[ubuntu-uk] Laptops

[Liam Proven]

On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 9:00 PM, Rob Beard <rob at esdelle.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> Well the time has come where my mum and step-dad have decided to get on
> t'internet so they're looking for a laptop.  They were planning on
> getting me to go with them to PC World to help choose one, but I've
> convinced them to hang fire for a week so I can look into what is out there.
>
> It's been about 3 months since I last really looked into laptops, the
> last one I recommended was for my Dad.  It was a Compaq CQ-61 15.6"
> notebook with about 3GB Ram, a 160GB hard drive and a Pentium Dual Core
> CPU for about £350.
>
> However I've got a few friends with HP and Compaq machines which have
> died through motherboard failures.
>
> Now I've got an Acer Aspire 2920 (12.1" Core 2 Duo) myself which I
> managed to get from Comet so I'm quite partial to Acers.
>
> Anyway, I've been having a look at what is available and in only 3
> months the market seems to have been flooded with low power notebooks
> with 1.2 and 1.3Ghz Pentium Dual Core and Athlon Neo CPUs.
>
> My mum & step-dad don't need anything super fast, they want to do basic
> web browsing (my step-dad has been made redundant recently and looking
> for a new job seems to be easier with internet access, especially
> considering a fair few bigger employers seem to have stupid online
> application forms!).  They'll also want to do e-mail, and possibly a bit
> of basic photo editing.
>
> So I'm thinking anything made in the past couple of years would be
> suitable.  I was thinking maybe a pre-owned machine but I think for my
> peace of mind they might be better going for a new machine.
>
> They have a budget of up to £500 although I think realistically they'd
> probably be looking nearer the £350 to £400 mark.
>
> I've seen an Acer Extensa for under £315 at Aria...
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ycox8mg
>
> It's got a 15.6" widescreen display, 1.8GHz Dual Core Celeron T3000 CPU,
> 160GB hard drive and 1GB Ram.  I guess this would be plenty for Ubuntu,
> the hard drive again would be plenty (I'd probably suggest they buy an
> external hard drive maybe to occasionally backup the laptop onto).
>
> My only concerns are the Intel GL40 graphics, and the Acer wireless
> (although it appears to be Atheros wireless).
>
> Just wondered if anyone else had this particular model running Ubuntu or
> had any other suggestions?

General suggestions:

 - Avoid anything with a Celeron or "Pentium Dual-Core". They're
cut-down chips & crippled. Get a Core 2 Duo as a minimum. (Or an AMD.)

 - There are often bargains to be had from the surplus clearance
houses. My current laptop came from Sterling XS:
http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/
Morgan's is under new ownership but deals may still be had:
http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/


-- 
Liam Proven • Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven
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