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Advice when buying laptops

Jono

By Jono
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Jono

Jono

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Hi all,

Looking for a new laptop right now, and not sure what to go with. Usually I get my stuff from Dabs but most of it seems to be Acer. A reasonable company but their technical support is a nightmare. I'm not looking to spend much on this laptop as I have a computer but £300 would be my limit.

I just want something to take somewhere when going on outtings and the occasional use when I feel lazy and want to surf the internet in bed. So wireless internet or a card slot is a must. Other then that I'm not too fussy. Any recommendations of where to go?

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FreakaZoid101

FreakaZoid101

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Hi all,

Looking for a new laptop right now, and not sure what to go with. Usually I get my stuff from Dabs but most of it seems to be Acer. A reasonable company but their technical support is a nightmare. I'm not looking to spend much on this laptop as I have a computer but £300 would be my limit.

I just want something to take somewhere when going on outtings and the occasional use when I feel lazy and want to surf the internet in bed. So wireless internet or a card slot is a must. Other then that I'm not too fussy. Any recommendations of where to go?

My dad? :P He sells laptops so I get them cheap from the wholeseller.

Uhm, Well I'm on an ASUS right now. My old laptop was an ASUS too. Before that I had a Toshiba which was useless. MSI are quite good too. ASUS has been good with tech support for me, not that I've needed much because this laptop is so amazing.

Search around. But when I worked in the computer shop I used to do printer and laptop fixing and the most laptops we got in were from Dell, Toshiba, Acer. So I'd steer clear from them.

Can't say much bad about ASUS and MSI really.

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Jono

Jono

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Asus appear to be on Linux though. I'd rather Windows XP or Vista. Toshiba have been quite good to me with my last laptop though - I moaned my warranty ran out when there was a fault and pulled on the heart strings and they gave me two years extra warranty for half price.

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FreakaZoid101

FreakaZoid101

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Asus appear to be on Linux though. I'd rather Windows XP or Vista. Toshiba have been quite good to me with my last laptop though - I moaned my warranty ran out when there was a fault and pulled on the heart strings and they gave me two years extra warranty for half price.

My ASUS is on Vista. I've got the ASUS F3Fseries laptop.

I've probably just had really bad experiences with Toshiba.

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superchris0110

superchris0110

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Search around. But when I worked in the computer shop I used to do printer and laptop fixing and the most laptops we got in were from Dell, Toshiba, Acer. So I'd steer clear from them.

Sadly for £300 it will have to be one of those brands!

Tesco have a selection of laptops, on the link there is a basic HP one for £329 just over your budget but has a pretty good spec for the price!

http://direct.tesco.com/q/N.1999724/No.10/Nr.99.aspx

Also if you want a bit of a higher spec, direct from Dell could also be an option:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb_1525?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

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Timsk

Timsk

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These look quite interesting - Lenovo are what used to be IBM laptops (which have always had a good reputation), and the HP seems to read well. Definitely worth stretching to a dual-core processor, 1-2Gb of RAM, a 15" screen and around 100Gb disk if possible.

Lenovo R61i Dual Core T2310 1GB 120GB DVD±RW Vista Home Premium:

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4SM0&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105#description

HP 530 T2600 1024MB 120GB Vista Home Basic:

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4YVP&CategorySelectedId=11105&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11105

There are loads around though and even within the same brand and model ranges you can wind up with wildly different levels of general goodness. I guess there's no substitute for actually getting a bit of hands on time with whatever you're considering. Maybe a visit to (gasp) PC World might even give some direction to further online searches...

I usually recommend Dell when people don't really know what they're after though, as although their phone support can be horrendous, you get quite a bit for your money (the cheapest of the Dells on the link above from Superchris is outstanding value imo).

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-hacker
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superchris0110

superchris0110

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These look quite interesting - Lenovo are what used to be IBM laptops (which have always had a good reputation), and the HP seems to read well. Definitely worth stretching to a dual-core processor, 1-2Gb of RAM, a 15" screen and around 100Gb disk if possible.

Lenovo R61i Dual Core T2310 1GB 120GB DVD±RW Vista Home Premium:

I have an IBM Thinkpad currently (was the last designed under the IBM name) and it works a dream, comes with a load of features you wouldnt get on any of the other makes (all the Thinkvantage software which is well worth it).

