Laptops

[flowertot]

Hi

Does anyone know if this laptop is a good one or not to buy it is priced at £339?

Acer Aspire 5332 Laptop (Intel Celeron© Dual-Core T3000, 3GB, 250GB, 15.6" Screen, Windows 7 Premium)

Audio Features On Board
Battery Life in Hours 2.0 to 2.5
Blank Discs Case Included No
Bluetooth No
Brand Acer
Built-in Webcam No
Card Reader Type 5 in 1
Dial Up Modem No
External Sata Interface No
Features of Product Classy design. Efficient Intel® Celeron® processing power. Two built-in stereo speakers, high-definition audio support. Fast connectivity
Finger Print Reader No
Firewire No
Graphics Shared Intel® GMA 4500MHD
Graphics Type Shared
Hard Drive Size 250GB
Hard Drive Type SATA
Laptop Colour Blue
Manual Included Available for download from brand website
Memory Slots Free 2
Memory Speed PC2-5300 (667 MHz)
Memory Type DDR2
Number of USB Ports 2x USB 2.0
Operating System Microsoft Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Optical Drive Bluray Compatible No
Optical Drive HD Compatible No
Optical Drive Lightscribe Compatible Yes
Os Recovery Discs Included No
Output VGA 15-pin D-Sub
Power Adaptor Included Yes
Processor Intel© Celeron© Dual-Core
Processor Bus 667 MHz
Processor Cache 1024 Kb
Processor Model Number T3000
Processor Speed 1.8 Ghz
Processor Type Intel® Celeron® Dual-Core
Product Depth 24.65 cm
Product Height 2.68/3.96 cm
Product Weight 2.7
Product Weight Units kg
Product Width 37.23 cm
Range Usage: Entertainment
Remote Control Included No
Screen Size 15.6" (39.6cm)
Trial Software Load Acer eRecovery Management, Acer GridVista™, Acer Launch Manager, Adobe® Flash® Player, Adobe® Reader®, eSobi™, Google Toolbar™
TV Tuner None
Wired Networking Port Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless Built in 802.11n
Wireless Features 802.11g

[Bobinovich]

I personally would stay clear of Celeron processors - they're a cut down version of the real deal so will be generally slower. If you're looking around that kind of budget I'd suggest this one (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179694) which also includes Bluetooth (great for transferring files to & from Bluetooth-equipped mobile phones) and a 2Mpix camera.

[M R]

You get what you pay for, not a bad buy for the money, totally depends what you expect get out of it. For browsing, office applications and moderate multimedia stuff, it will be fine.

Do some more research on the net to find out the best buy for that price range.

[Thumper]

My son got an acer for going to uni and installed ubuntu on in,it stopped working properly after 9 months but when he called to get it repaired he was told that because he had installed ubuntu on it he had broken warranty conditions and has to pay for repairs!Seemingly you cannot put anything else on them other than what they come with or you void the warranty!Sheeesh!x

[Boozeburglar]

Laptop hunting can be very confusing. The one recommended by Bob is a very good deal.

:)

[Phill]

I personally don't like Acer, had some issues with their machines a few years ago. They may have changed now though.

Bobinovich's suggestion is a good machine. We've moved over to HP / Compaq machines now as they are good for the money, used to be a toshiba man and these are still good buys. You can't go far wrong with AMD either, I used to build PC's using mostly AMD chips and never had an issue.

If it's a general lappy you want have a good hunt round, you'd be surprised where you get a deal. After weeks of searching we ended up getting a Compaq from tesco in Wick for less than £300 'cos it was an end of line model, Windy's 7, 2gb, AMD, widescreen and more gb on the harddrive than we'll ever use - bargain.

Just don't touch anything with Vista on it.

Forgot, one more thing. Try and get one where the power connector comes out the side. They last longer than connectors on the back, I've repaired 3 of ours now with back connectors. Side connectors fine so far.
The single biggest problems with laptops is the connector jack failing, after burning the fan /cpu out 'cos the vent is blocked.

[©Amethyst]

Just don't touch anything with Vista on it.

Agreed! Using Vista just now... this laptop's less than a year old and I've had the BSOD more times than I care to count. Lost everything I'd managed to get on my computer less than two months of getting it home! Including pictures from my camera which I'll never be able to take again. Somehow managed to reformat the hard drive and get it working again (without the set up discs... don't ask me how I did it lol).

Although I highly recommend HP (Compaq) - most IT folk I've spoken to say to stay away, but I opted for higher RAM than Toshiba would give me for a good price.

