Page 1 of Advice needed on choice of new laptop

I am looking to replace my ageing laptop. I am after a laptop with WIFI capability with CD burner/DVD drive minimum 40gb hard disk and as future proof as possibleI would like to use it as a replacement for a desktop pc but also as a mobile dvd player/tv so it needs to be fairly compact and lightweight.

I am currently looking at Sony Vaio Z1. Budget up £2k. Any ideas?

I got a Sony Vaio fx405 last year, good specs for what i needed CD-RW /DVD combo with a 15"screen and it has ONE major flaw.

Battery, or should i say it needs a good one. On the battery it came with it lasted about 40mins playing back a DVD on the train, and i had to spend another £150 for the extra battery, but i do get about an extra 2hrs out of it now.

Apart from that it has been excellent.

So beware about quoted battery power, and do some research into that, unless you can get your choosen Laptop out of your budget and an extra battery with it as well.

DO NOT get a Compaq Presario, for God`s sake. I did, and now, 15 months down the line I am out of warranty and in the s***. Grr...

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Rik Booth
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Hard choice with laptops, going lightweight will rarely provide a desktop replacement - there will still be compromises.

The sony Z1 you are currently looking at is not really a desktop replacement but a lightweight second computer. It only has a 1.3gig P3 inside.

If you want a desktop replacement I think you need to make the weight compromise and look at Dell 8300 range or the Sony PCG range which both have P4`s inside and decent graphic cards.

Otherwise you need to accept the power compromise and get a small computer such as the Sony you mentioned.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 27th May 2003, 22:54

On the budget side you could go for an Acer - we got one about 6 months ago 1500xp processer, 256Mb ram, 40Gb harddrive and CDRW/DVD for a shade over £800. Had no problems with it at all.

This space for sale





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After using loads of laptops at work, my one piece of advice to all laptop buyers is always this:

GET AN EXTENDED ALL-COVER WARRANTY.

Laptops are a different beast to desktops. If something breaks on a desktop then you can nearly always replace it for £200 or less - usually with something better than the original if time has passed. If something breaks on a laptop, you`re in the sh*t as Rik so eloquently put it. You looking at return to base, diagnostic charges, and more than £200 whatever`s broken, and normally a lot more.

( First of all I would like to say that I work for Lidl`s ( it will make more sence later! ))

At the moment LIDL`s are selling laptops at £999 (Vat already paid). with the `Rough` spec`s below ;

15" TFT XGA
Athlon XP 2400+
40 gb
512 mb (ddr-ram) 333 mhz
mobility radeon 9000 64md on board
2x memory card readers
CD-rw 24-10-24
32mb memory stick


Any good for you ?

I have a compaq presario, 18month old, its perfect in everyway!

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Dan...The CyberHome Man