Looking for a laptop

Gavin "shels"

Evening,

Looking to get a laptop for Christmas for college work, just started to realise how handy a laptop would be (no waiting for my brother to be off the computer and since I'm doing a computing course all my assignments need the use of computers). Have a budget of about €400 but could stretch to €450 if needed and willing to go up North if it's worth my while.

Be used for college work (java programs, dreamweaver, photoshop, etc...), the odd game, internet, music and the odd movie or two.

Specs I'm looking for are:
3GB or more
250GB or more
15" or bigger screen

Basically a fast computer, with plenty of memory and a decent sized screen.


Also just another query while I'm at it, can you transfer music from iTunes from a desktop onto a laptop by just redirecting the library, or would I have to but the library onto a external drive and then onto the laptop?


Cheers in advance.;)

Donny_

In much the same boat but with a slightly higher budget,600-700.

Looking at Toshiba A300 in Carphonewarehouse, anyone have any recommendations or thoughts on this?
Thanks.

robbie_998

dude go to dell and customize a laptop to what you want... could very well stay in budget too.

mpearce

Hi,

am in the same boat aswell - looking for similar specs and budget 400-450

Would be very interested in hearing what you came up with as the best/closest deal???

Or if anyone has bought similar recently?

Gavin "shels"

COLOUR CHOICE Black Colour with Matte Finish edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Celeron® Processor 900 (2.20 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) e
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support
LCD 15.6" Widescreen WXGA CCFL (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™
THEFT PROTECTION SOLUTION FailSafe® Theft Protection - track and protect lost or stolen laptops - 30 days free trial
MEMORY 3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]
HARD DRIVE 250GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
PRIMARY BATTERY 4-cell 24WHr Li-Ion primary battery
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
BLUETOOTH No Bluetooth Upgrade
WEBCAM No Camera Included

Accessories
Services & Software
PROTECT YOUR DATA DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year edit
Also included with your system
Gedis Bundle Reference N1054501
Order Information Inspiron 1545 Order - Ireland
Shipping Documents English - Documentation Inspiron 1545
Dell System Media Kit Inspiron 1545 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Power Supply 65W AC Adaptor
Carrying Cases No Carry Case
Cables 1 Meter Power Cord - UK
Keyboard Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Labels Wireless Label - Celeron
PalmRest Black palmrest
DataSafe (Services Owned) Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic

Price € 503.99


Includes VAT & Shipping




If you can read that (:D), doesn't look like great value at all and opinions?

Ricky91t

Donny_ wrote: »

In much the same boat but with a slightly higher budget,600-700.

Looking at Toshiba A300 in Carphonewarehouse, anyone have any recommendations or thoughts on this?
Thanks.

For you I'd recommend the Dell studio 15 it's a great machine and with Windows 7 Professional it's amazing!

Also if you can justify it get the backlit keyboard,Night typing is super easy!I'm just hoping the next laptop I get has the option :pac: ..

@ Gavin

I'd reduce the ram and HD and at least get a pentium Dual core processor,I have a T4200 and it's great...

That said my Mum has an acer(cheap tescos machine) with that processor and it's surprisingly capable of anything I've thrown at it..And I'm doing computer science,What course are you doing out of interest?

marymc

Gavin shels wrote: »

PRIMARY BATTERY 4-cell 24WHr Li-Ion primary battery
WEBCAM No Camera Included

Price € 503.99


Includes VAT & Shipping




If you can read that (:D), doesn't look like great value at all and opinions?

I assume that's Dell, yeah? Sounds pretty good, but I'd up the battery if I were you. I'm looking for a netbook myself at the moment and am stressing out over buying one here or in Hong Kong (heading off in a few days), because the 6 cell battery isn't available here. 4 cell is hardly worth it, really. Even if - like my laptop - you leave it plugged in most of the time.

Also - no webcam?! Really? In this day and age? I thought they were standard by now...

robbie_998

OP

what laptop did you customize there off dell ?

it seems very basic tbh.