Acer might be fine and dandy for what you will use it for, but in the event that you want to use your computer for more than a little light entertainment (interwebs and maybe the odd DVD) I'd steer clear.

[Boozeburglar]

Amethyst, those files will still be there even after a format, I can guarantee almost 99%!

If there are no physical problems with the drive, then recovery of those files is not only possible, but possibly easy given the tools.

:)

[©Amethyst]

I tried to retrieve them, as I knew there'd still be something on the disk... they were corrupted! :( I was seriously very close to tears. At least I now have backups of everything! Especially the work stuff... goes straight to USB stick!

[Boozeburglar]

I have been using an Acer for 24 months with a blue ray drive and dolby surround, with a 17" HD screen, it is an excellent machine. It has travelled unprotected in the back of a rucsack across Asia and never missed a beat, even in 45 degrees plus heat, bouncing around in all sorts of transport across the roughest terrain.

For that alone, I love it.

I never trialled another in such harsh conditions, so I cannot say it is better. But it rocks!

:)

[Boozeburglar]

Amethyst, believe me they are going to be recoverable as long as that disk is still fully functional.

I am a hundred miles away from you, but if you really want those pics back I will do it. Just don't format it again meanwhile.

:)

[Phill]

I do have an Advent. Currys / Dixons / PCworld own brand laptop. About 8 or nine years old now, still runs 24/7 and never misses a beat!

[_Ju_]

I got a Dell 5 years ago and was super happy with it. But it was time for something new, so I ordered a dell for Christmas. It was supposed to arrive December 15th at the latest. It arrived almost a month later than that and the customer service is non existant. I had a hard time deciding between Dell and Mac and sorely regret having choosen Dell. I won't be doing that again.

[The Angel Of Death]

I dont get the vista bashing confuses me to death i have had it installed now and have had no BSOD or major crashes (that havent been my own doing)

I find if you keep it clean dont install guff and run virus mallware and spyware scans every week it does the job granted its not ideal and it has its flaws etc but it works a treat for me

[EDDIE]

I dont get the vista bashing confuses me to death i have had it installed now and have had no BSOD or major crashes (that havent been my own doing)

I find if you keep it clean dont install guff and run virus mallware and spyware scans every week it does the job granted its not ideal and it has its flaws etc but it works a treat for me

Totally agree with u the minute u start downloading utils or free stuff or downloading from any filsharing webiste ure just asking for trouble i stopped downloading utils and programs of the internet and i never have any problems now compared to what i used to and i have vista 2

[The Angel Of Death]

I find the biggest problems i get when asked to fix a laptop or pc regardless of the opp system is the user (or more importantly the users kids) windows messenger (and all the "free" add ons) limeware wreckes the system and riddles it with virus's and malware thats what gives you all the problems

Granted i fileshare but pick and choose my sites wisely but keep all scanners up to date helps a lot

[lasher]

Is this one any good?
http://www.play.com//ProductOutline.aspx?title=12038065&r=PCSH

[Boozeburglar]

Not at good deal at that price. It is a nice laptop ergonomically with a good keyboard, but very basic. Main appeal is it is quite lightweight, but if I recall the one I used had only 3 USB, only VGA out and only slow LAN, and the speakers were not up to much at all. Looked nice though.

:)

[Geo]

My son got an acer for going to uni and installed ubuntu on in,it stopped working properly after 9 months but when he called to get it repaired he was told that because he had installed ubuntu on it he had broken warranty conditions and has to pay for repairs!Seemingly you cannot put anything else on them other than what they come with or you void the warranty!Sheeesh!x

I'm pretty sure the retailer or Acer has given wrong advice. Warranties are in addition to your consumer rights, not instead of and changing software on the machine should not affect either. I'd have pushed further for a warranty repair.

[Boozeburglar]

Not sure, would need to check the small print. My instinct is to agree with you.

I bought a laptop through a business account. The hard drive went south three months in and I wanted to return the unit to get a replacement. They would not guarantee to return the hard drive to me once they had tested and replaced it, nor to leave the data intact on it. As the unit was otherwise overheating and cutting out, I decided to return it without the drive to have that issue resolved. They told me I had to send it with the original drive fitted or they could not accept the return!

