A question for all you gadget show junkies!

[Jelly]

Hi

completely unrelated to bluepark but i thought i'd ask.

Its my sons 10th birthday soon and I want to buy him a laptop (not too expensive prob £400 max). Mainly for doing homework on and going on internet etc does need to do any gaming on it.

Any suggestions, had a look around but its all double dutch too me!

Thanks in advance

Karen

p.s. A big THANK YOU to Rich for upgrading me to enterprise park on a sunday morning! I can now finish getting all my new products on! Five Star service :)

[Mike]

When I was 10 all I got was a Beano album! Mind you it was quite a few years ago.

We use a number of HP laptops at work which have always proved solid and reliable. Our supplier is www.ebm.co.uk (http://www.ebm.co.uk). who may be able to do a deal for you. Ask for Sue and you could mention that Mike Irving referred you.

[Dave]

Karen,

You could consider the Dell Inspiron 1525. The Entry level machine should be sufficent for your requirements and including vat & delivery its only £349

This Link (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb_1525?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs) takes you straight to the page, scroll down the page for the comparisons of different specs

[Jelly]

Hi Mike & Dave

Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look into your suggestions.

We have a Dell and an HP for the business but we paid about £800 each for them (i think?) wasn't sure how good the cheaper end of the range performed. You see lots of "cheap" deals around its a minefield!

I'll have to training my son up on bluepark, get him to put the new products on for me!

Thanks
Karen

[john]

Don't forget to take a look in your local Tesco! I got a brilliant Gateway laptop for under £400 when my very expensive HP blew up (very smelly)

[Adva Trading]

DO NOT LOOK FOR THE CHEAPEST AVAILABLE. Look for computer by the most features you can get.
The reason: Now days, computers may last for 8 years or more if you buy smartly.
So, look for, in that order of importance:
1. Memory: Minimum 2 GB.
I would say that if you can, get a 4 RAM memory. This is what determines the speed of the computer, NOT the chip. The operating systems are getting larger (It is a waste of money to buy a Vista PC with less than 2 GB) and so are desktop programs, and they slow down the PC dramatically. Also, one cannot tell the feature, but if internet connection will get faster (and servers), than you are ready to take full advantage of it.
2. Processor: Never Celeron. It’s not a speed issue, but ability to deal with graphics.
3. Hard Drive: Size is not the issue (I would say that 120GB is plenty), it is the speed. Most have 5,400 rpm. If you can get a faster one of 7,200, you can benefit from the large memory.
4. Service Plane: Get a (very) long extra warranty. My experience is that PC tends to develop a fault at the 3 years old mark. 4 Years plan is the best, and if the PC is for a child, ensure it covers breakdowns (falls) and theft (or put it on the home insurance to cover theft). Dell have beed very good with that to me in the last 10 years, and they also always there for advice over the phone.
5. Screen size: Whatever suits you or the child. If too large (from 17 inches and above), means that the laptop is essentially a mobile desktop. If so, consider desktops, as they are cheaper.
6. Operating system: Vista has bad press. It is new, and full of bugs. It is very big and will slow down your PC. I would still recommend it (becuase of the features and becuase it works the best with the recent and feature Office applications), but get the maximum memory you can get. The trade off: For the next two years, your PC will not shut down when you log off the internet - It will be busy loading and installing the updates from Microsoft. Gets me crazy.
7. Make: If you go for MAC, than some of the above may not be relevant. I donot own a Mac.It would be the most trendiest choice (and I would love to have one). But it’s too expensive, not compatible with some of my software (on and off line), and as it is a consumer products, Apple tends to come with new ones too often to my taste – It will make the one you purchased last year look old and not trendy.
I am a Dell follower. Saying that, Supermarkets (mostly Tesco) do have some amazing deals. Tesco even sells Dell!
Hope it helps.

[john]

Do you remember what an 8 year old PC or Laptop was like?
view a new computer as at most a 2 year investment, you will need to change by then (or sooner)
With solid state storage and a roll up touchscreen, you may be able to carry a powerful PC in your pocket (handbag) in a couple of years.

[Adva Trading]

1. John, I do not remember how an 8 years old pc looks like. I remember what a 6.5 years old look like. I am looking at it now: My desktop is 6.5 years old.

It has 1GB memory, 2.99 GHz Pentium, 80 GB Hard drive, two 21 inches screens, XP operating system. I think it will work fine with all on-line and off-line applications for two to three years. NOTE: The screens are not flat, but they double up as heaters in the winters Great. :D

And it WAS NOT top of the range at the time, it was medium of what was on offer at the time. It did cost twice as much as the cheapest, but only a third of top of the range specification at the time.

My computer deals without delays with all graphic applications (I do not use Photoshop, I only use small programs like Pain.Net and the likes), all desktop application (The latest Word and Excel), and I only wait when the on-line applications are running on slow servers (not Bluepark) with my 10 Mbps connection.

2. John, You are getting confused between computing power and formats of machines. For me: There will be no alternative for desktop pc: I need large screens, two of them.

And my child / teenager will need a reasonable large screen and the ability to work with the internet and to write documents. A small screen or touch screen will be of no use really.

3. Jelly: Buy a laptop with the following and you will not have to change it before he goes to University:
4GB ram.
Dual-Core processor.
120 GB hard drive.

If you buy a pc for two years, you are throwing money away. It is a myth that you need to change your pc every two years. It cost too much. And a waste of time and money!

You will only have to change a pc after two years if you buy bottom of the range, which is by definition few years old technology when you buy it.

[Jelly]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for all the advice. I am going to sort it out this weekend. I'm sure he will be delighted with whatever one I get, he has no idea of what we are going to get for his prezzie.

He is more excited about his party at the moment, that's the part of the birthday celebrations where I do know what I'm doing (I think!).

Thanks again
Karen