Question about Laptops (Need New One)

syke · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:04

New Laptop?

Sorry for another thread, but..

Im in the market for a new laptop to replace my HP Omnibook 6100 the specs are: 1000mhz processor, 2x256mb PC133 RAM (i think), 40GB HD.

Ive got a budget of £750-800MAX. And it will be used for;

Programming - VB, Most C-Utilities (C# etc)
HTML
General Use - Browsing/MSN
Watching the odd film - but not a big screen needed

I've had a look at the MacBook's but considering for programming im thinking its not worth looking at them.

Ive had a look at a Zepto and came up with a 1.83ghz Core2Duo laptop for £750ish.

What im asking is, what laptop would you go for?

15.4" Widescreen (MAX)
60GB HDD Minimum
Weight under 2.7kg (if you can)

Budget: £700-800 MAX.

Thanks for any input.

s-

Devious · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:21

I got this from a well known auction site last sunday for £450+p&p . Theres some really good deals.

DELL Inspiron 6400
T2050 1.6GHz Duo Dual Core (2MB Cache)
256MB ATI Mobility X1400 Graphics
512 MB RAM
80 GB Hard Drive
8xDVDRW Drive (CDR,CDRW,CD,DVD,DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R,DVD+RW)
15.4" Truelife WXGA screen (1280x800)
Dell 1390 802.11bg Wireless Network Card
Integrated Audio, 56k V.92 Modem and 10/100 Network
USB, Firewire, SD Card Reader, VGA, S-Video

Software:
Microsoft Windows XP
CD Writing Software
DVD Software
1 Years Dell Collect and Return Warranty (expires Sept. 2007)

syke · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:23

Yeah ive been looking at a new 640M but it seems a bit overpriced to me.

Anyone know what Zepto's are like?

s-

squiffy · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:26

£500 Acer should get a good enough spec, £750-£800 would be overkill. Unless it's a big brand name

be able to get 1GB of RAM, possible even 2GB, and a 120GB. on the upper end of your budget. How's this for £680 inc vat?

Aspire 5602WLMi
Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Intel Core Duo Processor T2300E 1.66GHz
15.4" WXGA TFT CrystalBrite LCD Display
120GB Hard Drive
1024MB DDR II RAM Memory
DVD Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945a/b/g Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in 1.3 megapixel OrbiCam
Built-in 6 in 1 Card Reader
ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1300
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

syke · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:27

squiffy said:
£500 Acer should get a good enough spec, £750-£800 would be overkill. Unless it's a big brand name be able to get 1GB of RAM, possible even 2GB, and a 120GB. on the upper end of your budget. How's this for £680 inc vat?

Aspire 5602WLMi
Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Intel Core Duo Processor T2300E 1.66GHz
15.4" WXGA TFT CrystalBrite LCD Display
120GB Hard Drive
1024MB DDR II RAM Memory
DVD Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945a/b/g Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in 1.3 megapixel OrbiCam
Built-in 6 in 1 Card Reader
ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1300
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Have to say thats a great price.. and a great spec too.. may have to look into that.

Are Acer's still as good as they used to be?

squiffy · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:40

Seem fine, although the Travelmates do have better build quality. Do you even need dual core? something around £500 should be suitable, look for 1GB RAM. Don't think programming is that CPU intensive been a while (last time was Cobol, Visual Basic, DB3/4)

syke · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:42

I dont need dual core, but it would be a more of a faster option, as i want it to be fast. Although i was looking at Pentium M's.

What are generally faster?

s-

squiffy · 20 Sep 2006 at 20:46

There's the AMD Turion X2 available too..£560 inc vat

Mobile AMD 64 Turion X2 TL50 1.6GHz
15.4" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite™ TFT LCD Display
100GB Hard Disk Drive
1024MB DDR II RAM
DVD-Super Multi Drive
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 integrated 3D graphics
Fast Ethernet 802.11b/g WLAN
0.3MP Orbicam built-in webcam
Battery: 6 cell
5-in-1 Card Reader
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition and MS-Works

or for £664 inc vat

Mobile AMD X2 Turion TL52
15.4" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite™ TFT LCD Display
120GB Hard Disk Drive
1024MB DDR II RAM
DVD-Super Multi Drive
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 integrated 3D graphics
Fast Ethernet, 802.11b/g WLAN
0.3MP Orbicam built-in webcam
Battery: 6 cell
5-in-1 Card Reader
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Centre Edition and MS-Works

Both Acer 5100 line

syke · 20 Sep 2006 at 21:05

Which one would you go for, out of the 3?

s-

V For Vendetta · 22 Sep 2006 at 09:20

Syk3 said:
Yeah ive been looking at a new 640M but it seems a bit overpriced to me.

