Lidl Laptop (Oct. 9th)

shabbyroad

Just got back from Lidl in Blanchardstown.
Dunno if this is a bargain but Lidl being Lidl it probably is :
Here's what the flyer says (if I get time later I'll scan it and put into this thread).
=================================
available from Thursday 9th October. 1499.99 Euro
AMD Athlon XP-M
128kb first level cache
512kb 2nd level cache
front bus 266 mhz
operates at 1.867 ghz and outperforms comparable 2.5ghz processors

free 32MB usb memory stick

richo combo-drive (writes 2.4x DVD+RW/R, 16x CD-R, 8x CD-RW) (reads 8xDVD, 24xCD)

1 year guarantee with pickup service and free phone hotline
powerdvd incl.
60GB Toshiba HD 2.5" 9.5mm 4200rpm
512MB Samsung DDR-RAM Memory (400 mhz clock speed)
ATI mobility Radeon 9600 graphics card, 64MB DD-RAM onboard

sound : 5.1 supported, 2 speakers and microphone included
modem : 56k v90 modem incl.
li-ion battery : 8cell 4000 mhz
softare : windowsxp home edition; ms works suite 2003; panda virus software; cyberlink power dvd 5.1; pinaccle studio 8.4SE OEM instant CD/DVD burner software; OEM Pinnacle Studio 8.6SE (hollywood lite + T-Rex)

adaptor kit included : (misc. scart and s-video cables and adaptors)

4 in 1 card reader (Smart Media Card; Multi-Media Card; Secure Digital Card; Memory Stick Card)

Wireless Lan Card included : PCMCIA 11mbps 802.11b; antenna included

connections :
1x firewire
3x usb 2.0
1x ps2
1x parallel port
1 x mic in
1 x headphone out/SPDIF
1 x RJ45
1 x SVideo
I also see an ethernet socket alongside the modem socket

screen : 1.51" TFT XGA monitor 1024x768)
=====================================

LeperKing

Do you know what the chipset is? The last time I think it was VIA KT333 chipset.

LK

Jorinn

well, the ram is 400Mhz so I'd assume the via chip is the same, does seem exceedingly good value though.

therecklessone

Lidl don't take credit cards , right? Do they take cheques? Particularly ones which are drawn on a credit card account?

And what time you think I'd be needing to start queuing to be getting myself one of these bad boys?

Vorrtexx

I think it's cash only.
probably between 6 and 7am hehe.

DjTaz

yeah do a scan on that - id like to see it myself and im only 5 mins drive from that place - just dont get much time 9-5 to go there

shabbyroad

sorry - can't do the scan. a certain person I'm married to tore it up and chucked it in the recycle bin. probably to remind me that I can't afford it :rolleyes:

if I'm near lidl this weekend I'll get another and scan it.

wolfman

I picked it up today. I'll have a look here and see if I can find it and scan it in.

Like shabby, I ALSO have been reminded that I can't afford it AND I don't need it!

wolfman

OK

A lot of work later and here we go.
I had to tear it up and scan it in 4 sections

Image 1 and
The back

shabbyroad

thanks for the scan (missus was asking why I suddenly wanted to go to lidl....)

for those who asked - Lidl don't take credit cards, they take Laser Cards and Cash.

eth0_

Originally posted by Vorrtexx
I think it's cash only.
probably between 6 and 7am hehe.

They take laser don't they? I'm pretty sure they do..

Gunther_Gloop

Nah. It needs a DVI port to make it a must-buy.

LeperKing

Isn't the firewire port DVI?

Can anyone see the SPDIF port in the picture, or is it some optical/headphone (same jack) arrangement? I was hoping it would be an RCA phono out (electrical)!

LK

Gunther_Gloop

Originally posted by LeperKing
Isn't the firewire port DVI?

LK

No -it can't be used to output directly to a digital monitor/projector in the same way as a dvi port can (well as far as I know anyway).

-Kevin.

Vorrtexx

Can anyone see the SPDIF port in the picture, or is it some optical/headphone (same jack) arrangement? I was hoping it would be an RCA phono out (electrical)!

looking at the pics, it's probably they same sort of optical port as you get on Minidiscs. phone jack optical.

