# Buying a Laptop



## joey54 (1 May 2007)

I'm hoping to buy a mid-range laptop soon. Just wondering are there any in particular which are good and what I should be looking for. It's mainly just for personnal use. What brand should I go for and what should I avoid? What price should I be expecting to pay out! Cheers!


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## Jim Carver (2 May 2007)

Hi Joey. DO NOT buy an Iqon anyway. They claim to be one of Irelands biggest makers. My brother bought one from a major retail store and after 15 months of good care, the screen malfunctioned. After a few calls to an operator in their facility in Dundalk, he was given an 1890 number to the technical dept. He rang it and they told him they would only talk to him if he rang them on a premium rate number...no bull, honest! He asked who would he be talking to and the reply was "us"!!!!


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## moneygrower (2 May 2007)

we've just bought an acer aspire 5101AWLMi from nowafflecomputers.com cost €700 has a € key! and other good stuff, 15.4" screen, AMD turion 64 mobile technology,  256 ram, 120gb hdd, dvd rw and Igb DDR2 whatever that means.


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## aircobra19 (2 May 2007)

500-700 is reasonable for a laptop these days. You should look for Minimum 1GB RAM, 15.4 (1280x800) screen, 80GB HD or bigger, DVDRW (DVD burner) and a dual core CPU (AMD or Intel). They all have Wifi but BlueTooth is extra. 

Check out the laptops in the shops and see if you like glossy or non glossy screen, and what screen size and resolution you want. 12", 15.4", 17" etc. Bigger screens fit more onscreen but are bigger, heavier and shorter battery life. Consider a warranty to cover the economic life of the machine. For example a €600 laptop I only get a 1yr warranty but for one €1000+ I'd look for a 2yr etc. 

Dell and Apple both have online outlet stores where occasionally you get a better deal. Keep an eye out for frequent Dell money off discounts promotions. As that can make the outlet machines very cheap, they are not running one at them moment. Compare the prices across different websites and different shops. Sometime the shops have better prices than the web. So it pays to shop around. 

I've used Dell and Sony, and haven't really had too much problems with either.


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## joey54 (2 May 2007)

Thanks All,
I was looking at this one  only prob is it only has 512mb RAM, should I avoid it? Also are there any other good online stores out there for buying laptops? I'm reluctent to use Dell as I've had terrible problems with them before.


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## aircobra19 (2 May 2007)

Problem with that machine is that it is an Acer, (lots of reports of poor support), its not a dual core (its a semperon) and its only 512mb. I wouldn't buy it myself.


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## joey54 (2 May 2007)

Thanks aircobra19, I'm not very good at the technical side of things with computers! I've also been to some of the larger shops and didn't find them very helpful!


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## joey54 (2 May 2007)

Another thing, should I get the new windows Vista or is xp still ok?


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## z108 (2 May 2007)

aldi have some pretty good deals. lidl too i think. none of the main brands use inferior components so you should decide a budget to stick to and then compare all  available deals at the same price level .

i d look for  either a  Dell , hp,  Toshiba or aldi/lidl


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## aircobra19 (2 May 2007)

XP is fine IMO.


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## Technologist (2 May 2007)

aircobra19 said:


> XP is fine IMO.


I've a high-end Acer myself for 15 months, no problems so far. 

Sony do some nice, reasonably priced laptops, but I know one person got a model (here in Ireland) with no '/' key. Very annoying when you realise how much it's used.

But with a lot of manufacturers, be aware that different ranges come from different factories or are made under contract. For example, HP consumer laptops are not of the same quality as their more robust business machines.

XP vs Vista - I say demand XP, there are too many incompatibilities & issues with Vista. It's a CPU and memory hog.


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## z108 (2 May 2007)

Technologist said:


> Sony do some nice, reasonably priced laptops, but I know one person got a model (here in Ireland) with no '/' key. Very annoying when you realise how much it's used.



I was always of the impression that sony were among the most expensive high end and least good value laptops of all.

