Laptops for Aunties **PLEASE HELP**

Plambey

Hi guys, i have been given the responsibility of getting a laptop for my aunt, she's willing to spend up to a 1000 ,the dell one detailed below comes to €988. She's looking to have it for a good few years and as a replacement for a PC as the kids are always running around. i dont want to get her one thats gonna go slow after a few months of usage etc ya know. She'll be using it for basic processes, Word etc for work, internet etc and probably a few kiddie type games etc but i dont want it to be goin slow on her. Any feedback atall would be much appreciated as i'm looking to get her one by the end of the week.
Dell Studio 17 (1073502)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.1 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 Cache

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1- English
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word

1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera - CCFL
Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish
17 Widescreen WXGA+ CCFL (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife

4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
IntelJ Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software

Dell™ Bluetooth Travel Mouse

Primary 9-cell 87 WHr Lithium Ion battery

Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English

Also Includes
1 Meter Power Cord (3 Wire) - UK
English - Documentation Studio 1735
N1073502
1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
90W Power Adapter (3 Wire)
Studio 1735 Order - Ireland
Studio 1735 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Wireless Label (Dell Wireless Cards)- Core 2 Duo

or if you guys would recommend any other ideas for her, muchos appreciated.

Alanstrainor

What does your aunt want a laptop for? What model is the one above? How much is it?
Have a read of the "how to get help on this forum" sticky and post back.

Plambey

Alanstrainor wrote: »

What does your aunt want a laptop for? What model is the one above? How much is it?
Have a read of the "how to get help on this forum" sticky and post back.

think i must have been editing this just as you replied.

its the dell studio 17 (N1073502) for €988 and she wants it as a decent laptop to last a good few years, atleast 6 plus, you know the type, she wont want to get a new one again for a good while, keep photos of the kids on it, do her word processing etc for her job in accountancy firm or something similar, surf the net, wants it running nice and fast, no slow down, keep in contact with family etc.

humaxf1

To the OP:

You could have a €2000 laptop versus a €300 laptop and Windows will still degrade at the same rate irregardless of the hardware spec. I wouldn't spend a big wad of cash on a laptop for doing mundane things. What if it got nicked? If it's going to be on the internet alot, run crapcleaner to dump all the temp stuff that builds. Keep Windows and the Antivirus software upto date. Linux...well that's another days chat ;-)

For a start avoid Vista is you want hassle free 'ish' computing. Look for a XP downgrade option
2GB RAM for smooth running with multiple windows open (4GB is a waste)
I'm not too up on CPUs and the numbering they use, but almost any dual core CPU today is good enough for a non techy auntie
80GB hard drives are a thing of the past and any laptop today has adequate storage space
6 cell battery for a "reported 3 hours running time" Yeah right!!!
Integrated webcam is a nice extra
Screen size...it's a personal preference
Dump the supplied antivirus and run AVG FREE. I doubt she will be surfing any dodgy websites or getting dodgy email attachments
Dump any MS Office trial... Install Openoffice for tying letters, spreadsheets etc etc.
In fact, dump all the bloatware

Spyral

http://www.apple.com/ie/macbook/white/

problem solved... no viruses, easier to use, wont randomly decide to not work as often as a pc. has stuff for photos and everything built in. Its pretty noob proof

Plambey

humaxf1 wrote: »

To the OP:

You could have a €2000 laptop versus a €300 laptop and Windows will still degrade at the same rate irregardless of the hardware spec. I wouldn't spend a big wad of cash on a laptop for doing mundane things. What if it got nicked? If it's going to be on the internet alot, run crapcleaner to dump all the temp stuff that builds. Keep Windows and the Antivirus software upto date. Linux...well that's another days chat ;-)

For a start avoid Vista is you want hassle free 'ish' computing. Look for a XP downgrade option
2GB RAM for smooth running with multiple windows open (4GB is a waste)
I'm not too up on CPUs and the numbering they use, but almost any dual core CPU today is good enough for a non techy auntie
80GB hard drives are a thing of the past and any laptop today has adequate storage space
6 cell battery for a "reported 3 hours running time" Yeah right!!!
Integrated webcam is a nice extra
Screen size...it's a personal preference
Dump the supplied antivirus and run AVG FREE. I doubt she will be surfing any dodgy websites or getting dodgy email attachments
Dump any MS Office trial... Install Openoffice for tying letters, spreadsheets etc etc.
In fact, dump all the bloatware