K!LL!@N

Where is Lidl?
Is there just the one shop in the dublin area?
I could be interested in one of those.
Anyway idea how many they'd have in stock and what time i'd need to be getting there at?

Killian

PhilipMarlowe

Locations are on the back of the scanned image above (barely legible).

Btw, about Laser...

Q. Is there a maximum transaction amount for Laser transactions?

A. Yes, Laser cannot be used to purchase any one item that has a value exceeding €1500

K!LL!@N

I'm in Dun Laoghaire, where's the closest one to me?
I can't really make out the places on the pic.

Killian

machalla

All gone in newbridge so I'm told.

Oh well couldn't afford a new one anyway..

Cal

All were gone in Blanchardstown by 9:30am they issued tickets to those who had been in the queue, some since 7am. So off i went to Finglas, Got the third last one there about 10am ish.

Mind you I did hear from the security bloke there that they would be getting more in this evening. Sounds unlikly but possible.

They are a lovely unit for the money.

Cal

Peter

In Galway I started queing just after 8:30 and I got the very last one. They only had 8 of them but they could have sold at least 20 of them or more judging by the amount of people queing.

spongebob

I know someone who got one around 12 Miday, he said it was second or third last, or a return maybe ?

M

rander00

Why do Lidl limit them, theres obviously the demand.

Boston

got myself one of them, lovely tille thing, specially liek the free case. well impressed

LeperKing

To those who did get it, what do they think of it.

How loud does it get when the fan is at full speed, and how hot can it get. etc... things you can't tell from the specs...


Cheers,
LK

Boston

not loud at all undered high load, as for heat it seems pretty cool to touch even after i've had it on now about 9-10 hours. I like it, and it looks nice as well, better even then those semiems laptops. I was expected some poorly designed box of a thing, but i was surprised.

Cal

Originally posted by Boston
not loud at all undered high load, as for heat it seems pretty cool to touch even after i've had it on now about 9-10 hours. I like it, and it looks nice as well, better even then those semiems laptops. I was expected some poorly designed box of a thing, but i was surprised.

Ditto. Very nice unit indeed. Not as slim as the new Siemens but quieter and better spec for the money.

Nice the way all the little extras are included. USB key drive, Wireless network card, Case, All the cables for connecting to TV etc.

Now to get my hands on some blank DVD's........

Cal

Vorrtexx

yeah,
including a free laptop case I thought was a real bonus.
all the extra cables were nice too as mentioned.

and the DVD burner works well, I tested it earlier.

ozmo

Originally posted by LeperKing
To those who did get it, what do they think of it.

Got one myself from Blanch(2) - I was there at 8:05am and got ticket#4 of 8 Laptops. All gone by 8:10am.

Software (Not listed in the initial description)
Extras was very nice - software bundle included Xp Home, Word, MS Encarta, Autoroute, MS Map, and very nice Pinicle Video Editing software. Some good DVD burning software and Power DVD 5 and a full DIVX licence.

Hardware (Not listed in the initial description):
Case was an extra 1 cent 32meg USB Pen Drive was an unexpeced pressie - i expeced a silly sony stick from the description.
Came with 12Mbit wireless card and a built in Flash card reader and an external pcmcia Compact Flash Reader. Also came with a (silly?) mp3 player built in - plays mp3s without booting windows- controls on the outside of the case.
5.1 Sound is via optical - but I think electrical may work also??
Got the tiny optical portable mouse also(12 euros).

Started testing: My Findings:

1. Initially very disappointed at Benchmarks - Jedi Academy Playable with low visuals - then i realised that it always runs at HALF SPEED when on batteries. So plugged it in and the Radion 9600 really flies at all the TOP Settings. Benched faster than than my dual p3 desktop with borrowed Radion 9700 very happy.

2. Very little heat while on batteries, fan off a lot of time and gets very quiet - but can get warm on base when plugged in. batteries last about 90mins to 3 hours.

