Which Laptop?

[Stationery-Direct]

There seems to be so much choice nowadays that my head is spinning, I am looking at something that I can work from whilst abroad for 2 weeks, I was looking at the mini notebooks but decided that they just won't cope with the software that I will be running.

I need something small (ish), lightweight (ish) and for around £350 max, any recommendations? Needs to be able to run Adobe Creative Suite.

Any advice or recommendations of specific models is greatly appreciated.

[JamesCartwright]

I've just had a look at Amazon.co.uk and found this one: Samsung NC20. Have a look at it on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001PQG6E2?ie=UTF8&tag=reviews00-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B001PQG6E2

It has 1GB ram, a small screen (12.1 in) and some pretty positive reviews. I'm not sure of the tech requirements for Adobe CS. Is that enough RAM?

This computer looks small and lightweight and is £349.99 - down from £458, so it may be a good buy.

Hope that helps.

James.

[cmcp]

I would advise picking up a Dell Vostro 1500 or 1700 on ebay. Solid.

[asonda]

IF you want to run Vista and Adobe Software you'll need 2GB or you'll be pulling your hair out waiting for the laptop and programs to start up.

[stugster]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

Sold at least 4 of these bad boys and they're sh111111t hotttttttt!

[JamesCartwright]

This one is £346.97 and has 3GB ram, but a bigger screen:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0027FFU1U?ie=UTF8&tag=reviews00-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0027FFU1U

[los_design]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

Sold at least 4 of these bad boys and they're sh111111t hotttttttt!

This gets my vote. Got this and run it alongside my NX8220.

Fab machine at an excellent price...shame this one is on Vista and not XPP tho.

[Stationery-Direct]

Thanks everyone, I need a decent processor, lots of memory and a decent graphics card. I will hardly use this, it is just for when I am away and still need to deal with business things.

I have been looking at the DELL Inspiron 1545 which comes in at £468.78 inc VAT, more than I wanted to spend but here is the spec, any good??

Base:
Intel® Pentium® Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)

Microsoft Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista® SP1 Home Basic

LCD:
15.6" Widescreen WXGA WLED (1366 x 768) TFT Display with TrueLife™

Memory:
3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]

Video Card:
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330

Hard Drive:
160GB (5,400rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive

[Stationery-Direct]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

Sold at least 4 of these bad boys and they're sh111111t hotttttttt!

Having said that, this one does look good, can't find what graphics card it has, any ideas?

[stugster]

Graphics

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Graphic subsystem Up to 384 MB shared system memory
Video resolutions 1280 x 800 WXGA BrightView

[Draugen]

I would advise picking up a Dell Vostro 1500 or 1700 on ebay. Solid.

I use Dell myself (albeit an Inspiron) and it's ultra reliable and has a superb battery life, have absolutely no complaints about it at all. Had an Acer previously and that broke repeatedly and saw a quite immense decline in battery life with the months. Don't have a bad word to say about the Dell systems!

[EfficientEnergySolutions]

I would definitely recommend the Acer Aspire 6930G...http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/6735970/-/Product.html?searchstring=6930g&searchsource=0

I've had one for a few months and it's been perfect for me. Plenty of processing power, memory and graphics memory (enough for me anyway)... and has run perfectly ever since I first turned it on

[Comspec]

The Dell, HP and Acer machines all mentioned are decent ones for the dosh tbh. A few things I'd be aware of though:

1) Laptops in the £300-£450 range are not long-term PC's in my experience, we get way too many of them in for repair, and all sorts of problems with them. Look at a 2-3 year lifespan and you will not be disappointed.

2) If you use these things on your knee, or on a bed etc, without a tray or something underneath them, you might as well set them on fire because they WILL overheat, cooking their motherboard

3) I am finding that a lot of HP Dual Core lappies are having problems with the onboard graphics, chip, in that it runs too hot, and this has caused all sorts of problems, and largish repair bills for customers regardless of useage (this is even moreso for the higher end ones alarmingly). HP's solution seems to be making it run slower, which kinda defeats the purpose of it being in there in my eyes.