Ricky91t

robbie_998 wrote: »

OP

what laptop did you customize there off dell ?

it seems very basic tbh.

It's the Inspiron 15 i'd guess.

robbie_998

Ricky91t wrote: »

It's the Inspiron 15 i'd guess.

very basic... its a netbook or mini laptop. i wouldnt bother with it

Ricky91t

Dell outlet,Have some pretty good machines!

Operating System
Windows Vista® Home Premium
Windows Vista® Home PremiumMemory
4GB (2x2GB Dual Rank DIMMs) 800MHzHard Disk Drive
250GB (5400rpm) HDCertified Refurbished
Certified RefurbishedNoteBook Screen
Display 15.6in Widescreen WXGA with TrueLife CCFLSystem Color
LCD Back Cover Black Matte FinishMISC
MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small)
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Battery Inspiron Primary 4-cell 28WHr Li-Ion
Dell Wireless 1397 (802.11 b g)
Camera Not IncludedBase
Inspiron 1545 Intel Celeron Dual Core T3000 (1.8GHz,800MHz,1MB)Media Bay
Optical Drive 8X DVD + - RW Drive including software

Need to add vat and shipping but it's only €295 before it...!

robbie_998

and yeah dell outlet do some good things alright but i still dont know if they are actually dell or just a crowd taking their items.

Gavin "shels"

Ricky91t wrote: »

@ Gavin

I'd reduce the ram and HD and at least get a pentium Dual core processor,I have a T4200 and it's great...

That said my Mum has an acer(cheap tescos machine) with that processor and it's surprisingly capable of anything I've thrown at it..And I'm doing computer science,What course are you doing out of interest?

Atm my desktop is 2.5GB ram so I'm looking for a bit more hence going for the 3GB. Personnally thinking about heading up North (mam wants a Wii so could save us a few hundred). Doing Computing out in IT Tallaght, yourself?

marymc wrote: »

I assume that's Dell, yeah? Sounds pretty good, but I'd up the battery if I were you. I'm looking for a netbook myself at the moment and am stressing out over buying one here or in Hong Kong (heading off in a few days), because the 6 cell battery isn't available here. 4 cell is hardly worth it, really. Even if - like my laptop - you leave it plugged in most of the time.

Also - no webcam?! Really? In this day and age? I thought they were standard by now...

I'll take that on board.

Don't need a webcam tbh, don't have mates across waters or anything so not pushed.

Ricky91t wrote: »

Dell outlet,Have some pretty good machines!



Need to add vat and shipping but it's only €295 before it...!

Refurbs? Anyone ever bought a refurb, I'm very cautious over refurbs tbh.

Ricky91t

Gavin shels wrote: »

Atm my desktop is 2.5GB ram so I'm looking for a bit more hence going for the 3GB. Personnally thinking about heading up North (mam wants a Wii so could save us a few hundred). Doing Computing out in IT Tallaght, yourself?

Ah right,Yeah I did the same thing,Wanted something that would replace the desktop,So did the same,But the budget is a problem,Maybe getting a better processor first then upgrading the RAM and possibly HD at a later stage would be a good idea...

I'd much rather upgrade the RAM than a processor..

I'm doing Computer Science in UCC,So far the most demanding program I've had to use for the course in Mozilla firefox 3.5 :pac: But I'm sure that will change!

I'll take that on board.

Don't need a webcam tbh, don't have mates across waters or anything so not pushed.

I first the 6 cell on my laptop handy,Gives me 2-3 hours of battery life which is fairly handy,I have a feeling the 4 cell could be Anything from an hour to an hour and a half,Depending on screen brightness, Wi-fi and power plan you choose..

Refurbs? Anyone ever bought a refurb, I'm very cautious over refurbs tbh.

From what I've read,Dell Laptop refurbs are immaculate and yet to read a bad story about one..

