recommendation for a laptop

[bommer]

whats a good one,basically for web browsing,storing photo's etc.
thanks.

[jkbmusic]

One to consider
Click Here ;)
(not currently available, but others under £400)

[mac2006]

Have a look at

http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_.../version-1.asp

£100 under budget and perfectly adequate for everyday tasks. The Celeron M will quickly struggle with multiple office applications and large files, and forget about games, but a decent spec for the price. Don't be snobbish about the name either IMO, I have owned Acer laptops for years are really rate them as a company...unlike the shower of shite that were the Toshiba tablet PCs and laptops we bought for work.

[Yomanze]

Personally, I would not want a Celeron even on a budget computer. I would look at: Pentium M (Centrino), Core Duo and AMD Turion.

You should consider:

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/...balaptops.html

Scroll down to the IBM THINKPAD T42 (£352.49 inc-VAT). 1.8GHz Pentium M is very good, better than equivalent Pentium 4 in fact. The build quality is superb and they're easy to upgrade.

It comes with Windows XP Pro too, so you wouldn't need to worry about Vista crippling your performance!

[Injector]

Yomanze wrote:

Personally, I would not want a Celeron even on a budget computer. I would look at: Pentium M (Centrino), Core Duo and AMD Turion.

You should consider:

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/...balaptops.html

Scroll down to the IBM THINKPAD T42 (£352.49 inc-VAT). 1.8GHz Pentium M is very good, better than equivalent Pentium 4 in fact. The build quality is superb and they're easy to upgrade.

It comes with Windows XP Pro too, so you wouldn't need to worry about Vista crippling your performance!

Why not??? Today's Celeron chips are more than capable. Unless you're really pushing apps or gaming today's core 2 duos etc are overkill for the vast majority of us. I can surf on the internet at broadband speeds over WiFi with my year 2000 Toshiba laptop. It has 5gb of disk space, an old way-out-of-touch Celeron processor and around 500k of RAM - by today's standards a hulking piece of prehistoric shite! However, this computer would do everything that Bommer requires. Fast-forward to the year 2007 and even the most budget laptop in PC World would annihilate my old Toshiba in every single respect. Celeron processors of today are the equivalent spec of Pentiums of a couple of years ago. For surfing the web and storing photos nobody needs NASA-capable technology.

[mac2006]

Injector wrote:

Yomanze wrote:

Personally, I would not want a Celeron even on a budget computer. I would look at: Pentium M (Centrino), Core Duo and AMD Turion.

You should consider:

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/...balaptops.html

Scroll down to the IBM THINKPAD T42 (£352.49 inc-VAT). 1.8GHz Pentium M is very good, better than equivalent Pentium 4 in fact. The build quality is superb and they're easy to upgrade.

It comes with Windows XP Pro too, so you wouldn't need to worry about Vista crippling your performance!

Why not??? Today's Celeron chips are more than capable. Unless you're really pushing apps or gaming today's core 2 duos etc are overkill for the vast majority of us. I can surf on the internet at broadband speeds over WiFi with my year 2000 Toshiba laptop. It has 5gb of disk space, an old way-out-of-touch Celeron processor and around 500k of RAM - by today's standards a hulking piece of prehistoric shite! However, this computer would do everything that Bommer requires. Fast-forward to the year 2007 and even the most budget laptop in PC World would annihilate my old Toshiba in every single respect. Celeron processors of today are the equivalent spec of Pentiums of a couple of years ago. For surfing the web and storing photos nobody needs NASA-capable technology.

Yeah, I agree. As I said, Iwould avoid celerons for a work machine that is going to have multiple processor-intensive applications open at once, or for serious photo editing etc, but if you are just browsing the web and viewing pics, it'll be fine. Who cares if Explorer opens 3 seconds faster?

The IBM laptop suggested is a better spec on paper, but it has a 90 day RTB warranty and is £50 more. I agree it should be reliable, but repair bills can be hefty for laptops...a new motherboard would probably be more than the laptop was worth. Also, if you want to use it on battery, check carefully this is not second hand too, as the life will probably be significantly reduced and it might not have any waranty.

[bommer]

cheers fellas,
what about the dell inspiron 6400 or 1501,anyone have any views
good or otherwise.

[Injector]

The 6400 is overkill really, what with its super-fast processor and better graphics card. You're spending money for performance you won't use. You need to know that you can't buy a poor-spec pc or laptop these days and your requirements are extremely basic. :nerd:

The 1501 seems like a good choice with its decent AMD processor (better than an Intel Celeron but not as good as the Intel Core 2 Duo), reasonable storage facilities and built-in WiFi etc. Seems good value for money and for your requirments would beagood buy. This laptop would do pretty much everything except play games &run graphic design software etc.

[Yomanze]

Injector wrote:

Yomanze wrote:

Personally, I would not want a Celeron even on a budget computer. I would look at: Pentium M (Centrino), Core Duo and AMD Turion.

You should consider:

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/...balaptops.html

Scroll down to the IBM THINKPAD T42 (£352.49 inc-VAT). 1.8GHz Pentium M is very good, better than equivalent Pentium 4 in fact. The build quality is superb and they're easy to upgrade.

It comes with Windows XP Pro too, so you wouldn't need to worry about Vista crippling your performance!

