Small college laptop

steffy182

Ive been looking at buying a laptop for college for a few weeks now but im not really sure what to get. i want something that is easily portable (so that it fits in a normal backpack) so not too big a screen and i can spend about €1000 on one. itll mostly be used for college work, listening to music, storing photos and playin games on.

i was looking at this one http://www.pcworld.ie/productDetails.aspx?productRID=652&image=Packard_Bell and wondered if it is a good deal?

ive looked at various websites but havent found anything that has a screen the same size (anything smaller than 15") for the same price. anyone have any ideas or other laptops worth considering? thanks in advance!

RichyX

That one is quite poor for the price.
It has integrated graphics so it'll be rubbish for games.

Check out Dell.ie
The Inspiron 6000 is excellent value, I've been looking at one myself & haven't found anything to match it price wise.

You can match the spec of the PC World laptop & add in a 64MB ATI X300 graphics card for around €120 cheaper on the Inspiron 6000 (depending on the offer Dell have at the time)

techguy

Im just after getting a standard inspiron 6000 from dell and I am very pleased with it..
The only problem I have is that I got a 40GB Hard drive but with the OS and system restore installed I ended up only having around 27GB available to me to use for my own files..I would recommend this laptop but to get a 60 GB hard drive..

Hakko

maidhc

You can remove the OS restore files easily enough.. I think Dell provide a utility to do it for you. Alternatively you can just reinstall windows.

techguy

im just after finding it now its C:\dell\Utilities\DSR
When I recieve all the os and driver cd's from dell I will remove all the system restore stuff cause I'v never had it before and would prefer the space..
Thanks maidhc.

Hakko

maidhc

All the drivers are on the HD too (in a folder called C:/Dell or C:/Drivers) .. all apart from the touchpad software which is in they C:/...synaptics/media/.

An image for the windows XP cd is there as an ISO (taking up 700mbs... )

Everything is on the HD apart from the DVD software. FYI I reinstalled windows on my Inspiron 2200 and it made a huge difference to the speed of the machine. Dell seem to like making their computers run as slow as possible....

techguy

whats the full address to C:/...synaptics/media/ ? I couldnt find it.
Also What I will do is just burn all those folders onto a dvd and then just remove the dell system restore partitions using the program. Or will I have to format the hard drive and reinstall windows to make A big difference?
Also How do I get into fdisk because I couldn't find it the other day when I went looking for at startup..

Hakko

maidhc

I'm sure slightly hi-jacking the OPs thread is justified since if he goes with a Dell this is useful information...

The full address for the touchpad stuff is C:/Program Files/Synaptics/SynTP/Media

Personally I think it is well worth reinstalling windows. Dell put far too much junk on first time around. You will loose Norton and the DVD decoder. I rang them up about the decoder, but the clever indian guy told me to download it... even though it is licenced software. I had the media, from a different PC, but still!

You dont need fdisk with WinXP. Just boot from the CD and you will have the option to delete the partitions. IIRC there will be 3. 1 about 40mbs, 1 about 5gb and the third being the rest. The 40mb one has diagnostics on it, and its probably worth leaving be. You can nuke the other 2 though, create a new one it their place and install. It is far more user friendly than fdisk ever was tbh.

techguy

Ok so I'll prob reinstall the whole thing when I get my system cds from dell..

Thanks for all the help Maidhc and sorry OP for hi-jacking the thread but im sure its information you will want to know anyhow if your considering a dell...

Hakko

rsynnott

Have you considered an iBook? They're small, and many colleges have a deal with Apple to get some money off.

carbsy

hakko1872003 wrote:

Im just after getting a standard inspiron 6000 from dell and I am very pleased with it..

That the Celeron M? What's the battery life like on it? I have a friend who's interested in it... cheers.

techguy

Yeah its celeron M 1.4Ghz.. My batt is 95% charged now and it says 2hrs38mins left but thats only an estimate..
Im not really sure yet cause I have only been using it around the house so far,im not in college yet..

Hakko

carbsy

Thanks for the info hakko.

techguy

Not a bother. If you have any other questions just ask...

Hakko

RedorDead

hakko1872003 wrote:

Not a bother. If you have any other questions just ask...

Hakko

How much are Dell asking for these Hakko? Is it heavy-ish?

techguy

The inspiron 6000 is it?
I got the standard one on the website and it cost me €800, dont forget to choose I year basic warranty or it will be over a grand..
This same laptop is going for €749 now according to the site, which isn't bad at all if you ask me cause it's a decent enough spec and I had always thaught that lappies were really expensive..

Hakko

steffy182

The other laptop i did consider, aswell as the packard bell one from pc world, was the dell inspiron 6000 but i wanted one that was smaller and lighter really bcos of taking it into college.

i hadn't really thought about an ibook because i have no idea how apple computers work, are they totally different to windows pcs? i(m sorry if thats a stupid question, but i havent a clue!). i actually probably wont be playing that many games seeing as ill either be at college or working, so it doesnt hav to be amazing for games, just good enough for college use and music

kjt

Tbh I wouldnt go near dell for laptops. I just think their FAR too expensive. Idd dont get me wrong you can get a good deal, but not too often.
I'm also thinking of gettin a laptop and everytime I see a new hp one they look great

I'm considering this:http://www.pcworld.ie/productDetails.aspx?productRID=240&image=Other_Brands

maidhc

HP laptops were pretty dire there for a while but a lot of people seem to be happy with them lately.

I dont think thats a good enough excuse to deal with PC world though.

Dont buy a p4 processor in a laptop! Too big, heavy, hot and noisy.

