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Alexikokopops

Laptop

By Alexikokopops, in General Chat

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Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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I know samilktray started one of these a bit ago but I want my own thread. My laptop recently died. I want a new one. I've been looking at Macs but they're expensive, even with the 17% discount I get (that's just for you JTB). Therefore I'm looking at what kind of regular laptops I can get.

I know nothing much about computers, except that Dell make some. My requirements are as follows:

Can run MSN messenger

Can run internet

Can play films and tv shows

Can play DVDs

Can play Football Manager

Nice and quiet (my old laptop was noisy :angry: )

Preferably more than two USB ports

I'm guessing I don't need that extreme a system. I had a quick look on Dell's site and had a look at these. Now, the Mac equivalent of the £349 one on there would cost me £655, even with my discount applied, and it only has a 13" screen instead of a 15.4" widescreen (which is annoying when I use it to watch stuff). Do you guys reckon 2GB of ram and a 2GHz intel processor would be fine for my uses? I'm currently using my sister's computer and it has 2GB ram and 1.47 GHz intel processor and it seems to be working ok for what I use. It's also quiet. I like quiet computers. I also have an external hard drive (500GB) so space isn't much of an issue.

I was thinking of the £399, so I get 2GB Ram, 2GHz processor, the glossy display on my 15.4" screen, 250GB hard drive, and I was thinking of paying £30 so I can get the screen with better resolution so I can make FM un-full screen and switch easier between things. Oh, and £10 on a remote, ha. Figured I didn't need to upgrade anything else. This is based on knowing fook all about computers. That would cost me £439, the equivalent Mac would be a lot more with a smaller screen.

Anyway, help me. Does the Dell route seem sensible if I go for a normal laptop instead of a mac? Should I do something else? Do I need something better? I'm a simple man.

Disclaimer: Posting about how Macs are better will not be useful. I'm merely trying to assess what kind of non-Mac laptop I'd need if I decide to buy one instead of a Mac. My housemate loves his Macs, I'll just ask him to go on about them if I want to hear it. Be warned, I will set Nadler on you

Samilktray

Samilktray

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I also have an external hard drive (500GB) so space isn't much of an issue.

Slightly off-topic, but how much would one of these badboys set me back?

Oh and for the record, I bought a desktop in the end, not a Laptop.

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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Slightly off-topic, but how much would one of these badboys set me back?

Oh and for the record, I bought a desktop in the end, not a Laptop.

Anywhere between £60 and £100 I believe for a 500GB one. This is based purely on having a quick look on Amazon. Mine was a Christmas present last year. A very welcome one at that since my old lap top had a 30GB hard drive.

Samilktray

Samilktray

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Anywhere between £60 and £100 I believe for a 500GB one. This is based purely on having a quick look on Amazon. Mine was a Christmas present last year. A very welcome one at that since my old lap top had a 30GB hard drive.

Oh lovely, i'm interested.

But as I was advised Desktops are generally alot better value for money than Laptops, so If there an option I'd go for one of them, If not then this is completely useless.

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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Oh lovely, i'm interested.

But as I was advised Desktops are generally alot better value for money than Laptops, so If there an option I'd go for one of them, If not then this is completely useless.

I'm going to point out for future posters offering advice that it has to be a laptop. A desktop will result in me being stuck in my room if I want to use it, rather than with me housemates in the lounge. If I used it for anything serious then this would be ok, but I don't :thumbup:

Jay

Jay

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have you tried play.com?

They have some very good deals on branded Laptops like HP and Toshiba which I am informed are pretty good from my experience Dell suck balls!!!

2gb of memory is a must if using Vista

not really much help I know but the HP and Toshiba ones also look very very nice where as Dell normally look horrible from what I have seen

Daggers

Daggers

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Oh, and £10 on a remote

Why does anyone want a remote for a laptop?

Surely, on any given occasion, the remote and the laptop will be equidistant?

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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Why does anyone want a remote for a laptop?

Surely, on any given occasion, the remote and the laptop will be equidistant?

So I can watch stuff in bed, duh. It's the ultimate in laziness. I like being lazy.

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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have you tried play.com?

They have some very good deals on branded Laptops like HP and Toshiba which I am informed are pretty good from my experience Dell suck balls!!!

2gb of memory is a must if using Vista

not really much help I know but the HP and Toshiba ones also look very very nice where as Dell normally look horrible from what I have seen

I'm using my sister's Toshiba one now. What eperience have you had with Dell? The advantage of buying from Dell is that I can customise it a bit, which I can't do from Play, so I can add an extra GB of ram for £30 at the click of a button (which is eactly how I like to do it). It's got a good enough review here. Also, the prices don't seem to be as good on Play and there's actually no way to organise them! What a ridiculous system!