Cool, you'd reccommend goin with the 2gb ram yeh? upgrade to the 9cell battery?
yeh i aint payin for that MS office stooff, its comin free so i'll leave it, she'll love it . so you think even if i downgrade a few things, ram, memory, screen size etc, she'll still b happy and squeeze one in for maybe €800 ish, still cool yeh? cheers for your advice.

humaxf1

Plambey wrote: »

Cool, you'd reccommend goin with the 2gb ram yeh? upgrade to the 9cell battery?
yeh i aint payin for that MS office stooff, its comin free so i'll leave it, she'll love it . so you think even if i downgrade a few things, ram, memory, screen size etc, she'll still b happy and squeeze one in for maybe €800 ish, still cool yeh? cheers for your advice.

32bit versions of Windows can only address a max of 3.5'ish' GB, so 2GB is fine
Big screen = more weight its a personal preference
9cell battery = more weight again, personal preference

I'd say you could easily get a 15" screen & a 6cell batt for around the 800mark if not alot less. Remember, Dell are not the be all end all. The saved money could be well spent on a carry bag for protection and an external hard drive to back up photos, music, office docs, internet favourites, accounts data etc etc.

humaxf1

Vostro 1510

BASE Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5670 (1.8 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Business (SP1) with XP Pro installed and Vista & XP Media-English edit
LCD 15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with Anti-Glare Coating edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Glossy Black without Camera edit
MEMORY 2048MB (2x1024) 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD IntelJ Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery edi


This is taken from the Business section of Dell (I've ordered from this and I dont run a company) where certain laptops have a XP downgrade option. Weighs in at €544+VAT and shipping (normally 50quid) Works out roughly 700euro give or take which includes the carry case and bluetooth.

AlmightyCushion

humaxf1 wrote: »

Vostro 1510

BASE Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5670 (1.8 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Business (SP1) with XP Pro installed and Vista & XP Media-English edit
LCD 15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with Anti-Glare Coating edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Glossy Black without Camera edit
MEMORY 2048MB (2x1024) 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD IntelJ Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery edi


This is taken from the Business section of Dell (I've ordered from this and I dont run a company) where certain laptops have a XP downgrade option. Weighs in at €544+VAT and shipping (normally 50quid) Works out roughly 700euro give or take which includes the carry case and bluetooth.

I'd go with this, it's more than enough for what she'd be using it for.

Overheal

Youd want to slap on that 4 year warranty though if she plans on keeping it very long. But in all common sense shed be wiser to expect to replace it after 3 years.

Soundman

Spyral wrote: »

no viruses,

Neither have my last 3 PCs. Your point?

Spyral wrote:

easier to use,

Load of crap

Spyral wrote:

wont randomly decide to not work as often as a pc.

Examples? Care to elaborate? Never had a problem with my PCs not working.

Spyral wrote:

has stuff for photos and everything built in.

What?

Spyral wrote:

Its pretty noob proof

So is a tractor as long as you show some common sense.

Plambey

hey guys, yeh i appreciate dell aint the be all end all, but its one i trust, have had no real problem with my other dell products over the years. as for laptops, aint a big fan on Macs. ipods good, but i cant handle the lack of right click to be honest, and i doubt my aunt would b up to usin mac as opposed to windows.

appreciate ur ideas guys, gonna have a good look through em an c how it goes, any other ideas still much appreciated!

CiaranC

1000 euro for a laptop for word processing and surfing the web for your Aunt. Are you nuts? Why dont you just take her cash and burn it.

I just picked up a PIII 1Ghz w/512mb RAM laptop & installed Ubuntu for a non-techie mate. Its exactly as capable as a 1000 euro machine at running firefox and openoffice. It cost me 40 euro.

At least buy the very lowest spec business machine from Dell. Even that is huge overkill.

Plambey

CiaranC wrote: »

1000 euro for a laptop for word processing and surfing the web for your Aunt. Are you nuts? Why dont you just take her cash and burn it.

I just picked up a PIII 1Ghz w/512mb RAM laptop & installed Ubuntu for a non-techie mate. Its exactly as capable as a 1000 euro machine at running firefox and openoffice. It cost me 40 euro.

At least buy the very lowest spec business machine from Dell. Even that is huge overkill.

well 1000 is the budget, its not solely for net and word processing, she's looking for it to replace a desktop. wat harddrive did ur laptop have?