Cheap Laptops

machalla · 31-08-2003 6:49pm

I bought a Lidl laptop last september (2002). To date I've had no problems with it, except power supply did die and had to be sent back after about 6 months, no problem doing so and didn't cost me anything. Slight irritation was that the laptop AND powersupply had to be sent back even though I knew it was the powersupply. Other weakness was the graphics card which was only a 32mb Savage card. For programming and 2d gaming its been fine. It is possible to play battlefield 1942 on it though with low settings.

The equivalent dell laptop would have cost about €3,000 at the time (I paid €1,700). If they do come back into stock I'll possibly upgrade as I was pretty happy with the value overall.

Apparently Beyond 2000 off grafton street also occasionally do good deals on Acer laptops (but you might need to bargain with them a bit). They matched a price from Elara for a friend of mine (€300 euro price difference) just to get the sale. Goes to show the markup you can get sometimes.

Quigs Snr · 01-09-2003 9:32am

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=50768&_LOC=UK

Pretty cheap Acer at the moment.......

ozmo · 03-09-2003 12:53pm

Originally posted by Quigs Snr

Pretty cheap Acer at the moment.......

Long thread - dont know if these were mentioned:

I dont think you will get much cheaper acers.

ACER AMD2000, 20gb, 256m, 14", DVD/CDRW, 56k,Lan, XP H e749.00
ACER AMD2200, 30gb, 256m, 15", DVD/CDRW, 56k,Lan, XP H e859.00
(ex vat)

http://www.ccity.ie/images/products/Mvc-299f.jpg
http://www.ccity.ie/images/products/Mvc-300f.jpg
http://www.ccity.ie/images/products/Mvc-301f.jpg
http://www.ccity.ie/images/products/Mvc-302f.jpg
http://www.ccity.ie/images/26-05-2003/Mvc-560s.jpg

(Tradeonly - You will need to know someone with a company/sole trader to buy from them though)

I could be persuaded to order it for anyone for a bribe of a few blank DVD+-R 's

Also Sony Vaio's are reasonable (aprox 1.4K) and great quality (but very hard to get) from most places online - I have a vaio + am very pleased with it.

ozmo.

byrnenj · 03-09-2003 1:08pm

same 2 laptops available from Jaguar Computers for 849 euro and 949 euro respectivly INCLUDING VAT.

But you can get the 1st one from Dabs for 822.11 euro (after conversion, including VAT, not including delivery).

Elara also sell them but a lot more expensive

damnyanks · 03-09-2003 1:45pm

Anyone know what its like to upgrade the ram for them ? I'd need at teh very least 512mb but would move towards 1gb

ozmo · 03-09-2003 2:07pm

Originally posted by byrnenj
same 2 laptops available from Jaguar Computers for 849 euro and 949 euro respectivly INCLUDING VAT.

But you can get the 1st one from Dabs for 822.11 euro (after conversion, including VAT, not including delivery).

Elara also sell them but a lot more expensive

Good one - greg must be slipping - I'll mail him these see if he can do any better.

ozmo.

Quigs Snr · 03-09-2003 2:17pm

same 2 laptops available from Jaguar Computers for 849 euro and 949 euro respectivly INCLUDING VAT.

Actually, these prices exclude VAT if you check their website.

ozmo · 03-09-2003 2:24pm

Originally posted by Quigs Snr
same 2 laptops available from Jaguar Computers for 849 euro and 949 euro respectivly INCLUDING VAT.

Actually, these prices exclude VAT if you check their website.

Ah - I was thinking Jag's seemed like too good a deal - most else thay have is quite expensive.

ozmo.

Evac101 · 04-09-2003 6:29pm

Hrrm...Back from the Future mainly specialise in unused, older IBM Think Pads but occasionally the do get great deals in on laptops - or at least I thought so -

Packard Bell (yeah, yeah) Laptop
Athlon 2000MP
512 MB RAM
60 GB HDD
32 MB Graphaics chipset
Combo CD-RW and DVD drive
etc, etc

Was in there a few weeks ago for €1250 (I think). Reason I remember is that I saw the same laptop in Compustore on Stevens Green later that day for €1699. Not that anyone here buys from Compustore - even with an employee discount:P

car · 14-09-2003 5:18pm

I was just woundering if any of ye own a sony laptop would you recommend it over a Dell Laptop. and do you think that this is a good deal.

