Laptop advice solicited

spylon wrote: »

To write and save copious amounts of text. Watch dvds. Upload photos. Music.

Text in word format or anything else doesnt take much space at all, more music and videos its worth getting a decent sized hard drive, most machines come with between 100-300 gigs, Id aim for around 200 myself. Might be worth setting aside a few quid for MS word if your big into reports etc.

I don't "game", though I did clear sonic 2 on the megadrive in 24 hours solid play back in '93 or so. And maybe I'll want to find out what the hell "second life" is all about at some point. Not important, though.

For the price you quoted you should be able to get a machine with some 3d acceleration. I consider it a big step up from any integrated graphics, intels gma chipset is a joke. Fortunately accelerated laptops are very common now, look for an AMD or Nvidia chipset. Its well worth it, even if your not a gamer it helps things like graphics programs and google earth.

Beware of Nvidia however, some of there chipsets have been plagued by problems, I think its worth going for an ATI card.

I commute, so mobility is major factor. 2 kg or so? Screen of around 13". Or do they tend to wreck the head if stared at for too long? Hard to know. Decent battery life also required.

13" is a good choice, I have 15" laptop and 9" netbook, the 15" is a bit too heavy and the 9" is wonderfully portable, but can cause eye strain if your using it for long periods. With any laptop you can expect to get back ache if your using it for long periods, so it might be worth budgeting in an external monitor and keyboard/mouse (say €150 online)

Something else to beware of is glossy screens, some people love them and some people hate them, Im more of a hater myself, while they are a bit crisper they also cause massive eye strain if lighting conditions are strong (Ie in an office)

I have a budget of around one thousand euros, though I have no objection to spending less.

1000 euros will get you two laptops these days, as your after a 13" you can expect to pay a small bit extra, they cost a small bit more than 14/15 inchers. I think 600-800 euro will get you just what you want.

I'll admit to a slight bias against buying online. Is this rational? Significant savings to be made? Are there websites to avoid when buying? I'm fairly inept, technically speaking, so there's a good chance I'll need to avail of "support".

You can expect to save a fair bit by buying online, a rough guess would be around 100-200 euro on a 1000 euro laptop, depending on where. I would definitely advise hitting the shops where ever you decide to buy from, its the only way you can decide if the laptop is the right size, and whether or not you like the screen. Look out for the shop attendants though, some may want to sell something far higher spec than you need.

Support is always a tricky question, I think most people spend far too much money on support services, but I work in IT so I can fix my own problems. You can usualy get support through the web for many manufacturers well after a year, dell have a pretty decent support site.

I think its a waste to get extended warranty also, google bathtub curve and you`ll see what I mean, most devices fail either in the first few months or after a good few years, hence why you are entitled to a years support through law and why manufacturers sell warranty's for 3 years. The product will most likely fail when they have to fix it by law, or after the expensive warranty has run out anyway. On top of that, in 3 years time its not going to heading towards obsolescence. That being said, if it dies after a year and a month you might be glad you shelled out.

Shops wise, try the usual suspects such as www.dell.ie .

I also personally recommend www.komplett.ie and www.elara.ie, I have placed many orders with these guys and haven't been let down.

Good luck with the laptop hunt, and remember to keep an eye on specs, not all laptops are the same, and by paying close attention you can get what you want exactly.