Brendygg

hi
i am aslo lookin for a laptop for college.most of the people here dont recommend dell but
was wonderin wat ye tought of the dell inspiron 2200 ist would b in my buget just using it to play online poker collge stuff n a few games wud it be good value
thanks

techguy

yea the inspiron 2200 is a good little laptop and not too badly priced either. What are the other type of games you will be playing because they wouldn't want to be too demanding with the laptop.

Hakko

maidhc

The Inspiron 2200 is a lovely laptop (I have one). Fast, even with 256Mbs, lovely keyboard and a fine screen. It is also unscratchable, which is great.

But: It only comes with a NiMh Battery and a 90 day guarantee. However an upgrade to the battery is cheap (€27 or so for an extra LiIon) and warranty (€150 or something for 3 years).

Brendygg

hi
wud be playin return to castle wolfenstein,medal of honour allied assult project igi age of empires and red alert.id say ill buy it alright,probably get dat battery as its only 27

techguy

I played all but medal of honour on a crappy pc so taht laptop should suffice although..
Good Choice!

Hakko

Brendygg

giving a look at the inspiron 510m aswell only difference i can see is 20gb in the harddrive

tadhgrrr

€20 difference between the 510m with an Intel® Celeron® M Processor 360 (1.40 GHz) and a 60GB HD (€820) and the Inspiron 6000 with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 360 (1.60 GHz) with 40GB HD (€799).....which to go for?

maidhc

I would go for the 6000. It is more modern, the 510 is around a long time now. It has a better processor, and its cheaper. You can upgrade the hard drive at a later stage if it is really necessary.

WizZard

There's a nice Sony Vaio on the FS forum at the moment that would prob suit you. It's a 15.4" but light. Plus it's sexier looking than most other laptops

steffy182

well, with being at college i spent loads of money and decided to buy the laptop in tesco at the minute. the iqon one and even though its not exactly small or amazin, it does everything i need it to but hav to wait for the battery to charge now before i can use it ohhhh so impatient! anyone hav one of these already and anything i should know?

tadhgrrr

check out the bargain alerts thread...i think there was a discussion about the tesco one there...i went with the dell inspiorn 6000 myself...1.6GHz pentium m, 40GB HD, 512GB ram, 15.4ince screen, dvd read/write for just under 800

RichyX

Dells prices have gone through the roof lately though.
An Inspiron 600 that would have cost 860€ a few weeks ago is now 1000€+

techguy

RichyX wrote:

Dells prices have gone through the roof lately though.
An Inspiron 600 that would have cost 860€ a few weeks ago is now 1000€+

Thats because on the main page they give you the price with the basic one year warranty but when you click customize and buy it gives you the price including the 3 year waranty just re-select 1 year and you will be back to the normal price..

Hakko

RichyX

hakko1872003 wrote:

Thats because on the main page they give you the price with the basic one year warranty but when you click customize and buy it gives you the price including the 3 year waranty just re-select 1 year and you will be back to the normal price..

Hakko

It isn't that.
Even with that taken into account it's still far more expensive then they were.

On the Inspiron 6000 the DVD writer is now extra and the difference between the warranties is not as much as it used to be.
ESB will be having a final sale soon so might try there.

EpiphoneSpecial

i got an inspiron 6000 from dell factory outlet

1.6, 760 RAM, 40Gb, 15.4"

cost me €850

i'd recommend it to anyone, havent had a sniff of trouble with it

neacy69

yeah i've gpt the inspiron 6000 also and I too would reccomend it to anyone......

zappb

check this Thinkpad T41p out (yes i am selling it - sorry for the plug) but it blows away anything mentioned so far, a bit above your budget though. Good luck though.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=303528

Shoota

Id just like to add my piece that Dell are a complete rip off, I just bought this PC from an Irish site with 3 year warranty collect and return, plus accidental Damage for 1350 euro
Aspire 5021WLMi/Turion ML28 1600 512MB 100GB

www.microaid.ie






Product Description
Acer Aspire 5021WLMi - Turion 64 ML-28 1.6 GHz - 15.4" TFT

Dimensions (WxDxH)
36.3 cm x 27.8 cm x 3.3 cm

Weight
3.1 kg

Localisation
United Kingdom

System Type
Notebook

Built-in Devices
Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial

Processor
AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology ML-28 1.6 GHz - 64-bit

Cache Memory
512 KB - L2 Cache

RAM
512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM ( 2 x 256 MB )

Card Reader
6 in 1

Hard Drive
100 GB

Optical Storage
DVD±RW (+R double layer) - integrated

Display
15.4" TFT active matrix WXGA (1280 x 800) - 24-bit (16.7 million colours)

Graphics Controller
ATI RADEON X700 - 128 MB

Audio Output
Sound card

Telecom
Fax / modem - 56 Kbps

Networking
Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

Input Device
Keyboard, touchpad, 4-way scroll button

Power
AC 110/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )

Battery
Lithium Ion

Run Time (Up To)
3 hour(s)

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Manufacturer Warranty
1 year warranty





Expansion / Connectivity




Expansion Slots Total (Free)
1 ( 1 ) x CardBus - type II
2 ( 0 ) x memory
1 ( 1 ) x SmartMedia Card
1 ( 1 ) x SD Memory Card
1 ( 1 ) x Memory Stick
1 ( 1 ) x xD-Picture Card

Interfaces
4 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x display / video - S-video output
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
1 x infrared - IrDA
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-in/microphone - mini-phone 3.5mm

Shoota

Apologies when I said PC I did infact mean Laptop