Bottom range laptop advice required

Thunderbolt · 3 Aug 2010 at 17:58

I'm buying someone their first computer, and have found the following three.

Compaq CQ61-421 - £325
T3100 800 Mhz 1.9 GHz
3GB DDR2
Graphics - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Battery Life 6-6.5 Hr
HDD - 320GB 5400RPM

HP G61-406 - £340
T4300 800 Mhz 2.1 GHz
3GB DDR2
Graphics - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Battery Life 4-4.5 Hr
HDD - 250GB 7200RPM

Dell Inspiron 1545 - £405
C900 2.2GHz 800MHz
3GB DDR3 1333
Graphics - Mobile Intel Express Montevina/Cantiga GM45(UMA)/PM45
Battery Life 4-4.5 Hr
HDD - 250GB 5400RPM

Just looking for some advice as to which is the better value for money, and would be more suited for a first time PC user. Or if they're any good at all.

neoboy · 3 Aug 2010 at 21:31

Do they require any extra mobility and good battery life or is performance more important?

vince3 · 5 Aug 2010 at 14:50

Without choosing specifically, I'd go for two things:
1. A screen min. size 15.6"
2. A keyboard with a numeric keypad - much easier to use because of a better layout and fewer multi-use keys.
I'd also get a cheap mouse (about £5) if it will be used on a desk or table. I've never been happy with touchpads.
If you can go to about £420, John Lewis have a nice Toshiba and the two year warranty could be reassuring for a new user.

Forgive me if you've thought of this lot, but...
As you are doing the buying I assume you may be helping with some setup. I did this for a neighbour who had been given an oldish laptop. It took me a few days to get the thing configured with stuff like recovery disks, free anti-virus, Open Office, Faststone for photo management, Mailwasher Free, and some hands-on time to help get him going. Also with a laptop a wireless modem router will probably be required, and a reasonable ISP unless they are on Virgin or Sky in which case they'll have to be dealt with for a suitable router and installation.

olivier renault · 6 Aug 2010 at 12:43

i3 processor, a Toshiba L500 / Samsung R530 seems to me the better option at that price tag. I would not consider a HP / Compaq on the cheap.

Hmm, I'd still consider the HP G72. Worth a look at. Basically, I'd only consider a i3 machine.