Decision Time - New Laptop

phog

I want to buy my 1st Laptop. I'm currently using a Packard Bell Destop, Windows Millenium, my main use so far has been spreadsheets, internet and email. I have recently purchased a DSLR and hope to do some photo editing in the future, would also be burning a lot of pictures onto CDs. Don't see it being used as a gaming machine. Main reason for going to a laptop is portability and space.

I have looked at the following options and would like your views good or bad:

Option 1
Currys €529

Ei System Laptop
Intel Celeron M 420 Processor 1.6GHz 533MHz FSB 1 MB Cache
512 MB RAM
40 GB Hard Drive
DVD ReWriter Drive
15.4" Widescreen Display


Option 2
Currys €649

Advent Laptop
Intel Celeron M Processor 1.46GHz 533 MHz FSB 2 MB Cache
1024 MB RAM
60 GB Hard Drive
DVD ReWriter Drive
15.4" Display
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Option 3
Laptopsdirect.ie €739

Toshiba Satellite Pro L100 Laptop
Intel Centrino Core Duo T2300 Processor 1.66 GHz 512MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM - Low cost double memory offer – call for details!
40GB Hard Drive DVD/CD-RW Combo
15" XGA TFT Screen
Intel 945GM up to 128MB integrated graphics
Integrated wireless 802.11a/b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Operating System: Windows XP Professional Edition – Free Upgrade to Vista
Microsoft Windows Vista Capable
FREE Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years
Free Vodafone 3G Data Card Offer

Option 4
Currys €749

Toshiba Laptop
Intel Centrino Duo Processor 1.6GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 2X1 MB Cache
1024 MB RAM
60 GB Hard Drive
DVD ReWriter Drive
15.4" Widescreen Display
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Option 5
Currys €850

Compaq Laptop
Intel Centrino Duo Processor 1.66GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 2 MB Cache
1024 MB RAM
120 GB Hard Drive
DVD ReWriter Drive
15.4" Widescreen HD Brightview Display
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center

Option 6
Dell.ie €800


Intel® Celeron® M Processor 380 (1.60 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400 MHz FSB)
MEMORY 1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
HARD DRIVE 60GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive
LCD 14.1" Wide Screen WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display
OPTICAL DRIVE CD-RW and DVD Combo
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

Main queries are:
Good Make/Model?
Resonable Processor for my needs
Size of Hard drive
One more thing, as Setanta Sport can now be viewed on the Internet I might want to view some of their coverage of the Magners League, would this require additional software/hardware.

For what it's worth my 1st choice is Option 5, 2nd choice is Option 4 based on Hard drive, processor and price. I know this a long thread and thanks for bearing with me.
All your help much appreciated.

Ghost Train

Probably best to stay away from Ei machine, advent brands. Although the celeron is a fine processor and will do what you want, the dual core is probably worth the extra money, especially for software coming in the next year or two, and vista.

The screen is very important so use it in the shop and make sure it suits you and is bright enough. Some people still like xga for spreadsheets, and office work, but I think wxga is what most prefer now.
Option 8 looks the best to me, big hard drive, nice screen i presume, okay make. Option 7, toshiba is a better make i think, depending on how the screen looks compared to option 8, it might be a good choice. Try to read reviews on each particular model, just in case there's some issue with a particular model

Other things which i think are important are weight and the way the think looks and is designed
I think all the machines should handle all the stuff you mentioned, more ram is always better but can be upgraded, the dual core should give a big performance boost for certain tasks and might mean you get an extra two years out of the laptop and overall a more pleasent experiance

el diablo

I'd go for option 4 (it's a Toshiba A100-147, isn't it).

I bpought one a couple of months ago and I'm very happy with it...:D

Tom Dunne

phog wrote:

For what it's worth my 1st choice is Option 5, 2nd choice is Option 4 based on Hard drive, processor and price. I know this a long thread and thanks for bearing with me.
All your help much appreciated.

Personally, I think option 4 is better - it's not worth the extra hundred euro for the bigger hard drive on the compaq.

Also, I think Toshibas are better than Compaqs.

As for Setanta, your best bet is to have a look on their website for requirements.

Have you got the specs right on the last one? €800 is a bit much for a Celeron with a 14" screen.

walshki

Re the Dell you can definitely do better than that with them although you might prefer the toshiba anyway. On the EPP you could get the following for €663
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=ie&cs=ieepp1&l=en&oc=N12157&rbc=N12157&s=dhs&sbc=iedhsrsinspn_1501_1

Its
AMD® Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL50
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 (incl Operating System Re-Install CD) - English
Collect & Return, 90 Day Service only
15.4" Wide Screen XGA TFT Display: 1280x800
512MB 533MHz Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1x512)
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™
120GB (5,400 rpm) Hard Drive
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Its definitely better than the dell you quoted above and you could upgrade a few things (warranty, battery) and still come in under 800.