3. Big thing I noticed was that File Explore take 30 seconds or more to launch after a boot. Noticed there is a permanent "F: Removable Drive" Listed. Went into device manager and disabled the "Multiple Card Adapter" thingy - and everything works much better. Deffo do this if you dont use the two flat type of flash cards. Doesnt affect the Compact Flash adapter or 32m Pen drive.
You can easily enable it again without rebooting if necessary.

4. Also used Msconfig to disable all the icons in the sys tray (beside the clock) none are really needed. Especially the Wireless lan config utility and the Touch Pad information. All work fine without these things running. & The ATI Graphics settings can be accessed via the normal right-click on desktop menu.

5. Couldnt get the 11Mb/5Mb/2Mb Wireless card to talk to my 2Mb wireless gateway/dsl. It connected and automatically got the SID etc. but no data would pass. Probably time to upgrade my 2Mb gateway anyway.

6. Touch pad not as easy to use as others - but tweaking the settings in the control panel made it a bit better. Mouse tends to jump a bit sometimes. Optical mouse is very good.

7. Display is very washed out initially - but a few tweeks in the color balance to make it a little warmer fixed this. I'll post the setting I used if anyone wants - see what you think of them.

8. Only lasting problem is the psu. Do others notice a faint whine from it. Even when pluged in but not connected to the laptop. I notice its a 100v-220v works-anywhere job; so only solution will probably to use a 110v convertor to step down the voltage a little first. Anyone else experience this??

Very pleased with it overall so far. Nice one again Lidl.

ozmo.

Sort of review at Toms hardware(this review concentrates mostly on the graphics chip):
(Its not absolutely identical - colour scheme and mp3 player are different to one reviewed - but specs seem similar)

August 2003: http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20030806/index.html

Gunther_Gloop

Out of curiosity, did anyone see what these were retailing at in the UK? I'm not sure I checked their website on time (http://www.lidl.co.uk ) but I don't think it was listed.

Last week Aldi sold a portable dvd player in the UK for £199. That price
translates to around 282Euros.

...The _actual_ Irish Aldi price? ... 329.99Euros.

It makes me sick.

-Kevin.

Boston

all i know is that it was the same price they where selling it for in germany

Gunther_Gloop

Thats good to know at least. I didn't think it _could_ be sold any cheaper than 1400euros but I thought it was worth asking.

-Kevin.

Boston

it was 1499 euro, but still an excellent price. Got abite worried there awhiel ago, it was being really really slow, uninstalled NIS 2004 and now everything is super fast again

kamobe

Do they accept all methods of payment? I'm considering whether to wait for their next deal or buy a dell laptop...

Boston

cash or laser that is all

ozmo

Originally posted by kamobe
Do they accept all methods of payment? I'm considering whether to wait for their next deal or buy a dell laptop...

Check out Sony. usually cheaper,lighter and generally better than dell, just harder to get. I had two of them so far.

ozmo.

Mixie

Originally posted by ozmo
8. Only lasting problem is the psu. Do others notice a faint whine from it. Even when pluged in but not connected to the laptop. I notice its a 100v-220v works-anywhere job; so only solution will probably to use a 110v convertor to step down the voltage a little first. Anyone else experience this??

Yeah they do this, but it's VERY faint - have to hold it to my ear nearly to hear it... or is yours louder?

kamobe

Check out Sony. usually cheaper,lighter and generally better than dell, just harder to get. I had two of them so far.

I've a few contacts in dell though

ozmo

Originally posted by Mixie
Yeah they do this, but it's VERY faint - have to hold it to my ear nearly to hear it... or is yours louder?

Dunno -
pzttttttpzttttttt. Its loud enough to hear while on the floor. Esp at night. Definitely not silent.

I got a 220v to 110v stepdown transformer yesterday at market for 2 euros - going to try that.

ozmo.

Cal

Originally posted by ozmo
Dunno -
pzttttttpzttttttt. Its loud enough to hear while on the floor. Esp at night. Definitely not silent.

I got a 220v to 110v stepdown transformer yesterday at market for 2 euros - going to try that.

ozmo.

