New laptop needed for novice

[greenclaws]

Hi everyone,
My family is going to buy a laptop, it doesn't need to play games, it just needs to be snappy for going on the internet, mp3s, videos and photo editing. I have no idea what kind of technology new laptops use and have no idea what is a good deal or where to get them from. The budget is about 400 pounds (but if there's genuine benefit in spending a bit more then it can be stretched) and will pretty much just be used at home and will need wifi.
Thanks for any help and advice you can give

[this_is_gav]

Dell Vostro 1000. There may well be slightly cheaper (though not much), but for the price you get dual-core and 1gb RAM. Just select the 1 year warranty.

[UltraMagnus]

i would say go for the vostro 1000 too, i would recomend that you pay the little extra to get the "true life" screen and 9 cell battery, both cost little and make things a lot better. just make sure to select windows xp not vista....

[greenclaws]

Thank you for your advice
I don't know though, £450 for a machine that has integrated graphics that shares the memory and a turion processor? Is that dual core?

[usxhe190]

greenclaws Turion 64x2 is dual core but for laptops, go with core 2 duo (if money permits)

Vostro 1500 are having discounts basic laptops from £349 - check it out!

Find a Notebook, Desktop, Server, Printer, Software, Service or Monitor at Dell.

but remember for dell - don't buy from internet. call them for discount

[usxhe190]

£434 for C2D 1.6GHz with 2Gb, dedicated graphics, integrated webcam, XP home and glossy screen

Vostro 1500

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

[greenclaws]

How do you get discount over the phone?
By the way, that system is £468 without the upgraded screen and webcam and then £60(!!) delivery making it £528....

[vrykyl]

dell sales folk have targets, so you can always haggle

[UltraMagnus]

How do you get discount over the phone?
By the way, that system is £468 without the upgraded screen and webcam and then £60(!!) delivery making it £528....

personally, the best way is once they have finished putting the system together ask them something along the lines of "is the any flexability on that price?" if they reduce it then ask "are you sure thats the lowest you can go?"

[usxhe190]

sorry guys, i forgot VAT...apologies

[smallstool]

Just replaced our old laptop last night:

Acer 5520G:
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-64
250Gb HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
2Gb ddr2DD
15.4 inch,1280x800 pixels
Webcam, wireless, bluetooth, card readers, DVI out, dolby digital etc

Latest model, had a choice of about 20 at the nearest Tesco's cost £499.

Works a treat!

[staffsMike]

Can't see that acer on the site.. Which model?

Sounds like a nice laptop to me.

[smallstool]

its:

Aspire 5520G - 402G25MI

Really pleased with it so far.

[greenclaws]

Would you recommend this one?

Asus X51RL-AP999 Laptop Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 120GB 2048MB DVD-RW WLAN ATI XPRESS X1100 128M Share VRAM 15.4" Vista Home Premium 2 year warranty - Ebuyer

The only thing I can see wrong with it are the integrated graphics (which still seem good, but not for games, which this isn't for anyway), everything else seems amazing for £440 inc and free postage

The Acer 5520G seems better value for money, but our Tesco doesn't do laptops and that model is £600+ everywhere online

[staffsMike]

Thats not a bad laptop for the price.

[smallstool]

Looks very good.

Mine had a bigger hard drive (250Gb) and a great webcam.

The spec on most laptops now are superb.