Free laptop

chaucer

I have recently posted several quetions in this forum to seek wisdom and knowledge re: buying a new PC to replace 6-7 year old one.

Now this happens ...

To continue with BT as my ISP and telephone supplier they have offered me this laptop for free (excluding £35 delivery)

Hp 530 ... this one ... review here

I have posted the details on here

Is this a good enough laptop to keep and save myself some money (I did want a desktop really)?

OR

Would I be better off selling it and putting the money towards a new PC?

dilemmas...

Any input welcome.
Thanks

bingo_bango

If you just do basic surfing and the like, it's probably fine.
Be aware however that laptops are not as easily upgradeable as a desktop, and usually cost more in repairs.

I have one of each. The laptop is fine as it's not used for much other than missus surfing downstairs, and the odd office app.

Upstairs desktop is used for surfing, DL'ing, video conversion, graphic design and editing (Photoshop, Flash etc.)
I couldn't do any of that (other than surfing) on the laptop, and the spec on your link isn't much higher than mine (I just dont like the Celeron mobile chips!).
Selling it may not be an option, as you may not get as much as you think. Might only be worth £200-£230 depending how you go about this. If you have enough to add to that for a decent desktop, then yes, this may be the route to go. Look at the cost of the contract to you though. If it will be more than the cost of the laptop, might be better to consider saving the money for the new PC.

Oh, and of course you're stuck with BT for I assume at least 18 months. If you don't get the BB service from them, and need to cancel, you'll have to pay for or return the lappie.

chaucer

albertross wrote: »

36 months at £8-10/month more than everyone else, + £35 for delivery, would buy you a laptop and a router. If prices for BB continue to fall, that lock in could prove expensive.

It is an ok deal if you need a bottom end laptop, but nothing special.

36 months is the big drawback I know - although I have been with BT several years and they do drop prices (to a modest degree) within contract periods occasionally. They have never leet me down in customer service either.

Forgot to mention price also includes - free evening/weekend calls to geograpic numbers + 5gb online storage.

You mention £8-10 difference ... I priced Virgin media for a comparable package and it was more.

Anyway - this is techie thread - I suppose I wanted info on the laptop too and whether to see it as a means to an end (sell it and put the money towards a desktop (been looking at vostros) or keep it and save some dosh.

Thanks

ormus

think you would be very lucky to sell it for 300 quid.
you can buy new ones for approx 275 quid these days.
i sold a 2 yr old dell recently and only got 120 for it.

toasterman

Chaucer. I have a laptop almost identical to that one.. same graphics card, same hard drive, dvd writer, etc. Only difference is mine came with xp home instead of vista.
It was £299 from Ebuyer.
The laptop you listed is currently on sale at ebuyer for £297.98 with free delivery.

Not sure if that helps you put a price on the 'free' things they're giving you

Like I said, mine isn't vista, but I find it fine for email, browsing, playing music, etc. It's a bit sluggish for sound editing, but then its got a slower hard drive, less memory etc than what I normally use. Certainly isn't unusable.
As yours is running Vista though, I'd expect it to be slower than mine.

If you're happy with BT's prices and service though, I'd take the laptop then decide what to do with it.
If you want a desktop, you can probably sell the laptop for £200+ (it is brand new and under warranty after all), and then add a bit and get yourself over to Dell and get a much faster desktop with bigger screen, etc.

Ems*Honie

Hi,

Does anyone know if this laptop could support AutoCAD 2006, plus saved files? I have just applied for the AOL deal, but would prefer to stay with BT if they can supply me a laptop too. (I need a laptop so this works out well for me having just come out of contract)

Sorry OP for the hijack.

chaucer

albertross wrote: »

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/noncable.html

• Free modem
• Up to 8Mb**
• Unlimited° downloads
• Evening and weekend calls to UK landlines
• PCguard***
  (Firewall, Anti-Virus, Pop-Up Blocker and Privacy Manager)

£14.99

You still have to pay the BT line rental, but presumably that applies to BT as well

I can't seem to follow through their selections to get that deal.
I live in a cable area - is that why?

albertross_2

Possibly, not sure what their policy is if they have cable available, and you want adsl.

If you are willing to move to cable, the bundles might be of interest

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/product.do?id=11021

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/bundles/2for20.html

these include line rental, so that saves another £11

toasterman

Ems*Honie wrote: »

Hi,

Does anyone know if this laptop could support AutoCAD 2006, plus saved files? I have just applied for the AOL deal, but would prefer to stay with BT if they can supply me a laptop too. (I need a laptop so this works out well for me having just come out of contract)

Sorry OP for the hijack.

It's a celeron. It's a budget basic laptop for email/msn/internet.
A quick google search says the minimum requirements for AutoCAD 2006 are:

• Intel® Pentium® III or later processor or compatible, 800 MHz or higher
• Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition with SP1 or SP2), Windows 2000 Professional with SP4
• 512 MB RAM
• 500 MB free disk space for installation
• 1024x768 VGA with true color
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or later)
• CD-ROM drive
• Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

It probably would run - just about. You're not far off the minimum requirements though - you have the minimum ram, and like I say, a celeron is a really budget processor. It probably would run, but you'll spend all day waiting for things to happen.
If you take a look on ebuyer/dell, you can get a considerably better laptop for under £400, dual core, 1gb ram, etc..

P.S. Also note that doesn't say it supports Vista. Doesn't mean it doesn't - just something to look out for.

chaucer

The reviews for the Hp 530 here all say it is a decent entry level laptop so long as you up the ram.

I am definitely thinking of selling it and putting the money towards a desktop.
Ebuyer seem to have sold out of them already (at £279 I think) so they are in demand.

The ISP deal might not be the best (it certainly won't be in 18 months or more) but I am looking at instant cash in the hand rather than a monthly save over three years - this might not be the best long term policy for money saving but it still appeals.

Ems*Honie

toasterman wrote: »

It's a celeron. It's a budget basic laptop for email/msn/internet.
A quick google search says the minimum requirements for AutoCAD 2006 are:

• Intel® Pentium® III or later processor or compatible, 800 MHz or higher
• Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition with SP1 or SP2), Windows 2000 Professional with SP4
• 512 MB RAM
• 500 MB free disk space for installation
• 1024x768 VGA with true color
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or later)
• CD-ROM drive
• Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

It probably would run - just about. You're not far off the minimum requirements though - you have the minimum ram, and like I say, a celeron is a really budget processor. It probably would run, but you'll spend all day waiting for things to happen.
If you take a look on ebuyer/dell, you can get a considerably better laptop for under £400, dual core, 1gb ram, etc..

P.S. Also note that doesn't say it supports Vista. Doesn't mean it doesn't - just something to look out for.

Brilliant, thanks for that. I have learnt something new from you today lol, I had never needed to compare laptops/compatability until today and I was a little confused. Looking at the Dell laptop offered by AOL I cant see much of a differerence in the specs
http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/aol_eligibility.php would I be right? If they are basically the same I would be far more tempted by the BT deal as I have been with them for 4 yrs with no major issues.

I will find out from my more experienced CAD peers if I can run the software with Vista, if not I would still be able to back up my files on the laptop in case of any issues with the main PC.

Thanks again,