Is this any good?

jemma123_2

Was in Tescos today and spotted this
I am looking for a laptop for my daughter to use for homework, MSN, ipod etc and wondered if anyone could tell me if this is a good deal? My limit is £400

Thanks

Donnie

Staples had a similarly spec on a Fujitsu Amilo laptop for £340. Sale ended on 15th of April though.
This model; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujitsu-Siemens-Amilo-Integrated-Unichrome/dp/B000NDBPR6

http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/home/products/notebooks/amilo_li_1705.html

jemma123_2

Thanks... to be honest we are struggling to make a decision.

How much RAM and hard drive space should we go for?
Are things like bluetooth and built in webcams worth paying for?
Don't have a clue about graphics cards!
Vista or xp?

£400 really is our maximum so obviously want to get the best spec we can for our money

coolagarry

Hi jemma. Any of the models mentioned above are fine... as are many others from dell, mesh etc.
80gb or disc space should be fine... in due course daughter can add an external drive if she runs out of space.
1gb of ram is now considered the minimum you should go for, particularly if you are running Vista.
Lots of arguments on here about Vista vs XP but Vista is only really a problem if you have a lot of hardware (printers, scanners etc ) already and cannot find Vista drivers. Vista is the way forward and so I would definately go for that.
If you are not particularly PC savvy then perhaps the thing to look for is good backup if the laptop goes wrong

jemma123_2

Thanks Coolagarry. When you say backup I am assuming you mean warranties? Are they worth paying extra for? How long should I expect to get with the laptop and how much extra to pay to extend it?

ManAtHome

Almost anything available now will handle the iPod and MSN ok. Main problem with the cheaper laptops tends to be the screen/graphics - again ok for normal homework, but if she want to play games maybe not.

Looks like the Tesco one is a reasonably balanced spec - 1gb memory and 80gb disk should be more than enough (I've devloped commercial systems on lower-spec machines).

Most other cheapies I've seen are likely to need a memory upgrade (£40 ish), so I'd look at it as a £350 laptop with memory upgrade aleady done for you.

opportunity_cost

Does your daughter really need a laptop? You'll get a lot more for your money if you get her a desktop PC instead.

U've_been_framed

All the previous advice is good, especially the one about a desktop PC. Bear in mind that whatever you buy she will need a printer too. Go for Epson, HP or Canon. Avoid Lexmark and Dell because replacement ink cartridges are expensive and/or hard to get hold of.
Check out laptops on ebuyer, aria etc. The things to look out for are processor speed, amount of ram and hard disk capacity. More is better. If the laptop is going to be carried around a lot try and get one under 3kg.

Blacksheep1979

tbh that laptop is a bit pants have a look at

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukbsdt1&kc=1501&oc=n04152&x=4&y=2

turn collect and return down to the minimum

melancholly

can you get any tesco codes for lots of bonus clubcard points (like 1500 extra or something)? that will effectively take the price down a bit (i haven't looked on the right board to see if there are any at the moment, but it might help get a little more for your money!)

jemma123_2

Thanks for all the advice.
I suppose she doesn't 'need' a laptop over a PC but its what she'd like! She doesn't know we are considering it yet for her birthday. We do have a family PC and were hoping she could share that printer.

Blacksheep, your link wont show me anything!