PCGGRT786M
VAIO PC Intel® Pentium 4® 2.66 GHz 40 GB hard disc drive

costing 1,589.10

Features:

Intel® Pentium 4® 2.66GHz
16" SXGA Onyx Black LCD
DVD+RW/DVD-RW
n VIDIA (GeForce FX Go 5600) 64MB NV31
512MB
40 GB hard disc drive
Memory Stick slot
Sony VAIO World software
Click to DVD
VAIO Media
Sonic Stage
Picture Gear Studio
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Premier 6.0 LE
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home

ozmo · 15-09-2003 11:34am

Originally posted by car

PCGGRT786M
VAIO PC Intel® Pentium 4® 2.66 GHz 40 GB hard disc drive

costing 1,589.10

Features:

Intel® Pentium 4® 2.66GHz
16" SXGA Onyx Black LCD
DVD+RW/DVD-RW
n VIDIA (GeForce FX Go 5600) 64MB NV31
512MB
40 GB hard disc drive
...

I have a Sony PCG (AMD 1.3Ghz) I bought about two years ago - Still using it very often.

Negative Points:
-Took three weeks waiting for it to be in stock - they are polular.
-My Video card is pants (8mb ati mobility m1 - yours is ok)
-1.3Ghz was too slow to play any games - even ancient CounterStrike is unplayable.
-A friend who had one scratched his mouse touch pad (in first month)- and they wouldnt replace it - even if he paid - after sales service is really really terrible in Ireland for Sony Vaios.
-Firewire port is unusable for video capture- uses up too much cpu so tend to loose frames.
-The bundeled software just clutters up Winxp - best to remove it all once youve played with it once - as you wont use the sony junk software (mp3 players etc) again.

Plus Points:
-Great value. (i paid 1300)
-Lots of ports - TV out is brill for Divx movies

-Reasonable battery life
-The one above looks very cool - I might upgrade..

Are you sure the above includes Vat? - it looks a little too cheap..

ozmo.

blorg · 15-09-2003 3:16pm

I've gone through four Vaio notebooks and have been very happy with them. Ergonomically I find them very good, certainly a lot better than Dell, on which I find the keyboards very bad. This sort of thing is at least as important to me as the specs. As long as you are not buying them from Peats or the Sony Store they are actually pretty competitive on price too (considering their spec, e.g. if you want Firewire, etc).

One thing to watch with Sony - you had better hope that nothing ever goes wrong with the notebook, as their service is the worst I have ever experienced from any company, ever, ever ever. I had to send a Picturebook back for repair and they had it for six months (and couldn't escalate, lied to me several times, etc. etc.)

Dell's service I would rank as second-worst, we are in the middle of a dispute with them at the moment, but they would have to really screw us over to have a shot at Sony's crown.

I've also had a Compaq notebook which had to go back - they sent a courier around the next day and it was back within a week. With a desktop problem, they sent out a technical guy and fixed it on the spot. Excellent from a service point of view.

blorg · 15-09-2003 3:23pm

Certainly that laptop sounds like an absolute bargain - is it inc VAT and where are you getting it from?

car · 15-09-2003 4:52pm

i went through the sony site and it was costing around 1800 euros then i went on to the dabs and priced it there and it was cheaper 1500 euros.

so do you think it's a pretty good deal or should i go up to Dublin and shop around up there.

car · 15-09-2003 5:03pm

Sept 13) Inspiron 5100 2.66GHz
Free Lexmark All-In-One X75 + Double Memory! EUR 1,142.40

Total price-- EUR 1,382.30

Standard Features - Inspiron 5100: 533 Mhz Processor Side Bus
Equipped with Microsoft Windows XP operating system
512KB on-die L2 cache
ATI Mobility® Radeon 7500 performance graphics controller with 4x AGP support
Internal 56Kbps V.92 capable modem and 10/100 Ethernet LAN on Motherboard
One type I/II PC Card slot
Built-in Stereo speakers
Lithium Ion 12 cell (94Whr) battery
Norton Anti-Virus 2003, Dell E-Support Solution Centre
Dell Keyboard with Touchpad

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition (Why not upgrade to Windows® XP Professional?)