Jay

Jay

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I'm using my sister's Toshiba one now. What eperience have you had with Dell? The advantage of buying from Dell is that I can customise it a bit, which I can't do from Play, so I can add an extra GB of ram for £30 at the click of a button (which is eactly how I like to do it). It's got a good enough review here. Also, the prices don't seem to be as good on Play and there's actually no way to organise them! What a ridiculous system!

I have no real knowledge of the laptops they are used where I work and most are massive freakish looking things but I know 2 people who have purchased Dell Desktops and one was total crap even with 4gb of memory put in it using Vista Home Basic it had constant problems crashing and took ages to boot up, it was so slow you wouldn't believe it even the most basic of functions were impossible to complete

I do agree with the point about being able to upgrade it is very handy the thing about computers is that for everyone who has a bad experience someone else has a good one you just have to bite the bullet and go for it sometimes

Monk

Monk

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I can't speak for the latest models, but I have had a Toshiba for the past 2 and a half years, it's been very good and reliable. Relatively quiet and pretty nippy.

HP are renouned for being unreliable. I've always liked the look of Sonys but they are about as expensive as apples.

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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I have no real knowledge of the laptops they are used where I work and most are massive freakish looking things but I know 2 people who have purchased Dell Desktops and one was total crap even with 4gb of memory put in it using Vista Home Basic it had constant problems crashing and took ages to boot up, it was so slow you wouldn't believe it even the most basic of functions were impossible to complete

I do agree with the point about being able to upgrade it is very handy the thing about computers is that for everyone who has a bad experience someone else has a good one you just have to bite the bullet and go for it sometimes

True story. I've just discovered that my girlfriend's computer is a Dell and she's had no problems with it, ha. It comes with a one year warranty, so if anything is messed up I can get it sorted.

davieG

davieG

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We've got two a Phillips I got from PC World :P which I've had no problems with except the power supply burnt out when I didn't have it full plugged in but they replaced it FOC even though it was a few weeks beyond the 1 year warranty - the sounds crap on that so I'm told.

The other one we've got is a Toshiba from Toys R Us :D which was bought as a back up so was relatively cheap even though it has a good spec - The sound on that is excellent.

PCs are like cars every make has delivered a lemon in it's time.

James.

James.

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I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 and it's rather good. Reliable, no problem. I stupidly cracked the screen about a year ago and even though it wasn't covered by the warranty they still sent someone to my office and replaced it on the spot for free. Now THAT is service.

davieG

davieG

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I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 and it's rather good. Reliable, no problem. I stupidly cracked the screen about a year ago and even though it wasn't covered by the warranty they still sent someone to my office and replaced it on the spot for fee. Now THAT is service.

Not as good as being free though :P

MC Prussian

MC Prussian

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I suggest consulting the advice of professionals and experts:

Laptop Reviews on CNET

All you gotta do then is look them up and see how much they are in the UK.

I'm not going any further than this, fearing that my love for Mac could result in some serious trouble. lol

Oh, and as for the specs, if you want to game with FM solely, you don't need an expensive graphics card or a lot of RAM (2 GB should do, unless you're a multitasker and using multiple programs simultaneously).

Alexikokopops

Alexikokopops

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I suggest consulting the advice of professionals and experts:

Laptop Reviews on CNET

All you gotta do then is look them up and see how much they are in the UK.

I'm not going any further than this, fearing that my love for Mac could result in some serious trouble. lol

Oh, and as for the specs, if you want to game with FM solely, you don't need an expensive graphics card or a lot of RAM (2 GB should do, unless you're a multitasker and using multiple programs simultaneously).

I had a look on there this morning and their exact words about the one I was interested in are "As middle-of-the-road as a laptop gets, Dell's Inspiron 1525 is an excellent go-to choice for basic computing, especially if you take the time to configure a system to your needs via Dell's online configurator." Sounds perfect for my needs. I was thinking of upgrading to 3GB ram because it's only £30 and I do like to multitask (hence why I like Football Manager in window form rather than full screen, so I can switch between things easier). Unfortunately before I buy it I need to pop into the bank and update my billing address since I move in June. Whoops.

DB11

DB11

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Dells are really not that good. As soon as it breaks or needs a new battery it costs like £9999999999 to get it repaired and is only slightly cheaper than getting a new one.

For repairs the Dell parts are unique so you have to go to Dell - you cannot go to your local computer store (and if you do they will order the parts from Dell plus charge you for their work so it will be dearer)

Try and look at say a laptop at a local computer shop and see if you can get one there or even PC World.

But ye the specs you've specified in your original post will be more than enough (Intel processor though.... >_<)

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