Vostro 1000 or Inspiron 6400

GhostlyPea · 18 Oct 2007 at 13:33

OK 2 choices lads and I need some advice! I'm going to be buying my Mum a laptop for Christmas present (awww how sweet). All she will need it for is surfing, e-mails and maybe some Open Office. No games, no video playback, no music either really.
so betwwen the 2 I'm looking at:

Vostro 1000 and Inspiron 6400

Any comments or opinions?

- Pea0n

panthro · 18 Oct 2007 at 13:34

What are the specs of each one? Are they base specs or will you be upgrading the spec?

GhostlyPea · 18 Oct 2007 at 13:46

Well probably leaving them as it is, most I'd consider it worth upgrading is the ram to 2 x 1gb sticks.

The inspiron is here:
Inspiron 6400
As for the Dell machine I can't link to it as Dell are mail order also. however base specs are:
Sempron 3500+
1GB RAM (533mhz)
Vista or XP (bonus as i can choose XP)
integrated ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemory
I believe it comes with 60gb standard HDD space

Might be easier to google "Dell Vostro 1000 UK" to get a full spec list

- Pea0n

GuruJockStrap · 18 Oct 2007 at 19:14

Either would be fine for your mum. I'd just get the one that offers the best saving.

It's not as if your mum will know the difference between the 2 specs and feel the difference.

Both are more than capable of those requirements so just get the cheapest.

GhostlyPea · 18 Oct 2007 at 20:09

Aye Guru, the reason why i'm in the dilemma is because if I buy the Vostro, then 60 quid of the total cost is P&P alone, on the other hand if I spend 40 quid extra then I get, in effect, "80 quid of extra PC" if that makes sense, the shipping from OCUK is negligable. If the shipping wasnt such a rip off from dell then id probably get the vostro, altogether it seems the Inspirion is a better PC for that price range, but it is more. I may be getting my relatives to chip in as well, so id be looking more towards a CD2 + 2 gig RAM style of machine with a bigger screen if they did. Any recommendations for something around the 550 - 600 squid mark? weight isn't an issue, so if it would mean getting a slightly larger screen for the extra dosh then that would be worth it for me (easier on her eyes etc.)

- Pea0n

GuruJockStrap · 18 Oct 2007 at 20:34

Are you after a 17" screen then?

waxapple · 18 Oct 2007 at 20:36

Pea0n said:
Aye Guru, the reason why i'm in the dilemma is because if I buy the Vostro, then 60 quid of the total cost is P&P alone, on the other hand if I spend 40 quid extra then I get, in effect, "80 quid of extra PC" if that makes sense, the shipping from OCUK is negligable. If the shipping wasnt such a rip off from dell then id probably get the vostro, altogether it seems the Inspirion is a better PC for that price range, but it is more. I may be getting my relatives to chip in as well, so id be looking more towards a CD2 + 2 gig RAM style of machine with a bigger screen if they did. Any recommendations for something around the 550 - 600 squid mark? weight isn't an issue, so if it would mean getting a slightly larger screen for the extra dosh then that would be worth it for me (easier on her eyes etc.)

- Pea0n

Get a Dell with Linux and save some money?
Dells 3 year cover is legendary btw. Worth it, no questions asked.

GuruJockStrap · 18 Oct 2007 at 20:43

How about this:

Acer Aspire AS9304
AMD Turion TL 56
17" TFT with Acer CrystalBrite screen
2048MB Memory
160GB Hard Disk Drive
DVD Super-Multi
Nvidia GeForce GO 6100Graphics
WiFi
5 in 1 Card Reader
Acer OrbiCam 0.3MP
Windows Vista Premium

£538.99

Thats with an AMD setup. Cheapest Intel Core 2 Duo was this:

Acer TravelMate 5624WSMi
Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz, 2 MB - L2 Cache
2 GB DDR II SDRAM - 533 MHz ( 2 x 1 GB )
5 in 1 Card Reader
160 GB HD 5400 rpm
DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM
17" TFT active matrix 1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ )
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache supporting 400MB - 128 MB
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Integrated - 1.3 Megapixel
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

£647.97

Gives you an idea.

GhostlyPea · 18 Oct 2007 at 21:24

@ Guru: as mentioned not for the lower price, but if one is available in the 550 - 600 quid budget preferably but not a deal breaker.

@ Waxapple:Linux would be ok if it was me using it, although I have little experience with it my mum struggles to use anything more advanced than basic MS menu navigation so i daren't let her loose with anything else, even if it clones Windows. As for the Dell warranty, I work with Dell laptops, which is one of the reasons im not really looking to getting any other brand. I have the support from parts at work if needed and for what my mum wants they are imo the best bet.

@ Guru second post: The second setup you posted there is similar to a dell one I also found. tempted to go along that line for one with the dual core and 2 gig ram minimum, upon reflection its a better investment in the long run. It was the Inspiron 1721, 17" monitor, 120gb hdd, athlon x 2 (fine at stock speeds for her needs) and importantly with the 2 gig RAM, VAT and postage its for 590 quid, so unless i see any reasoning why not this looks like a good deal to me? again cant link as Dell sell also, but its easy to find on thier site for a spec-check. would appreciate any comments on this ^

thanks so far guys

- Pea0n