Laptop spec check

[FishPolice]

My mum's laptop has finally let go so she needs a new one. She's been given the following spec from one of her supposedly IT expert friends. Is it any good for £610 (inc vat) or would she be better going for a Core2Duo-based laptop? Feel free to post other laptops specs you might have seen recently to give me some idea of what can be had for between £600 - £900 (no competitor links obviously).

£610 spec:
Acer Aspire AS5103WLMi Laptop
AMD Turion X2 TL52 1.66Ghz processor
1Gb ram
120 Gb hard drive
DVD SuperMulti Writer
15.4" TFT screen
3 x USB 2.0 outlets
Built-in Modem
Built-in Wireless Networking
Built-in Webcam
1 yr warranty
(spec mentions nothing about gfx)

She uses it mainly for photography stuff, surfing -nothing amazing or too demanding but she would like some reasonable graphics if possible for when her grandson comes to stay so he can play stuff like WOW

Any thoughts/feedback would be most appreciated

[edit] forgot to add the make of the laptop spec

 

[Will_3rd]

Would try and get one with a C2D cpu can be had for around £400+

 

[ryansm]

You will get a better laptop for a lower price than the one spec'ed.

AMD Option

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pa Laptop
Processor: AMD Turion X2 TL-56 - 1.86GHz, up to 1.6GHz FSB, 2x512KB L2 Cache
RAM: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz
Hard Drive: 120GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFTwith Crystal View Technology
Optical Drive: DVD±RW
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1100 256MB
Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g - Call for advice on Wireless Networking
Warranty: 1 Year - Upgradeable to 3 Years!
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition

Intel C2D Option

Intel Centrino Core DuoT5500 Processor 1.66 GHz
1024MB DDRII-667 MHz SDRAM
80GB Hard Drive
DVD Dual Layer Drive - To read DVDs and CDs and write CDs, DVD+, DVD- and large Dual Layer DVD
15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen
Intel GMA 900 DVMT shared graphics
Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
Integrated wireless 802.11 a/b/g LAN - Call for advice on Wireless networking
Integrated Bluetooth
Integrated 4 -in-1 card reader – reads Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, XD Picture Card
Operating System: Windows XP Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows Vista Capable
Built-In Camera
Fingerprint Reader
1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years

I would say the C2D option is a better laptop - but the AMD one is not bad either - since they both only retail at £499.97

If the graphics card was not mentioned before - it will be because it is inbuilt, and will share memory. This is the same for the machines above. If you want something that will play more recent games then a gaming laptop will set you back a bit. Even a basic GeForce Go graphics card can set you back a few extra £100's for all the performance increase.

For the general stuff your mum wants to do, I am sure these machines would be more than good enough.

 

[FrannoBaz]

add me on msn man: [email protected]