New Laptop

[Raen]

Ok I've managed to talk my Grandparents into buying me a laptop (yeah I'm a broke student who can't afford his own). Currently I've got a few reasonable choices, and wondered if anyone had any comment.

I'm leaning towards this (https://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/637224) solely on the principle that I can pick it up from a bricks and mortar store tomorrow. This (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147733) is however also an option. Obviously the second one has the advantage of being dual core, which really does make me want it. Finally there's this (http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1419747729.122329787 8@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadefgdlijehcflgceggdhhmdfho.0&page=Product&fm=1&sm=0&tm=4&sku=737243&category_oid=-27411) which is on clearence, cheap and has what I want. Ideally I'd like to pick it up from a store due to not being in every single day, but then again cheap stuff is nice. Any comments?

[fitbabits]

If you were US-based, I would have suggested this (http://tinyurl.com/3tbxnn)...

[fitbabits]

Also, I can vouch for the reliability and stability of the Toshiba models.

[Typical Michael]

Has two jeega?

[Raen]

If you were US-based, I would have suggested this (http://tinyurl.com/3tbxnn)...

Yeah if only I were. :(

[fitbabits]

Yeah if only I were. :(
Trust me - right now is NOT a good time to be living in the US... It's a fucking depressing nation.

[Mot Wakorb]

Trust me - right now is NOT a good time to be living in the US... It's a fucking depressing nation.

C'mon now, it's really not all that bad.

[Raen]

Trust me - right now is NOT a good time to be living in the US... It's a fucking depressing nation.

Hm... Well from what I've seen you may have a point. In that case I wish for some kind of Best Buy import fairy.

[Wraith]

Of those three, I'd probably look at the second one, as it's not a celeron (like the first) and not refurbished (like the third).

The first one is dual-core, but the second one still has the better processor.

Also recommended: you may want to add another GB of RAM when you can afford it, as they're running Vista.

[Lithium Flower]

Trust me - right now is NOT a good time to be living in the US... It's a fucking depressing nation.

Not nearly quite as depressing as having a former mafia head for a president who is not only corrupt but an abashed lecher and unrepentant sexist pig.:(


Oh, and the Toshiba Satellite Pro L300 looks better or the Packard Bell. The third is a refurbished item and not hugely better than the other two which I'm guessing are new. It's not worth saving the 20 odd quid when you can have a brand new PC which is roughly the same.

[Raen]

Yeah right now I'm going for the Toshiba. Will hopefully be ordering it later today. I'm gonna get some more RAM at the same time. I know in general it'd be better to get a matched pair, but I think I'll just stick another gig stick in. It surprised me how cheap laptop memory actually is right now.

[Wraith]

Might have to look on the Toshiba site to see if both slots are occupied. I'm guessing it ships with 2 x 512MB, rather than 1 x 1GB. If so, you'd at least be up to 1.5GB after adding one, which wouldn't be bad either.

[Raen]

RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz ( 1 x 1 GB )

From the ebuyer spec. The Toshiba site also says it has "2 Memory Slots (1 to Configure)", so I should be good to go with any combination of expansion I pick.

[Wraith]

Oh, nice. I'm just so used to retail sites that never show RAM slot specs that I figured it wouldn't even be on the linked page.

[Raen]

Oh, nice. I'm just so used to retail sites that never show RAM slot specs that I figured it wouldn't even be on the linked page.

eBuyer are really good at listing whatever specs they can get hold of. It's one of the reasons I favour them.

Also can anyone recommend a good carry case? I'm ideally looking a sleeve or something I can put in my regular backpack that'll keep the laptop dry.

[Raen]

Unfortunately the deal on the laptop I was going to buy expired. So I've seen this (http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=329142&CatId=0). I've heard a mixed bag of things about Acers before, so I'm not sure whether or not to buy it. Any opinions?