I said I would not as they did not guarantee the drive would be left data intact nor even returned, but they were insistent. I suggested I could return it with an identical drive in place. They told me that fitting another drive would invalidate my warranty!!! (5 screw plastic outer plate and 4 screw metal retainer on the SATA cradle)

So I ignored them and replaced it with another identical drive, and returned it. They replaced one heat pipe matrix and reseated the heat sinks, and did a factory install of the OS and drivers, (except the graphics card but I will forgive that). There was no mention of the fact I had installed a different OS on the drive.

I suggest if your son's laptop is still under warranty then re format or remove the drive and install an identical one with the original OS on it or not. Then send it off and let them try to make a big deal about it.

[caithgal]

im not computer minded really and was looking at getting new laptop. can someone tell me whats best processor to get to have a fast running pc on internet? inte or duel or what??? i just dont have much patience for slow loading internet pages x

[Phill]

im not computer minded really and was looking at getting new laptop. can someone tell me whats best processor to get to have a fast running pc on internet? inte or duel or what??? i just dont have much patience for slow loading internet pages x

The processor isn't going to make much difference to the loading of web pages, generally speaking it is your connection speed.

Depending what else is running on your machine (like memory heavy programs) the actual RAM may make a difference, but even then for general use that'll not be noticeable.

[caithgal]

Thanks for info Phill. so really i should be looking for high RAM laptop. whats the average size to look for x

[Phill]

Thanks for info Phill. so really i should be looking for high RAM laptop. whats the average size to look for x

You really want 2Gb or more, most will have 2Gb now anyway.

But the rule of thumb is as much as your budget can afford!

What sort of budget have you got and what sort of things do you need it for, just surfin' titerweb?

[munron]

Dont want to hijack but can anyone advise a new laptop for me :) I have a Dell Inspiron at the mo and have been happy enough with it for years but time to pass it on and get myself a new one. I looked at the top spec Dell laptop which starts at just under £700 i think.

I basically want one that can cope with all my photos, which I have a lot off. I also have an HD camcorder but all the movies are still on it as my laptop would collapse if I put them on. I also want to download some music and the last download I did took three days (but as someone mentioned that may be down to internet speed).

Any tips and advice or linkies will be very welcome.

[Phill]

Dont want to hijack but can anyone advise a new laptop for me :) I have a Dell Inspiron at the mo and have been happy enough with it for years but time to pass it on and get myself a new one. I looked at the top spec Dell laptop which starts at just under £700 i think.

I basically want one that can cope with all my photos, which I have a lot off. I also have an HD camcorder but all the movies are still on it as my laptop would collapse if I put them on. I also want to download some music and the last download I did took three days (but as someone mentioned that may be down to internet speed).

Any tips and advice or linkies will be very welcome.

Well obviously you want something with a huge HDD capacity, I'd also seriously consider investing in external storage as a backup and extra capacity. Or even two!

Get a small is portable drive around 250 500 gb and then look at an additional 1 - 2Tb as a back up for your lappy and external drive.
OK this may add to your budget but believe me, if, and often when, your laptop falls over you'll realise you have no copy of all of those images and videos you'll wish you spent and extra £50 - £80.

[munron]

Thanks for that Phill, although I possibly should have mentioned that I am a simpleton :)

I was kind of hoping I could have everything all in the one laptop and put stuff on a memory stick when I remember :)

[The Angel Of Death]

Trust me get a portable hard drive to back stuff up to i back up and then back up my back up

If you have ever lost important stuff from a hard drive / pc you'll start to do exactly the same as well

[Phill]

I was kind of hoping I could have everything all in the one laptop and put stuff on a memory stick when I remember

You may well be able to get the capacity you require, it all depends on the sizes and quantity of your piccies. And obviously your home movies (nudge nudge, smirk), I dunno what HD digital runs at size wise so your better judging that.

You need to see what capacity you have now and how much more you think you need.

You can get 1Tb HDD's, don't know if many are getting fitted as standard in laptops yet.


Trust me get a portable hard drive to back stuff up to i back up and then back up my back up

If you have ever lost important stuff from a hard drive / pc you'll start to do exactly the same as well

I can't echo this enough, especially if it precious family pics etc. Well worth a few extra quid in an external drive.

Also, if you have an old laptop, use the HDD and get a external casing for it. About £10 -£20 and hey presto a 40Gb external drive pre loaded with all you old guff!