Sony develops and make each component themselves they have  a 'from concept to product philosophy' unlike other manufacturers who buy generic motherboards , components, developed their own memory stick standard etc  and this makes everything priced at a premium. Its like paying for the brand .

Ill admit they are fantastic but I wouldnt recommend Sony to a price conscious buyer.


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## kellysayers (2 May 2007)

if you are going to the states get it there. I got my HP there for half of the price it is here. Circuit City will send you a box with postage paid for it if you need to send it back to them.  Great value and it works fine


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## kellysayers (2 May 2007)

I have vista but I would prefer XP


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## blinkbelle (4 May 2007)

I would stay away from iqon's and sony laptops. My brother used to sell them pieces of crap he said!

I have a hp laptop, top of the range one its great. I had a dell before and it broke after 2years.

If your going to be using the laptop a good bit I would say invest in a decent one that will last.


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## europhile (4 May 2007)

Aldi will be selling this shortly.

[broken link removed]

The specifications and price aren't posted yet on the Irish site. What does anyone think?


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## Sherman (4 May 2007)

I bought a MacBook recently, after years of swearing I'd never join the Apple cult. However, a year of incredible frustration with my Dell PC forced me to change. I have to say, I really am delighted with it. Unlike my PC, it really is plug and play - any device I've hooked up to it is automatically recognised and does exactly what it is supposed to first time (I know people will post back saying their PC is true plug and play too, but I've more often than not had to do some fiddling around when connecting devices to PCs).

Out of the box, it took me about an hour to get online with my PC, including frustrating calls to the Dell 'helpcentre'. I was literally on the web within 10 mins of unpacking my MacBook and wireless router.

It took a couple of hours to get used to the slightly different way the Mac does things, but now I feel incredibly awkward and weird using a Windows based machine. There is tonnes of software out there - I love FrontRow, which allows you to control all the music, picture, movie etc. software via a small remote control and your TV. I use NeoOffice, the Apple version of OpenOffice, and find it great.

Basically, I'm not a techie, have zero interest in becoming one, and just want my bloody devices to work when I need them to, which the PC could never guarantee. I highly recommend the MacBook.


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## ButtermilkJa (4 May 2007)

Sherman said:


> ...I'm not a techie, have zero interest in becoming one, and just want my bloody devices to work when I need them to, which the PC could never guarantee. I highly recommend the MacBook.


This is one of the reason I would always advise people to buy Apple Mac instead of a PC. I can't for the life of me understand why PC's sell so well. They are so frustrating to use it's mind boggling how people keep going back for more!

Check out the Apple Refurb Store to find good deals on laptops.


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## bobk (4 May 2007)

www.dell.ie/outlet


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## paddi22 (4 May 2007)

yeah the apple macbooks are briliant - if even for the fact you don't have to keep running nortons and spyware programs on them!


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## aircobra19 (4 May 2007)

paddi22 said:


> yeah the apple macbooks are briliant - if even for the fact you don't have to keep running nortons and spyware programs on them!



No one uses Norton. It causes loads of problems and slows down a machine. When we are fixing computers its the first thing we remove. 

Apples aren't impune to problems and Apple aren't always very keen to fix them when you do have them. For example,  there been lots of other issue like that too, that people have had to fight to get design faults covered. But other than that they are ok. PC Pro has an piece  "_32 reasons why PCs are better than Macs".  _Its meant to be a fun article, but theres few truths in it. I like Macs, (couldn't eat a whole one) but they are not trouble free as some would like you to believe. In genral, most people have few problems with their computers, PC's or Mac's.  

The dell outlet has €80 pre VAT discount at the moment. BTW.


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## europhile (4 May 2007)

Could somebody have a look at the spec on that Aldi laptop and let me know what they think of it.  Many thanks.


www.aldi.ie


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## aidan119 (4 May 2007)

Above all else, be sure to get a 3 yr warranty on the laptop. 1 in 12 laptops have a hardware problem in year one. Thats an industry figure. 

I buy Dell all the time, always works for me. People will give out about them but service has improved greatly.
Have Inspiron 6400 and love it. Has fantasic sound compared to most laptops if you are into music.


