Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

miggols99 · 2007-10-20 15:32:14

Hey guys, I'm trying to find a decent laptop and will probably put Arch on it. The best I've found so far is here:

uk.zepto.com

At £308.51 (which is about $630.32) with wireless and P&P. Specs:

Configuration
1,86 GHz Intel® Celeron® M 540
1GB DDR2 667/PC5300 SODIMM, Zepto
80GB 5400rpm SATA Harddisk Hitachi®
No OS
Samsung Combo 6xx4w/6xx5WD/2xx5W
Keyboard Znote 2x25 Black UK
15,4" WXGA 1280x800 - 3215W
12 months pick up & return
6 Cell Battery for Znote 2225W/2425W
Intel® GMA X3100
Online Discount UK-3
Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN

Accessories
Internal Bluetooth®

Which I think is pretty good. I can reduce the price a bit by using the "Zepto Zpro 300Mbit Wifi Card" instead of the Intel one but I'm not sure if it would work with Linux. Can any of you guys recommend an even better one?

Gullible Jones · 2007-10-20 17:50:53

The Acer Aspire 3680-2633 I'm using is pretty good for about $500 in spite of requiring ndiswrapper for the wifi. For those who don't want to put up with ndiswrapper, there's a version of the 3680 with better wifi hardware and Linux preinstalled, but it's less easily available and probably more expensive.

Last edited by Gullible Jones (2007-10-20 17:51:18)

miggols99 · 2007-10-20 18:10:58

A lot of the Acer Aspires have 512MB RAM, but the one on Zepto is 1GB. Only the more expensive ones are 1GB. I am not paying for it, but I need to keep within around £300 (about $600).

EDIT: Found this: http://www.simplyacer.com/product/id/24 … .E930X.001 The screen is a bit smaller than normal...maybe I'll stick with the Zepto one...

Last edited by miggols99 (2007-10-20 18:25:08)

chaosgeisterchen · 2007-10-21 14:06:39

Do yourself a favor and go for a Centrino/Core2 notebook, instead of the Celeron one. Not because of the performance, but because of the powersaving capabilities, which the Celeron series lack quite a lot.

Mo · 2007-10-21 14:58:52

I got a Zepto 6214W and it rocks, so I'd recommend the Zepto .

miggols99 · 2007-10-21 15:13:39

The wireless is quite expensive on there... is it easy to put in a wireless card (preferably internal as I hear they work faster)

Is the Core Duo much different to the Core 2 Duo? The Core 2 Duo is 64bit, and the Core Duo isn't. I don't want it to cost too much otherwise I won't be able to get it...

EDIT: If I add a Core 2 Duo, it adds up to £349.04 with P&P and wireless. Adds quite a bit...

Last edited by miggols99 (2007-10-21 15:16:03)

miggols99 · 2007-10-23 18:17:44

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. I chose the Zepto with a Core 2 Duo processor instead of the Celeron M. As I said, I will not be buying it. My parents are. It's as an Xmas present, but they had no idea which one to choose. At first I thought that I could find a bunch of laptops for them to choose from, but I couldn't find any better ones. They were either overpriced or not very good (256MB ram for example...no one has that anymore!!). So they're going to hide it somewhere (when it's wrapped it will be hidden in the loft - no way to get in there) so I'm just going to have to wait for my shiny new laptop...

LinuxViking · 2007-10-26 17:07:51

This is a bit off the subject, but have you seen the Asus Eee series? They come with linux preinstalled and are being marketed as base systems at less than 200$, for 512 MB ram and 4GB disk space...

spookshow · 2007-10-26 20:19:50

that 4gb is solid state too, not hdd, meaning, less breakage...

LinuxViking · 2007-10-27 01:17:38

spookshow wrote:

that 4gb is solid state too, not hdd, meaning, less breakage...

Yeah they look pretty nice, although not quite as awesome as the original press statement...

Arch Linux

#1 2007-10-20 15:32:14

Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#2 2007-10-20 17:50:53

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#3 2007-10-20 18:10:58

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#4 2007-10-21 14:06:39

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#5 2007-10-21 14:58:52

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#6 2007-10-21 15:13:39

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#7 2007-10-23 18:17:44

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#8 2007-10-26 17:07:51

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#9 2007-10-26 20:19:50

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

#10 2007-10-27 01:17:38

Re: Looking for a decent, cheap laptop...

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