New Laptops

WillowTheWhisp · 22-11-2007, 08:12

OK, this is doing my head in.

Looking for a new laptop about £500. Suddenly realised they all have Vista and I'm going to have trouble networking it with our XP PCs.

Now about to tear my hair out because not sure what to do for best.

I want at least 160Gb hard drive, 2Gb memory and basic programs like Microsoft Office.

But where to go and what to look at? Too much choice but most of it seems to be stuff I don't want and EVERYTHING has Vista!!!! Should have got one from Woollies when they were selling the XP ones off cheap.

HELP

andrewb · 22-11-2007, 09:52

Cheap Laptop Deals on HP, Acer, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung at Ebuyer I think these laptops still have XP installed, you'll have to look through to see if any meet your requirements though

Mick · 22-11-2007, 10:01

Willow the ones in woolies are the medion and you can still order one with xp on if you ask.

WillowTheWhisp · 22-11-2007, 13:33

Will have a toddle down to Woollies tomorrow and take a look.

Thanks for the link Cyfr. I'll have a look at those too.

Neil · 22-11-2007, 14:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Suddenly realised they all have Vista and I'm going to have trouble networking it with our XP PCs.

What is the networking issue between the two?

entwisi · 22-11-2007, 15:34

I believe its possible but sharing folders isn't as simple as it should be. (Due to changes in hopw Vista does authentication)

Basically they changed teh goalposts and didn't tell anyone

onlyme · 22-11-2007, 16:30

hiya

I know that on the HP business ones there is a downgrade path, so any that come with vista, you can downgrade to xp, and if you ever decide to upgrade back up to visa, the licence will still be valid. Basically, you ring up the infocentre, order the cd,, and basically install (probs not that simple but meant to be not too bad)

Hope that helps x

Mick · 23-11-2007, 05:52

I was in woolies yesterday and they have a few laptops in stock with xp on

WillowTheWhisp · 23-11-2007, 12:21

I must have missed those in Woollies, couldn't see them anywhere.

I know I'm blind as a bat.

I've been looking at some different ones online (Comet and PC World) and now my brain hurts!!!

Someone recommended me to look for an Athlon processor but they all seem to have Intel.

entwisi · 23-11-2007, 19:51

Don't get so hung up on teh Intel vs AMD arguments. AMD used to be a lot better bang/buck but its very close now.

claytonender · 23-11-2007, 21:57

If you don't want to go to the expense of having Microsoft Office on your PC/laptop, you can install Open Office suite - this is free to download. I use it on my laptop and it compatible with Office, if you need to use on a PC that has Office installed. The word processing program allows you to save docs in word foramt and the spreadsheet (whilst not being as versitle as Excel), allows you to save as Excel.

WillowTheWhisp · 23-11-2007, 22:18

I've got Open Office on here and tend to alternate between the two.

mez · 24-11-2007, 12:57

Just Been In Woolies Willow & There It Was In Front Of Me Meridion Laptop With Xp On It.

WillowTheWhisp · 24-11-2007, 16:02

Just had a look today and saw that. It's £399 says reduced from £799 but theres a pink one with twice the Hard Drive for £399! Seems odd. It's not a very fast processor on either though and the RAM is only 512M. I was hoping for 1Gb. I've got some leaflets about others from Comet and PC World and I'm getting more and more bamboozled.

derekgas · 25-11-2007, 12:47

I have 2 vista computers, and 2 xp, the only issues I have are that they do not allow IM, they (microsoft) are working on it though, Dell computers send exactly what you request, and are very reasonable.