The thinkpads are designed essentially by the same people so their build quality, despite now a Chinese company, is still top class. In my opinion probably the best range of laptops around and for £339, you cant go wrong :hahaha:

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Jono

Jono

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At first look these are interesting me:

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-9155.aspx

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-6392.aspx

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-0232.aspx

http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+HP&CatIds=21797,35750,90633&webid=394760&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?Description=UK_CL_Laptops+-+Toshiba&CatIds=21797,35750,90634&webid=392507&affixedcode=WW

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E*F*4L

E*F*4L

Posted
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for vi$ta you really need duel core & at least 1 gb of ram

this looks a ok buy, but its £350, but it has;

Pentium Dual Core

2 GB Memory

120 GB Hard Drive

Wireless Enabled

its better to spend a bit more now, then have to upgrade early even though you don't want to spend to much.

Advent 5301 pc world

or they do reconditioning ones, this is £300

Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2330

Genuine Windows Vista ® Home Premium

2 GB Memory

120 GB Hard drive

15.4" Widescreen Display

DVD ReWriter SuperMulti Drive

Wireless enabled

TOSHIBA L40-17M Refurbished Laptop at pc world

:)

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Monitorabbit

Monitorabbit

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Dell machines are cheap but not future proof so if you think you may want to upgrade in the future rather than buy another machine I'd avoid them.

Most people who work with computers when shown a Dell will look as if you just put a very stinky piece of excrement under their nose.

In reality they are quite good in a lot of ways - I own one of their desktops myself. You just need to consider how soon you'll want to upgrade and whether you'll get enough years out of the machine to make it worth your while.

Just my opinion :)

UM is a nice place

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superchris0110

superchris0110

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Tara, i may have to talk to you if you get them Wholesale.

Ahem.

I have an IBM R50e. Its served me well over the last couple of years but i do believe its not going to last much longer :(

Its IBM, it will last:p. We still have an old R40 somewhere in the house, a dinosaur, and its still chugging along!

Dell machines are cheap but not future proof so if you think you may want to upgrade in the future rather than buy another machine I'd avoid them.

Agreed, takes me about 10 minutes to load ... once you get past the windows log in screen, granted it is 3 and half years old and full of crap

Jono, at the end of the day it all depends on if you have a bit of leeway in your budget. As has been said, if you want vista, dual core is almost a must. Out of interest what was your old laptop?

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FreakaZoid101

FreakaZoid101

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It seems that Toshiba have upped their standards since I last used them, seeing as they're being recommended quite a lot.

I found an old ASUS laptop of mine last month which my sister used to use when I got my new one. It's about 4 years old but hasn't been touched in 2 years and it's in full working order. That's probably why I can't stop singing their praises. You lot should all get wholesale connections ;) sorry, I know that's not helping.

A fair few of my friends have Fujitsu Siemens and there have been no complaints so far. And it seems like they are in your price range.

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Lucinda

Lucinda

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This laptop is an Asus but I think whoever built it skimped a bit because you buy it and then add memory etc. I didn't actually pay for it because I got it through my local education authority because I have 'special educational needs' so I didn't have the choice. It is an Asus s96f and maybe it is decent, I have had no end of troubles with it though. When I first turned it on, it got stuck in a constant loop of blue-screening and rebooting but I did manage to sort it out. It is crippled by the F-Secure anti-virus that has been put on it.

I had a Sony Vaio before that and it still works after 3 and a half years. I did have an Acer but it broke and the customer service was terrible and they didn't honour their warranty, stupid company, so don't buy one of those. My housemate had a lot of trouble getting his Acer laptop repaired as well because they kept trying to make him send it to Ireland then they sent a courier who never actually turned up but tried to bill him £50 a time for not being in when the courier arrived. He spent about 2 weeks sitting in waiting before the courier actually came and took the laptop away. He complained and didn't get a great response.

So don't buy an Acer!

'Forget happiness I'm fine, I'll forget everything in time'

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Jono

Jono

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Never ever buy a Toshiba. Simple as that really. I've got an Acer now and it's perfect. When I get a chance to use the bloody thing!

Acer have crap technical support, at least Toshiba reply. My last Acer died on me, so I'm having doubts about it.

So many opinions being thrown at me :(

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Jono

Jono

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My sister has a Fujitsu Siemens. It certainly seems one of my favourites. Did pop into a Currys Digital this weekend, the only reasonably priced laptops seemed to be Toshiba.

There's a review of 9 £300 laptops in the July edition of PC Pro magazine...

The Dell Inspiron 1525 wins their lab test, with the Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi 2515 coming second, the Toshiba Satellite A210-19T joint third with the Samsung R60 Plus.

Problem with this is that none of these laptops are actually under £300 in Google. Or very few... Hmm...

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Andy B

Andy B

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My toshiba died within a month of getting it. I rarely need tech support so I don't bother with them much. When I tried to complian about my laptop on their website their site crashed! Rubbish.

My Acer is cool as for only a few quid more I got integrated webcam and a 17" screen!

Sometimes here, sometimes not.

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