Which Laptop?????????

Munster Magic

No idea what to buy, dont have a clue what all the figures and hard drive and memory mean but im looking for a laptop for downloading music to mobile phone and ipod, watching live streaming of soccer matches, the internet and I have been reccomended to go for Windows XP rather than Vista.

I was looking at the Dell Inspiron 1525 which starts at 459euro but no idea what extras I would need to get? Also this comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, could I downgrade it to Windows XP and how much extra would it cost me?

As you can guess I am a complete amatuer with this so ny help would be greatly appreciated

ps. I have a strict budget of no more than 600euro which must include all extras, not sure if this is realistic but its all I can afford

Thanks

Silenceisbliss

No need to look into it too much...your using your laptop for basic needs.

tell the smarty who told you to stay away from vista to get with the times.

what your looking at there with vista is perfect for your needs. It's over kill tbh.

buy it and put as much ram, and hard drive capacity in it as your wallet will allow. no harm in future proofing a little.

Just looked at the Dell Inspiron 1525, the Base model is perfect for your needs. buy it. €500, bargain!

Col_Loki

Yeah pretty much any laptop will handle what you want.

Ideally if you get 2GB of RAM (2048MB) and an Intel CPU once its not a "Celeron". I would say they are the main things.
How portable do you need it to be?

While you might find Vista annoying at first you will get used to it pretty quickly. Its hard to find a new Laptop with XP these days (excluding Netbooks).

The Dell Studio 15's are pretty nice....http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop_studio_15?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Munster Magic

This is the package which I just put together for the Inspiron 1525 for 550euro, is there anything else I should be adding?

Description

InspironTM1525 (N1052502)
Date & Time: Thursday 25 September 2008 11:00 AM

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
InspironTM1525 (N1052502) Qty 1
Intel® Celeron Processor 550 (2.0Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English Unit Price Incl. VAT € 518.99
Catalog Number: 510295 N1052502
Module Description Show Details
Base Intel® Celeron Processor 550 (2.0Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
Memory 1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
Keyboard Internal Keyboard Uk/Irish (QWERTY)
Video Card Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
Hard Drive 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Mouse Dell™ 2 Button USB Scroll Opt Mouse
Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - Ireland/Spain
Optical Devices 8x DVD+/-RW Optical drive, including SW
Wireless Networking Dell™ Wireless 1395 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe - Celeron Processors
Cables Power Cord UK 1meter
Shipping Documents English EMEA 1 (EN, AR, DU, FR, GE, IT, CR,SP) Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference N1052502
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Service 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Protect your new PC Norton™ Internet Security™ 2008 3 year Version
Power Supply 65W AC Adapter
Order Information Inspiron Order - Ireland
Primary Battery 6-cell battery
Carrying Cases Large Nylon Carry Case for laptops up to 15.4" - Black
Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD Inspiron 1525 - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
Camera Web Camera NOT included
Colour Choice Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB
Online Promotion Option for GEDIS Configs Dell Internet Order
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™

TOTAL Incl. VAT:€ 518.99

---

Total excl. VAT VAT Rate Total incl. VAT
Sub-total € 428.92 21.00 % € 518.99
Total Delivery Charge € 24.79 21.00 % € 30.00
Total Price € 453.71 € 548.99
From only € 19.55/mth(ex. VAT)*
Pay Only €10 per month for a Year*
More information on financing

mise

That processor isn't great (look at col loki's previous post) and 1gig of RAM with Vista isn't ideal

Alanstrainor

Check out the cheapest dell studio on this page. Dell studio 15

It's a centrino duo, which isn't as good as core 2 duo, but it's better than the celeron. And it's got 2gig ram and 250gb Hard drive. It's even got dedicated graphics.

silvine

I am also looking for a laptop to do the same kind of things as the OP. Which is better value, a Dell Vostro or the Dell Studio 15s?

K-9

Munster Magic wrote: »

Protect your new PC Norton™ Internet Security™ 2008 3 year Version

Are you paying extra for that?

If so I'd scrap it and get AVG or Avast for free as well as free anti malware/spyware programs.

With the saving, upgrade your RAM.

Munster Magic

Ok, just upgraded the base and hard drive, how does this look for 615euro?

BASE Intel® Pentium Dual Core Processor T3200 (2.0 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return edit
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
WEBCAM Web Camera NOT included edit
COLOUR CHOICE Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish edit
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024] edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8x DVD+/-RW Optical drive, including SW edit
PRIMARY BATTERY 6-cell battery edit
Accessories
SECURITY SOFTWARE Norton™ Internet Security™ 2008 - 15 Month Protection - English edit
CARRY CASES Large Nylon Carry Case for laptops up to 15.4" - Black edit
MOUSE Dell™ Optical Scroll Premium USB Mouse edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Dell™ Wireless 1395 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe - Pentium Dual Core Processors edit
Services & Software
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support edit
ONLINE BACKUP DataSafe Online Backup 10GB edit
Also included with your system
Gedis Bundle Reference N1052503
Order Information Inspiron Order - Ireland
Shipping Documents English EMEA 1 (EN, AR, DU, FR, GE, IT, CR,SP) Documentation
Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD Inspiron 1525 - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
Power Supply 65W AC Adapter
Cables Power Cord UK 1meter
Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - Ireland/Spain
Keyboard Internal Keyboard Uk/Irish (QWERTY)
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Online Promotion Option for GEDIS Configs Dell Internet Order

Have you considered?
Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module
With Bluetooth you can link wirelessly to Bluetooth devices like headphones, mice and more

€ 35.01
Add to system

Should I add the bluetooth for 35euro?

Munster Magic

anyone know

Alanstrainor

Munster Magic wrote: »

anyone know

Yeah, the last machine seems like a decent price, is it a studio 15, or a 1525? I'd go with the studio machine over the inspiron. And as for the bluetooth, it really depends on whether you need it or not, will you be connecting your mobile over bluetooth etc? If not, there's not much point