Buying a laptop

Patrick

Hey all. Not sure what laptop to go for. Here is what I need first of all

Price range: €1200-1300
Intended use: For college. Programming, light gaming (hl2 would be a bonus but dont want to go over price range). DVD-rw, bluetooth, wireless lan.
Mobility: Has to be reasonably slimline and not more than 3kg. I know the inpsiron 6000 is about 3kg but I think it's a little too bulky. Basically I'm not mad on it's physical appearance. Maximum battery life for the above price would be desired!

Links: Well I was looking at the HP DV1335 in dixons. It's very nice looking. Screen is 14" (looked fine but would not go smaller). It was nice and slim.
Pic
Spec was:

• Pentium M 1.73GHZ 533mhz FSB
• 2mb cache
• 1024mb ram
• 100gb hdd
• dvd rewrite multidrive
• 14" widescreen
• xp home edition
• 128mb gfx (intel media accelerator)
• 1 year warranty

Price: €1349

I know his is above my budget but I think it's worth it, would anyone agree?

I do also like the Sony Vaios however they are a little expensive. (also in dixons)

Sony FS285H

• Spec same as HP above except:
• 512mb ram
• 80gb hdd
• 15.4" screen
• 128mb nvidia gefore go 6200 gfx

Price: €1450

Problem with the vaios is they go way above price range!

Any help appreciated

atheist

Aldi do similar spec for similar price.
Try portables.co.uk for lower price on Dell nb:)

Patrick

hi atheist

Thanks for your input.

Just to clarify for all, as far as this thread is concerned I've no interest in dell (for reasons mentioned in my original post). Also I dont want to order a laptop from abroad. I would be interested in views on the HP I mentioned or any other laptops which are generally in my price range. I am particularly interesting in buying a laptop in a store in Ireland as I would like to see it and use it before I buy it.

Thanks
Patrick.

Tom Dunne

Patrick wrote:

I am particularly interesting in buying a laptop in a store in Ireland as I would like to see it and use it before I buy it.

The only thing about this is that you will pay a premium for it. Dixons, PC World et al are notoriously expensive.

Sony laptops tend to be style over substance, but has better graphics than th HP model you mention (important if, as you say, you will be playing games).

The 1gig of Ram in the HP certainly is better, especially for programming and general all-round performance. Personally, I would go for the HP (not at all biased since I am writing this on a HP Pavillion ).

Patrick

Thanks for your input. Where would be the best place to buy from so since dixons and pc world charge a premium

commited

I was in a similar situation last year..

I ended up with a A64 3400+, 1gb ram, 80gb hdd, 128mb 9700, dvdrw etc..

I'm not a big fan of the quality of HP's screens. My dad tried pretty much their whole range of 14-15" screens before he decided on his HP (only could get HP) which in our opinion had the best screen, and its still pretty rubbish.
The graphics card in that laptop also wont be up to much.

Trying out a laptop is a great idea before you buy it. Doesnt mean you have to buy it from that place though!

I'm not a dell fan, but the dell inspiron 6000 is ridiculously good value with their double mem offer.. For your budget you could get everything you need. Make sure you upgrade the screen from the standard one though.

have a look at:
the toshiba tecra A5 - 14" screen only weighs 2.2kgs
Fujitsu Amilo A 1667G - high performance laptop @ decent price.

dont worry if a laptop only has 512mb ram, as its easy and cheap to upgrade to 1gb (just make sure the ram config is 1x512mb)

Good places to buy are www.microaid.ie and www.elara.ie

Patrick

hey,

I think i'm gonna go with the HP. However I dont like what I'm hearing about the screen???

commited

If you're happy with the screen when you use it then thats great! The way I test it is to open a word document and type a bit - if the words are perfectly defined and not blurred then it's a good screen. You'd be amazed how many LCD's are blurry no matter how you set them up. We had a HP 19" LCD also & that's blurry at the top of the screen.

Mainly the reason I'd never buy HP.. but you cant complain for free

Maccattack

I bought one earlier this year. I did a tonne of research and found http://www.meshcomputers.com/updated/index.htm Mesh computers in the UK had the best deal.

Id check them and Tiny out.

commited

Tiny are pretty rubbish imho

Mesh are ok though. I believe he said he wanted to buy in Ireland though.

Patrick

Thanks for the tip. I'll defo check out the screen before I buy and try out dvds and look at txt etc.

K.O.Kiki

I thought Tiny had folded?