Help - Have To Get This Right!

Drag-Den

Ok, trying to source a laptop for the mother in law so for obvious reasons I need to get this right! She's asked me as i know more than her but i'm no expert so hopefully you guys can help!?

She used the laptop which has just broken down for predominantly surfing, photo's, and a few low spec games. Her budget is £300-£400, from the sounds of it she'd prefer Windows XP to Vista. So far I've found the two below but could well have missed better ones so would appreciate any advice people can give:

Product Description - HP 530 - Core Duo T2300E 1.66 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) - 35.8 cm x 22.7 cm x 3.6 cm
Weight - 2.7 kg
System Type - Notebook
Built-in Devices - Speaker, wireless LAN aerial
Processor - Intel Core Duo T2300E / 1.66 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Cache Memory - 2 MB - L2 Cache
RAM - 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM ( 1 x 1 GB )
Hard Drive - 80 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage - DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
Display - 15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
Graphics Controller - Intel GMA 950
Audio Output - Sound card
Telecom - Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking - Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Wireless NIC - Intel PRO/Wireless 3945BG
Input Device - Keyboard, touchpad
Battery - Lithium Ion
Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic

Price - £369.97

Toshiba /satellite Pro A200

Product Description - Toshiba Satellite Pro A200-16B - Celeron M 520 1.6 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) - 36.2 cm x 26.8 cm x 3.9 cm
Weight - 2.5 kg
Localisation - United Kingdom
System Type - Notebook
Built-in Devices - Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor - Intel Celeron M 520 / 1.6 GHz
Cache Memory - 1 MB - L2 Cache
RAM - 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - 667 MHz ( 2 x 512 MB )
Card Reader - 6 in 1
Hard Drive - 120 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - integrated
Display - 15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller - Intel GMA 950
Audio Output - Sound card
Telecom - Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking - Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Input Device - Keyboard, touchpad
Power - AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery - Lithium Ion
Operating System - Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Manufacturer Warranty - 1 year warranty

Price - £399.97

banger9365

they both look all right for what you want and the top one looks better put which one do's she like

Drag-Den

Thanks - I've not asked her yet, wanted to get some options first. The only thing that puts me off of the top one is the Vista Operating System - I've heard it can cause problems? Would I be able to replace it with XP easily enough?

BillScarab

If the machine is up to spec then Vista is fine. It's stable and nice to use. The only thing is that laptop lists Vista Home Basic which is a cack cut down version, you need Home premium as a minimum.

Drag-Den

Anyone else any know of any bargains or places to look??????

foreversomeday

You can replace it but it's fiddly and will need a professional, because the components in the laptop won't have commercially available drivers for XP.

Yes, vista will work well enough since it's a brand new laptop but the games probably won't.

If the only games she plays on the PC are things like Mah Jongg, minesweeper type things, card games and the like you will probably be able to download or buy copies which will work on vista, however if they're slightly more involved than that (I'm presuming low spec means older games here, most modern games are a nightmare to run on a laptop) they are probably designed to run on windows 98 which means you're lucky to get them working in XP and very unlikely for them to run on vista.

Donnie

You can buy a Dell with Windows XP Pro. Processor is not quite as good as the HP. Though it has has a bigger hard drive.

Here:

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

Drag-Den

How does this one compare with the other two above? Seems ok to me but as i have said i'm no expert which is why i'm on here!

Max Data Eco 4510

• Processor: Intel Core Duo T2350 - 1.86GHz
• RAM: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz - Low Cost Double Memory Offer - Call For Details!
• Hard Drive: 120GB
• Screen: 15.4" Display
• Optical Drive: DVD±RW - To read and write DVDS and CDs
• Graphics: VIA shared graphics
• Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g - Call for advice on Wireless Networking
• Warranty: 2 Year - Upgradeable to 3 years!!

£399.00

• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium