Help needed in choosing a Laptop

Briony

Briony

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Nicki.
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Hi guys,

Right I have £400 (inc or ex VAT as I get this back) to spend and am wanting to buy a Laptop (wireless) that will store my photos and run Photoshp 7, store some photos etc, I am being told by Dell that I need to buy a graphics bundle which is going to cost me another £815 this is surely not right.:shake:

I am not computer minded :bang: and really would like to hand over the money to someone and tell them to get me a lap top that would suit my needs :shrug: as I fnd this all so confusing :thinking:

Please can anyone give me any ideas as to what I am looking for

Currently looking at the Dell Vostro 3500 which is priced at £399 - any good :shrug: for what I need?
 
They said I needed a Dedicated graphics card, also whatever this may be :shrug:
 
nah, talking out of their behind. only CS4 utilises graphics cards, however an onboard graphics card will share the system memory so the laptop in effect may only have access to 2gb out of its 3gb.
 
So would you be so kind and have a look at the Vostro 3500 for me priced at £399 (or do I need to go for the next model up?) and tell me if it will suffice in doing the job for me please ;) :thumbs: :help:
 
Blimey would not get to grips with anything else :lol: or do you think I need to be one step ahead.:shrug:

I do have my desktop which Iuse also, but wanted a lappie to take around with me when I am away to be able to keep in touch etc.
 
Any more input on makes, what to avoid, what to go for will be very appreciated as getting more and more confused by the minute here :bang: :bang:
 
Dell are talking out of their behind as usual.
You don't need a dedicated graphics card.

Dells have decent specs and are good value, but they aren't very nice computers generally.
In my humble opinion (as an IT pro who's seen and worked on hundreds of laptops) I would prefer to buy Asus,Apple,IBM (now Lenovo), maybe Toshiba or Samsung, and I would avoid HP/Compaq, Dell, Acer and any PC world branded trash.

for around £400 you could do worse than something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003XIJ1AG or this:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/224900
 
eos1 said:
Dell are talking out of their behind as usual.
You don't need a dedicated graphics card.

Dells have decent specs and are good value, but they aren't very nice computers generally.
In my humble opinion (as an IT pro who's seen and worked on hundreds of laptops) I would prefer to buy Asus,Apple,IBM (now Lenovo), maybe Toshiba or Samsung, and I would avoid HP/Compaq, Dell, Acer and any PC world branded trash.

for around £400 you could do worse than something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003XIJ1AG or this:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/224900
Click to expand...

Than you for your reply, can you tell me wht you think about this one would it do for me :shrug:

http://go.talkphotography.co.uk/?id....uk/forums/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=1010461
 
eos1 said:
Dell are talking out of their behind as usual.
You don't need a dedicated graphics card.

Dells have decent specs and are good value, but they aren't very nice computers generally.
In my humble opinion (as an IT pro who's seen and worked on hundreds of laptops) I would prefer to buy Asus,Apple,IBM (now Lenovo), maybe Toshiba or Samsung, and I would avoid HP/Compaq, Dell, Acer and any PC world branded trash.

for around £400 you could do worse than something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003XIJ1AG or this:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/224900
Click to expand...

conversely in my humble opinion as an IT pro that has worked with 100s of Dell laptops (mainly latitudes, but theyre out of budget) i've never had any issues with them (other than user related) :)
 
I really do not want this to go to an arguement please, just trying to find my right needs in a computer and I sure I am going to be told one thing by one person and one thing from another. All personal preference like a Nikon or a Canon :shrug:

I am seriously looking at the Toshiba one which I linked or the Samsung one as suggested although my desk top is a dell and well pleased with that one.:shrug:

At the end of the day a Lap top that does the job I am looking for will suffice,
irrespective of the make.:shrug:
 
:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :gag: :gag:

O.K. I will give soemone the money who wants to go out and get me the lap top I am looking for :shrug:
 
Just buy the Vostro.

You could waste days harvesting different people's opinions over manufacturers and specifications, at your price point Dell would be my first choice.

Now, have you taken into account the cost of software licenses? You'll need to license the laptop separately to your desktop in most cases.
 
JasonRS said:
Just buy the Vostro.

You could waste days harvesting different people's opinions over manufacturers and specifications, at your price point Dell would be my first choice.

Now, have you taken into account the cost of software licenses? You'll need to license the laptop separately to your desktop in most cases.
Click to expand...

:shrug: :thinking: :help:

what do you mean?

I AM SO TOTALLY CONFUSED NOW.
 
Last edited:
I can't see that being a problem.;)

Just confused as to what to go and buy now in case I make a HUGE mistake.:shrug:
 
Briony, Bought a Dell laptop 17 months ago for my teenage grandaughter, for school work, etc.etc. Finally dipped my toe in the water last November and started using it. I am old and have never used a computer before. It works fine, the only problem we encountered was with a virus after 12 months. Took it back to PC world and it was sorted out in 2 days. I was a bit wary of using PC after bad publicity for them, but I found them helpful.
 
