Purchasing your Portable Computer

Quick links

Midrange Portable
Desktop Replacement Laptops
Lightweight Portables
Netbooks
Budget Laptops
Port Replicators
Comfort of use & Features

Further Info

Laptop Buying Guide

We have good experience with Samsung laptops purchased from Stone Computers. Unless otherwise stated, all the following models come with 3 on-site warranty, valued at £25 and included in the prices shown. This is normally a next-day service, but sometimes takes a few days where parts are required.

Currently, we downgrade all new laptops to Windows XP Professional, as this is the Operating System supported by the University network. If a 64bit Operating System is required (eg: Windows 7 Pro), please bear in mind that some programs/features may not work and contact IT Services first. The following laptops can all be rapidly reinstalled with XP by IT Services.

If you have specific requirements and none of the following are suitable, please contact the Helpdesk on 8111 for further advice.

All prices quoted on these pages are correct as for 17th May 2012

You can purchase any of the following by contacting your department's administrative team to order through the Agresso Financial System. Laptops from Stone will take up to 7 working days to arrive.

For quotes on additional requirements, Contact Matthew Dennis at Stone on 01785 285579

For information regarding insurance, click HERE

Evaluation

We have made available some of the models mentioned here, for staff to evaluate and judge for themselves what is most suitable for their needs. The units are available for viewing in the IT Support Centre in Adeiliad Deiniol, and the evaluation models can also be purchased if required on extremely short notice.

To arrange an appointment to view, please contact IT Services Helpdesk team on (01248 38)8111

Midrange Portables

Midrange portables are 15" screen notebook computers, with reasonable computational power and memory. They are normally around 2.5kg in weight. This would generally be suitable for someone as a primary machine (if you were to also purchase a larger monitor for the desk) and could be considered our "standard recommendation" for general use.

Samsung NP200A5B-A02 - £491.00 (exc VAT @ 20%)
Processor: Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i5-2550M Processor Display: 15.6” LED HD Memory: 4GB 1333MHz DDR3, Hard Drive: 500GB SATA, Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics Networking: 10/100/1000 802.11 b/g/N USB: 3x2.0 Battery: 6 Cell 4400mAh Battery Life: 6hrs Weight: 2.5kg Warranty: 5yr (3 years on-site, further 2 years RTB)

Desktop Replacement

Similar in power to the Midrange but with a 17" screen, the Desktop Replacement is heavier than the smaller model. Normally weighing around 3kg, this model is clearly not designed for the more mobile user and instead intended to be driven between desks as opposed to carried. Large screens use a lot of power, so battery life will be comprimised.

Please note : We currently do not have an evaluation model for display.

Samsung NP300E7A-A05 - £481.00 (exc VAT @ 20%)
Processor: Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i5-2450M Processor Display: 17.3" LED HD+ Memory: 4GB 1333MHZ DDR3 Hard Drive: 500GB SATA Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics Networking: 10/100/1000 802.11 b/g/N USB: 3x 2.0 Media: 1.3MP Webcam Battery: 6 Cell 4400mAh Battery Life: 4.5hrs Weight: 2.7kg

Lightweight Portable

Lightweight laptops sacrifice screensize and a little processing power in favour of being light and very portable, normally weighing around 1.5kg. They often lack a built-in CD/DVD drive, but thanks to all the sacrifices often have a very long battery life.

Consider additional weight and cost of items such as external CD/DVD drives etc, if these are required.

Please note : We currently do not have an evaluation model for display.

Samsung 400B2B-A01UK -£ 447.00 (exc VAT@ 20%) Stone have labeled as "While Stocks Last"
Processor: Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i3-2310M Display: 12.5” LED HD Memory: 3GB 1333MHz DDR3 Hard Drive: 320GB SATA USB: 2 x 2.0, 1 x 3.0 Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics Networking: 10/100/1000 & Intel® Centrino N130 b/g/N Media: 1.3MP Webcam Battery: 6 Cell 5900mAh Battery Life: 6hrs Weight: 1.7kg Warranty: 5yr (3 years on-site, further 2 years RTB)

Samsung 400B2B-A01UK -£ 447.00 (exc VAT@ 20%)

Stone have labeled as "While Stocks Last"

Processor: Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i3-2310M
Display: 12.5” LED HD
Memory: 3GB 1333MHz DDR3
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA
USB: 2 x 2.0, 1 x 3.0
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics
Networking: 10/100/1000 & Intel® Centrino N130 b/g/N
Media: 1.3MP Webcam
Battery: 6 Cell 5900mAh
Battery Life: 6hrs
Weight: 1.7kg
Warranty: 5yr (3 years on-site, further 2 years RTB)

Netbooks

Netbooks are light-weight, low-cost, extremely reduced capability laptops, only really intended for light use such as web-browsing, email and very basic word-processing. Netbooks also lack any CD/DVD drive

With only a 10" screen, low power processor and small memory, they have very long battery lives

They are not recommended for processor intensive applications, i.e. Data analysis/SPSS.

Samsung N145-JP04 - £228.00 (exc VAT@ 20%)
Processor: Intel® Atom™ Processor N455 Display: 10.1" WSVGA LED Memory: 1GB 1066MHz DDR3 Hard Drive: 320GB SATA Graphics: Intel® GMA 3150 DVMT Networking: 10/100 & 802.11 b/g/N USB: 2 x 2.0 Media: Webcam Battery: 6 Cell 4400mAh Battery Life: 10hrs Weight: 1.24kg

Budget Laptops

Cheaper version of the Midrange, will have a 15" screen with a slightly less powerful processor.

