Cheap but half decent laptops

[boobesque]

i am writing a book and taking up tons of time on the pc, so we are looking for a cheap laptop, there is a site for students but the hard drive wasnt big enough for windows!

Where can we get a cheap, decent laptop? dont mind 2nd hand or refurbed but would prefer not to use ebay.

Anyone know of any good sites? thanks x

[Buenchico]

There are plenty of good 2nd-user deals available on lap-tops. A problem which some people experience with secondhand units is battery life. (The laptop is often supplied with a battery which won't hold much charge - and replacement batteries can be expensive and/or difficult to obtain). From your post, however, it seems that you might be able to use a laptop which gets its power solely from an AC adapter. (i.e. if you only need to use the laptop at home, rather than on the train, there's no need to have a working battery). If this is the case, AC Computer Warehouse have a couple of suitable models, priced at �60 and �75:
http://www.accomputerwarehouse.com/products.asp?cat1=Not ebook/Laptops&cat2=Refurbished+Notebooks
(I've made purchases from AC Computer Warehouse and I've got nothing but praise for their service. They're excellent!).

If you need a battery with the laptop, look at the other models from AC Computer Warehouse or check out Icex who have a Panasonic Toughbook available (complete with Windows pre-installed) for �150:
http://www.icex.co.uk/ (Click on 'Special Offers').

A company which I've heard good reports about is Speedie. They've currently got deals (with Windows pre-installed) from �149.99:
http://www.speedie.co.uk/laptops.aspx?CategoryID=2

Cheap-It have a Dell laptop complete with Windows (and including delivery) at �160:
http://www.cheap-it.com/Pages/cheap-laptops-0-300.asp

Hoping something here helps,

Chris

[fo3nix]

btw, if you're just writing a book, what software do you need?

a laptop will run a variant of GNU/Linux such as Ubuntu (my distribution of choice), together with OpenOffice (a free replacement for Microsoft Office, totally compatible), smoother than it would run Windows. And you have the added benefit that its all also free software (as in speech).

[fo3nix]

sorry, kinda forgot about the point (though maybe it was deductable?)

basically, Ubuntu requires less space than windows, comes with everything pre-installed, is totally free, and will run faster than Windows will (especially important on older laptops).

It may not play the latest games, or have Photoshop on it, but it'll run a word processor brilliantly. and the files you create will be totally compatible with Microsoft Office anyway. it even lets you export as pdf!

[boobesque]

you god damn right fo3nix. i use fedora core 4 on my pc dual booted with xp. from the websites provided by buenchico (superb stuff i might add) i dont have a choice on what os it comes with. ideally i would buy one without an os to reduce the costs but this option is not offered.

thanks for the replies. i have checked all of buenchicos sites and will most definately invest on one of those sites.

thanks again

[fo3nix]

once you have your laptop (or before), download a CD image of Ubuntu (through BitTorrent), from here:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/5.10/ubuntu-5.10-install-i386 .iso.torrent

just burn the thing to a CD, and then format your laptop when you get it, and install ubuntu. it's even easier to use than FC4.