Donny_

Bought a Toshiba A350D Yesterday, pretty happy with it. Needed it quick for projects, not sure about this Windows7 tho. I can get the upgrade when its out but not sure weather I'll do it straight away as i dont know much about it?
Please advise knowledgeable people of boards.
Thanks.

Gavin "shels"

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0878053146.1256062010@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=-37100&sku=859413&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0109327226.1256062024@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=&sku=052243&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0410174780.1256062045@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=&sku=054590&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0578105068.1256062057@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=-37100&sku=476409&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1245742114.1256062070@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=&sku=552257&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1943217186.1256062079@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekadeiilgefdjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&category_oid=&sku=468750&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null


Found a few laptops there, which would people see as the best laptop? Personally I think the first link (Packard Bell TJ65 - AUDIO). The Dell Inspiron and the Packard Bell NJ65 - AU202 are as good as gone from my selection mine you, no wireless being the main factor.

Gavin "shels"

Any opinions?

Gavin "shels"

Aw go on, you know you want to help me!?:D

yoyo

Gavin shels wrote: »

Aw go on, you know you want to help me!?:D

Avoid packard bell, advent etc from pc world. Ammount of problems I've seen people with those machines is unreal,

Nick

Gavin "shels"

Heard about Advent, always thought Packard Bell would be safe as they're owned (or something along them lines) by Acer.

yoyo

Gavin shels wrote: »

Heard about Advent, always thought Packard Bell would be safe as they're owned (or something along them lines) by Acer.

Nah its NEC afaik or was anyways, There fairly poorly built, was configuring one very recently for someone, hard disk died only weeks into using it (to be fair could happen any machine but still..) and bits of plastic came out of the cd/dvd drive when I was ejecting a CD!, you can get better quality machines like Toshiba, HP etc

Nick

Alanstrainor

yoyo wrote: »

Nah its NEC afaik or was anyways, There fairly poorly built, was configuring one very recently for someone, hard disk died only weeks into using it (to be fair could happen any machine but still..) and bits of plastic came out of the cd/dvd drive when I was ejecting a CD!, you can get better quality machines like Toshiba, HP etc

Nick

Some Advent machines are just rebranded laptops, like the MSI wind was sold as the "Advent 4211", the two are exactly the same, even the MSI bios works with the Advent 4211. So it's not quite as simple as "They're all rubbish", however i have seen some poor advent machines though.

mikeruurds

Gavin shels wrote: »

Aw go on, you know you want to help me!?:D

Hey Gavin. Try and get a Dell Studio 15 from the outlet store. I got one a few months ago and it's brilliant. I paid about €500 for mine which was almost €300 less than the equivalent new model.

It comes with the same one year warranty as a new one.

I hope that Barbell is still doing the business for you

Gavin "shels"

mikeruurds wrote: »

Hey Gavin. Try and get a Dell Studio 15 from the outlet store. I got one a few months ago and it's brilliant. I paid about €500 for mine which was almost €300 less than the equivalent new model.

It comes with the same one year warranty as a new one.

I hope that Barbell is still doing the business for you

Where's this outlet store?

It's just after coming back out from under the bed recently actually, had taken a break during the summer but it's getting back into good use again.:D


Anyone have any other suggestions so? Possibly heading up North on Friday so would prefer to be buying it in a shop in the Newry area if people have suggestions.

Ricky91t

Can't recommend the studio 1555 enough,A great machine..Although my HD did die(damn you toshiba!!) it's was promptly replace with a new Fuji drive and seems to be fine.

The cheaper Inspirons are meant to have quite alot of issues with the body(hinges i think) and as yet the main issue on the Studio 15 was the touch sensitive buttons which have now been removed to stop the issues..

Also my two roommates have ~€600 compaq machines are they seem to be built very well and run fine,The battery is abit crap though!The 6 cell on my Dell is pretty good I run it on powersaver mode and quite a dim screen,Have been in a one hour lecture(typing and switching to the browser for notes with wi-fi off) and now in the library(for about 30mins) listening to music browsing the net over wi-fi and on this battery is at 79%

It can vary quite alot though depending on what you're using etc.

mikeruurds

Gavin shels wrote: »

Where's this outlet store?

http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/dfo/df.aspx?refid=df&s=dfo

That's the link for the outlet store. I had a look though and they don't seem to have any Studio 1555 models at the moment.

