Need help choosing laptop

deadman walking

previous laptop fried few weeks ago and i want to get new one asap.my budget is 500euro tops,just can not justify spending anymore on laptop. use laptop mainly for online streaming,e-mail,facebook etc. so nothing too heavy but need something that can cope with say watching a full length movie online.
i have 200gb external hdd,also 2x1gb ddr2ram sticks(2mths old). have been on a few sites but none of them provide a service to help you choose a laptop model. any helpful suggestions are appreciated.
if i could purchase the laptop on finance i might stretch a bit more on price but not much. to tell the truth the finance option would suit me better if i could go that route as it would free up the cash for other things;)

honeybadger

hey op,,was in tesco poleberry yesterday evening and they had a small 10.1inch compac or hp laptop for 249,,looked like a good deal to me

roryq

Go into DID by ardkeen that is where I picked up my toshiba. It cost me about 200 less than pc world. As I asked them was there anymore they could give me off it. Also got laptop bag and a few bits thrown in as well.

Off all the brands steer well clear of Acer, Asus and emachines. These a prone to breakdowns after a 2 year cycle and support is a nightmare. Compaq, HP and Toshiba are the best models in your price range.

deadman walking

DID? are they through the ardkeen roundabout up yhe new road up by tesco? thanks for that advice, i always thought acer were a good make? then again i always thought toshiba were dodgy, i suppose it depends on the individual. has anybody had any experience with those little netbook thingys and are they ok for watching online movies etc.?

roryq

Yeah DID up by tesco in Ardkeen. Where I used to work before we all had acers and everyone died after a 1. Not great build quality on the lower end models so I would stear clear.

The Samsung N1* netbook range are very nice but the screen is very small. I was going to buy one but got the Toshiba instead.

deadman walking

What toshiba did you get roryq? what confuses me is that all the netbooks have exactly the same running gear and yet there could be 200euro or more of a price difference:eek:
it is a question of would a netbook be sufficient for my needs,be able for online movies and downloading movies etc.? they certainly are more portable and i could afford one faster as well.

roryq

Sat T150 cost me 500 but I asked for money off and such. Which was about 50 off it. So it wasn't too bad like.

longshanks

Yeah I'd recommend toshiba too, bought one in soundstore about a year ago. I think they might have had a sale on though

CantGetNoSleep

Only get a netbook if you really need it to be that small, their functionality is very limited

deadman walking

tbh it is more of a money issue,you know coming up to christmas and all. plus i am not working so my budget is pretty low,i am trying to keep it to 350euro max. this really only allows me to get a netbook or perhaps a second hand laptop?
i already have two spare sticks of ddr2 ram(2x1gb) plus a working internal dvd drive which just needs a cage,also external speakers and webcams.basically i could afford to get something less powerful for cheaper money and upgrade it myself.i will be fresh installing windows xp home anyway regardless of what os comes with whatever pc i get. i also have 200gb external hdd so plenty of storage already.
basically i want something like yesterday and that only really leaves me looking at netbooks. i just can't decide which one to go for?

roryq

Probably something in the Samsung N1* range is the best option for you then if it is a netbook you want. Atom processor as I said I would steer clear of Asus or Acer not that great.

deadman walking

thanks roryq,had a look at the n140 and it looks good. i have heard though that all netbooks have major issues with video playback? since i will mostly be using whatever i get for that purpose i am left wondering which of the netbooks can handle video playback from movie sites and clips from youtube etc. ?

CantGetNoSleep

They don't really have enough power tbh, I have an n130 and it is terribly jumpy at playing video

For a slight bit extra this would be 10 times better to watch video on

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056096363

Junior

Can you shop online ?

deadman walking

yes i can shop online,why do you ask?:D