Looking to buy 2 laptops for the swimming club of which I am a committee member. We have a grant of £500 for the two and don't really want to spend too much over £300 each. Not VAT registered so can't claim that back.
Processor, memory, HD size not particularly relevant.
Must have full keyboard with numeric keypad and a minimum of 3 USB ports (would prefer 4).
Would like decent battery life and not too heavy.
Have been going cross eyed looking at specs but still not found anything that ticks all the boxes. Doesn't have to be the latest model.
Have to say I'm not keen on Dell - from experience it seems that if you get a good one it's fine, but if you have to deal with customer services that's a problem.
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>> Looking to buy 2 laptops for the swimming club of which I am a committee
>> member. We have a grant of £500 for the two and don't really want to
>> spend too much over £300 each. Not VAT registered so can't claim that back.
>> Processor, memory, HD size not particularly relevant.
>> Must have full keyboard with numeric keypad and a minimum of 3 USB ports (would
>> prefer 4).
>> Would like decent battery life and not too heavy.
That's a tall order. Full keyboards with separate numeric pads is only going to be achieved by adding a second USB keyboard. Or a USB numeric pad. Nor is 4 USB ports commonplace in cheap laptops.
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5552_Windows_7_Laptop_LX.R4402.108/version.asp
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There are increasing numbers of 15.6" laptops with numerical keypads now - if you use a separate USB keypad (which we have been doing) it takes up more space and uses up one of the few USB slots.
When we run galas we are very short of desk space; a 15.6" laptop which includes a numeric keypad takes up less space than one with an extra USB pad plugged in.
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well clearly then you shouldn't have any trouble finding one.
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Any good? Acer for £290 with what looks like numeric keypad and 3 USBs, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, Win 7 Home Premium, not a great CPU though:
www.ebuyer.com/product/241595
EDIT actually it looks similar to the Acer Z posted above
Last edited by: Focus on Mon 9 May 11 at 22:32
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Didn't mean to offend you - there are plenty with each of our requirements but not with all of them, hence my query.
Acer sounds promising though.
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no offence taken and no chagrin intended - It was merely a conclusion based on your comment.
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I'm sitting here with an Asus K50AF which lacks the decent battery life (I reckon it only lasts max 90 mins on battery), but is pretty light and has 3 USB ports. Been completely reliable unlike the HP I had. Sounds like you need a netbook rather than notebook.
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>> Sounds like you need a netbook rather than notebook.
And if there aren't enough USB ports, you could always use a portable hub as well.
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Netbook doesn't have a big enough screen or the numerical keypad. Reckon it has to be a 15.6" screen.
Battery life is quite important as there is only one power point at the pool to run our extension lead off for 2 laptops, 2 printers, one console and a couple of lamps for when it's dark and we can't see what we are inputting. We have also been known to have a fan as the console overheats and trips out. Sessions typically 3 hours +/- 30 mins, so to be able to run off battery during a session and then recharge/use from mains in next session would be ideal.
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Its not actually a numeric keypad, its recreated on the keyboard. Its really not good for rapid alpha numeric entry.
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It OK if you are just entering figures once you get used to it . Its just like using a keypad. I use it for spreadsheets on my net book sometimes. Bit of a pain if you want to enter text as well though.
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As we need to use text as well as numbers and input a lot of information at high speed, separate numeric keypad is essential.
In the end I got 2 Acer 5742s at £259.99 each incl delivery. Have had a quick play with them and seem to be great for what we need. Only 3 USB ports but don't think I could have got much more for the money.
Thanks for all suggestions.
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Another laptop spec thread - Zero
