laptop recommendations?

bassy

hi all i have 500-600 to spend on a new laptop,am looking for sumthing with 4gb ram,160gb-400gb.not to bothered about harddrive size as i will probaly hook a external one to it.

looking for a screen size of at least 17,won,t be playing games so not concerned on graphics card.

but was hoping to have a good hd possible screen,with blu-ray player.
would also need a hdmi connection.

would be pleased to hear from any of you guys that can point me in the right direction,cheers bassy.

p.s. blu-ray drive not a nesessity to be honest,but i would be hooking the laptop to a hd lcd so i would need a hd ouput from laptop for watching hd movie files etc.

bassy

or is it possible to get the spec i,m looking for with 500-600?.

leninbenjamin

one thing to look at is the Dell Studio 17

€600 will get you:

Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ CCFL (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™
3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]
320GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
No Bluetooth Upgrade
Web Camera Not Included
Internal English Qwerty Backlit Keyboard
No security option selected

It has a hdmi connector, but not a full HD screen though and a blu-ray ROM would put the price over 700.

I'm not sure what else would be available in that bracket, some VAIO's will have what you need but i think they'd be 800+.

actually, now that i think about it, an Acer Aspire with that spec should be within range if bought online.

something like this (although i think it might be a refurb?): http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/asp/versions.asp?rewrite=GRADE_A1_-_Acer_Aspire_8920G_Gemstone_Blue_Laptop_A1-LX.AP50X.309&pagetype=version&page=

don't recommend buying off that crowd though.

bassy

that acer laptop looks good,is there a irish address for laptopdirect.ie

leninbenjamin wrote: »

one thing to look at is the Dell Studio 17

€600 will get you:



It has a hdmi connector, but not a full HD screen though and a blu-ray ROM would put the price over 700.

I'm not sure what else would be available in that bracket, some VAIO's will have what you need but i think they'd be 800+.

actually, now that i think about it, an Acer Aspire with that spec should be within range if bought online.

something like this (although i think it might be a refurb?): http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/asp/versions.asp?rewrite=GRADE_A1_-_Acer_Aspire_8920G_Gemstone_Blue_Laptop_A1-LX.AP50X.309&pagetype=version&page=

don't recommend buying off that crowd though.

leninbenjamin

eh... i wouldn't buy off them, probably shouldn't have used them as an example

here's some reasons why:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055365923&page=4&highlight=laptopdirect

that model as well was a refurb, hence the low price. more likely to have something go wrong, more likely to have a horrible experience with a notoriously shoddy outfit.

sorry

you'd probably have to bump up your budget a wee bit to get something off a reputable company that meets all your reqs. €900 too much?

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1702495
http://www.dabs.ie/products/acer-8930g-c2d-4-320-bluray-vhp-5L8H.html?refs=420770000-51220000-423350000

apart from that, have a look in all the usual suspects here at home. PC-World, and Argos will still be above your budget for that kind of spec, but occasionally you get lucky with a good deal. Friend of mine recently bought a blu-ray VAIO off Argos for about 200 less than anywhere else!