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## z108 (5 May 2007)

The iQon Bank Holiday Clearance in their warehouse looks interesting and could be worth a visit and a look. I'm not a huge fan of theirs but if its cheap and represents good value etc...


[broken link removed]


Price List is located on the webpage  here 

[broken link removed]


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## peno (8 May 2007)

I was in Harvey Norman yesterday and noticed a Sony C1 series laptop for 999.

The c2 was 1300+ in the sony store last week.

Can anyone tell me what the differecen is between the C1 and C2 I've looked them up and they seem quite similar so don't understand the big price gap as the other sony paptops were all in a similar price range in both stores.


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## joey54 (28 May 2007)

Hi,

Was out looking at laptops at the weekend (again!!!) and I had a question and I didn't get much of an answer from sales assisant. Basically I want to be able to watch DvDs on my laptop. 
I want to get a laptop that can do this already, the sales assisant jsut said you have to download sofware to do this. Is this true? I thought it was possible to get laptops with a DVD drive already? 

Cheers!!!


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## ClubMan (28 May 2007)

They may not come with the software required to decode and play _DVD_ content by default and you may need to buy or download suitable software (e.g. the application itself or else codec plugins) for this.


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## joey54 (28 May 2007)

Clubman- Is this the case with most laptops? I'm not very good at this but I have a better Idead of what I want now!


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## aircobra19 (28 May 2007)

Theres lots of movie formats on web you can download that the laptop won't be able to play without downloading more software, player or codecs. DiVX for example. 

But for regular DVD's you put in your DVD player under the TV, every laptop (as far as I remember) I've seen that had a DVD drive had the minimum software installed to play a regular DVD. Might be a cut down version but you could play a DVD.


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## ClubMan (28 May 2007)

I'm pretty sure that the _Sony Vaio PCG-K23 _that I bought at the start of 2005 didn't come with software to play "normal" pre-recorded _DVDs_. Maybe it's because I bought it in the _US _and it only did region 1 or something? Or because it was over two years ago? Can't remember the details.


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## aircobra19 (29 May 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I'm pretty sure that the _Sony Vaio PCG-K23 _that I bought at the start of 2005 didn't come with software to play "normal" pre-recorded _DVDs_. Maybe it's because I bought it in the _US _and it only did region 1 or something? Or because it was over two years ago? Can't remember the details.



Found two links to that machine. The first has no DVD drive. http://compreviews.about.com/od/deskreplace/gr/SonyVAIOPCGK23.htm
The second has InterVideo WinDVD, http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PCG-K23-Notebook-Pentium-Drive/dp/B00029ZV0S

My old sony a GRT895 had InterVideo WinDVD on it too. Maybe yours didn't but 2005 is then this is now in fairness.  Just check the specification of the model when buying and don't rely on what some sales assistant is telling you. Or get them to put it writing.


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## ClubMan (29 May 2007)

aircobra19 said:


> Found two links to that machine. The first has no DVD drive.


I think that there were variations on the same model number. Mine definitely has a _CD-RW/DVD-ROM _combo drive.


> The second has InterVideo WinDVD


 Ah - I think it came with this alright but I don't think it would play Region 2 _DVDs _without some messing around (possibly even hacking the drive to be region free or something - it's a while ago...).


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## aircobra19 (29 May 2007)

Some drivers and software used to be locked to a region after a certain number of changes of region. Only really an issue if you want to play DVD's outside of your region. IE US disks on a EU computer etc. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code


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## smithy-tours (30 May 2007)

I'm also hoping to buy a laptop soon. It will be mainly for home use with the kids. There are a few things I want:
1. Store music and pictures on it.
2. A flash card reader (the cards you put in your camera)
3. To watch DvD's on it.
4. Decent battery life
5. Budget of Euro750
I'm also not sure whether or not to go with Vista or Xp. I'm used to XP and haven't ever used Vista. 
Also I have looked on the internet but I'm really not sure which to go for or which brand is reliable.
Anybody got any recommendations? They's be greatly appreciated!


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