Gavin "shels"

Cant buy off the interweb now due the mother not allowing me to use the credit card so instore it is, as I said I'll probably be heading up North so have a few shops up there available to me. The Packard Bell TJ65 - AUDIO which was my first choice is gone now off the webistes (:mad:) so anyone have suggestions of some in-store buyable laptops?

3GB or 4GB, 250GB or bigger, 15" or bigger screen, 2GHz or more, wireless, they're the main things.

mikeruurds

I Just had a look at PC World in the UK and they're an absolute rip-off. Currys and Dixons won't be much better.

Your best bet (if online is not an option) would be to hit all the tech retailers in Lisburn or Newry and try and find something within your price range that ticks as many boxes as possible.

Stick to Compaq, Toshiba, Acer and Dell. I'd steer clear of Packard Bell and Advent (personal choice).

Sorry that I haven't been more helpful. I wouldn't ordinarily buy any PC components on the high street as there's not much value to be had on the newer models with all the retailers aiming to fleece people who don't know any better or early adopters.

Ricky91t

mikeruurds wrote: »

I Just had a look at PC World in the UK and they're an absolute rip-off. Currys and Dixons won't be much better.

Your best bet (if online is not an option) would be to hit all the tech retailers in Lisburn or Newry and try and find something within your price range that ticks as many boxes as possible.

Stick to Compaq, Toshiba, Acer and Dell. I'd steer clear of Packard Bell and Advent (personal choice).

Sorry that I haven't been more helpful. I wouldn't ordinarily buy any PC components on the high street as there's not much value to be had on the newer models with all the retailers aiming to fleece people who don't know any better or early adopters.

I think PC World,Currys and Dixons are all one really anyway?

3GB or 4GB, 250GB or bigger, 15" or bigger screen, 2GHz or more, wireless, they're the main things.

Nearly every half decent laptop has all of the features there,TBH for your budget,It'll really come down to picking the one you like the most..

HP,Compaq,Acer,Emachines,Dell will all have machines in that category for the same price..

dixiefly

Ricky91t wrote: »

For you I'd recommend the Dell studio 15 it's a great machine and with Windows 7 Professional it's amazing!

Also if you can justify it get the backlit keyboard,Night typing is super easy!I'm just hoping the next laptop I get has the option :pac: ..

@ Gavin

I'd reduce the ram and HD and at least get a pentium Dual core processor,I have a T4200 and it's great...

That said my Mum has an acer(cheap tescos machine) with that processor and it's surprisingly capable of anything I've thrown at it..And I'm doing computer science,What course are you doing out of interest?

Is the backlit keyboard much more expesive?

How would I know if it is on a laptop from the Dell outlet?

Cheers

Ricky91t

dixiefly wrote: »

Is the backlit keyboard much more expesive?

How would I know if it is on a laptop from the Dell outlet?

Cheers

I think it was €39 more,I know it's quite alot,But it looks brilliant,And makes typing so much easier!

I think if you click the code number under "View Details" It'll say here

MISC
MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small)
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard**
Battery Inspiron Primary 4-cell 28WHr Li-Ion
Dell Wireless 1397 (802.11 b g)
Camera Not Included

But I'm not to sure if it says that for the studio 1555 as theres none on the outlet site at the moment!

mikeruurds

Ricky91t wrote: »

But I'm not to sure if it says that for the studio 1555 as theres none on the outlet site at the moment!

When I bought mine from outlet store I checked them all and none specified the backlit keyboard.

They tend to specify things like quicker/larger hard drives, CPU speed, type of screen and design of the housing. Some of the nicer add-ons don't tend to get a mention.

dixiefly

Thanks,

Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard - does this mean the backlit keyboard?

