Laptops > less than 512 MB Laptops > From 500 GBP to 800 GBP

Advantages: Compact, value for money
Disadvantages: no USB ports for mouse etc!

Had never heard of the Acer brand before but as the laptop was on special offer in shop and appeared to be a bargain, we gritted our teeth and went ahead. Over the first few weeks after purchase we realised that the laptop has no USB ports or ports for mouse etc so you have to use the touch pad, like it or not. However for a basic, home use laptop for the average user it does what it needs to do! Would not recommend this model for any business use ... Read review

Advantages: Screen quality, sound quality
Disadvantages: slow, memory, processor.

Overall a pretty good laptop, i got one very cheap a couple of years ago, and it is still going strong, although the very small RAM makes it very slow at times, and often freezes. It can take a very long time to start up, and isn't great for playing games on due to the small processor. It is very durable, it is still all in one piece even after it has been dropped a few times, and when a key came off after my cat had an argument with it, it was very ... Read review

Advantages: Good spec, excellent value, nice looking.
Disadvantages: Some minor niggles, spec could be better.

...this review on my new hp Compaq nx9005 laptop which I'm well pleased with. I settled on this laptop after a fair bit of research into laptops at around the £800 mark. I was very impressed with this machine's specs and also the excellent reviews I'd read of it. I picked it up on the brilliant ebuyer.com for the bargain price of around £810. SPECIFICATIONS Processor: AMD Athlon XP-Mobile 2400+, a great processor which has the distinct advantage of ...
...closed, there is a large hp logo on the back of the screen. This is one area in which the plastic feels a little flimsy but otherwise it feels pretty solid. The screen is opened by the usual sliding catch on the front. It is quite weighty but not prohibitively so. Its about standard for a fully featured 14" screen model I guess. When open, you're presented with the large matt black screen and little else on the top half. On the bottom, the speakers ... Read review

Advantages: Light, sleek and stylish. Great performance and great value for money.
Disadvantages: Largest screen size is 14.1 Inches.

...etc but so far the Toshiba Tecra has been th most reliable. The other brands I have mentioned seem to all have problems with the power management systems. Most use speedstep technology which means when the laptop is not plugged in the processor will clock down to save power. This is a pain on most of the other machines but not the Toshiba. Also the biggest problems with laptops is the cooling as you can't fit a big heatsink and fan like on desktops ...
...on the 1Ghz models. If the processor gets too hot the system will hang or worse, the laptop casing will start to melt. I had the Tecra over a month and being a systems engineer and a Quake3 fan I really hammered the processor and it didn't hang once. Also it was cheaper than most of the other brands which is great value for money considering the performance.The 14.1" TFT screen is a joy to stare at and is very clear but I would have prefered a 15" ... Read review

Advantages: Looks, Simplicity, Works out-of-the-box, battery life, power
Disadvantages: Case feels a little cheap, Screen attracts fingerprints

...Macbook was purchased direct from Apple and took just two days to arrive. And, as promised, it worked straight out of the box. I just pressed power filled out my user details and i was going. The setup hooked me onto my wireless internet and i was away. The first thing that struck me was the size of the thing, it's only slightly thicker than an average sized hardback notepad and weighs just over 2 kg, in other words it's a perfect size. Before the ...
...is very clean and crisp. Apple really has gone above and beyond with this one, it's perfect. The 13,3 inch glossy screen is great for watching movies. Just a note for skeptical readers: the glossy screen rarely (if ever) reflects anything in the background. When it comes to using the Macbook in a brightly lit area or outside there is less reflection than there would be on a Matte display. Battery life on the Macbook. Is better than almost all other ... Read review