's available and what's not, I found the IBM for £670 and the guy threw in a mouse and ordinary keypad as well for the price.

The trick is to walk from shop to shop with the specification you have specified above and ask them what they can do for you. Find out what they are ready to offer and what you can get for your money. £750 is a good budget for a decent spec. Ask them to write it down for you on their business card. This will give them the idea that you will come back to them if the deal is good.

By mid-day, you will atleast know what you don't want. Narrow it down to 2 or 3 choices. Now go back to the shops who gave you the best deals overall and tell them what the rest of the shops are ready to offer and see if they can better it. They usually do.

Tips:
1. Its best to close the deal and buy it at the end of the evening, as you can push them hard or ask them to give you some freebies.

2. Sundays are the best days, as they want to make a sale and make their sunday a little more worthwhile.

3. Micro anvika has some good deals, but they are as expensive as Dixons or PCWorld. Always go for the smaller, computer specialist shops. Guiltronics on Tot Ct. Road is closing down and they have a clearance sale. Don't know what's on there right now, but they always give you a competitive deal.

in_my_wellies

The reconditioned laptops came from 'Stirling Exces'

Sorry it should be http://www.stirlingxs.co.uk/

in_my_wellies

http://www.stirlingxs.co.uk (sorry)

hollie.weimeraner

Have a look at John Lewis, they stock some decent laptops from reputable manufacturers such as Toshiba & Sony. If you see one you like check around and see if you can source it cheaper from a high street store as JL will pricematch. They also offer a 2 year warranty on all laptops that they sell.

UltraCheap_2

Take a vacation to the US and buy there, or buy beforehand off of the Dell US website and have it shipped to a friends address. You'll pay over half the price, and although sales tax varies from state to state, you are looking at paying around 8% instead of 17.5%.

mrwibble

Go to https://www.outletbargains.co.uk for discussion on Dell Outlet bargains and some very friendly advice ...