A "help me find a laptop" thread again.

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blue-eye-boy

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So I'm blessed with the task to locate the best laptop deal for my mom. Al she'll basically do, is browsing, email, skype, and download photos from her camera, not even editing. And maybe occasional MS Office work.

So IMO, and what I told her too, is not to go for this cheapies for R4500. Cos in a years time she decide to do more on the laptop, then she cant. So buy now, and buy good. So the specs I thought which is minimum requirements, are as follows:

- core 2 duo, or similar amd (I'm not familiar with amd laptop's naming of this)
-at least 160gig hdd
-at least 1 gig ram, upgradeable later with more ram.
-lan port, no nead for wireless, or bluetooth
-dvd writer
-15.4 inch screen (brilliantview or crystalview, or whatever)
- OS preferably xp, but vista wont hurt that much.

Her budged is between R7000 -R8000. Make isn't that of an issue, but not junk. I saw some good deals at www.laptopdirect.co.za, especially this one.

Ideas?
 
How is Lenovo laptops? Just asking cause I see a lot of adds of them. I dont think I'll buy Fujitsu Siemens again. It's just not quality.
 
jacqvt said:
So I'm blessed with the task to locate the best laptop deal for my mom. Al she'll basically do, is browsing, email, skype, and download photos from her camera, not even editing. And maybe occasional MS Office work.

So IMO, and what I told her too, is not to go for this cheapies for R4500. Cos in a years time she decide to do more on the laptop, then she cant. So buy now, and buy good. So the specs I thought which is minimum requirements, are as follows:

- core 2 duo, or similar amd (I'm not familiar with amd laptop's naming of this)
-at least 160gig hdd
-at least 1 gig ram, upgradeable later with more ram.
-lan port, no nead for wireless, or bluetooth
-dvd writer
-15.4 inch screen (brilliantview or crystalview, or whatever)
- OS preferably xp, but vista wont hurt that much.

Her budged is between R7000 -R8000. Make isn't that of an issue, but not junk. I saw some good deals at www.laptopdirect.co.za, especially this one.

Ideas?
Click to expand...


DOA insurance an extra R91. That's bloody cheeky if you ask me!
 
Sackboy said:
DOA insurance an extra R91. That's bloody cheeky if you ask me!
Click to expand...
Yes that is. Where are they situated, I searched their site, but didn't see. If near me I'll collect.

I see you can add R427 to upgrade to 2 gig ram. If it's me, I'll do it.
 
The processor is a "Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 1.6Ghz/2MB/800FSB", how will the speed be?
 
The DOA insurance is optional. Every time I've bought from them, I've removed it and collected myself. They are situated in Pretoria in the Villeria area.

I've recently played with this notebook. The processor is adequate. Especially for your stated requirements.

Consider bumping the RAM up to 2GB. You won't regret it.
 
Btw:

Good luck finding a new notebook that doesn't have wireless ;)

You don't NEED a Core 2 Duo. A Pentium Dual-Core (an upper range one) will serve her well enough.
That said, I would strongly recommend a Core 2 Duo, simply for that little bit of buffer.
 
sn3rd said:
Btw:

Good luck finding a new notebook that doesn't have wireless ;)

You don't NEED a Core 2 Duo. A Pentium Dual-Core (an upper range one) will serve her well enough.
That said, I would strongly recommend a Core 2 Duo, simply for that little bit of buffer.
Click to expand...
Was at game now, they have almost the same laptop I saw at laptopdirect, but it has 2 gig ram, not 1 gig. R7499 including a laptop bag. I know she dont need a core 2 duo, but wile she buy, lets buy good. And maybe I can borrow it sometimes, permanently...:D
 
I agree, a Core2 Duo isn't really necessary but it's not a bad idea to buy something she can keep for a while.
I believe the Lenovo's are quite solid machines and they generally come with one or two extra features that similar laptops don't.
 
charlie_82 said:
I agree, a Core2 Duo isn't really necessary but it's not a bad idea to buy something she can keep for a while.
I believe the Lenovo's are quite solid machines and they generally come with one or two extra features that similar laptops don't.
Click to expand...
But I dont think I'll make a mistake buying a HP Laptop? That price I got at game seems good. Will see this weekend what are on special, and pop in at incredible corruption as well.
 
That particular notebook (FU412EA) is a great notebook.
 
alisiaoh said:
I'd rather go for the Toshiba Satelite series L300-1A3 Notebook. Cost is R7478 incl vat also at laptopdirect. Bought it for the bosses wife the other day and it comes with Vista Home premium which is a lot better than basic...
Click to expand...
Yes thats also a great one. C'mon guys help me out here. What would you choose?
TOSHIBA® Satellite Series L300-1A3 Notebook - Intel® Pentium Dual Core T3200 2.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache 667MHz FSB, 3072MB DDR2-667 SO-Dimm Memory (1x2048,1x1024), DVD Super Multi Double layer optical drive , 160GB SATA 5400rpm Hard Drive, 15.4" WXGA Trubrite (1280x800 resolution) TFT Display, 10/100 Mbit Ethernet LAN, 802.11b/g wireless LAN, 56K Modem, Intel GMA 4500M up to 1340MB shared graphics, 2.49 kg, Built in Webcam, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, 1 Year International Warranty
Click to expand...

or the one I originally mentioned?
FU412EA hp Notebook 550 Series, Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T5470 1.6GHz 800MHz FSB 2MB L2 cache, 2048MB DDR2-667 SO-Dimm memory (2x1024), 160GB SATA 5400rpm Hard Drive, DVD+-RW Writer Optical drive, 15.4" WXGA Brightview (1280 x 800 resolution) TFT LCD Display, Intel GMA X3100 with up to 358MB shared graphics, Intel 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN, 56k modem, 10/100 Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition, 1-1-0 (One-year standard parts and labour warranty), 6 Cell Li-ion Battery, 2.49kg
Click to expand...

Will there be a huge (if any) speed difference between a 2.0ghz dual core and a 1.6ghz core 2 duo? The more ram (toshiba) one stand out for me I must say.

So what will you choose?
 
The HP 550, while a great, solid, good-looking machine, is somewhat bare when it comes to features. The better graphics in the Toshiba means it has a newer chipset. Which is a huge jump.
 
I'm so confused now, I just saw this on incredible's site. http://www.incredible.co.za/services/catalog/moreinfo.asp?sku=62035
Its a refurbished packard bell. Any good?
# Intel® Core™2 Duo T7300 processor 2 GHz
# 1024MB RAM + 1024MB TurboRAM
# 2 x 160GB HDD
# DVDRW dual layer drive
# 56K modem
# 10/100 Ethernet
# Integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless networking
# nVidia GeForce 8600MGS graphics with 256MB video RAM
# DVI and HDMI ports
# Integrated webcam
# Integrated Bluetooth™
# 17” WXGA DiamondView display
# Office One Suite
# MS Windows Vista Home Premium
# 6 Month warranty
Click to expand...

It's up for R5999
 
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