are these tesco laptops good value?

maradona10

im looking to buy a mutimedia laptop. i seen these advertised in todays paper

acer as5051 439.20euro 14.1inch 1gb ram 120g hdd

acer 5220 479.20euro 15.4inch

samsungr60+ np-r60fy07 479.20euro 15.4inch

are there better value mutimedia laptops around?

Alanstrainor

We'd need to know more about the spec of each laptop, such as processor and graphics card, but i can only guess they wouldn't be the best price around at the moment. If you're on a budget i'd definitely check out dells vostro range, cheap as chips, well made, and very well spec'd for the cash, you'll find them on the business section of the Dell Ireland site. Just on a side note, if it's multimedia you want i'd suggest a decent sized screen, i'd be thinking 17 or a 15.4" screen.

BanzaiBk

I used the Acer 5051 posted for work for 6 months and it was a great machine. Upped the RAM to 2GB myself and it ran very nicely. The processor is a 2GHz AMD Turion and it runs Vista Home Basic. FYI, even though there is a bluetooth sign and button on the laptop, it doesn't actually have a bluetooth module:rolleyes: I fitted my own using this DIY.

maradona10

thanks lads, ill check the vostro out. is that suitable for multimedia

maradona10

just been on dell site

should i choose the mid range vostros or customise the cheapest range?

the vostro 1000 is the cheapest range and has the sempron processor included. is this ok or should i be looking at something else?

fdevine

I got an Acer 5310 for my sister-in-law this week for around €375 delivered from laptopsdirect.ie

I think they're sold out of the one I got, but they do have some other great deals.

Tom Dunne

maradona10 wrote: »

thanks lads, ill check the vostro out. is that suitable for multimedia

maradona10 wrote: »

just been on dell site

should i choose the mid range vostros or customise the cheapest range?

the vostro 1000 is the cheapest range and has the sempron processor included. is this ok or should i be looking at something else?

Please read the sticky at the top of the forum on how to get help.

What exactly do you want to do with the laptop? Is mobility important, etc.

Multimedia is one of those marketing buzz words that means nothing in the real world.

If it's basic computing (i.e. surfing the net and e-mail) then the Tesco laptops aren't too bad and will do the job. But again, it all depends on what you want to use it for.

Deliverance XXV

What's your budget? What are you going to be doing with it?

Rough guide:

Email/Music/Movies/Internet < €599 (Dual core CPU/1GB Ram/80-120Gb hard drive)
Future-proofing and faster €600 - €849 (Core2duo CPU/2GB Ram/100GB-160GB Hard Drive)
Gaming/future-proofing €850 + (Dell XPS/Core2duo CPU/2-4GB Ram/120GB-250GB Hard Drive/decent graphics card)

maradona10

anbody have one of these. did a custom search on cnet and it came up with this as cheapest and best

Toshiba Satellite P205-S6337 (Core 2 Duo 1.73GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, Vista Home Premium) $849.95 - $1,439.00 price on cnet

Tom Dunne

maradona10 wrote: »

anbody have one of these. did a custom search on cnet and it came up with this as cheapest and best

Toshiba Satellite P205-S6337 (Core 2 Duo 1.73GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, Vista Home Premium) $849.95 - $1,439.00 price on cnet

Do you live in the US? If not, then there is little point in searching a US site for laptop purchasing info. The market economics are quite different over there. Makes/models/pricing structures tend to be unique to the US.

Deliverance XXV

It looks okay but TBH you cant beat Dell for cheap and decent laptops.

maradona10

sorry about the last few posts. i had them posted before your replies.

im looking for a laptop that would be suitable for movies and music. gaming isnt important. id like a tv tuner if that was possible

are there good review sites for irish customers

Tom Dunne

maradona10 wrote: »

are there good review sites for irish customers

You are reading it.

The nearest thing you will get is a UK based review forum. Try PCW.co.uk. I am sure there are loads of others.

Actually, that would be a good idea as a sub-forum. What do people reckon? Methinks a poll is in order.

Back on topic: King Nothing's rough guide has all you need.