JasonRS said:
I do hope that you're not implying piracy there.
Especially on a forum that gets very uptight about copyright and image theft....

Buy the Dell Vostro and stop worrying about the hardware.
Click to expand...
:suspect: :suspect:


Me :eek: No never :lol: :lol:
 
Briony said:
:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :bang: :gag: :gag:

O.K. I will give soemone the money who wants to go out and get me the lap top I am looking for :shrug:
Click to expand...

No one:shrug: ...............................




O.K. Then Dell Vostro it is then :thumbs:
 
Holding fire now in case I make a HUGE MISTAKE :thumbsdown:

I just hate this,:shake: the only one here that uses a computer and is not a techie- no one to ask and bounce things off and if I make a mistake I have to rectify it myself and can't afford to on this one :shrug:

Same goes with the cameras and pictures.:shrug:
 
Go for it. Dell Laptops are fine (as are the decent spec Tosh's Neil :p ).

If you can afford to wait, then buy it at the end of October which is Dell's end of quarter. Phone the Dell sales team direct, about 3 days before the end of the month, and you can get some fantastic deals as they are trying to boost their books to meet and exceed their targets; up to 20% off in some cases, or extras thrown in as sweeteners.

The clue to the end of quarter is discounts being offered on their website left, right and centre, usually with an expiry date of the 28 or 29th of that month.
 
DemiLion said:
Go for it. Dell Laptops are fine (as are the decent spec Tosh's Neil :p ).

If you can afford to wait, then buy it at the end of October which is Dell's end of quarter. Phone the Dell sales team direct, about 3 days before the end of the month, and you can get some fantastic deals as they are trying to boost their books to meet and exceed their targets; up to 20% off in some cases, or extras thrown in as sweeteners.

The clue to the end of quarter is discounts being offered on their website left, right and centre, usually with an expiry date of the 28 or 29th of that month.
Click to expand...

The vostro is already on a special with free delivery and £50.00 off. :shrug:
 
Briony said:
The vostro is already on a special with free delivery and £50.00 off. :shrug:
Click to expand...

I thought that women were meant to be good at shopping? :p

If you like the look of the deal, and if the lappy is shiny enough (ultimate requirement for most of the girls that I know), then grab it.

BTW the £50 off ends tomorrow. Call them direct, rather than order online, and see if they will offer you anything else off the price, but you will probably have to pay with a debit rather than credit card in that case.
 
I've been using a Dell Vostro 1500 for about 3 years. Can't speak for PS but no problems with LR3.

I'm looking at another Vostro or a Studio 15 (better deal than the Vostro at the moment) in the next month or two. Dells are pretty solid - but watch for the extras, their memory upgrades are usually overpriced, and I've found I can get the office software I need cheaper elsewhere (this last point isn't unique to Dell, it's a Microsoft thing about the way the bundle software).
 
DemiLion said:
I thought that women were meant to be good at shopping? :p

I hate shopping avoid it like the plague :lol:If you like the look of the deal, and if the lappy is shiny enough (ultimate requirement for most of the girls that I know), then grab it.

don't care what it looks like so long as it is not white and does the job
BTW the £50 off ends tomorrow. Call them direct, rather than order online, and see if they will offer you anything else off the price, but you will probably have to pay with a debit rather than credit card in that case.
Click to expand...

Will ring them, I am a hard bargain driver :thumbs:

Right narrowed it down to the Vostro and the Toshiba Satellite C650D - 114or even the Studio 15 if I can talk myself into parting with the extra cash:thinking:
 
Got a Vostro 1400, nearly 4 years old and it handles LR2 and PSE7 with no problems. All I've done to mine is add a further 2gig of ram.
 
eos1 said:
Dells have decent specs and are good value, but they aren't very nice computers generally.
In my humble opinion (as an IT pro who's seen and worked on hundreds of laptops) I would prefer to buy Asus,Apple,IBM (now Lenovo), maybe Toshiba or Samsung, and I would avoid HP/Compaq, Dell, Acer and any PC world branded trash.
Click to expand...

Apple would mean bootcamping it to run windows, and would be outside the budget of £400.

As another IT pro who's worked on thousands of laptops, Dell are fine and have good support. We've switched to Lenovo's from Dell (new IT manager) and they are a nightmare for drivers/support.

Don't know about the latest Voxtro's but we bought a dozen last year for my wifes firm and more this year for her outreach workers and they've had no issues, haven't even broken them, which is a miracle.
 
Thank you still pondering, as now found the inspiron 1750 at a very good deal at curry's inc vat better than the vostros.:shrug:
 
Narrowed it down, just about to make the wrong decision in some peoples eyes :shrug:


Thank you all for your help.:thumbs:
 
Bought the Wife a Compaq a couple of weeks ago and have to say it's great!

Only £350 quid as well :)
 
Going for the Dell Inspiron 1750 with wide screen.

Found a good deal on that better that the Vostro, lets see if I can be talked out of that one:shrug:
 
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