Why not??? Today's Celeron chips are more than capable. Unless you're really pushing apps or gaming today's core 2 duos etc are overkill for the vast majority of us. I can surf on the internet at broadband speeds over WiFi with my year 2000 Toshiba laptop. It has 5gb of disk space, an old way-out-of-touch Celeron processor and around 500k of RAM - by today's standards a hulking piece of prehistoric shite! However, this computer would do everything that Bommer requires. Fast-forward to the year 2007 and even the most budget laptop in PC World would annihilate my old Toshiba in every single respect. Celeron processors of today are the equivalent spec of Pentiums of a couple of years ago. For surfing the web and storing photos nobody needs NASA-capable technology.

Fair points. Until very recently, I've been fine using an iBook G3 800MHz with 640MB of RAM.

I agree that the latest technology is not required, which is why I recommended the IBM. It was £1700 when new and can be purchased for £350 inc VAT. This puts it at the price point of budget laptops, but offerssignificantly higher build quality and a processor with 2mb of cache, which does speed "everyday" things up nicely.

[mac2006]

bommer wrote:

cheers fellas,
what about the dell inspiron 6400 or 1501,anyone have any views
good or otherwise.

I assume you're looking at the ones both at £399 on the dell website. They both look pretty decent, but I would be tempted by the 40Gb of extra HD space on the 1501. IMO, you're going to notice very little difference between the two processors for your intended use. The 1501's ATI graphics are alsoactually superior to the Intel 950 chipset, which will use your main system memory IIRC, and you get Vista home premium (pretty interface) and a free carry case with the 1501 too. I've not owned a dell but everyone I know who has doesn't have any complaints.

[dudywoxer]

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenov.../version-1.asp

that any good?

[Yomanze]

dudywoxer wrote:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Lenov.../version-1.asp

that any good?

Good find! Lenovo make IBM Thinkpads these days. Build quality is also excellent. I find that the Acer and Dell budget notebooks are flimsier. Matter of taste though, I think every laptop recommended is worth a shout.

Wow, just about recalled this thread - right I'm looking for a cheap laptop (say, 300 max) just to use for surfing at work during my lunchbreak - the use of work pc's for ebay/forum's etc has been effectively banned though we have wi-fi access...

BTW - are all laptops wi-fi enabled - it is not always clear looking just at the ads?

Also, should I worry too much about the spec?



Thanks

[Injector]

Starmist wrote:

Wow, just about recalled this thread - right I'm looking for a cheap laptop (say, 300 max) just to use for surfing at work during my lunchbreak - the use of work pc's for ebay/forum's etc has been effectively banned though we have wi-fi access...

BTW - are all laptops wi-fi enabled - it is not always clear looking just at the ads?

Also, should I worry too much about the spec?



Thanks

Every new laptop on the market has built-in WiFi and if you're only going to be surfing the 'net, don't worry about specs! I can surf the net over WiFi on my 7 year old (no.2) laptop! Get yourself something secondhand on Ebay for £100.

[Yomanze]

Problem is, will the £100 eBay job last for seven years? Personally, I would buy IT equipment refurbished or new. Just my opinion though.

The IBM machines that I mentioned earlier on still represent the best of what I can find for under £300.

[Injector]

Yomanze wrote:

Problem is, will the £100 eBay job last for seven years? Personally, I would buy IT equipment refurbished or new. Just my opinion though.

The IBM machines that I mentioned earlier on still represent the best of what I can find for under £300.

If it's just for carting around in a bag and slinging on your desk at work for an hour's surfing whilst you eat your sarnies, why spend hundreds? There are several options, yours included. I was merely pointing-out another. Heck, you can even surf the net over WiFi on PlayStation portables (PSPs)! Oh and top-line mobile phones...

Sorry to be ignorant but how much are PSP's?

[Yomanze]

Injector wrote:

Yomanze wrote:

Problem is, will the £100 eBay job last for seven years? Personally, I would buy IT equipment refurbished or new. Just my opinion though.

The IBM machines that I mentioned earlier on still represent the best of what I can find for under £300.

If it's just for carting around in a bag and slinging on your desk at work for an hour's surfing whilst you eat your sarnies, why spend hundreds? There are several options, yours included. I was merely pointing-out another. Heck, you can even surf the net over WiFi on PlayStation portables (PSPs)! Oh and top-line mobile phones...

Yeah, you're absolutely right that a £100 laptop from eBay will do the job & the right buy will last for years. It's just that I would want something quite robust to store photos/media on & sling about a bit

[Injector]

Yomanze wrote:

Injector wrote:

Yomanze wrote:

Problem is, will the £100 eBay job last for seven years? Personally, I would buy IT equipment refurbished or new. Just my opinion though.

The IBM machines that I mentioned earlier on still represent the best of what I can find for under £300.

If it's just for carting around in a bag and slinging on your desk at work for an hour's surfing whilst you eat your sarnies, why spend hundreds? There are several options, yours included. I was merely pointing-out another. Heck, you can even surf the net over WiFi on PlayStation portables (PSPs)! Oh and top-line mobile phones...

Yeah, you're absolutely right that a £100 laptop from eBay will do the job & the right buy will last for years. It's just that I would want something quite robust to store photos/media on & sling about a bit

When I'm talking about a £100 laptop off Ebay, I mean a used 4-5 year old Toshiba or something. Built like brick outhouses. Remember this 'assignment' is purely torecommend a laptop for surfing. :nerd:

[Yomanze]

Starmist wrote:

Sorry to be ignorant but how much are PSP's?

Should be about to get them from around £100-£130. The Nintendo DS also has an Opera-based browser - which is very retro haha.

Injector: got confused by Bommer's original post...!

Portables like the PSP & DS give a limited browsing experience though, better to stick with a laptop.