Deliverance XXV

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Actually, that would be a good idea as a sub-forum. What do people reckon?

+1
I would definitely frequent it.

maradona10

Email/Music/Movies/Internet < €599 (Dual core CPU/1GB Ram/80-120Gb hard drive)

Thanks tom,
going by king nothings guide above what are the best options. ive been looking at the vostros on dell but its hard to get a dual core processor without driving up the price

Deliverance XXV

Okay if I had a budget of, say, €550 this is what I would get:

Dual core CPU
2 GB ram
160GB HDD
Vista Premium
DVD-RW

All for €529 Incl. Delivery+VAT LINK

Prices don't get much better than that. It will do you perfectly for what you need. You could upgrade the processor to a core2duo but it is not necessary for what you need. Nice looking black case too

If you have a bigger or smaller budget let us know.

Tom Dunne

King Nothing wrote: »

Okay if I had a budget of, say, €550 this is what I would get:

Dual core CPU
2 GB ram
160GB HDD
Vista Premium
DVD-RW

All for €529 Incl. Delivery+VAT LINK

Prices don't get much better than that. It will do you perfectly for what you need. You could upgrade the processor to a core2duo but it is not necessary for what you need. Nice looking black case too

If you have a bigger or smaller budget let us know.

That'll do the job all right. Can't really go wrong for €529.

Actually, that is a fantastic price for that machine. :eek:

maradona10

thanks for doing up that King Nothing, Its much appreciated

maradona10

lads which of these is the best model. im trying to keep price under 400euro

this toshiba one is recommended on laptopsdirect http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L40-17F_PSL4BE-00R005EN/version-1.asp

the cheapest dell vosto 1000
http://ecomm.euro.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?itemtype=CFG&s=bsd&l=en&cs=iebsdt1&c=ie&&details=undefined

Deliverance XXV

Okay assuming your budget is €400...

Best sites for budget laptops are Dell and Laptops Direct.
But you cannot expect much from a €400 budget. And forget any decent graphics! Dell will have great guarantees and great product build whereas Laptops Direct have all different brands under their name. Try stick to well-known brands.

Here would be my first choice from each site for €400:

Dell: Link

Brand: Dell Vostro 1000
OS: Vista Basic
CPU: AMD Sempron
RAM: 2GB Ram
HDD: 80GB HDD
Drive: DVD-RW
Price: €409

Pros Good build/ guarantee. Loads of RAM/ decent hard drive space
Cons Processor low average/ no bells and whistles of Vista premium



Laptops Direct: Link

Brand: Toshiba Satellite Pro
OS: Vista Basic
CPU: Pentium Dual Core
RAM: 1 GB Ram
HDD: 120GB HDD
Drive: DVD-RW
Price: €407

Pros Processor medium average/very good hard drive space/
Cons Average RAM (Although you can add another 1GB yourself in the future)/ no bells and whistles of Vista premium


Your call!

maradona10

thanks for doing that, i think ill go with the vostro. i can always add storage later if i need it.

do you know if i can add a tv tuner to either

Deliverance XXV

You will find it's fairly upgradeable.

The RAM in the Vostro is 2x512MB but you only have two slots so you can sell those two and buy 2x1GB for next to nothing. RAM is very cheap these days.

Other options are an external hard drive, I think you can get a 500GB one these days for about €100 online. Stay away from High St. shops. It's far cheaper online.

You can get an external USB TV tuner or a PMCIA TV tuner card for either so it's definitely an option.

You are stuck with that processor though. Good luck!

maradona10

the price you quoted includes an upgrade to 2gb of ram. ive just saved the spec to my basket

im a little concerned about the processor alright. i might wait a week or two and see if they change the processor or save a bit extra up and get the dual core

in a league table from 1-10 what would be the positions of the processors on the market today including amd

Deliverance XXV

maradona10 wrote: »

the price you quoted includes an upgrade to 2gb of ram. ive just saved the spec to my basket

That's what happens when I put too many eggs in one basket

maradona10 wrote: »

im a little concerned about the processor alright. i might wait a week or two and see if they change the processor or save a bit extra up and get the dual core

Okay these are the most common laptop processors:
1 being the less than average and 5 being best.

