Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Thanks guys for the feedback. The laptop won't be used for gaming. He has an Xbox360, PS2 and PSP and he'll be told the laptop is for school work etc. and stuff like facebook (which thankfully he's not addicted to). Being a sensei, he spends a lot of his spare time practicing and teaching karate so I guess gaming occupies only about 30-40 mins a day just before bed.

Reliability is key so I'm interested to learn about the potential overheating issues but am not sure if the point Lord Nikon makes relates to Candy's issue or not. Could you clarify please.

TVM :tu:

--------

Just been surfing about the worrying potential overheating issues and found this add for the same model with better spec for £249 here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-53...item3f0b92829d

Seems like an even better deal but does anyone know anything about the supplier?

Meantime I'm still looking into overheating....

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

It was more relating to Waldo's issue than Candy's

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

OK tks for clarifying.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Re getting rid of unwanted MSOrifiice and other crap take a look at http://pcdecrapifier.com/download

Seriously, it does what it says on the tin.

Oh and make a Backup, Recovery DVD before you do too much installing/removing.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

TVM will do.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Please go on. I don't think I had this problem with the installed Vista. I got rid of this and installed a copy of W7. It doesn't natively support my webcam which isn't an issue as I have no need for one however if it cannot control my fan then it becomes an issue. I have tried "Speedfan" but it doesn't help as it cannot recognise the stuff connected.
LTSpice used to run fine but despite all my mods and copper shimms, it is the only program that can bring my HP to stop.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

I'd say go for an Acer. If he's not doing gaming (and I doubt he's doing encoding) pretty much any laptop/notebook (ie. not a netbook) will do. aybe save yourself a few £ while the gift is still very much worthwhile and just as much use (to him) as a more expensive model.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Sounds like a plan :)

I do prefer the Acer keyoard layout with the numeric pad that's missing from many of the other models I've looked at. Having said that I found a rather nice looking Toshiba here @£300:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/258876...edium=products

Intel Core 2 Duo T6670 2.2GHz
4GB RAM
320GB HDD
15.6" HD,Webcam
DVD±RW
Free Webroot Internet Security + Free Carry Case

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

I'd be interested to know if anyone has a similar 'Tosh' and what they think of it. I've been seriously considering that ebuyer model for myself.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

As a Linux user, the three button mouse on Levano Thinkpad is brilliant though some report the quality is down from the IBM days when they were great build. Pricey though.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Absolute tosh if you ask me.

Crap screen, crap battery life, crap wireless that rarely works, crap touchpad placement (though a very good touchpad), crap hard drives that have the highest failure rates I've ever seen.

Toshiba are extremely variable when it comes to build quality but far as I'm concerned their low-end machines look, feel, and perform absolutely crap. The only reason I kept it was because it was free. Even then I avoid using it where possible.

As part of my "all things IT" job I work in laptop repairs and I've been through a fair few thousand working and broken laptops. Every manufacturer has it's duds and there's no manufacturer that's universally better than any other. But that particular range of Toshibas I'd definately avoid.

For low to mid-range value I'd say Acer are the ones to beat, mid to upper midrange HP & Samsung, top end Toshiba and Sony make various machines that are unbeatable at the top of their respective categories.

Dell machines tend to be quite reliable and serviceable across the range, and have great customizeability but just lack any particular unique selling points that'd let me recommend them.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

My thanks for all the information. I've always had Dells up to now so it's hard to judge alternatives. You can't beat real-life experience. :)

So, I'll go back to looking at the Acers. That was my original plan before I saw the Toshiba.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

i have as toshiba, i bought it from tesco's bout a year ago its the toshiba satellite L500

it has the numeric pad at the side, touch pad is great and very responsive, luv the feel of the keyboard, although the case looks a bit cheap but all in all a great laptop and ive had no probs with it heres my spec,
Key Features
- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit (pre-installed, Toshiba-HDD recovery) and
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 32-bit (pre-installed, Toshiba-HDD recovery)- Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T6600- DVD-RW SuperMulti drive (Double Layer)- 3072 MB (2048+ 1024) DDR RAM (800MHz)- 15.6" TruBrite® (1366 x 768) High Brightness display

its still running great, was easy to set up and easy to use, although it did take a bit to get used to the number keypad which makes the keyboard off centre a bit, as i am a typer i found my fingers felt in the wrong place lol

Juliex

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

You tend to only get the numerical keypad on larger laptops with screens 15-17" makes them less portable really. You can get USB keypads though if you would really miss it.

Re: New laptop - advice needed
 

Nah don't do that!!! Get the Tosh, try it out in depth and then let me know if it lives up to its name so I can decide whether or not to buy one myself... ;)

These threads always seem to raise more questions than they answer don't they. :)

---------- Post added at 19:05 ---------- Previous post was at 19:04 ----------

Good point that man!

I tend to forget all the wonderful USB bits and pieces you can get these days but I'd still prefer not to rely on extras if I can avoid it.