Online Offer - Free Printer!: Free : All in one Lexmark X75 printer/copier/scanner

Axim X5 Pocket PC: Not Included

Extra Support & Service + Accidental Cover: 1 Year European Collect and Return Service (-EUR - EUR 299.00)

Processor: 5100 with Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.66 Ghz

Screen: 14.1" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT Colour Display

Online Memory Promotion!: 512MB 266MHz DDR SDRAM (2x256MB) (Includes Free Upgrade from 256MB)

Hard Drive: 20GB Hard Drive

Home Installation: Not Included

Portable back-up solution: Not Included

Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 W/32MB SDRAM

Fixed Bay CD, DVD & CD-RW: Integrated 8x DVD/24x CD-RW Combo Drive (+ EUR EUR 60.00)

Floppy Drive: Not Included

Software: Microsoft Works 7.0

OR DO YE THINK THAT THIS IS A BETTER DEAL OVER THE SONY LAPTOP. I REALLY DONT HAVE A CLUE. OH THE SONY PRICE DOES INCLUDE VAT BUT NOT DELIVERY.

blorg · 15-09-2003 5:47pm

Unquestionably the Sony is a better deal, it's an infinitely better computer, and for only c. €100 more.

- Screen is much bigger (16.1 vs 14.1) and higher resolution (SXGA against XGA for the Dell) - modern applications need more and more screen space, you have to run everything full screen these days at 1024x768
- The Sony Onyx Black screens are meant to be pretty impressive
- Hard drive is twice as big
- DVD+-RW vs. CD-RW, much better for backup
- Firewire (Dell may not have)
- IMHO ergonomics on Sony laptops are much better

All of these extra features are worth much more than €100 (to me, anyway).

You won't get a better price on the Sony in Dublin, but I would advise trying to find that laptop in Dublin so that you can try it out (keyboard, screen, weight, size, etc.) One of the big problems with Dell is that you can't try it out (and then find that the keyboard is crap.) You may find the Sony very large/heavy with a 16.1" screen. Best way to judge this is to actually see one for yourself, I think it is impossible otherwise. Then again it may not be an issue if you are not moving it around that much.

byrnenj · 02-10-2003 9:25am

Available from Thursday October 9th...

Lidl Notebook - 1499.99 euro:

AMD Athlon MP-M 2500+ (128KB Level 1 Cache, 512KB Level 2 Cache) on a 266 MHz FSB.
512MB 400MHz DDR-RAM
60GB 4200RPM Hard Drive
DVD+RW / CD-RW - 2.4x DVD+RW/R, 16x CD-R, 8x CD-RW
64MB DDR Mobility Radeon 9600
15.1" XGA (1024x768) TFT
Dolby 5.1 Sound, 2 speakers, 1 microphone - built in
56k v.90 Modem
4 in 1 card reader (Smart Media, Multi-media, Secure Digital, Memory Stick)
PCMCIA wireless LAN card - 802.11b + Antenna
spray-proof keyboard + touchpad
Ports - 1x Firewire, 3x USB 2.0, 1x PS2, 1x Parallel Port, 1x Mic. in, 1x Headphone out /SPDIF, 1x RJ45 (ethernet), 1x SVHS Video Out, 1x RJ11 (modem)
Software - Windows XP Home Edition, MS Works Suite 2003, Panda Anti-Virus, Cyberlink Power DVD 5.1, Pinnacle Studio Instant 8.4 SE (CD/DVD burning software), Pinnacle Studio 8.6 SE Lite
Addition Accessories - Opticle USB Mouse, various Video adaptors (to suit all TV adaptor flavours), 32MB USB Memory Stick

Limited Availability, naturally

Imposter · 02-10-2003 9:38am

Go to http://www.makromarkt.at/ Click Topangebote and then click the '2' in the main window. Should bring you to a v. cheap laptop. Spec is not too bad.

Then flights to Vienna cost about 200€ with aer lingus and one nights accomodation should be about 50€. That comes to about 950€.

And for that you get a laptop and a bit of a holier as well.:D

ozmo · 03-10-2003 2:05pm

Originally posted by byrnenj
Available from Thursday October 9th...

Lidl Notebook - 1499.99 euro:

Is this really such good value considering the following cannot be upgraded

Operates at 1.867Ghz, 266mhz Front Side Bus, Screen 1024x768

These seem a lower spec than some laptops mentioned above??

ozmo.

byrnenj · 03-10-2003 2:19pm

But it's an Athlon rather than a pentium, so it's comparable to a P4 2500Ghz.

It's got a DVD+RW, 512 MB Ram, Good Graphics, large HDD. I'd say it is worth the money.

blorg · 03-10-2003 3:01pm

I'd say the Sony is still pretty competitive; much better screen and dual format DVD writer for not much more money, and it's a Sony, which from an ergonomic point of view counts for a lot (you actually have to use these machines, and can't swap out the keyboard/mouse/monitor like you can with a desktop).

BArra · 13-10-2003 11:22am

have u got a link for the sony vaio u mentioned above on the sony or/and dabs site?

cant find it on either and like the look of it

cheers

Cheap Laptops

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