Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will mainly be
used for web browsing and running Office.

Thanks!

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:13:58 +1300, "Nik Coughlin"
<nrkn.com@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
>balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will mainly be
>used for web browsing and running Office.
>
>Thanks!

A friend got a Compaq Presario from DSE a few months ago for about
$800. She uses it just as you specify. It has been fine up to now.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

In message <fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org>, Nik Coughlin wrote:

> Does not have to be powerful, will mainly be used for web browsing and
> running Office.

Elsewhere in this noisegroup you should see discussion of the Asus Eee,
which Dick Smith is already taking orders for.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

Nik Coughlin wrote:
> Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
> balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will
> mainly be used for web browsing and running Office.
>
> Thanks!

Depends on how cheap and reliable you want!

The bottom end laptops at $800~$900 from DSE look very good value for
money....I'd look at the Asus ones as they have a 2 year warrantee as
standard (I believe).

regards

Thing

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

"Nik Coughlin" <nrkn.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org...
> Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
> balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will mainly
> be used for web browsing and running Office.
>
> Thanks!

As with buying a car, much depends on what "cheap" and "reliable" mean to
you, and whether performance matters at all. Depending on what you do with
(MS?) Office, it can either be a demanding application or not. So what kind
of machine do you run it with now? And could you tolerate longer waits for
files to open, slower scrolling, bogged down calculations and queries, etc
if you downgraded specs? Is Open Office on Linux a viable alternative for
you? All the major manufacturers have raised the "entry-level" bar pretty
high now especially in terms of cpu power, so it's hard to go wrong with
almost any new purchase -- those that allow you to customize a package are
probably your best bet. Second-hand may be more than powerful enough, and
possibly very cheap, but reliabilty in laptops (especially batteries and
displays) is not something you really want to be wondering about for
anything out of warranty, so beware.
Checked the usual suspects?

http://www.notebookreview.com/

http://laptopmag.com/Review/index.htm

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/prod...&s=dhs#connect

http://h50034.www5.hp.com/products/hppav_ntp.asp

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/L...0002-0356-.htm

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

On Oct 30, 10:59 am, "impossible" <impossi...@nospam.com> wrote:
> "Nik Coughlin" <nrkn....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org...
>
> > Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
> > balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will mainly
> > be used for web browsing and running Office.
>
> > Thanks!
>
> As with buying a car, much depends on what "cheap" and "reliable" mean to
> you, and whether performance matters at all. Depending on what you do with
> (MS?) Office, it can either be a demanding application or not. So what kind
> of machine do you run it with now? And could you tolerate longer waits for
> files to open, slower scrolling, bogged down calculations and queries, etc
> if you downgraded specs?

In which case Windows XP and Office 2003 is probably a better bet than
the buggy and different format current offering, if one wants to
continue the MS way.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

"Lawrence D'Oliveiro" <ldo@geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote in message
news:fg5kfv$62f$1@lust.ihug.co.nz...
> In message <fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org>, Nik Coughlin wrote:
>
>> Does not have to be powerful, will mainly be used for web browsing and
>> running Office.
>
> Elsewhere in this noisegroup you should see discussion of the Asus Eee,
> which Dick Smith is already taking orders for.

I did mention it to her (it's for my girlfriend) but the 7" screen is a deal
breaker for her.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

"nod" <nod@landof.com> wrote in message
news:3sjci39lnu30l6vetpr24dupko0irm6qnl@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:13:58 +1300, "Nik Coughlin"
> <nrkn.com@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
>>balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will mainly
>>be
>>used for web browsing and running Office.
>>
>>Thanks!
>
> A friend got a Compaq Presario from DSE a few months ago for about
> $800. She uses it just as you specify. It has been fine up to now.

Yes, she hates DSE with a vengeance :) She got her last laptop from them and
has had nothing but problems with it, and they took ages to fix it every
time. But looking at Compaqs, among others.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

"peterwn" <peterwn@paradise.net.nz> wrote in message
news:1193700563.083568.128180@e9g2000prf.googlegro ups.com...
> On Oct 30, 10:59 am, "impossible" <impossi...@nospam.com> wrote:
>> "Nik Coughlin" <nrkn....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org...
>>
>> > Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
>> > balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will
>> > mainly
>> > be used for web browsing and running Office.
>>
>> > Thanks!
>>
>> As with buying a car, much depends on what "cheap" and "reliable" mean to
>> you, and whether performance matters at all. Depending on what you do
>> with
>> (MS?) Office, it can either be a demanding application or not. So what
>> kind
>> of machine do you run it with now? And could you tolerate longer waits
>> for
>> files to open, slower scrolling, bogged down calculations and queries,
>> etc
>> if you downgraded specs?
>
> In which case Windows XP and Office 2003 is probably a better bet than
> the buggy and different format current offering, if one wants to
> continue the MS way.

I was thinking XP and OO, she's a poor student and doesn't want to shell out
for Office.

Re: Laptop; cheap AND reliable?
 

"Nik Coughlin" <nrkn.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fg5t9o$tda$1@aioe.org...
>
> "peterwn" <peterwn@paradise.net.nz> wrote in message
> news:1193700563.083568.128180@e9g2000prf.googlegro ups.com...
>> On Oct 30, 10:59 am, "impossible" <impossi...@nospam.com> wrote:
>>> "Nik Coughlin" <nrkn....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>>
>>> news:fg5ien$v82$1@aioe.org...
>>>
>>> > Hi, looking for advice or recommendations on a laptop with the optimum
>>> > balance of cheap and reliable. Does not have to be powerful, will
>>> > mainly
>>> > be used for web browsing and running Office.
>>>
>>> > Thanks!
>>>
>>> As with buying a car, much depends on what "cheap" and "reliable" mean
>>> to
>>> you, and whether performance matters at all. Depending on what you do
>>> with
>>> (MS?) Office, it can either be a demanding application or not. So what
>>> kind
>>> of machine do you run it with now? And could you tolerate longer waits
>>> for
>>> files to open, slower scrolling, bogged down calculations and queries,
>>> etc
>>> if you downgraded specs?
>>
>> In which case Windows XP and Office 2003 is probably a better bet than
>> the buggy and different format current offering, if one wants to
>> continue the MS way.
>
> I was thinking XP and OO, she's a poor student and doesn't want to shell
> out for Office.

Is this some kind of quiz you're running where we're supposed to keep
guessing what you want? You clearly have some definite specs in mind. Why
don't you just go shopping yourself?