Buying a laptop

[karmgirl]

What are the thingsto look for when buying a laptop to ensure you get a good deal.

for example - what size memory and what size ram etc is good?

I want something thats fast on the internet, a well know brand but still reasonable price e.g �300-�450.

[Ethel]

Firstly, the internet speed depends mainly on your broadband, not your pc.

You need to decide what is important to you in a laptop:

Size - do you want to carry it around a lot? If so, you need a smaller screen and weight will be important. If it's to be a desktop replacement, then you can go as big as you like.

Applications - what do you want to do? If you want to play high end 'gamers' games, or video editing, then a laptop is probably not for you.

You need at least 2gb of RAM to cope with Vista, and the larger the hard drive the better, although external usb hard drives are cheap enough now.

Do you want a dvd burner? Not all laptops, especially the very small ones, have a dvd drive.

In my laptop I find 3 usb ports to be the minimum I can live with; the card reader is very useful and I would like bluetooth (mine is over 4 years old and doesn't have it).
You may want a built in webcam (I don't)

There are plenty in your price range. Find one you like the look of and print out the specs. Use that to compare the specs with others. Doing it online is so easy.

Try and look at the one you want in the flesh before you buy - you may not like the 'feel' of it at all.

I would rather spend a few pounds more buying from a shop (online or high street) that I feel confident with, rather than an obscure one that seems 'to good to be true'.

[karmgirl]

Thanks for your detailed reply ethel. It's difficult to keep up with this techology at the moment. xxx

[vehelpfulguy]

I find this site good for deals.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/all/all/new

People are always adding laptop deals (and other deals) so look at that web site.

You can use the tabs at the top to limit just "computer" deals to be displayed for example.

[trish432]

I don`t know much about laptops, But there`s an Acer aspire 5315 on ebuyer for �298.98, including postage. It`s Vista home premium 120 gb hard drive, 1gb ram with room for another 1gb, DVDRW, webcam, and wireless enabled. Should be cheap to install the extra gb of ram.
You can also add an extra 2 years to the 1 year warranty for about �40.
I don`t know anything about Acer, but maybe someone else can advise on that.

[scotgal]

Is acer a side shoot of HP?

[ChuckFickens]

I don`t know anything about Acer, but maybe someone else can advise on that.

They are pretty good laptops and work well enough but haven't got the best build quality and seem to have very weak plastics in the cases that often crack, particularly around the screen hinges.

I personally don't think you can go far wrong with Dell laptops, though toshiba are also good. I also like sony's but you will pay a premium for them and a lot of people say the build quality is not 100% on some of them, mine seems fine though.

[terambulan]

I have a Dell Lat D620 - �600. But it doesn't burn CDs....so beware. Mine is borrowed, so not my choice. It has Wifi built-in.....really good to annoy Abers with my rants.

[vehelpfulguy]

>Is acer a side shoot of HP?

NO

HP own Compaq

[Ethel]

I love my Acer - over 4 years old and not one minute's trouble.

[netibiza]

Opinions of Advent 4211 please


http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/2 19404,,,

as I'm thinking of getting one for my daughter who may drop it or get it stolen or she may not. But I really can't afford a really good one.

[netibiza]

ooops;

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/2 19404