[munron]

Thanks again - I have just gone onto Dell and customised the studio 17 and this is the spec, with a 1tb external drive as well. Unfortunately this has come in at £1385 and somewhere a man answering to my husbands name has just collapsed. The studio does seem to have good reviews on their site but maybe there are others I should look at.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
LCD 17.3” High Definition+ (1600x900) Multi Touch LED with TL edit
COLORS, PATTERNS, & ARTIST DESIGNS Black chainlink (Touch Screen Only) edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC edit
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English edit
MEMORY 4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048] edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB (5.400rpm) Serial ATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 500GB) edit
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module edit
WEBCAM 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera (Touch Screen Only) edit
KEYBOARD Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard edit
SECURITY Facial recognition software edit
Services & Software
PROTECT YOUR DATA No DataSafe Online Backup 2GB (Direct) edit
Accessories

[Phill]

Thanks again - I have just gone onto Dell and customised the studio 17 and this is the spec, with a 1tb external drive as well. Unfortunately this has come in at £1385 and somewhere a man answering to my husbands name has just collapsed. The studio does seem to have good reviews on their site but maybe there are others I should look at.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
LCD 17.3” High Definition+ (1600x900) Multi Touch LED with TL edit
COLORS, PATTERNS, & ARTIST DESIGNS Black chainlink (Touch Screen Only) edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC edit
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English edit
MEMORY 4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048] edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB (5.400rpm) Serial ATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 500GB) edit
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module edit
WEBCAM 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera (Touch Screen Only) edit
KEYBOARD Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard edit
SECURITY Facial recognition software edit
Services & Software
PROTECT YOUR DATA No DataSafe Online Backup 2GB (Direct) edit
Accessories

Hmm, you don't want much then! :Razz

I'd suggest a Mac if your spending that sort of money, but I guess you husband is probably thinking without the 1 at the beginning.

[munron]

I know the girl who wants everything, but possibly it is a bit over the top :)

I did add on things that I possibly dont need, it did start of at 749, I upgraded the OS, LCD, Graphics card, bluetooth and knowing my clicky fingers a few other un-necessaries.

I dont want a Mac as I have never used one.

But hey thanks for the comments and help :)

[_Ju_]

Dont want to hijack but can anyone advise a new laptop for me :) I have a Dell Inspiron at the mo and have been happy enough with it for years but time to pass it on and get myself a new one. I looked at the top spec Dell laptop which starts at just under £700 i think.

I basically want one that can cope with all my photos, which I have a lot off. I also have an HD camcorder but all the movies are still on it as my laptop would collapse if I put them on. I also want to download some music and the last download I did took three days (but as someone mentioned that may be down to internet speed).

Any tips and advice or linkies will be very welcome.

Macs are best if you like working images/ photos. They are very easy to use and get used to. The only hassle is that the software can be a bitty more dear.

[_Ju_]

Thanks again - I have just gone onto Dell and customised the studio 17 and this is the spec, with a 1tb external drive as well. Unfortunately this has come in at £1385 and somewhere a man answering to my husbands name has just collapsed. The studio does seem to have good reviews on their site but maybe there are others I should look at.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
LCD 17.3” High Definition+ (1600x900) Multi Touch LED with TL edit
COLORS, PATTERNS, & ARTIST DESIGNS Black chainlink (Touch Screen Only) edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 year of coverage included with your PC edit
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English edit
MEMORY 4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048] edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB (5.400rpm) Serial ATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 500GB) edit
GRAPHICS CARD 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery edit
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module edit
WEBCAM 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera (Touch Screen Only) edit
KEYBOARD Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Backlit Keyboard edit
SECURITY Facial recognition software edit
Services & Software
PROTECT YOUR DATA No DataSafe Online Backup 2GB (Direct) edit
Accessories

Their customer service is NON existant. I just bought a similair Dell, thinking it would have similair ammount of USB ports as my inspiron, which had 4. It only has 2(I know I should have checked first, but in assuming made an ass of myself!). I m not happy with it....small niggly things. I am NOT buying dell ever again. Mostly for their customr service.

[Boozeburglar]

Macs are best if you like working images/ photos. They are very easy to use and get used to. The only hassle is that the software can be a bitty more dear.

I have always used both, but I would point out that you will be able to spec a much more powerful non-Mac laptop or pc for the same money as the Mac.

;)

[munron]

Hmm food for thought, thanks for the comments.

I am just going to tippy toe through the minefield, I will have a look on Apples website as well.

Will probably have brain freeze after a few minutes, but again thanks for the help :)

Edit to add apologies to OP for thread hogging

[caithgal]

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5082432.htm

Can you tell me what you think to this one please? Its a lot of money to pur out so just want to make sure i get it right x