Author Topic: New laptop advice  (Read 168837 times)

Offline Raz

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New laptop advice
« on: March 30, 2008, 01:26:25 pm »
Hi.

Am looking to buy a new laptop in the region of £350 and was hoping for some advice on the best possible one to go for. I have had a Dell for the last few years and its worked fine and customer service has always been good, but the laptop itself is too slow and so am looking for a new one- of whatever brand. I like the look of Sony but think they go a bit out of my price range. :)

Thank you to everyone in advance. :)
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Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2008, 01:29:04 pm »
do you need a dedicated graphics card?
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2008, 01:51:08 pm »
I know very little about computers mate, but I'm guessing thats for gaming? No I won't need anything like that. I use it mainly for work, internet, downloading music and the like.
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Offline Consigliere

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2008, 02:25:56 pm »
HP Celeron should be fine for what you describe:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140189

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2008, 02:36:54 pm »
i would never recomend a celeron or sempron.
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Offline leighton

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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2008, 07:25:19 pm »
What do people think of the Dell Inspiron 1525?

Obviously you can adapt the specs but the one on offer at £329 is:


Intel Celeron Processor 540 (1.86GHZ, 533 MHZ FSB, 1MB L2 CACHE)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
1024MB RAM with 80GB Hard Drive
DVD/RW AND 8-IN-1 MEDIA CARD READER
Integrated Wireless Card

Thoughts?
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #7 on: March 30, 2008, 07:31:40 pm »
Or just seen this Inspiron 1525 on the Dell website for £349:

Base
Intel® Pentium Dual Core Processor T2370 (1.73Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache)

Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English

Video Card
Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100

Memory
1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]

Hard Drive
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive

Optical Devices
8x DVD+/-RW Optical drive, including SW


Better value than the first Dell I put up?
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Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2008, 08:03:39 pm »
the one i linked earlier has an extra gig of ram
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Offline Graeme

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2008, 11:02:03 pm »
i would never recomend a celeron or sempron.

Why?

The user as already said its not for gaming or anything like that - just for downloading some tunes and browsing the web.  A machine with a Celeron or Sempron processor would suffice.  Neither of these chips suffer from reliability problems.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #10 on: March 30, 2008, 11:06:27 pm »
don't buy a mac...

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2008, 11:14:49 pm »
Why?

The user as already said its not for gaming or anything like that - just for downloading some tunes and browsing the web.  A machine with a Celeron or Sempron processor would suffice.  Neither of these chips suffer from reliability problems.

the user could find his way to downloading / encoding video etc. in the future, for the sake of £20 why the hell would you advise a sempron/celeron ?
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Offline Gnurglan

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #12 on: March 30, 2008, 11:36:55 pm »
Hi.

Am looking to buy a new laptop in the region of £350 and was hoping for some advice on the best possible one to go for. I have had a Dell for the last few years and its worked fine and customer service has always been good, but the laptop itself is too slow and so am looking for a new one- of whatever brand. I like the look of Sony but think they go a bit out of my price range. :)

Thank you to everyone in advance. :)

If you're gonna surf and download and little else, I'd look for RAM and weight. Heavy laptops are a pain. RAM is always handy.

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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #13 on: March 30, 2008, 11:37:25 pm »
Just for elimination purposes, which of the Dell models I put above is the better?
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Offline justarslan

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Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2008, 09:01:02 am »
Just for elimination purposes, which of the Dell models I put above is the better?
Or just seen this Inspiron 1525 on the Dell website for £349:

Base
Intel® Pentium Dual Core Processor T2370 (1.73Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache)

Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English

Video Card
Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100

Memory
1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]

Hard Drive
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive

Optical Devices
8x DVD+/-RW Optical drive, including SW


Better value than the first Dell I put up?

that is the better of the 2.
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2008, 11:42:11 am »
Cheers mate!
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #17 on: April 1, 2008, 03:03:32 pm »
if you're on a budget, and don't need a really fast laptop, i'd recommend checking out used ones. but buy them of a proper shop that'll give you a warranty. buying used will allow you to get much better quality for less money. i did that, and it worked out really well, got a IBM thinkpad with all the features i wanted, and still paid less than i would have for a cheap new one. 
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Offline -Sad Fuck-

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #18 on: April 1, 2008, 05:49:09 pm »
I'd recommend saving for a bit longer and going for a Toshiba, you can pick up some awesome ones inthe £500 mark.
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Offline ianfb25

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #19 on: April 6, 2008, 11:04:34 am »
Sorry Raz Im hijacking your thread lol

Same situation, never had a laptop before but sick of getting moaned at that Im spending too long on the PC so looking to invest in one now. Will be used mainly for net surfing, Ill probably do a little downloading but not much Ill probably use this PC for that, and Ill watch movies on it too. Wont be playing games and no way will I be doing any work on it!!

Im really looking to spend a maximum of 320 on it as it is 95% for surfing the web. Any tips?

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #20 on: April 6, 2008, 11:16:44 am »
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Offline redmachine

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #21 on: April 6, 2008, 11:21:59 am »
Sorry Raz Im hijacking your thread lol

Same situation, never had a laptop before but sick of getting moaned at that Im spending too long on the PC so looking to invest in one now. Will be used mainly for net surfing, Ill probably do a little downloading but not much Ill probably use this PC for that, and Ill watch movies on it too. Wont be playing games and no way will I be doing any work on it!!

Im really looking to spend a maximum of 320 on it as it is 95% for surfing the web. Any tips?

Saw a laptop in Currys/PC World advertised on TV last night that ws 299 - cant remember the make though.

