What laptop to get

map200uk

hi guys,

i am looking at buying a laptop for around the 350-450 price range, i dont wish to spend more due to it being a rip off

i currently have a dell 1501 amd 64 1gig ram/80gig hdd/ati radeon xpress 1150

this is a laptop for someone else, and i am looking for similar spec to mine, except 2 gig ram, as i belive this is now the minimum (imo) , and a gfx card that is not intel, so an nvidia/ati mobile card, a dvdr, and 15.4@ is the size i am after, my dad has a dell laptop top of range etc, and i honestly feel they are such a rip off-so i tend to go for the 350-450 range, allowing me to purchase a new laptop more often:)


so, im after a laptop with 2gig ram, nvidia/ati gfx card, 15.4" display-the machine will be used for general purpose, i.e. no games, just watching dvds and such (gaming on a laptop-never gonna be too good anyway,!)

so far i have looked at both the dell inspiron 1501 same spec as mine but 2gig ram/bigger hdd, and an asus at ebuyer, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134522

oh also i'm not an 'intel fan' being a linux user, and owning both intel/amd based machines i have no problem with either and don't fall into the group of people who believe it has to be Intel or its junk:P

suggestions greatly appreciated

cheers,

map

whizzkid_3

i,m a bit like yourself and really not sure what to get .
i' ll add another two options here and hopefully someone more computer wise will let us know which is the best option

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/Computing/Laptops/Standard+Laptops/COMPAQ/PRESSARIO+V6630EM/641589

http://www.laskys.com/pcs_and_laptops/laptops_and_pdas/laptops/acer_as5633_5710_102.html

thankyou

whizzkid_3

hopefully some nice person will answer soon !

wolfman

2gb of Ram minimum! I take it you'll be running Vista

Vista can cope on 1gb ok, or if you're considering XP 1gb is more than sufficient. Also I've always found the Intel graphics to be fine. I'm not a huge fan of ATI (as I use Linux).

I'd ignore the Compaq. It uses a Turion cpu, which isn't a bad cpu, but at over £400 you should be trying to get a Core 2 Duo.

The Acer looks like a nice spec. I've got one myself. A lot of people will talk bad about them, but I personally really like mine. The other alternative would be to go on the Dell outlet store (on eBay).

You could also look around for popular older models, like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Inspiron-640m-Laptop-Core2Duo-1-66GHz-1GB-160GB_W0QQitemZ260186783652QQihZ016QQcategoryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That's what I'm sat using now. It's great. Might be worth watching on eBay.

wolfman

*Just noticed the OP, that you're a Linux user. You definitely won't need 2gb RAM then (would be a luxury rather than a necessity). 1gb will be more than sufficient. I'd also still consider Intel integrated graphics as ATI are a bit of a pain on Linux (they still need another 6 months - year to deliver a driver up to the standards of the rest).

The Dell I linked to above works perfectly in Linux, straight out of the box. I think the Acer should too, you may want to google that though, see if there are threads with people having problems.

I would definitely pick a Core 2 Duo over a Turion though. My Turion runs hot constantly and seems to struggle a bit at times. The Dell I sat using now works like a charm. Sadly the Core2Duo is a superior cpu over anything AMD can offer.

Ah Acer's often have slightly poor battery life, it's worth googling that model see what others say. My one only last about 1.5-2 hours!

General_Hogwart

I'm a big fan of Dells, I have a desktop and have just been and bought myself a nice laptop to go with it.

It's advertised at £469.99 but I found a coupon code for it on another forum making ut £449.99.

http://svp.co.uk/product/dell_inspiron_6400_with_3_minus_year_warranty_plus_windows

The coupon code is SVPDELL-436123

I got it just over a week ago, I have now noticed that SVP have £5 off a £50 spend if you pay via Google Checkout, I assume that you can combine the 2 offers and as the laptop is over £300 you get free next day delivery - bargain!

If that's not exactly the spec you are looking for, they have lots more laptops here -

http://svp.co.uk/product/dell_inspiron_6400_with_3_minus_year_warranty_plus_windows

and they all come with a 12 or 36 month onsite warranty from Dell.

Bargain! :-)

Blacksheep1979

unless you're running vista the 2gb ram and the dedicated gfx card aren't essential for watching dvd's

map200uk

wolfman wrote: »

2gb of Ram minimum! I take it you'll be running Vista

Vista can cope on 1gb ok, or if you're considering XP 1gb is more than sufficient. Also I've always found the Intel graphics to be fine. I'm not a huge fan of ATI (as I use Linux).

I'd ignore the Compaq. It uses a Turion cpu, which isn't a bad cpu, but at over £400 you should be trying to get a Core 2 Duo.

The Acer looks like a nice spec. I've got one myself. A lot of people will talk bad about them, but I personally really like mine. The other alternative would be to go on the Dell outlet store (on eBay).

You could also look around for popular older models, like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Inspiron-640m-Laptop-Core2Duo-1-66GHz-1GB-160GB_W0QQitemZ260186783652QQihZ016QQcategoryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That's what I'm sat using now. It's great. Might be worth watching on eBay.

Ah yes ati and linux, never a fun combination, altho my ati radeon xpress 1150 works reasonably well in Linux - with compiz fus

as to turion i have a turion laptop (dell ins 1501) which i find to be overly adequate for what i use a laptop for , i considered it to be a decent cpu?


2gig ram is my personal opinion on the minumum memory to get now on a laptop, especially if planning to run Vista-which this wont be

thanks for suggestions-laptops are a pain-deciding whether to go for big screen or less weight etc

ahh

map200uk

wolfman wrote: »

*Just noticed the OP, that you're a Linux user. You definitely won't need 2gb RAM then (would be a luxury rather than a necessity). 1gb will be more than sufficient. I'd also still consider Intel integrated graphics as ATI are a bit of a pain on Linux (they still need another 6 months - year to deliver a driver up to the standards of the rest).

The Dell I linked to above works perfectly in Linux, straight out of the box. I think the Acer should too, you may want to google that though, see if there are threads with people having problems.

I would definitely pick a Core 2 Duo over a Turion though. My Turion runs hot constantly and seems to struggle a bit at times. The Dell I sat using now works like a charm. Sadly the Core2Duo is a superior cpu over anything AMD can offer.

Ah Acer's often have slightly poor battery life, it's worth googling that model see what others say. My one only last about 1.5-2 hours!

indeed 2gig ram is not *needed* but as i said..its my own view for min specs now and i dont wish to upgrade a laptop at a later date lol

intel gfx do work well on linux, true

1.5-2hrs isnt too bad-compared to some, some laptops cant even manage 1hr LOL

map200uk

Blacksheep1979 agreed they aren't but its my views on it-based on upgrading laptops being more costly than upgrading a desktop and also requiring more effort, plus i got 1gig ram with my old laptop purchased 6-8mths ago for similar price range -which is why 2gig is the min now:)

Foggie-gotta say i too like dell, after my key broke on my laptop, not sure how i contacted them and they offered to collect it and fix it or send me a replacement keyboard for me to fix..all free, i chose to do it myself

i was in pc world a few weeks back (loooking for an ath based pcmcia wireless g card) and overheard a 'tech guy' telling some lady to get her keyboard replaced it would be 100-150 due to labour costs and part costs ...ugh and yes pc world are crap and staff are useless-but i wanted an ath based card (still havent got one-not decided which to get )

map200uk

any suggestions on laptops-im thinking the dell is a good price!

386 inc vat and del!