Best Laptop for.............

[bodhi]

£550.

My friend is looking for a laptop just to do general stuff on and the internet etc. Not gaming (its a girl!!!!). Anyone seen any good offers around? What are the best laptops? I always thing Sony and Toshiba make the best, could just be my misguided opinion though.

Ideas?

 

[Anon_F]

I would say Acer, but others may not agree.
Have you tried www.novatech.co.uk they make some decent cheap laptops

 

[bodhi]

What does everyone thing of Dell??? I have no idea what their laptops are like, but spec to price wise they look alright!

 

[Ian]

I have to confess, I really like Dell (I've got the Dell X1 laptop and had no problems with it). There are some very cheap inspiron series laptops out, but I've avoid any of the really low end ones.

Are DVD/RW, screen size etc... important?

 

[murdoch]

Dell are fine, if you cant see the spec you want then ring them up, they seem happy to help put extras into the laptops for you

 

[Quadophile]

IBM and Toshiba have the most experience when it comes to laptops. I am not suggesting you should buy from them, but, wjen you shortlist the models these brans should be included. IBM Z Series may fit the bill based on your needs.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to get.

 

[bodhi]

Cheers boys, i'll have a look around for this chick and i'll let you know what im narrowed it down to, get your expert opinions.

 

[ChristopherP]

I specced up quite a nice inspiron 6400 for a friend... £624 i think it was delivered

 

[Quadophile]

Chris,

The budget in the first line of the original poster, Bodhi clearly states £550. You are not much help in this case, especially being a Moderator.

The budget is important to anyone who asks for help, we all should stick to it unless the original posters decides to increase it for a valid reason.

 

[ChristopherP]

I actually meant to say it would be within budget if you tweaked a couple of options - like the screen and perhaps HDD or Memory... but i had to go out quick.

Still leaves you with a Core Duo CPU which i heard is pretty good. Beats a celeron

 

[bodhi]

No need to argue gentlemen. I appreciate the advice anyway, i think the girl does want to spend £550 max, but i'll have a look at dell and try and customise it a bit. I dont really like celerons so would prefer to stay away from them if possible anyway.

 

[bodhi]

Here are the two laptops this girl is thinking of, which do you think is best for the money:

Acer Aspire 1642ZWLMi - Pentium M 735A 1.7 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensions (WxDxH) 36.4 cm x 27.9 cm x 3.9 cm
Weight 2.9 kg
Platform Technology Intel Centrino
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial
Processor Intel Pentium M 735A 1.7 GHz
Cache Memory 2 MB - L2 Cache
RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - 533 MHz ( 2 x 512 MB )
Hard Drive 80 GB
Optical Storage DVD±RW (+R double layer) - integrated
Display 15.4" TFT active matrix 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Graphics Controller Intel GMA 900
Audio Output Sound card
Telecom Fax / modem - 56 Kbps
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Wireless NIC Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG
Input Device Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button
Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery Lithium Ion
Run Time (Up To) 2 hour(s)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty


£540


OR


Dell N07645 Inspiron 6400
Base:
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2050 (1.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System:
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
Cover It with Dell Support Services:
No service upgrade selected - 1-Year Collect and Return service only
LCD:
15.4" W Screen XGA TFT Display resolution: 1280x800
Memory:
512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
Hard Drive:
80GB (5,400 rpm) Hard Drive
CD/DVD Drives:
8x DVD/ 24 x CD-RW Combo Drive
Primary Battery:
6-cell , 53 WHr Li-Ion primary battery (optional)
Video Card:
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
Modem:
Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
Wireless Local Area Networking:
Intel® Pro WLAN 3945 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g 54 Mbps) for Duo Processors

£590



I have to say i think the Acer looks pretty good at that price, what do you think guys?

Bodhi

 

[psd99]

Cheers boys, i'll have a look around for this chick and i'll let you know what im narrowed it down to, get your expert opinions.

a chick eh?
oh yer?

she will be well chuffed to find out the great lengths you have gone to lend her a helping hand! lol


yer i would say Dell are good
my friends have them and I was quite impressed!

 

[ChristopherP]

I reckon the Core Duo would be faster?

The screen will be miles better on the dell.

 

[bodhi]

Fair enough, the Acer has more memory etc, but for the internet and a bit of word processing im sure she doesnt need a gig of RAM. Also, Chris is right, im sure the duo processor will stand her in good stead, can always upgrade the memory.

I'll recommend the dell to her.

P.S. PSD - its not like that!!

 

[ChristopherP]

i think a good screen will also mean more to her than a few more megagigaflippitydoo-da bytewotsits of that memory stuff... am i right?

for the net the dell would be good i think.

 

[bapiow]

Fair enough, the Acer has more memory etc, but for the internet and a bit of word processing im sure she doesnt need a gig of RAM. Also, Chris is right, im sure the duo processor will stand her in good stead, can always upgrade the memory.

I'll recommend the dell to her.

P.S. PSD - its not like that!!

Dell, good choice, bought one for my grandaughter two years ago, still going strong, and it gets a hammering.
Acer not good if it needs repairing any time,

 

[bodhi]

The dell one comes with a good looking screen, but there are two upgrades to the screen offered which are up to about £110. Think its to make it ultrabright or something. Should the bog-standard Dell screen be ok?

As far as repairs etc go, are Dell any better than anyone else? Everyone seems to be completely uninterested once you've bought it!!

 

[ChristopherP]

I'd stick with the standard screen and take a gig of RAM, if anything.

Standard *Should* be OK.

 

[bapiow]

The dell one comes with a good looking screen, but there are two upgrades to the screen offered which are up to about £110. Think its to make it ultrabright or something. Should the bog-standard Dell screen be ok?

As far as repairs etc go, are Dell any better than anyone else? Everyone seems to be completely uninterested once you've bought it!!

Very true.