Recommend laptop to buy

Hi, I want to buy a laptop and don’t know how to go about it so was wondering if anyone can recommend one or where to look?

I am based in London and would use the laptop to work (Word, Excel, Power Point, Acrobat) but also want to be able to listen to music, watch DVDs and use Internet.

I did some research and it seems these are the features it should have (some of them I don’t know what they are), would these be ok?

100-160GB hardware
1GB RAM
Modem
USB ports
DVD recorder
Dual Core Processor
Screen 15.4 or 17
Wireless Internet
Video card 256 MB
Windows XP Professional
HD Audio, Surround sound


Can anyone let me know of a good brand, and not extremely expensive, with these or similar characteristics?

Sorry if my post sounds too simple. I don’t know much about computers and have never owned a laptop but it has now become a necessity, mainly for work reasons.

Thanks.

Need to know a rough budget before giving you a recommendation tbh :)

yeh we would need to know your budget to be able to recommend... Those specs look ok for what you want it for... I would say go for 2gb if your gonna be using vista and most laptops now come with 2gb ram.... I am not entirely sure but i think even a 128 or maybe even 64mb graphics should do the job for dvds if it isn't going to be hd... you could probably pick something like this up for around 300 - 400

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Should meet your needs. The price is ex vat and delivery so you need to factor those in.

I would configure it with a "true life" screen as they are far better than matte on dell models.

You need to select the 256mb Geforce 8400gs as well if you want a dedicated graphics card, but for watching DVD's the standard integrated graphics will be fine.

With those options added it comes to £404 inc VAT and Delivered to your door :)

Thats a 1.8GHz Core 2 duo (dual core)
2GB of RAM, 160GB Hard drive, 256mb 8400gs graphics and a 15.4" true life screen.

Fortunatly this is one of the few laptops you can still get XP on but it will cost you an extra £60ex VAT. The configure process is an easy step by step so you can read through on the site .

PC World have this Compaq for £449 which seems good value to me.

I know some people have a problem with dealing with the large multiple stores but tbh I find the ability to just take it back if it goes wrong rather than to have to post it off to be valuable.

As long as you know what you're looking for and you don't let the salesman flog you the latest high commission item PC World is fine

If you're looking at PCW, then I'd put a strong word in for ASUS X53SR Laptops - Cheap ASUS Laptops.. Buy the ASUS X53SR laptop at PC World.. Sorted out one of the preceding models for some friends and they've been thrilled to bits with it. Spec of the X53SR:
Full specification
Processor Type Intel Core 2 Duo T5450
Processor speed 1.66 The higher the number of Megahertz (MHZ) the faster the processor should be
Memory Size 2048 MB
Memory Type DDR2 DRAM
Hard Drive Capacity 160 GB The bigger the capacity the more you can store
Optical Drives Super Multi DVD1RW
CD-ROM Speed 24 x Enabling access to CD ROM data. The higher the number the faster the speed
CD-RW Speed. 10 x Enabling you to access and store data on CD-RW disks. The higher the number the faster the speed
DVD-ROM Speed 8 x Enabling you access to data on DVD. The higher the number the faster the speed
DVD-RW Speed 4 x Enabling you to store data on DVD. The higher the number the faster the speed
Screen Size/Type 15.4"
Graphics Card Type ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD X2400 To enable images to be displayed on your monitor
Graphics Memory 128 MB The higher the memory the better quality images you are display
TV-out YES Allowing you to plug your laptop into a TV to watch DVDs
Sound Type 2 WAY SPEAKER To enable you to have sound from your computer which is great for games, movies and music
Modem Type 56k Enabling communication with others via the telephone line. A modem is used for the Internet, e-mail and faxing
Wireless Enabled YES Allows you to connect to an existing wireless network such as in a office or a wireless hot spot
No. of USB Connections 4 The more connections the computer has the more equipment you can connect to your computer e.g. a modem, printer, scanner, digital camera, PDA
No. of Firewire Connections 1 High speed data transfer link for digital video and other media. Ideal for quickly downloading video images from a camcorder to PC
Other Interfaces 8-IN-1 CARD READER
Battery Type Lithium Ion 6 Cell
Battery life (up to) 2.50 hours
Weight 2.95 kg This is the weight of the appliance in KG
Height 40 mm
Width 269.5 mm
Depth 365 mm
Colour Silver