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #22 on: April 6, 2008, 11:39:51 am »
Saw a laptop in Currys/PC World advertised on TV last night that ws 299 - cant remember the make though.

i saw that too, but it was a celeron, however, currys have this refurb machine with decent specs

Intel Pentium Dual Core T2310
(1.46GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium
2GB Memory Size
120GB Hard Drive
DVD SuperMulti Dual Layer
15.4" WXGA TruBrite display
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
Wireless Enabled
2.75KG
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Offline ianfb25

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #23 on: April 6, 2008, 12:30:44 pm »
i saw that too, but it was a celeron, however, currys have this refurb machine with decent specs

Intel Pentium Dual Core T2310
(1.46GHz, 533MHz FSB, 1MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium
2GB Memory Size
120GB Hard Drive
DVD SuperMulti Dual Layer
15.4" WXGA TruBrite display
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
Wireless Enabled
2.75KG

Now that I like the look of - not being a huge techie will that do for everything I am looking to use it for?

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #24 on: April 6, 2008, 12:44:39 pm »
perfickly :)
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Offline ianfb25

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #25 on: April 6, 2008, 12:45:19 pm »
Cheers buddy, Ill deffo give that some consideration. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

Offline MJL

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #26 on: April 7, 2008, 08:55:35 pm »
Whatever you get do NOT use PC World - had endless problems with my laptop from them, useless customer service

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #27 on: April 7, 2008, 09:20:41 pm »
pcworld owned by DSGi, as are the likes of comet / currys / currys digital and dizons..

never had a problem myself like.
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Offline Graeme

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #28 on: April 7, 2008, 09:36:15 pm »
Comet aren't part of DSG

Offline leighton

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #29 on: April 7, 2008, 10:34:59 pm »
i stand corrected :wave
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Offline arae

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #30 on: April 9, 2008, 08:21:36 am »
Anyone have an opinion on this for £800?

> Dell XPS M1530
> *   Intel(r) Core(tm) 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz 4MB L2 Cache,
> 800MHz FSB)
> *   Genuine Windows Vista(r) Home Premium
> *   15.4" WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife(tm)
> *   256MB NVIDIA(r) GeForce(r) Go 8600M GT
> *   2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
> *   160GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (5,400 RPM)
> *   8x DVD +/- RW Drive
> *   Bluetooth(r) / Biometric Finger Print Reader
> *   8 In 1 Card Reader / Dell Travel Remote Control
> *   2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Web Camera
> *   WLAN 3945 (802.11a/b/g)
> *   9-Cell 85WHr- Primary Battery
> *   1 GB USB + Headset with Microphone
> *   3 Year Next Business Day Warranty
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Offline sminp

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #31 on: April 9, 2008, 10:29:59 am »
Anyone have an opinion on this for £800?

> Dell XPS M1530

I'm going to get one of these in a few weeks. The dell offers change over this week so hopefully there will be even more money off when I buy mine.

This is supposedly 10% off XPS systems - BP?7GZPWD1TNF0 - haven't tried it yet though so not sure if it definitely works. Google 'Dell Discount Vouchers' to find discount vouchers (surprisingly enough)
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Offline sminp

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #32 on: April 9, 2008, 12:00:41 pm »
Ok, just checked Dell, they just changed their offers over and added better screens which is what I have been waiting for. The 9-cell battery is also about £15 cheaper now.

Edit - Ok, well thats weird. The new options have suddenly disappeared. They must be updating it for tomorrow and I caught them out testing it. I fully expect the new screens and prices to be up tomorrow
« Last Edit: April 9, 2008, 12:24:42 pm by sminp »
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #33 on: April 9, 2008, 12:23:58 pm »
Well I just had a good Dell experience, so I thought I'd link you:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=188390.msg4144603#msg4144603

Definitely the latest in the long line of decent service I've had from Dell. If the service is anywhere as good as it is here in Asia-Pacific, you'll be making the right choice.
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #34 on: April 30, 2008, 02:08:24 am »
What do people think of this? http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4YB2&CategorySelectedId=11105&InMerch=1

And anyone got any more good budget laptops? Limit around £350 but max £400.
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Offline justarslan

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #35 on: April 30, 2008, 06:55:32 am »
What do people think of this? http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4YB2&CategorySelectedId=11105&InMerch=1

And anyone got any more good budget laptops? Limit around £350 but max £400.

You might like this one.

Acer Aspire AS5920-6914 15.4" Widescreen Laptop
• Intel Core 2 Duo T5450
• 250GB hard drive
• Built-in wireless 802.11abgn
• 2GB of DDR2 memory
• Burns DVDs and CDs
• Built-in webcam

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Acer-Aspire-AS5920-6914-15-4-Widescreen-Laptop-AS59206914/sem/rpsm/oid/199869/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#proddesc
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #36 on: April 30, 2008, 12:24:31 pm »
Thanks mate. How would you compare it with this one:

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4XRS&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50429

A bit more but worth it? At an absolute stretch I could go up to £450.
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Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #37 on: April 30, 2008, 03:17:05 pm »
What do people think of this Top 5 budget laptops review done by PC World? Both the Acer and Dell I'm considering are in there which is reassuring. :)

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142810-page,1-c,notebooks/article.html
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Offline Mudface_

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #38 on: April 30, 2008, 03:27:46 pm »
Have a look at the PC Pro website for reviews as well.

Offline Raz

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #39 on: May 1, 2008, 11:21:10 am »
The promotion on the Dell website for a particular laptop I was looking at has ended so the £100 reduction has gone. Any idea when they're likely to have similar promotions?
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