Question:
Advice on First Laptop
1) What is your budget? £700
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? Watching DVD, Music, Photo Editing, Office Work, Web Browsing, Burning DVD/CDS
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? It will be moved around, but mainly at a desk for the majority of the time.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? I will get into gaming again, but nothing too extreme.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? I dont like acer
7) How many hours of battery life do you need? 2-3 hours would be great
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? Buying online is fine
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen? No preference
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? No preference
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? No preference
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Its what is inside the laptop which matters, looks are just a bonus.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? 3 years minimum
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB? 80gb
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
CD/DVD Dual Layer
I need to burn CDS & DVDS
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I have been looking around and discovered this brand called Zepto, and for the price of £694.43 Incl. VAT, i can get the:
Zepto Znote 6314W - £47 online discount
* Centrino™ DUO technology
* Intel® 945PM / ICH7-M Chipset
* 14" WXGA+ screen 1280x768
* nVidia Geforce Go 7600 512MB graphics card
* 1.60 GHz Intel® Core™ Duo T2050
* DDRII dual channel (533/667/800) 1024MB
* 4 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x Firewire, 1 x VGA out
* Sound in- and out , 1 x TV-Out, 1 x Express Card 34/54
* Built-in 3in1 cardreader, built-in bluetooth
* Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 ABG wireless network
* 100/1000 Megabit network, 56K modem
* 341mm x 247mm x 27mm, 2,25 kg w/bat.
http://uk.zepto.com/Default.aspx?pag...6sgIGFvGvd21VP
Do you think this zepto is a good choice?
Any suggestions you can offer would be great, but please note that i wont deal with laptopsdirect.co.uk, due to bad customer service one of my family members received.
Thanks
Answer:
Re: Advice on First Laptop
Perhaps something like the ThinkPad R60 which can be had with the x1400 would fit. It offers very good quality for the price.
Answer:
Re: Advice on First Laptop
DigiUK is a possible source. They even respond to email enquiries. Savastore offer competitive prices but, in my experience, the service isn't great.
The Samsung R40 is well within your budget and uses the ATI integrated graphics which is better than the Intel integrated graphics but not as good as a separate GPU.
Another possibility is the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pi 1536 which is just under £700 in the F-S online shop and appears to have the ATI X1400.
Or how about the Toshiba A100? Savastore have a version of this with the ATI X1400.
John
I just had a look at the R40 and while the ATI x200 gives better performance then the Intel GMA, as they are both integrated then it really wont make much difference to what i am going to use this laptop for.
I just found an Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3505 Edition - Core 2 Duo T5500 1.66 GHz - 15.4" TFT, RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max), Card Reader: 3 in 1, Hard Drive: 120 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm, Optical Storage: DVD±RW (+R double layer) - integrated, Wireless NIC: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, Fast Ethernet for £592.00
I also read a review on the V3505 series and the battery life seems to be pretty impressive, you can get around 4 hours on light usage and around 2 hours on heavy usage.
£592.00, good value????
Answer:
Re: Advice on First Laptop
As far as I can determine, the V3505 has the Intel integrated graphics. There are some detailed specifications here.
There's not a lot of choice in discrete graphics under £700.
This Asus A8Jc scrapes in under your bar and has the GFG7300 (you have noted some concern about Asus build quality but I suspect that this applies to most computers at the budget end of the market).
There's a Toshiba Tecra at Morgan which is within your budget and has bottom end nVidia graphics (I've used Morgan in the past - they have been around for years and specialise in left-overs and factory refurbs).
John
Answer:
Re: Advice on First Laptop
Yes, i know the V3505 has Intel GMA 950, but as i don't need dedicated graphics then it wouldn't make any sense to spend an extra £50-100 on a low end dedicated card because they are not any good for gaming either.
The samsung r40, with similar specs to the V3505 is £615 or i can get a samsung r40, with a t2250 1.6ghz, 80gb hard drive for £527.
So i have three choices:
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3505 Edition £592.00 - http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/654/861...archtype=genre
Samsung R40 LWD T5500 £615.00- http://www.digiuk.com/productdetail....ms=&k=&s=0>=
Samsung R40 Core Duo 1.66GHz £528.00 - http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4DDY
If anyone has any alternatives, please remember I need 1gb Ram and i don't want a business class laptop which only has 512mb, because if i upgrade the ram myself then the warranty becomes void.
But out of these three laptops, which one do you recommend?
Answer:
Re: Advice on First Laptop
Yes, i know the V3505 has Intel GMA 950, but as i don't need dedicated graphics then it wouldn't make any sense to spend an extra £50-100 on a low end dedicated card because they are not any good for gaming either.
The samsung r40, with similar specs to the V3505 is £615 or i can get a samsung r40, with a t2250 1.6ghz, 80gb hard drive for £527.
So i have three choices:
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro V3505 Edition £592.00 - http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/654/861...archtype=genre
Samsung R40 LWD T5500 £615.00- http://www.digiuk.com/productdetail....ms=&k=&s=0>=
Samsung R40 Core Duo 1.66GHz £528.00 - http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4DDY
If anyone has any alternatives, please remember I need 1gb Ram and i don't want a business class laptop which only has 512mb, because if i upgrade the ram myself then the warranty becomes void.
But out of these three laptops, which one do you recommend?
Im going to have to take issue with that.
I have a go7300 which is a low end card. I am very harpy with it however as I am no hardcore gamer and play old games frequently. I play CS and Guild wars regularly on 12800 x 800 on max. Can integrated graphics do that?
I have played Quake 4 on 800x600 on medium and neverwinter nights at 1280x800 on max, can integrated graphics do that?
You will find the answer is no and budget cards are significantly better than any integrated solution. Its fine if YOU dont want one but saying that they are equal to integrated cards is rubbish.