Spec The Mother A Laptop

[Pepp77]

My Mums 4 year old Advent laptop decided to die today, she used it last night without issue, but today it will not turn on at all, and in fact even when connected to the charger the light to show this connection doesn't light up. I have had a look and when I tip it from end to end I can hear what sounds like something loose inside, and the edge of the laptop closest to the power button has a bit of give where it shouldn't, so I believe its a goner. I'm gonna take it apart tomorrow and have a look to see if there is anything obvious, otherwise I will just remove the HDD and sell it for spares/repairs.

So that leads me to the question at hand, can you spec her a new laptop? Budget is £300 (lower would be nice ). Her usage will basically be surfing the web (facebook, you tube and the like), reading emails, listening to music and it will also be used on the occasions she works from home, which will be via a Terminal Services session.

I've been happy with my Dell outlet Netbook so have had a look on there and found the following spec for £287.63

• Inspiron 15 - N5050
• Processor: Intel Core i3-2350M (2.30Ghz, 3M cache)
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
• 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs)
• 320 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
• 8X DVD+/- RW Drive
• Display: 15.6in High Definition (1366X768) WLED LCD Panel
• Intel HD Graphics 3000 Graphics Card
• English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
• Wireless : Dell Wireless 802.11g/n + Bluetooth v3.0+HS Card
• LCD Back Cover : Obsidian Black
• 6 Cell Primary Battery, 48W
• Internal Qwerty Keyboard

But obviously its a refurb, so she would be willing to spend a little more on a new item, but think I will struggle to find similar spec (I'm looking at this spec to try and give her the same 4 odd years usage before needing to think about upgrading) for much less than £350 - happy to be proven wrong though

PS - I have dismissed a netbook for her as it will be too small, we've discussed it and think 13" is the minimum and 15" the max.

[El Wayneo]

Toshiba Satellite Pro C660-2JD

• [*=left]Intel Celeron B815 Dual Core Processor
  [*=left]15.6" HD Screen
  [*=left]Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit
  [*=left]2GB DDR3 RAM
  [*=left]320GB HDD
  [*=left]DVD Rewriter
  [*=left]Integrated Graphics
  [*=left]Webcam
  [*=left]Bluetooth 3

£249 delivered

[Finners]

brought my mum a very similar spec laptop for christmas but has a i3 2310 for £350, I was really really impressed by it. I went for a little more expensive one as i knew i would be the one given "tech support" every 5 minutes.

I've not had any experience with the B series of processors but the i3 is that good i would go for that

[El Wayneo]

The celerons arent really any slower, just a little on the clock speed but you wont notice it.


cheapest i3 i can find is £80 more, a lot for 500mhz.

Edit: sorry cheapest is £315, do £66.

[Spaceboy]

Toshiba Satellite Pro C660-2JD

Wow, didn't know they were that cheap...

I just got given a C660 from work with a very similar spec and I loathe it already.
Slow, clunky, cheap plastic, and an appalling screen with a whopping 768pixel height

I hate it, and recommend steering clear of celerons on principle

Admittedly for basic browsing it'd probably be "okay"...

[El Wayneo]

spec him something better for the price then, that doesnt have a 720p screen.

[Pepp77]

Took the Mother out to the shops today so she could have a look at some different makes and models and have a go at the keyboards, because she said she had to have one that she liked the look of and she liked how the keyboard was (oh by the way, it turns out her old one was a few days short of its 5th birthday when it died and it looked about a week old!).

She decided out of all the ones she tried that she most like the Asus models and so after grabbing a few model numbers so I could have a look around online I found one with the i3-2350m, 6GB RAM and a 320GB HDD for £349 - yep I know the budget went up but she decided it was her 60th next month and she is retiring in a couple of years so it was better to spend a bit more now whilst she still has a decent full time salary coming in and I decided to get her something that wouldn't feel too slow in 5 years if this one lasts as long as the last and I think the i3-2350 is the best compromise between price and longevity.

Its basically the same spec as this except the HDD is smaller - http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Lapto...roductId=49866

Model number is X53E-SX1452V.

Whilst in the shops she also noticed the cameras and how cute and small they have become (her current one is about 4 years old and cost £50) and so now she wants a new camera for when she goes to Greece in a fortnight and I have to find it for her. Has to be small and up to about £100.

[Pepp77]

Here's a pic of the new laptop