plumber needs laptop... which one?

hi all,
me mate is looking to get his hands on a laptop. He wants to use it for work and he's out on sites all the time. He also wants to use it for internet running his business and entertainment (itunes, dvds, etc....) can anyone recomed any decent ones out there that i can have a look at for him... hes just sick og listening to sales speel from the likes of PC world etc etc...
Cheers

ps: hes looking for one of those all in one printers/faxes/scanners asweel

I got an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax machine - an Epson DX4050, which works quite well. Just be careful not to let the print heads go dry. I had a previous Epson model and didn't use it for several months. The print heads dried up and I had to replace the whole thing! The technician said this happens with Epsons if you don't use the printer fairly regularly. Also get your cartridges online for less than a tenner each from www.inkjet.ie. As regards laptops, I have had a Fujitsu Siemens for a couple of years. It's not brilliant, as it tends to crash the odd time. My previous laptop was a Toshiba which was amazingly durable having being dragged down the street once in a shoulder bag that got run over by a car by accident without any ill-effects! Don't know if they still make 'em like that though.

Laptops are more expensive than desktop PCs and also you will not get any near as good a spec.

Really doesn't matter the brand you buy but more the specification; things to look at are Processer Speed (try to get at least 2GHz), RAM (try to get at least 1024MB) and Hard Drive space (try to get at least 120GB). There are other variables such as DVD rewriters etc which you have to decide whether you require.

A good guide line is to decide upon the best laptop that you can possibly afford and then go for the next best one. A good laptop today will be a sub-standard laptop in 2 years time so you need to splash out.

Dell are pretty good and can custom your laptop to your needs.

www.dell.ie

Do a google for "toughbook". Bringing a standard laptop to a building site will end in disaster.

I seen a book in PC World recently called 'Laptops for Dummies', had a flick through it and it had great information on buying and using a laptop. I say you would get it easily somewhere like Amazon.co.uk; well worth the investment for this or a similar book.

One other thing in addition to my previous post, do not get sucked into deals where they provide printers, scanners etc; if you want that particular laptop that is great but don't buy it because of the extras because the printers particularly are not great and you could end up buying another one anyway.

Also, PC World (and other places too I am sure) offer these "great insurance deals" where you get your computer covered against damage etc; costs at least 25% of the price; probably even more for laptops. Personally, I think that this is a waste of money but it would be up to yourself.

Panasonic make the ToughBook,



Probably the best option for someone on a building site.

redchariot said:

Laptops are more expensive than desktop PCs and also you will not get any near as good a spec.

Really doesn't matter the brand you buy but more the specification; things to look at are Processer Speed (try to get at least 2GHz), RAM (try to get at least 1024MB) and Hard Drive space (try to get at least 120GB). There are other variables such as DVD rewriters etc which you have to decide whether you require.

A good guide line is to decide upon the best laptop that you can possibly afford and then go for the next best one. A good laptop today will be a sub-standard laptop in 2 years time so you need to splash out.

Dell are pretty good and can custom your laptop to your needs.

www.dell.ie

Click to expand...

Why do you need a top of the range HD and CPU? A 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo is a very fast and more than enough for most people. Most people would be fine with a 60~80GB HD IMO. Screen size and battery life is more what I would choose on. Do they want it portable or luggable etc.

I'd have to say that quality of the components is every bit as important as spec, don't over buy just to try and keep up.
If he's only using internet , music and work he doesn't need high spec at all, but more a high quality build.

hi all, thanks for the advice so far,
i have been on the dell site and have drawn up this spec...
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dell...3157&rbc=N03157&s=dhs&sbc=iedhsftdppnotebook1

if anyone could have a look and recomendations id appreciate it.
Once again, its for a friend of mine who wants to use it for internet(possibly wireless as he lives out in the country in the wicklow mountains), music, watching dvds and running a plumbing business..
thanks