1. AMD Sempron
2. Intel Celeron
3. AMD64 X2
3. Intel Dual Core
4. Intel Core2Duo

To be honest, if you want a better processor you will have to raise your budget. If you managed to €500, that would open a brand new and better market of laptops.

maradona10

jesus i didnt think sempron was worse than celeron. sorry i cant figure out how to use the quote function. so going by your post below, if i had 500+euro i should switch from vostro to inspiron

Originally Posted by King Nothing View Post
Okay if I had a budget of, say, €550 this is what I would get:

Dual core CPU
2 GB ram
160GB HDD
Vista Premium
DVD-RW

All for €529 Incl. Delivery+VAT LINK

Prices don't get much better than that. It will do you perfectly for what you need. You could upgrade the processor to a core2duo but it is not necessary for what you need. Nice looking black case too

If you have a bigger or smaller budget let us know.

Deliverance XXV

maradona10 wrote: »

jesus i didnt think sempron was worse than celeron.

They are both not great TBH. Especially when compared to Intel's Dual Core and Core2Duo range.

maradona10 wrote: »

sorry i cant figure out how to use the quote function. so going by your post below, if i had 500+euro i should switch from vostro to inspiron

Originally Posted by King Nothing View Post
Okay if I had a budget of, say, €550 this is what I would get:

Dual core CPU
2 GB ram
160GB HDD
Vista Premium
DVD-RW

All for €529 Incl. Delivery+VAT LINK

Prices don't get much better than that. It will do you perfectly for what you need. You could upgrade the processor to a core2duo but it is not necessary for what you need. Nice looking black case too

If you have a bigger or smaller budget let us know.

That is the laptop you should be aiming even if it means saving for another month..

maradona10

great stuff. the more i looked around at what was on offer the more confused i was getting.

on the inspiron ,
they knocked off the delivery charge cos the unit price was over 490 or something. its brought the price down to 469euro including vat so ill go for that. thanks again. ill let you know how i get on with it

maradona10

I still havent purchased a laptop but I have to get one within the next week for work. Ive decided to get a vostro which would also be good for multimedia.

Ive seen that there are 2 new models of vostros. Which range would be best for using Accounting Software and also Multimedia.

Should I avoid the 1000 range.

budeget has increased to about 550euro

Alanstrainor

maradona10 wrote: »

I still havent purchased a laptop but I have to get one within the next week for work. Ive decided to get a vostro which would also be good for multimedia.

Ive seen that there are 2 new models of vostros. Which range would be best for using Accounting Software and also Multimedia.

Should I avoid the 1000 range.

budeget has increased to about 550euro

I think it's pretty much been covered, the 1000 range is fine, no reason to avoid, i still think the core duo, 1 to 2gig ram, 120gb hd, would be just fine for anything you'd need.
Also there's no need to spend every last cent of your budget, you could pick up a machine with 400/500 no bother that will cover you

eigrod

I got a flyer in the door today from D.I.D. advertising the following :

Acer laptop :

• Intel Dual Core 1.46 GHz Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 80GB Hard Drive
• DVD-Writer
• 15.4" WXGA Widescreen
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Wireless LAN

Cost : €399.95

What we would mainly be using it for is : iTunes (don't have a huge library), internet, kids internet usage, storing photos, the Office applications such as Word, Outlook & Excel.

I have broadband but wireless broadband wouldn't be a huge concern of mine.

Is it likely to have a Graphics card based on the above spec ?

Would you kind people recommend this, based on the usage level I've outlined above ?

Thanks in advance.

Deliverance XXV

It would be grand for very basic use such as email/music/internet etc.
It will almost definitely have on board graphics on it. So forget about any gaming except ancient games.

Alanstrainor

+1, fine for everyday things like you describe, although i'd say the hard drive is a little small for music, but if you have a small enough collection it'll probably be okay.

eigrod

Thanks for the info guys. I think it might be worth the punt.