Looking to buy a new laptop for home use. Mainly for internet, some word processing, music, digital photos and editing. Have had 2 second hand laptops in the last three years that have died on me (an IBM and Compaq) so not impressed with them.

Have found this acer laptop - can you tell me if its any good. If not, what sort of spec should I be looking for??

ACER AS 5103WLMI TUR-X2/TL-52 5103WLMI TUR-X2/TL-52 120GB 1GB 15.4IN DVD
Featuring a powerful 1.66GHz dual core Turion processor with 64 bit technology and a generous 1GB of memory makes this an affordable multimedia laptop capable of high performance even during the most intensive tasks.

A 120GB hard drive provides ample storage for all your digital files including music, video and photos, while the 15.4 inch widescreen display with CrystalBrite technology makes for a perfect viewing experience.

Integrated wireless, memory card reader, integrated camera and pre installed version of Windows Media Center Edition are further features of this laptop.

Key Features

Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 - 1.66GHz (x2), up to 1.6GHz FSB, 2x256KB L2 Cache
RAM: 1024MB DDRII
Hard Drive: 120GB Serial ATA 5400rpm
Screen: 15.4" Widescreen TFT (1280x800 - 16:10)with CrystalBrite Technology
Optical Drive: DVD±RW Super Multi
Graphics: ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 upto 256MB Shared
Wireless LAN: 802.11b/g
Battery Life (Depending on Use): 2.5 hrs
Weight: 2.82kg
Warranty: 1 Year - Upgradeable to 3 Years!
Operating System: Windows XP Media Center Edition
Windows Vista Compatible
Built-In 0.3 MegaPixel Camera
Flash Memory Card Reader (MMC, MS, MS-pro, SD, SM, XD)
56k Dial-Up Modem
Fast Ethernet 10/100
PCMCIA Type II Slot

What is your budget? See our other (very smilar) threads about buying a laptop.

I see two scary things here. First, the word "affordable", which translated from marketing lingo means "cheap crap". Second, 1 year warranty. If you can afford it, find something that comes with 3 years warranty out of the box. That warranty "upgrade" possiblity only means that you pay for the repairs one year in advance

I'm on a budget so don't want to pay anymore than £800. I have looked at other similar threads on buying a laptop but I'm still confused! I don't know the ins and outs of what the best spec would be for me.

Me personally, I would not buy an Acer, Dell or Toshiba. Others here will disagree I am sure. On the other hand I have had good service with HP and Compaq's over the years where you say you haven't. I just bought a Gateway 17" laptop on sale for $799 last week. So far so good. I would tend to think that the IBM thinkpads are amoung the higher rated ones at the moment.

What exactly are you confused about? For what you say you want to do I would look for something with good battery life, as Nodsu said....find something with a 3 year warranty. Maybe a card reader, for your digital photos you mention. Something with at least a 1gig of ram, DVD?CD burner. I guess those would be the basic things to look for from what you mentioned.

I would say to get a Dell Inspiron E1505 with the 3 year complete care coverage, they start at $699 with free shopping and handling, you have about $1500 to spend in U.S. dollars, for £748.14 you can get the Inspiron 6400 which is the same thing as the E1505 and thats with the 3 year service, I dont think its complete care but still its 3 years. This laptop seems to fit everything you want plus it has a core 2 duo cpu but I will say I dont care much for dells customer service and how they treat their customers when something is wrong with their products but other than that there ok, but yeah when something preats on your computer and the dell support techs ask dumb questions it really doesnt help

I'm confused about all the different specs and what it all means really.

From looking at the acer, it looks to be a good spec??

From what I can gather from other threads, I should look for 1 to 2GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, DVD/CD RW, wireless LAN & wired LAN. For the processor a dual core CPU, AMD or Intel. Apparently the Turion 64 X2 is very good. Is 1.66GHz fast enough?

Also what should I look for in terms of graphics?

Thanks

He could add a few more dollars to that and get a Gateway with 17" screen, 120 gb HD and a gig of memory. Pretty much the same processor as the E1505 though. Just a bigger screen, HD and more memory in the Gateway.

Check out the link below, I didn't buy mine at bestbuy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=XG2MUUFCWJKZ5KC4D3FVAFY?skuId=8224762&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050027&id=1166840116855