Anyone know what Zepto's are like?

s-

I love mine

syke · 23 Sep 2006 at 17:05

Ive come up with a few laptops and i just need to choose between them i think..

Ive gone off the MacBook because this way i can get an iMac or a Mac Mini when i want a Mac

Acer Aspire 5101 AWLMi
# Processor: Mobile AMD MK-36 Turion 2.0GHz Processor
# RAM: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz
# Hard Drive: 100GB
# Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFTwith CrystalBrite Technology
# Optical Drive: DVD±RW Super Multi
# Graphics: ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 integrated 3D graphics
# Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g
# Warranty: 1 Year
# Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition
# Windows Vista Compatible
# Fast Ethernet 10/100
# Built-In 0.3 MegaPixel Camera
# Flash Memory Card Reader (MMC, MS, MS-pro, SD, SM, XD)

Price = £539.97

Acer Aspire 5102 WLMi
# AMD Turion X2 64 Dual Core TL-50 1.60 GHz Processor
# 1024 MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM
# 100 GB Hard Drive
# DVD Dual Layer Drive
# 15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen with CrystalBrite Technology
# ATI Radeon Xpress 200M Shared Graphics
# Integrated gigabit LAN
# Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN
# Integrated 5 -in-1 card reader – reads Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, XD Picture Card
# Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
# Microsoft Windows Vista Capable
# 1 year warranty

Price = £559.97

Acer Aspire 3102WLMi
# AMD Sempron 64 3200+ 1.6GHz
# 1024 MB DDRII-533MHz SDRAM
# 100 GB Hard Drive
# DVD Dual Layer Drive
# 15.4" WXGA Widescreen TFT Screen
# Built in 0.3 Megapixel Webcam
# Integrated gigabit LAN
# Integrated wireless 802.11 b/g LAN
# Integrated 5-in-1 card reader
# Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Pre Loaded
# 1 year warranty

Price = £499.97

Asus A6M-Q052H
# Processor: AMD Sempron 3400+ - 2GHz, up to 1.6GHz FSB, 256KB L2 Cache
# RAM: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz - Low Cost Double Memory Offer - Call For Details!
# Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
# Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10)
# Optical Drive: DVD±RW Super Multi Double Layer
# Graphics: Integrated Graphics supporting 64MB
# Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g - Call for advice on Wireless Networking
# Weight: 2.7kg
# Software Bundle: CyberLink PowerDirector
# Warranty: 2 Year Collect and Return
# Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
# Windows Vista Compatible
# Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
# 56k Dial-Up Modem
# PCMCIA Type II Slot
# Built-In 1.3 MegaPixel Camera
# Built-In Stereo Speakers

Price = £529.97

Asus F3F-AP021H
# Processor: Intel Core Duo T2250 - 1.7GHz (x2), 667MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache
# RAM: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz - Low Cost Double Memory Offer - Call For Details!
# Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
# Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10)
# Optical Drive: DVD±RW Super Multi Double Layer
# Graphics: Integrated Graphics
# Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g - Call for advice on Wireless Networking
# Warranty: 2 Year Collect and Return
# Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
# 56k Dial-Up Modem
# PCMCIA Type II Slot
# Built-In 1.3 MegaPixel Camera
# Built-In Stereo Speakers

Price = £621.97

Sorry for the long list, but id like my laptop to have 1GB Ram, and 60GB+ HDD, also the Battery life is pretty important too.

Theres a few HP's with Duo 1.66ghz, 512mb Ram, 60GB HDD and 5hours Battery Life.

What would you go for?

s-