Can I call Dell regarding this if I am buying from the outlet store?

Gavin "shels"

Ricky91t wrote: »

Nearly every half decent laptop has all of the features there,TBH for your budget,It'll really come down to picking the one you like the most..

HP,Compaq,Acer,Emachines,Dell will all have machines in that category for the same price..

Haven't come across many tbh.:mad: Going out laptop shopping tomorrow.:cool:

mikeruurds

dixiefly wrote: »

Thanks,

Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard - does this mean the backlit keyboard?

Can I call Dell regarding this if I am buying from the outlet store?

Sounds like the standard non-backlit keyboard to me.

Gavin "shels"

Got this baby today:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2078518884.1256953527@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddadeijlkejfjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=805907&category_oid=

Came to €400.:cool:

Ricky91t

Gavin shels wrote: »

Got this baby today:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2078518884.1256953527@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddadeijlkejfjcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=805907&category_oid=

Came to €400.:cool:

For the price it is a great machine!But AMD is somewhere I'd never want to buy again but they could be great now.

I've read elsewhere us students can get windows 7 HP for £30 two words of advice are BUY IT!

Or see if you can get an upgrade through acer,My studio 15 had vista on it,And I was actually fairly p*ssed off with the performance,I put 7 pro on it and it's a totally different machine!

Gavin "shels"

Ricky91t wrote: »

For the price it is a great machine!But AMD is somewhere I'd never want to buy again but they could be great now.

I've read elsewhere us students can get windows 7 HP for £30 two words of advice are BUY IT!

Or see if you can get an upgrade through acer,My studio 15 had vista on it,And I was actually fairly p*ssed off with the performance,I put 7 pro on it and it's a totally different machine!

ONe of mates said AMD is alot better and faster than Intel but sure different strokes for different folks.

Getting Windows 7 for free through acer, costing €15 for delivery but sure it should be worth it.

Gavin "shels"

Anyone any idea on how to get the webcams on acers working, just getting a grey picture atm and downloaded the driver and all.

Ricky91t

Gavin shels wrote: »

ONe of mates said AMD is alot better and faster than Intel but sure different strokes for different folks.

Getting Windows 7 for free through acer, costing €15 for delivery but sure it should be worth it.

As you said,Different people different stories,My issue is with an old pc and a laptop,Both crashed alot had intel atom,and pentium D machines doing more and rarely crashed..

Getting rid of vista is worth any price :pac:

Gavin shels wrote: »

Anyone any idea on how to get the webcams on acers working, just getting a grey picture atm and downloaded the driver and all.

*cough* Acer *cough*

All jokes aside what are you trying to view it with?Is it definitely set to the right webcam?Sometimes it'll be searching for something that might not even be there..

Gavin "shels"

Ricky91t wrote: »

All jokes aside what are you trying to view it with?Is it definitely set to the right webcam?Sometimes it'll be searching for something that might not even be there..

It's a bulit in webcam.

Gavin "shels"

Camera is working fine, but I'm still getting a grey picture on MSN. Any suggestions?

goat2

Ricky91t wrote: »

It's the Inspiron 15 i'd guess.

any one here put me in the right direction of finding an honest and relaiable stockist of used laptops, i am looking to buy please help
cannot afford new

goat2

goat2 wrote: »

any one here put me in the right direction of finding an honest and relaiable stockist of used laptops, i am looking to buy please help
cannot afford new

I havent come across any used suppliers that werent dressing mutton up as lamb and charging way over the odds for it, maybe someone else has? have a look through here http://www.adverts.ie/showcat.php?cat=127 and we can advise if it is a good deal. What is you budget so i can have a look to see are any new units close to that price.

goat2

david7536 wrote: »

I havent come across any used suppliers that werent dressing mutton up as lamb and charging way over the odds for it, maybe someone else has? have a look through here http://www.adverts.ie/showcat.php?cat=127 and we can advise if it is a good deal. What is you budget so i can have a look to see are any new units close to that price.

dont laugh ---- 200euro