Need a laptop for business use..

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  • #5
    £400 is gonna limit you somewhat really, if you could add another £100 onto it you would get some nice options.

    I repair laptops and I must say, the low end HP models are breaking more often than they should. The graphics seems to be a problem in quite a few models (overheating).

    I'd look around at a wee Toshiba or an Acer in that budget, there will be a couple of models. Or even, dare I say it, the Dell's which are inside that too.

    £400 is right at the bottom end of the laptop scale, so you are limited I am afraid.
     
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    W

    wykthorr

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    May 26, 2009
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  • #6
    Don't know the price in the UK for the machine, but I can comfortably recommend the Dell Vostro 1015. Battery life is excellent, overall build quality is good and connectivity is also very good. It also has a 15.6" screen so you get enough desktop space to actually do something with it. Mine's in Dual core 2.1GHz (If I remember well) with 4 GB of RAM and it works like a charm.
     
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    Experienced IT guy

    Experienced IT guy

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  • #15
    [FONT=&quot]I would buy any Toshiba or HP/Compaq. I'd buy it from John Lewis as their extended warrantee is usually 2 years (as opposed to 1 from elsewhere at the same price) I would not under any circumstances buy a Sony - I'm typing this on a 4 year old Toshiba in preference to a 4 month old Sony which cost 3 times the price of the Toshiba and has been much less reliable and sturdy.Over the years I've bought about 10 laptops. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Toshiba or HP/Compaq have been the standout manufacturers.
    [/FONT]
     
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  • #16
    Experienced IT guy said:
    [FONT=&quot]I would buy any Toshiba or HP/Compaq. I'd buy it from John Lewis as their extended warrantee is usually 2 years (as opposed to 1 from elsewhere at the same price) I would not under any circumstances buy a Sony - I'm typing this on a 4 year old Toshiba in preference to a 4 month old Sony which cost 3 times the price of the Toshiba and has been much less reliable and sturdy.Over the years I've bought about 10 laptops. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Toshiba or HP/Compaq have been the standout manufacturers.
    [/FONT]
    Click to expand...

    That's one point that people seem to miss. When someone is giving you an opinion on a laptop, they tend to do so based upon their limited experience of the one they use personally. Therefore their info is really based on a specific machine, or maybe two.

    It's best to look around, each time you see one you fancy google it and read the reviews and any pages with potential problems.

    Personally.....I'd buy the one Eagle is offering :)
     
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    Z

    zhxia

  • #18
    I was out working all day and iPlayer is now saying its not going to allow it to be seen after the fact!
    Please somebody tell me they managed to grab a copy from the player while it was streaming? Hate to miss this!
    heres hoping....
     
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    Experienced IT guy

    Experienced IT guy

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    Mar 1, 2010
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    Henley on thames, UK
  • #21
    I would be wary of Dell, whist they have always eventually solved the issue(s) (DVD drive failure etc but took literally 2 days of my time with me following their instructions). They used to be good: Now their support is in India (or wherever) the quality of the phone line can be appalling, the accent can be unintelligible and you can get treated like an idiot. They used to be very good- but that was 5 years ago. Curiously if you place an order you get to speak to someone in England or Ireland - I wonder why?
     
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    Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve

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    Jul 4, 2005
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  • #24
    My IBM ThinkPad (an R51) has lasted me for five years. I use it for several hours every day. It's missing a key (but I can type on the little blue button that's still there), the letters have disappeared from half the keys, but it still works just fine. ThinkPads are professional, rugged, and the keyboard in particular is excellent. The screen did go after about 2 years and 11 months, but it was covered 100% under the warranty and they fixed it in under 48 hours. Since then, I've had no problems with the screen.

    Recently, though, I realized that I'm creating a bad impression when I give demos to executives while using a laptop with a missing key. Lenovo (who bought the business from IBM a few years ago) appear to have maintained the quality for which ThinkPads have always been known, so I've just ordered a new one. It's an SL-510 (aimed at small business users) with the fastest duo processor available for that line, 4GB of memory, and a 320 Gig hard drive. Including taxes, it's costing me a little under $900, which is about £600. Seems like good value to me. Yes, I could buy a cheapie laptop at a discount store, but you largely get what you pay for. Lenovo laptops, especially the SL and T series, are designed for business.

    PS - for most technology purchases, I visit online review sites to get a sense of the pros and cons of each model. For example, this is a popular review site in the US.
     
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    J

    JULIEN ETIENNE DOT COM

  • #25
    HP/Compaq should be the first choice,
    Lenovo (aquired IBM) & Toshiba are decent,
    Fujitsu Simens, not bad,

    The rest in the middle are ok or over budget.

    Avoid these:
    ACER/Packardbell, (don't let anyone talk you into buying that crap)
    ASUS (not the worst but they use cheap parts)

    Samsung make good notebooks but like ASUSTek they like too much cheap manufacturing for notebooks.. My gf and dad received faulty Samsung notebooks (
    separate occasions), i still rate them over ASUSTek.
     
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