[Kimi3013]

(Original post by cjmcnair)
hi... yeah gr8 guide, jus 1 thing i wanted to ask

I'm just interested in a versatile laptop that has that has wireless features as too connect to my future uni's system.
I am aware that with many laptops the best way is to get the appropriate PCMCIA card.

However with many of the cheaper laptops (i'm talking bog standard) they come not with the PCMCIA slots but instead the mini version (it's name illudes me! )
I just wondered how easy (or costly) it would be to use one of these slots for wireless connections??

Thanks

Most laptops have a wireless card as standard these days. Don't get one which doesn't.

[Navajo]

(Original post by cjmcnair)
hi... yeah gr8 guide, jus 1 thing i wanted to ask

I'm just interested in a versatile laptop that has that has wireless features as too connect to my future uni's system.
I am aware that with many laptops the best way is to get the appropriate PCMCIA card.

However with many of the cheaper laptops (i'm talking bog standard) they come not with the PCMCIA slots but instead the mini version (it's name illudes me! )
I just wondered how easy (or costly) it would be to use one of these slots for wireless connections??

Thanks

If your asking how much will it cost for a PCMCIA wireless card, then it's around £20.

(Note i've updated the main post as well )

[wiggles]

That's a great guide, thanks a lot.
I'm going to uni in september, and will need a laptop to take with me. I want one that I'll be able to use to connect wirelessly to the internet, and will probably use it for downloading movies and tv shows and the like, as well as playing them, so I'd like pretty decent graphics and playback. Apart from that I'd just be using it for the Internet, MSN and MS Word probably. Can anyone recommend me a decent laptop that will be able to do these pretty basic things for around £700? I thought it better to ask here rather than start yet another new thread.

[Navajo]

(Original post by wiggles)
That's a great guide, thanks a lot.
I'm going to uni in september, and will need a laptop to take with me. I want one that I'll be able to use to connect wirelessly to the internet, and will probably use it for downloading movies and tv shows and the like, as well as playing them, so I'd like pretty decent graphics and playback. Apart from that I'd just be using it for the Internet, MSN and MS Word probably. Can anyone recommend me a decent laptop that will be able to do these pretty basic things for around £700? I thought it better to ask here rather than start yet another new thread.

To be honest your probably better off starting a new topic thread.

But check out the websites in the main post, ebuyer and laptopsdirect.

[bilal_zd]

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/product.php?sku=469709

What you think of this compaq...it got really good specs...100gb hardrive...1gb ram...ONLY £599! just dont know much bout the procesor cos i dont know too much about that? HELP PLEASE if anyone know about that!...Let me know please...thanks

[True Love]

One query:

What's wrong with PC World? Just curious.

And which are the Top 5 places to buy laptops that people suggest?

[verloc]

I need to buy a Laptop fairly soon and am quite sure of what I want. One important question though is whether Windows XP home edition will suffice if I want to use the university's ethernet. And that's about it, except for how much I should trusrt slightly less well know retailers like ebuyer.com when it comes to service etc, as opposed to Dell or PC World.

This is one Laptop I liked the look of:

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...2&pid=45&tid=2

This is another:
http://www.technoworld.com/productdi...roductID=36221

Other than that the Dell Inspiron 1300 looks alright.

Any advice?

[Navajo]

(Original post by True Love)
What's wrong with PC World? Just curious.

1. Sell you rubbish products
2. Rip you off
3. If you know where to go you can save hundreds
4. MadVlad works there...

[Navajo]

(Original post by verloc)
I need to buy a Laptop fairly soon and am quite sure of what I want. One important question though is whether Windows XP home edition will suffice if I want to use the university's ethernet. And that's about it, except for how much I should trusrt slightly less well know retailers like ebuyer.com when it comes to service etc, as opposed to Dell or PC World.

This is one Laptop I liked the look of:

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...2&pid=45&tid=2

This is another:
http://www.technoworld.com/productdi...roductID=36221

Other than that the Dell Inspiron 1300 looks alright.

Any advice?

Make a seperate thread for this...

[sio06]

HI, I was wondering if it is possible to buy a new better battery for a laptop that gives it a higher battery life?

[Navajo]

^ no I don't think so.

But some laptops (like some evesham ones) allow you to take out the CD drive and replace the gap with a second battery.

Or get one off ebay and carry it with you and change over when the first one gets low.

God question though

[Nalced]

Thank you.

My curent laptop is a.
Acer

1.4 GHz
15.4 "
40GB
256 RAM
DVD/CD-RW combo
802.11.b/g
Intel Extream intergrated 64MB card ( very cr*py)

and it's 3 years old now. And i'm thinking of getting a new one.

[r3m0t]

(Original post by sio06)
HI, I was wondering if it is possible to buy a new better battery for a laptop that gives it a higher battery life?

Yes. My sister got a laptop and it came with a "6-cell" battery. A 12-cell battery is the same size as the 6-cell battery, but heavier, pricier and holds more charge. (It also takes longer to charge, I suppose.)

If your laptop isn't too old, you can also just get another battery of the same type you already have. Remember that the maximum amount of charge held by batteries decreases every time they're charged. A new battery can bring back the same battery life your laptop had when you first used it.

I've also read that it's bad to keep a laptop battery fully charged and hot (i.e. in a laptop which is connected to AC power). Not sure how reliable that is.

[Sub-D]

So whats up with PC world then?

[r3m0t]

They are highly overpriced (especially for small items like cables, microfilters and modems), they give very poor advice, they pressure you into add-ons of low value, they give poor support.

I read one person who said he was sold a USB wireless adapter with a laptop that had built-in wireless.

Of course, things might have changed since sales employees were (apparently) no longer paid on commission. The reputation, however, lives on (as do the high prices).

[Sub-D]

Some of their prices aren't that bad. You've just got to shop around for the best deals. Plus, being in sales myself I know what they try and push you into!

And no commision anymore! So at least the advice you get doesn't vary as comission does!

[BandanaDan]

I just love how PC World are great for ripping idiots off and keeping relatively intelligent people happy.

For example:

USB cable - £19.99
Firewire cable - £19.99


BUT in the PC Components section. Look at say... this:

External HD Enclosure (inc. AC Adapter, USB cable and Firewire cable) - £15.


lol...

[Realist101]

Im more into spec> design looks. Get a dual centrino, you'll notice the diff if you have never had 1 before.

[wicker_man]

Yep, PC World do have a few bargains, like last January when I got a Linksys wireless router + PCMCIA wireless card for £40. The router on its own was at least £50 elsewhere (even online).

And I'm quite temped to buy a Samsung 2.5" 120GB 5400rpm hard drive they currently have for £60.

[HJV]

(Original post by Navajo)
Intel also have more ranges which are Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, Core Solo, Pentium-M and Celeron-M, in order of performance from best to worst.

Where would Centrino 2 Duo be on this list?

BTW any chance of u updating the guide within the coming months, as probably many heading to university in september will be buying a new laptop during the summer?