Let me know how you get on with that. I noticed last night that the PSU causes interference on playback of video onto the TV from the TV-Out. But I only hear the noise if I put my ear to the PSU.

Cal

Liam Nolan

Hi I got one in blanchardstown my psu is silent so yours might be a bit iffy, but when i was reading the manual in the bog I noticed that it took desktop DDR ram so I took the 512 mbs from my desktop and stuck it in (just remove the 3 big screws underneath) and now I have a gig of Ram on the laptopi tried 3dmark 2001 and got a score of 10345 on it
my only problem is tring to find good 2.4 speed dvd+ disks

ozmo

Originally posted by Liam Nolan
Hi I got one in blanchardstown my psu is silent so yours might be a bit iffy, but when i was reading the manual in the bog I noticed that it took desktop DDR ram so I took the 512 mbs from my desktop and stuck it in (just remove the 3 big screws underneath) and now I have a gig of Ram on the laptopi tried 3dmark 2001 and got a score of 10345 on it
my only problem is tring to find good 2.4 speed dvd+ disks

Ta Liam, I tried a 110v step down trafo and its silent using that.

But I'm sending it back. Hopefully only have to send back the psu brick - as it buzzes all on its own - somehow I imagine they will want it all

dvd+r disks are hard to find at a reasonable price. I got 2 boxes from 7dayshop for 14 sterling per box of 10 disks.free postage. Cheapest I could find - although I remember there is a duplication factory in Baldoyle industrial estate (dublin) that sells blanks really cheap - but I forget their name.

ozmo.

Boston

Originally posted by ozmo
Ta Liam, I tried a 110v trafo and its silent using that.

But I'm sending it back. Hopefully only have to send back the trafo - as it buzzes all on its own - somehow I imagine they will want it all

dvd+r disks are hard to find at a reasonable price. I got 2 boxes from 7dayshop for 14 sterling per box of 10 disks.free postage. Cheapest I could find - although I remember there is a duplication factory in Baldoyle industrial estate (dublin) that sells blanks really cheap - but I forget their name.

ozmo.

komplett sell them at a very decent price, Liam Nolan, what was that ddr at 266?

machalla

Ozmo,

I had one of last years Lidl laptops. After about 7-8 months the power supply started to go iffy just like yours it sounds like.

Had to send the entire machine back to germany as they test the battery to (no cost to me mind you). Got it back within about 2 weeks.

Other option is to buy yourself a second powersupply. I got one from the Uk for about €90.

Reasonably decent aftersales support overall though. No messing at all. Sent courier out to collect it and courier to drop it back to me.

popey21

Hows that laptop working and does it have tv out

Vorrtexx

Laptop is going fine for me.
yes it has TV-OUT. tested it yesterday. works fine. you just turn it on through the ati display driver settings.

Cal

Laptop is running great here too.

The TV out can also be activated with Alt+F5

Cal

Vorrtexx

that's for that shortcut tip Cal

ozmo

Originally posted by Vorrtexx
that's for that shortcut tip Cal

Has anyone managed to get the 5.1 sound out of it?

What kind of cable do you use?

Anyone manage to find a more detailed manual?

Brought it to a lan session instead of a PC & it worked great
(just added an external Keyboard and mouse)
Battlefield 1942 runs brilliantly on this machine


ozmo.

Cal

Ozmo,

The 5.1 is only available with the use of a "Fibre Optic Audio Lead " (available from peats). It plugs into the headphone socket.

As for the manual. Nothing more detailed than the paper one that came with it. There is a PDF one for the WLAN card and some CD app available on the recovery disc.


Cal.

Vorrtexx

yep, it works fine.
you need an optical cable for it (exactly like that used for a Minidisc, but longer). you can get the cable at peats yes, just make sure you get the headphone jack digital plug for the top of it, so you can put it into the headphone port. I already had one from a soundcard I purchased.

to enable it you just go into the sound properties, click the advanced button under the master volume level control, and check the SPDIF out checkbox and apply.
you'll know if its enabled if you see a red light being emitted from the headphone port.