Cheap laptops @ Tesco Direct - good deals?

A

a11y

Veteran
 Central Scotland
My current laptop's a 4-5 year old Dell 1525 with 2GB RAM, running Vista, with an upgraded 500GB hard-disc. I've already replaced the battery once and it's needing replaced again, plus it's often crashing for unknown (to me at least) reasons. I think part of the problem is I'm asking a lot of it: it's my only computer and I use Photoshop Elements 8 with it, and it really run it smoothly. So, I've though a RAM upgrade and a new battery are minimum requirements.

I've been getting so pee'd off with the crashing that I was looking at replacement laptops in Tesco the other day. I'm happy with the size/weight of these - with it being my only computer I want a decent sized screen.

And today I just received an email from Tesco Direct - do these seem like decent deals?

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.210-2791.aspx - £360
Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6"
2.3GHz dualcore, 4GB RAM, 500GB, Windows 7
Previously £450

OR

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.210-1884.aspx - £295
Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6"
2.3GHz dualcore, 3GB RAM, 320GB, Windows 7
Previously £400

Any thoughts? Alternatives? I've been happy with my Dell hence considering another...
 
My only teenyweeny point would be that historically Dell build to order, i.e. bits constantly come in one side of the factory, orders get placed, machines get built to ordered spec and shipped out the other door. Their finely honed JIT logistics mean they never kept inventory of either parts or finished units. Benefit is that Moores Law (which basically refers to the constant downward price curve on computer components) means you always get the latest bits at the cheapest prices. An HP laptop may have been built from bits bought 3-6 months ago (at a slightly higher price) and shelved since then.....

I have noticed that Dell are starting to build for stock a bit though, mainly to compete with the likes of HP who are invading their BTO space. But its usually to a very specific build and spec. And being on special offer, who knows how long Tesco have had them in stock?

So my only point is, its worth comparing this offer with the Dell site, especially as they often have offers going with extra RAM and other cheap/free upgrades, because the difference may not be as much as you think...but still a good buy at that price. :thumbsup:
 
Good point, and very valid too! Point being:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/home/deals1/fs.aspx?refid=deals1&s=dhs&cid=HDLaptop&cs=ukdhs1&dgc=IR&lid=SHP_BK1

Dell Inspiron 15, 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB - £399

£40 more than the Tesco one with same spec (as far as I can see) but in a newer design of casing, or at least I think that's the difference. Looks like Dell are slightly renaming them and giving them a new casing, and Tesco are selling off the last of the older ones.

Am I really going to notice a difference for an extra £40? (and no clubcard points :P)
 
peddy said:
Both only have 1MB cache, which isn't great.
Click to expand...
Is cache something that could be upgraded? (sorry if this is a daft question - I'm not up on computer stuff!)

Anything you (or anyone) would suggest in the same price range that's better?
 
Yes, but you need to replace the whole CPU, so you might as well just get a better laptop with a better processor.

A CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access memory. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations. As long as most memory accesses are cached memory locations, the average latency of memory accesses will be closer to the cache latency than to the latency of main memory.
Click to expand...

3MB is decent amout IMO and the new Intel i3 and i5 processors have 3MB. the i7 has 6MB.

You probably won't find anything better at that price, but i3 processors are only about £40 more.

e.g. http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/acer-aspire-5742-core-i3-4gb-07706844-pdt.html
 
Hmmm, am I missing something here?

http://direct.tesco.com/compare/?c=210-7095+210-2791&f=%2Fq%2FN.1999033%243981674%24264%2FNr.99%2FNo.10.aspx%3FNs%3DP_HIDDEN_Stock_Available|1||P_HIDDEN_Stock_Available%257c1%257c%257cP_SORT_Price

The Dell one at Tesco with 4GB RAM and 500GB is £40 cheaper with a turquiose case than black - £320. Also has a webcam built-in although that's not something I've ever used.
 
peddy said:
Yes, but you need to replace the whole CPU, so you might as well just get a better laptop with a better processor.

A CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access memory. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations. As long as most memory accesses are cached memory locations, the average latency of memory accesses will be closer to the cache latency than to the latency of main memory.
Click to expand...

3MB is decent amout IMO and the new Intel i3 and i5 processors have 3MB. the i7 has 6MB.

You probably won't find anything better at that price, but i3 processors are only about £40 more.

e.g. http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/acer-aspire-5742-core-i3-4gb-07706844-pdt.html
Click to expand...
Thanks Peddy, I figured that out that the i3 processors seem to have more cache. Would it be preferable to have, e.g. 4GB RAM and 1MB cache, or 3GB RAM and 3MB cache?
 
the latter... You could then easily upgrade the RAM to 4 GB later on.

a11y said:
Hmmm, am I missing something here?

http://direct.tesco.com/compare/?c=210-7095+210-2791&f=%2Fq%2FN.1999033%243981674%24264%2FNr.99%2FNo.10.aspx%3FNs%3DP_HIDDEN_Stock_Available|1||P_HIDDEN_Stock_Available%257c1%257c%257cP_SORT_Price

The Dell one at Tesco with 4GB RAM and 500GB is £40 cheaper with a turquiose case than black - £320. Also has a webcam built-in although that's not something I've ever used.
Click to expand...

Doesn't have any cache? :?
 
http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.210-2821.aspx - seems a bit light on the RAM but £30 from Crucial should sort that up to 4GB. How does that look Peddy?

500GB would be preferable to 320GB though, and I'm not keen on upgrading that myself again though!
 
a11y, why not go for the one I linked above? the Acer at Currys? it has the i3 processor, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD?

EDIT: Just realised it's not currently in stock. :oops:
 
here you go... similar... just has 320GB instead of 500MB, but at £395....

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/7293946/art/acer/aspire-5742-core-i3-4gb.html?srcid=369&Partenaire=affiliatewindow&CodePromo=oui#tech-specs

by the way, you should use this site for finding the cheapest electronic items...

http://www.liveukprices.com/prices/laptops/acer-lxr4f02082
 
peddy said:
here you go... similar... just has 320GB instead of 500MB, but at £395....

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/7293946/art/acer/aspire-5742-core-i3-4gb.html?srcid=369&Partenaire=affiliatewindow&CodePromo=oui#tech-specs

by the way, you should use this site for finding the cheapest electronic items...

http://www.liveukprices.com/prices/laptops/acer-lxr4f02082
Click to expand...
LOL out of stock too!
 
Yeah, I'm not in a desperate rush to buy (unless I lob the laptop against the wall in a fit of rage next time it crashes). Thanks for your help :thumbsup:
 
Still looking on and off, refined my wish list though to something with a minimum of a Core i3 processor, 3gb RAM and some sort of dedicated graphics. HDD size less important as I'm hoping to add a NAS at some point soon. I've had a play with a mate's 15.6" Acer and just can't get on with the keyboard: there's a number pad to the size, meaning smaller main keyboard and also offset to the left (i.e. not centred with the screen) - small things but make a difference IMO.

Spotted THIS today - a bit more than I'm looking to spend, but seems to be a beast:
Core i3-370 processor 3mb cache
3gb RAM
320gb HDD
1gb graphics card
£550
Offer ends today though...

How does that look to any PC experts out there?
 
Well, just to finish this thread I ended up buying a new laptop last night: http://h40059.www4.hp.com/uk/homelaptops/product.php?id=XE054EA&experience=direct

Intel Core i3-350 processor (3mb cache)
3gb RAM
320gb hard-drive
512mb dedicated graphics card
15.6" screen

Was £600, reduced to £500.
I then found a 10% voucher via hotdealsuk, so paid £450.
I then used quidco to get a further 10% cashback, so £405 after £45 cashback.
Also get cashback on credit card @ 0.5%, so £2.25 back lol.
But HP are also offering £150 trade-in for your old laptop, so I'm trading in my Dell Inspiron 1525 that's 4 years old and getting £150 for it.

End price: £252.75 - bargain :)
 
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