4) You'll get pretty much the same quality of machine whoever you use, in that price bracket tbh, so I'd concentrate on CPU, RAM,HDD and GFX as your main deciding factors, and ignore brand.

5) If you are going to use a laptop carry case to transport this new lappie, do not (DO NOT....incase you did not hear me) use a cheapie laptop bag, they have little or no protection and you will eventually end up damaging your baby.... spend the extra 15 quid on a decent bag, with decent protection.

My 2p worth (from someone who gets 15-20 laptops per week in for repair on average) :)

[bovine]

i have had a couple of dells on order since 26/6, estimated delivery was 10/7, then 17/7 now its gone to 31/7. In my opinion that makes the original estimate more of a wild guess! As my currently laptop is knackered im not a happy bunny.

im tempted to tell dell where to place their order and get some from ebuyer. Like the look of the r720 myself, just nor sure which of the two specs to go for.

[stugster]

on order since 26/6, estimated delivery was 10/7, then 17/7 now its gone to 31/7.

Aye, ebuyer are bad for that too. You order before 5pm and it's on your doorstep next-day. Barstewards! :rolleyes:

[bovine]

well, i have told dell what to do with the order. Spoke to customer services to try to get some info - she said she didnt know anymore than me, she could only see what i could! Didnt fill me with confidence and as i need to replace these laptops asap, asked her to cancel the order.

Have now ordered 2 from ebuyer, one of the hp jobbies stugster recommended and a samsung r720 for me. They say it will be here tomorrow, will keep you updated! And the hp comes with a free bag, ooh.

[Stationery-Direct]

I also went for the HP with a free bag :D Also paid for delivery for tomorrow so lets see what happens.

[sirearl]

I would buy the cheapest possible that did the job,and then put it in the dustbin when you get home.

Earl

[bovine]

mine wont be here tomorrow, either barclaycard or ebuyer were playing silly wotsits and because it was my first order it wouldnt go to my work address. Even though i have it listed as an approved address with bc. So they cancelled the order :(

I have now tried it with their google checkout thing and hopefully should now be ok, but missed the cutoff time for the samsung by about 5 minutes.

Never had a problem like this before.

[Stationery-Direct]

Ordered at 6.30pm last night, received at 7.50am this morning, very impressed, not opened the box yet mind (hope there's something in it) but the service has been spot on.

[bovine]

crikey, thats good service.

My order is currently stuck in security check - i think the problems i had with the delivery address yesterday has now triggered the anti-fraud system at barclaycard because i just had an automated call which i had to confirm the most recent transactions. Three transactions for £1 (ebuyer then google checkouts pre-authing the card) then £1300. does fit fraud profiles!

Fingers crossed i have passed my tests and the kit will come tomorrow. As one would expect, i wont have time to do anything with it tomorrow, but i could today. Typical.

Oh and i got an email from dell today apologising for the delay and they will keep me up to date. Not bad considering i cancelled the order yesterday and the online system shows its been cancelled. Clever system they have!

[KM-Tiger]

My order is currently stuck in security check - i think the problems i had with the delivery address yesterday has now triggered the anti-fraud system at barclaycard because i just had an automated call which i had to confirm the most recent transactions. Three transactions for £1 (ebuyer then google checkouts pre-authing the card) then £1300. does fit fraud profiles!

If it's any consolation I had that problem with ebuyer, despite being a regular customer. I think there are some glitches in their system that can trigger anti-fraud, and my card was blocked completely by my issuer for a short while.

What really hurt was having to dial an 0872 number to sort it out with ebuyer, but to be fair it was sorted quickly.

[Stationery-Direct]

Yeah the 0872 number bugged me too, as I was on hold for 10-13 minutes when I needed to ask a question.