Curry’s glitch if you want a cheap laptop

[BigYellowHat]

Just ordered a Dell laptop for £99! Now got to wait and see if my order actually comes next week. Anyone in the market for one should consider getting on the site and giving it a go. Dying to know if it will turn up!

They seem to be sold out everywhere.

DH said they're crap, but as I don't have my own laptop at all it would be better than nothing

It's prompted DH to say he'll get his old laptop fixed so I can surf the net/do zoom on that so not a total waste of time trying to buy it.

@TheSunIsStillShining - your comments about upgrading RAM affecting warranties were enough to make me rethink and cancel my order. Thank you (and other pp) for looking this gift horse in the mouth!

@IncessantNameChanger ta for the CEX tip - had a quick look at their online stuff, and there's some decent spec laptops for

I contacted Dell and they said that as long as you buy DELL branded upgrades (ram for example) it won’t affect any warranty. It even states this on all the parts on the dell website. Still makes it cheaper to upgrade then to buy brand new at those specs.

So - if I buy another 4GB RAM from Dell and put it in the laptop (have found YouTube videos on how and it looks really easy) and then switch it out of S mode into normal windows 10 mode it should run fast enough for a 12 yr old boy to do homework, watch YouTube videos and Netflix ????
This is my thinking - if anyone can clarify I would really appreciate it? The cheapest alternative now on Curry’s seems to still have 4GB RAM and costs £319? Which makes this one at £99 plus ?£25 for upgraded RAM still seem like a good deal?

@WobbleTime

So - if I buy another 4GB RAM from Dell and put it in the laptop (have found YouTube videos on how and it looks really easy) and then switch it out of S mode into normal windows 10 mode it should run fast enough for a 12 yr old boy to do homework, watch YouTube videos and Netflix ???? This is my thinking - if anyone can clarify I would really appreciate it? The cheapest alternative now on Curry’s seems to still have 4GB RAM and costs £319? Which makes this one at £99 plus ?£25 for upgraded RAM still seem like a good deal?

What processor does the other one have. You have to think of the processor as being the brains of the computer. If it’s the Pentium Silver N5030 then that’s slightly better.

Yes the other one is that one. But it’s £200 more and still only 4GB?

@WobbleTime

So - if I buy another 4GB RAM from Dell and put it in the laptop (have found YouTube videos on how and it looks really easy) and then switch it out of S mode into normal windows 10 mode it should run fast enough for a 12 yr old boy to do homework, watch YouTube videos and Netflix ???? This is my thinking - if anyone can clarify I would really appreciate it? The cheapest alternative now on Curry’s seems to still have 4GB RAM and costs £319? Which makes this one at £99 plus ?£25 for upgraded RAM still seem like a good deal?

What is the other laptop you're looking at? Is it this one?

www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-3502-15-6-laptop-intel-pentium-128-gb-ssd-black-10226687-pdt.html

Yes - I searched for the next cheapest Dell and that came up. I’ve ordered the £99 one already but just concerned it will be too slow (unless I switch out of s mode and add extra RAM - and whether that will be enough to make it worth giving to my son for schoolwork and movies/YouTube).

He already has a laptop which was fairly entry level when I bought it 2 yrs ago (about £250 I think) but it crashes all the time and is slow and glitchy. Don’t want to replace it with another one that does the same!

Ah okay @WobbleTime - the major differences I can see is that the pricier laptop runs a new version of Windows and has a newer, faster processor installed.

However, I've personally had a lot of problems with Dell laptops and I would be looking at a different brand completely lol. My previous one lasted about six months before it overheated and died on me. I had it repaired twice more before PCWorld (as it was then) decided it was faulty and offered me a refund.

Depending on budget I would look at something like:

www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/asus-vivobook-f515ea-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-256-gb-ssd-grey-10224576-pdt.html

or

www.argos.co.uk/product/9444681?clickPR=plp:1:125

The latter is probably going to be faster with more storage imo.

Thank you @icedcoffees for that info. So I should just cancel my Curry’s order and not bother trying to upgrade the RAM on the Curry’s one?
I quite like the Argos one, might wait and see what happens on Black Friday.

Personally I wouldn't spend my money - IME cheap laptops are cheap for a reason, sadly!

Yes, the Argos one looks good and I would maybe hold on and see if it drops in price like you say :) it's light and should be pretty speedy for the price!

How does one go about cancelling the order at Currys?

You can do it over their online chat

@Thetrainisinthestation

You can do it over their online chat

Good to know, thank you

I know it's not too spec - but perfect for my parents! I can't see them trying to play Roblox anytime soon! 😆
I am tempted to keep it myself though, I have an old pc that is only 2gb ram, and is 11 years old! I am quickly losing patience with it!

Ha - just checked order status and it's 'on hold.' I have a feeling it will be cancelled.

Just cancelled my order after these reviews. Remembered I have my Apple Mac needing a screen repair so will just repair that for £300.

I'm just intrigued to see what this laptop will be like and if it turns up. I mean how rubbish can it be as it did start out at over £300.

Currently I have my MacBook Air and DS has a fantastic HP he uses for heavy gaming which was £600-700. Both excellent quality and able to cope with anything. So I'm really interested in the capabilities of this cheap Dell. I'll be pissed off though if Netflix etc can't stream smoothly on it.

There's no reason Netflix etc won't stream in it - that's more to do with your broadband speeds. It may struggle if you want to watch that, and do a couple of other things at the same time though.

I really don’t like a lot of the shitty comments on this thread, to be honest.

It’s a laptop that is advertised for ‘light work’. It’s absolutely fine to point out that the laptop won’t be able to run games etc but there simply isn’t the need to shit on anyone who has bought said laptop. A lot of people have had a very hard year and cannot afford more expensive electronics. For a lot of people, they simply do use a laptop for browsing online. Maybe the odd word document to type a CV. My work can only be done in work so I only use my laptop to browse and write up the odd thing. This laptop would be absolutely fine for that. It would also be fine for those who are elderly and maybe only want a laptop to go on Facebook or do a food shop. As it is advertised- light use.

There are much nicer ways to say “the laptop is fine for browsing but not much else” than saying it’s garbage, it’s shit, etc.

Not everyone can afford a hugely expensive PC or laptop. Not everyone needs a workhorse laptop, either.

I used to have a Mac when I was at uni. It was fabulous but it also cost me over a grand, and that was back in the mid 2000s. I now use a Chromebook that was free with a phone contact because I don’t need a powerful laptop anymore. It’s used a few times a week for online shopping and browsing. That’s it.

CEX was a good suggestion, and I’m not directing these comments at those who have spent the time trying to educate others on what components of a laptop are needed for games, streaming etc. Just those who thought that a valid contribution was simply “it’s shit”.

Either add something of value to the conversation or don’t bother. A comment designed only to make people feel like shit needed.

Curry's have just emailed me cancelling my order. Would have been perfect for me too.

Just got the email... there's been a mix up with the order. No cheap laptop for DS this Christmas. Obviously was a glitch or too many people ordered.

I agree @PizzaCrust

That's why I'm getting this laptop, hopefully as a simple replacement for my MacBook Air that's playing up a bit and I no longer need a laptop of that quality which I also used for Uni actually.