Yet another Laptop Advice thread...

[me123]

Hey everyone! I'm sure you're probably sick of these, but it's about time for another laptop advice thread!

Here's my scenario. I've chosen the Dell Inspiron 1525 as a budget laptop for what I need. I'm looking mostly for work and internet useage, and perhaps some light gaming (I'd probably have simsig and a few other really basic games). It also need to be able to run itunes at a reasonable rate, although I don't plan on putting 30 GB of music on it!

There's one retailing in Tesco at £369. It's got 120Gb HD, 2GB memory. That sounds reasonable to me considering the equivilent pack is about £390 on the Dell website. Would this really be a good deal, though? I'm not really "up" on computer proces ATM so I don't know what's really a good deal.

Also, is this a good computer? The reviews look alright (although nothing special) but remember that I am looking for value here. if not, does anyone have any advice on what is a good laptop? It would need to be in a similar price range and ideally have wireless internet enabled.

Thanks in advance! And, for the record, please do not suggest a mac; I do want one but it's too expensive ATM

 

[BJMorley]

If it's an Acer don't take it. Vista takes for ages to run, and everything is very slow. Some of the newer models are better with Vista, I'll have a check later
Brandon

 

[466.networkers]

Hey everyone! I'm sure you're probably sick of these, but it's about time for another laptop advice thread!

Here's my scenario. I've chosen the Dell Inspiron 1525 as a budget laptop for what I need. I'm looking mostly for work and internet useage, and perhaps some light gaming (I'd probably have simsig and a few other really basic games). It also need to be able to run itunes at a reasonable rate, although I don't plan on putting 30 GB of music on it!

There's one retailing in Tesco at £369. It's got 120Gb HD, 2GB memory. That sounds reasonable to me considering the equivilent pack is about £390 on the Dell website. Would this really be a good deal, though? I'm not really "up" on computer proces ATM so I don't know what's really a good deal.

Also, is this a good computer? The reviews look alright (although nothing special) but remember that I am looking for value here. if not, does anyone have any advice on what is a good laptop? It would need to be in a similar price range and ideally have wireless internet enabled.

Thanks in advance! And, for the record, please do not suggest a mac; I do want one but it's too expensive ATM

I think if you bought a Dell from their website, you can get XP installed instead of Vista. If you do want Vista, I would recommend at least 3gb of RAM.

Hope this helps.

Posted via a mobile device.

 

[mbonwick]

2GB RAM is fine. I'd take a look and compare the processor/graphics, as they're more important than hard drive.

 

[mrcheek]

I bought a new laptop this week with Vista. and nothing worked. so I indtalled XP, and now its fine!

 

[Donny Dave]

There's one retailing in Tesco at £369. It's got 120Gb HD, 2GB memory. That sounds reasonable to me considering the equivilent pack is about £390 on the Dell website. Would this really be a good deal, though? I'm not really "up" on computer proces ATM so I don't know what's really a good deal.

I've been looking at one of those as well, as I'm getting to the stage where I need 1 for my photography work (lugging a desktop around with me is a bit difficult). For the price, they don't seem to be that bad, but have a look at the various computer shops near you. They may be able to find a laptop for you which is cheaper then anywhere else.

 

[D306]

also, try shops where you can get custom built PCs. They seem to be better than factory built ones

 

[me123]

Hi everyone, and thanks for the advice! I am actually now posting from my new Inspiron 1525 with Vista and everything seems great so far! I actually quite like Vista TBH but then again, I've only used it for an hour! The only problem I'm having is the wi-fi (my father decided to put a password on the router page :roll because I don't have a WEP key, so I'm using an ethernet connection just now to connect. CBA doing a fool reboot of the router...

Anyhoo, thanks for the advice. I'll let you know if I'm still impressed with it in a few days time!

 

[5872]

Dell Suck, theres my opinion.

 

[me123]

Well, Fred, I've never personally had a problem with a Dell so I was more than happy to purchase the Inspiron. But, of course, one bad experience can put you off a company altogether.

 

[mbonwick]

The only problem I'm having is the wi-fi

Exactly the same problem I have..it won't connect no matter what I do

 

[yorkie]

Dell Suck, theres my opinion.

A worthless opinion as you give no reason at all.

If you have nothing worthwhile to say then please do not post drivel. Thanks.

If you don't like them for a particular reason then you are, of course, welcome to tell us about it.

 

[laseandre]

...The only problem I'm having is the wi-fi (my father decided to put a password on the router page :roll because I don't have a WEP key, so I'm using an ethernet connection just now to connect. CBA doing a fool reboot of the router...

If it's an older BT Home Hub, then the WEP key is on the back (the one in the blue section).

 

[me123]

As Tiscali Tech Support, I expected to find the WEP key on the base of the router on a sticker as the Tiscali products do. Sadly, not there. I found out that you had to access the router and my father had set up a password on the router so I couldn't access it. He forget the password :roll: so it was router hard reboot...

At least it's working now and I'm posting sans ethernet

I'm still impressed with the whole thing TBH. The laptop and Vista both look good. IE isn't as bad as I remember, but I'm still going to be downloading FF soon, whenever I have the time.

And David, the graphics on this laptop are pretty amazing; I'm no expert but I'd say it looks good enough for "proper" photography!