Budget Windows laptops: recommendation, great deals etc

[Daniel]

I've found that model, just not the one with bluray, although bluray doesn't bother me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1230901511&sr=8-3

 

[gorski]

No, that's not it - half the memory, HDD etc. Rubbish, if you ask me. I have the one I mentioned and that is cool! Read above in this thread and see different versions, then find it cheaply nowadays - much cheaper than they were when they came out!

 

[where to]

what about this wee beast here:
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-3429.aspx

i am attracted by the discount because i know hee-haw about PC's and it makes it seem like i'd be getting a good deal. can anyone tell me if that is actually the case?

 

[gorski]

Yeah, not too bad but for additional £70-80 you can have a better processor [bigger cache] and a BluRay drive... for 5920G I mentioned above [Dixons had it].

 

[where to]

this one?
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/sto...el=WEB&page=Product#productInformationSection

also been looking at these two:
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...el=WEB&page=Product#productInformationSection

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152233

should i be interested too much in the brand of the machine or are they all of a muchness these days?

also this blu-ray stuff, whats it all about? does it mean i will see high definition stuff on screen or is it just about disk storage capacity and keeping up to date with the latest technology?

finally, i am hoping to do some music recording on this machine, will i be stuck with the soundcard that i get with it or can i stick my own in later?

cheers

 

[gorski]

Not the first one, as I explained the specs - not the same...

 

[fractionMan]

Great deal for an ultra portable 12.1inch laptop

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/316223/hp-compaq-nc2400-ultra-portable-lap/

1/2 price - £286.35

 

[mitochondria]

this is not bad either - £350 for 12' core 2 duo

don't know about acers but specs are fine, better value than 10' netbook

 

[fractionMan]

this is not bad either - £350 for 12' core 2 duo

don't know about acers but specs are fine, better value than 10' netbook

I'm on one right now. Best value bit of kit I've ever bought.

The only problem is that it's impossible to get the labels off.

 

[mariusella]

Everyone might be banging on about the Asus Eeee, but for a little amount more, look what you can get - a proper laptop!

Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo Mobile V5535 Laptop
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36 cm x 26 cm x 3.9 cm
Weight 2.7 kg
Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor Intel Celeron M 530 / 1.73 GHz
Cache Memory 1 MB - L2 Cache
RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - 667 MHz
Hard Drive 120 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage DVD/±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Keyboard, touchpad



Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Battery life is rubbish, but it's not a bad looking laptop for an amazing price and well worth considering if your budget is tight: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/133383

How much is it?

<spammy looking URLs removed>

 

[editor]

How much is it?

Too late! It's sold out now.

Here's another decent laptop for £299

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151219

 

[Daniel]

^The specs look good, but since I'm not too sure what all the things do I may as well ask before I order it.

From a laptop, I wana watch streaming videos, download stuff, have about 4/5 applications up at one time (MSN, Firefox, iTunes, partypoker, bitorrent, photoshop)

My current laptop struggles at times with MSN, firefox, iTunes and partypoker, so thought I'd check first.

 

[jigotai]

Can anyone recommend a laptop suitable for my gran? I think she'd be best with something a bit larger - 17" or so - easier for her to see, and phatter keyboard for typing. It doesn't have to be too clever though. It'll be used for internet, email, and basic games. (Will need wifi)

J

 

[mitochondria]

good deal at pc world

Packard-Bell (no idea whether this is good or bad), 12' 1280x800, Dual Core T2390,
1 Gb RAM, 80 Gb HD
Vista Basic
Battery: 2h
£249,97

Vaio at same specs probably costs around £400.

 

[editor]

Here's four fully featured laptops for under £300:
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobil...laptops-for-under-299-586450?src=rss&attr=all

 

[nick h.]

Refurb'd IBM T43, 1 gig RAM, 40 gig disk for £199. I've got one of these and I love it. Have bought from this company in the past with no problems:

http://www.tier1online.com/Items/t4... GB RAM! Unbeatable price @ £199.00 delivered

The disk is small but it's easy to stick an extra one in the DVD bay.

 

[Crispy]

Pretty good, although screen res isn't great. Presonally, I find anything lower than 1280x1024 to be too constrictive. Still, it's IBM so will be well built.

 

[aspirationjones]

I'd buy that at that price
If I was in the market for one I mean
Which I'm not
So I won't

But yeah, definitely sticking the companies homepage in my del.icio.us for future whatsits and justincasifications

 

[nick h.]

Pretty good, although screen res isn't great.

It has to be said that it's hardly the latest thing. Must be 2+ yrs since these were sold new.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Right, thinking about getting a new lappy. Budget is up to 700 quid. I don't want a big fucker, would prefer screen size to not be over 14" as I'm very mobile with my current one, also battery life is important, min of 3 hours but ideally 4 or more would be great (my current one still manages just under 4 hours).

My primary use is for writing, the occasional photo editing/light photo corrections in photoshop, surfing, email, sometimes watching DVDs.

I'm not averse to getting a Mac if it's actually possible to get one in that price range.

Any suggestions?

 

[nick h.]

Refurb'd IBM T60 for £229. 2 gb RAM, 2 ghz Core Duo, 60 gig disk, XP Pro, £229 including delivery and VAT. Doesn't say what the graphics are: http://www.tier1online.com/Items/It...le=IBM T-60 Wireless laptop 2 GB RAM! Unbeata

Grade B condition - has marks on the case and screen.

Supposedly a special deal for existing customers. New customers pay £289. But I doubt it matters. The above link is for the special deal.