Samsung RV520-A07 - £361 (exc VAT @ 20%)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-2330M Processor Memory: 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 Hard Drive: 500GB SATA Display: 15.6" WXGA LED Networking: 10/100/1000 & 802.11 b/g/N Media: 0.3MP Webcam Battery: 6 Cell 4400mAh Battery Life: 4hrs Weight: 2.4kg

Port Replicators

Port replicators are handy devices that allow you to connect a laptop or notebook to peripherals like a printer, monitor, keyboard, or scanner quickly and easily. The key functionality of port replicators is their ability to connect portable PCs and peripherals via serial, parallel, or USB ports.

Port replicators come in handy for people who use their portable computers both at the office and at home. These computer users can connect that laptop to the port replicator along with the printer, monitor, keyboard, or scanner. The result is instant home office setup without a tangle of wires in the process.

Laptop users who want to connect their laptops to larger monitors or keyboards than the ones that come standard on their laptops will find this functionality attractive. Port replicators also provide for connection to more than one device at a time. Laptops might have just two USB ports or a single serial port. Port replicators, on the other hand, commonly feature a handful of each kind of ports, enabling the user to connect to monitor, printer, keyboard, and scanner, all at the same time.

Recommended : Toshiba DynaDock U10 - Prices Vary
Dynadock U10 allows you to connect different devices to your computer and avoid the mess of cables to be plugged in everytime you come back from work or from a business trip. Compatible with any brand of Windows based computers, including laptops and desktops, running XP or Vista® operating systems. Adds 7.1 channel surround sound via S/PDIF port and provides high-resolution graphics output1 through the VGA or DVI port on the dynadock. Provides six additional USB 2.0 ports with the two front always on ports providing power even when the PC is off. View up to 3 displays2 simultaneously. Upright slim design takes up minimal desktop space and reduces cable clutter. It also eliminates the wear-and-tear on both the PC ports This item can be purchased from XMA Ltd approx. £90 + vat

Recommended : Toshiba DynaDock U10 - Prices Vary

Dynadock U10 allows you to connect different devices to your computer and avoid the mess of cables to be plugged in everytime you come back from work or from a business trip.

Compatible with any brand of Windows based computers, including laptops and desktops, running XP or Vista® operating systems.

Adds 7.1 channel surround sound via S/PDIF port and provides high-resolution graphics output1 through the VGA or DVI port on the dynadock.

Provides six additional USB 2.0 ports with the two front always on ports providing power even when the PC is off. View up to 3 displays2 simultaneously.

Upright slim design takes up minimal desktop space and reduces cable clutter. It also eliminates the wear-and-tear on both the PC ports

This item can be purchased from XMA Ltd approx. £90 + vat

Comfort of use

With all laptop computers, you will be able to attach a standard keyboard and mouse for ease of use or for better ergonomics at your desktop. Laptop keyboards and mouse trackpads are good for on the road use, but after prolonged use, they, do, for some, become uncomfortable to use. Make sure that, when using your laptop, you do not overstretch your hands over the body of the laptop, as it may put undue pressure on your wrists, causing unnecessary injury.

Laptop Features
Batteries Laptop battery life varies between models, but somewhere between 2 and 5 hours is the average lifecycle per charge, depending on what you are actually doing with the machine. Laptop battery charging times also vary, with the average charge time being approximately 75 minutes to 2 hours. To conserve battery life, make sure that you make use of the battery saving features that are provided with your laptop and operating system. USB & Firewire & Media Card Ports All laptops now come with multiple ports for a variety of uses, making connecting to peripherals more easy. USB ports for connecting to a multitude of devices, such as printers, scanners, external mice & drives and digital cameras. Many models now come with Firewire (also labelled as IEE1394) ports for connection to high speed data transfer devices such as video cameras to allow for editing of video footage. Some laptops also now include slots for a variety of removable media such as Compact Flash, Secure Digital (SD) or Sony Memory stick. These can be useful if you are using the laptop with other devices such as cameras, camcorders or PDA’s. Operating system Although Windows 7 can be provided with the aforementioned laptops, currently, we still recommend the use of Microsoft Windows XP Professional as the primary operating system. Warranty All Samsung notebook computers are supplied by Stone. They are provided with a 3 year warranty and are serviced by their own technicians. If possible, they will attempt to repair the item on site. If this is not possible, they will provide a loan unit, and where possible will exchange the hard disc of your laptop and place it into the loan unit to ensure minimum disruption. Once repair is complete, the hard disc will then be transplanted back into the original unit.

Laptop Features

Batteries
Laptop battery life varies between models, but somewhere between 2 and 5 hours is the average lifecycle per charge, depending on what you are actually doing with the machine. Laptop battery charging times also vary, with the average charge time being approximately 75 minutes to 2 hours. To conserve battery life, make sure that you make use of the battery saving features that are provided with your laptop and operating system.

USB & Firewire & Media Card Ports

All laptops now come with multiple ports for a variety of uses, making connecting to peripherals more easy. USB ports for connecting to a multitude of devices, such as printers, scanners, external mice & drives and digital cameras. Many models now come with Firewire (also labelled as IEE1394) ports for connection to high speed data transfer devices such as video cameras to allow for editing of video footage.

Some laptops also now include slots for a variety of removable media such as Compact Flash, Secure Digital (SD) or Sony Memory stick. These can be useful if you are using the laptop with other devices such as cameras, camcorders or PDA’s.

Operating system

Although Windows 7 can be provided with the aforementioned laptops, currently, we still recommend the use of Microsoft Windows XP Professional as the primary operating system.

Warranty

All Samsung notebook computers are supplied by Stone. They are provided with a 3 year warranty and are serviced by their own technicians. If possible, they will attempt to repair the item on site. If this is not possible, they will provide a loan unit, and where possible will exchange the hard disc of your laptop and place it into the loan unit to ensure minimum disruption. Once repair is complete, the hard disc will then be transplanted back into the original unit.