laptop

neewbie

Hi, This is my first time using the forum although I read it all the time when in need of advice.

My daughter will be 18 soon and is going to university to study nursing and has asked for a laptop for her birthday. (I have never bought one before) I have read all the information on the many threads but as laptops/spec/pricing are changing all the time I wonder if someone with a bit more knowledge than me could give me some advice on what to buy and where from.

I would like to spend around £300 and obviously get as much as I can. I nearly bought one on ebuyer an HP 6720s for £289 but then after reading pages of threads I realised it was not loaded with Vista which would be another £100 pounds and it was a Celeron and I should buy a dual 2 core.
I am really out of my depth and would appreciate any help.
Thanks

Ice_2

Hi and welcome to the forum...
well I am about to buy a laptop myself...
acer sre might to be the best...
better off getting at acerdirect
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/
if you want vista you have to get the home edition as the basic is just crap...
you should get one with at least 2gb's of ram memory...
graphics card if poss to run the 3D in vista...
no less than a 120gb hard drive
dvd duel layer re-write which most have...
wi-hi...
which most have...
you should be able to get one for around £500 which is what I will be paying...
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_9304_Laptop_LX.AWP0X.197/version.asp
this one's not bad...
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_7720_LX.AHL0X.050/version.asp
or this one...
hope that helps...
you could try ebuyer and see if they have any of these cheaper....google the model number and see who comes up cheaper...
sorry just saw your price tag...
have a look at this one...
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5310WLMi_Laptop_LX.AH30X.040/version.asp

kr15snw

I have recently bought a dell from tesco (club card points aswell!) for £389.

It has 120 gb hard drive, 2 gb ram and has a dual core processor. I couldnt find anything better!

Its on their site if you want to check it out.

Reluctant_spender

Have a look here at Dmx Dimension - Dell laptop offers. THe page also has discount codes and while you may not get to the magic £300 you will get close

http://www.dmxdimension.com/dell-uk/inspiron-1525-deals-vouchers-codes/

nutmegman

remember what seems cheap now will have a shorter shelf life.

get a core 2 Duo and seperate graphics card these are things you cannot change in the future i have just bought a toshiba from Ebuyer for £499 and getting £50 cash back from Toshiba

always_amazed

Hey;
Maybe the bast thing is to tell her how much you are willing to spend on one, and get her to choose!
I say that because she might want one with this/that/whatever and be able to do without certain things.

Also, please bear in mind that there are some massive student discounts available if you guys wait till she starts.

jje_2

Samsung R60 cheapest model about £350
80gb hd
1.44 dual core cpu
1gb ram
windows vista home premium .
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134631.

Size and spec all depends upon what the machine is going to be used for and the amount to spend .
Vista runs ok on 1 gb Ram better on 2 gb
HD size depends 20gb plenty for some 500gb to small for others .
Dual core take it if offered though most software does not run better or faster with a dual core yet.
Personally a laptop runs much better and faster on Win XP SP3.
Morgan Computers often have refurbs at sub £300 but another £50 buys new .

jje

hubris

When you've bought the laptop, it will probably come with crapware installed (trial versions of software that they want you to pay to upgrade).

Consider removing them and saving yourself money and cpu clock cycles with the following:

Remove MS Office 3 month trial and replace with OpenOffice - free from www.openoffice.org
Remove Norton or Macafee Security suites and use Avast Anti virus free from www.avast.com and Kerio Sunbelt firewall free from http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Home-Home-Office/Sunbelt-Personal-Firewall

Consider installing sumatra pdf http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf reader and using that instead of the bloated Adobe reader.

Any concerns about sharing OpenOffice files with others should be allayed:
1. Your daughter can save files as pdf. There are loads of free pdf readers.
2. Other people can download and install OpenOffice.
3. Anybody who needs to can even install OpenOffice on a USB key, so that it's available on any Windows computer you plug the key into. See http://portableapps.com

Avast anti virus needs registration to get an activation code. But you don't need to do that yourself. Visit www.bugmenot.com and type in avast.com to get registration codes other people have already acquired.

Actually, kerio sunbelt does not work on Vista yet (from what I recall), but there are other free firewalls, e.g. Comodo, Zone Alarm.

I bought a laptop recently and removed Vista after two weeks, "upgrading" it to Windows XP.

If your laptop doesn't come with a Vista install disc, just phone Microsoft and ask for one. You'll have paid for the license to use Windows, so they will provide you with a disk.