Laptop buying help

I'm going to buy a laptop and have £400 max to spend :o)

I have found a few options, but i don't know too much about laptops...

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=14913&category_id=266&manufacturer_id=0

Seems decent price plus 1 GB of memory. 224 shared for the graphics card.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=17750&category_id=585#orderconfigure

This one seems good too. Better CPU too.


http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=17085&category_id=585

This one is really cheap. Doesn't seem worse than the ones above really. Only £320.

As i say, i'm not too sure about laptops, so any help would be appreciated with finding the best laptop i can buy for £400. Oh i'd rather have windows XP installed than vista.

I would say:
2 GB memory, DUO CORE 2
And the rest is up to you

Im tempted by this asus eee thing, not very powerful its very small.

The trouble with the Eee is its screen resolution, which is 800x480 over 7". The 10" model, which does not yet exist, should fix this. However, for now, those simple internals are the least of one's concerns, with the more important issue being how much trouble it has displaying a rich user interface other than what it comes with, since today's interfaces are not often designed for such small sizes. Granted, the interface the device comes with is pretty nice, being that I am turning into a Linux zealot.

By contrast, the N810 also has a 800x480 touch screen, this time over 4.1" (and it is just as functional, with a strong push towards web stuff, wrapped into a pocket sized device with a longer battery life), while the OLPC XO-1 dwarfs the others handily with a 7.5" screen capable of up to 1200×900 (as well as an arguably even cooler interface, complete with easy mesh networking).
I really do not see what is so special about the Eee that it is considered such a complete revelation, since it is really a very inefficient form factor. Too big to fit in a pocket, too small to make sense being carried in a bag, and equipped with a tiny resolution screen. Keyboardless, a bit smaller, maybe modular, and Asus could have a very neat little device with an attractive bit of portability. At the moment, unfortunately, it feels to me just like a smaller laptop.
Okay, it still wins for being the least expensive, and, form aside, is a pretty neat piece of harware. I think they could have done something much better with the actual shape of the device, though. Feel free to remind me why I am wrong! :)

I'll steer back on topic: I am searching for a good notebook computer myself, and it sounds like the Intel Core 2 Duo (with Santa Rosa architecture) is quite excellent, regardless of one's price range. For laptops it is good because they have very well implemented a system where, when only a single core needs to be utilized, the other one is deactivated to conserve energy. Also just a nice, efficient processor; if you look at requirements for most appslications, you'll notice that just having a Core 2 Duo processor is a recommended requirement, with no need for any particular clock speed :P
Surprisingly, judging by peoples' various experiences, those strange claims are proving accurate.


Edit:
My recent rant just helped me figure out the ultimate combination. I had been looking at some pretty expensive laptops to gain a reasonable level of portability, but then I realized: I can just buy the bulky Vostro as well as a nice handheld computer, then I am set for both power and good portability.

Hehe, well thanks guys. I eventually went on ebay and bought a second hand one for £180. 1.6 Ghz P4 - M, 512 MB DDR2 RAM, XP PRO, wireless card built in, CD writer, 15 inch screen.

Seems reasonable :D

Screen is only 14.1 - stop exagerrating! :D

Dam, so it is... hehe, i say again, i'm a terrible ebayer :D

(btw darkness falls ain't that crap a film. The monster thing is pretty poor though!)

My interest in the eee was the small size combined with a proper keyboard; but you may be right, its a long time since i looked at any of these pda types.