Recommend me a Laptop

[Dellis]

My daughter is about to start uni and needs a new laptop with a budget of £500. It needs to be fast, with a large hard drive and ideally a 13" screen.

Recommend away

Dave

 

[John Armstrong]

Trip to PC World / Currys / Dixons / Argos and see what your budget gets you?

 

[Norm]

match her £500 and get an mac book

 

[andyclift]

+1 for MacBook. Avoids all those horrible nasty viruses and crashes.

 

[Buckingham]

Laptop

If you buy it from John Lewis you'll have a better time when it goes wrong, you won't pay any more, and you won't get hit by the hard sell where they try to sign you up for whatever they're getting most commission on this week.

I just bought an ACER 15" laptop from JLP for £380 last week and it's good ! With 3gb RAM.

 

[andyclift]

Now a bit more time for a fuller reply. First what do you mean by large hard drive and fast. "Large" depends on what you want it for. If its mainly textual any hard drive that you can find will never get filled. My Sony Reader back up folder of around 60 full length books is only 15 Mbytes. Music also take up very little space. My 4000 track itunes folder is only 20 Gbytes and 30 DVDs copied to the hard drive come out at 38Gbytes. This lot hardly makes a dent into any hard drive you can buy today (my home iMAC with USB drive for back ups + net drive + installed drive gives me 3.5 Terrabytes!!

Now what is fast. For word processing I can't type any faster on my very fast iMAC than I could on my 15 year old PC and the time for programs to open, load and save files etc. are so little different it does not matter. If the PC is mainly for this type of work go for a cheapy. If you want something that will process images at decent speeds, for example running Photoshop, you will want at least a duel core processor and as much RAM as you can squeeze in. Want to play DVDs. A fastish machine helps but the graphics drivers make a bigger difference. If you are editing video nothing will be fast enough.

If you want a PC laptop your requirement for a 13" screen makes life very hard. There are a few around, Advent and Toshiba for example, but they have the big drawback of not having a CD/DVD drive. About the only 13" fully featured laptop is the Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Sticking with PCs, going down in size still has the DVD problem and adds under sized keyboards. I use one for bike travel when I know all I want is Mapsource and the odd email but it's a sod to do anything meaningful on. Going up in size gets you to the 15 - 15.5 size range. Here you have a massive choice and the basic spec you have of a "large hard drive and fast" means you could pretty well go into PC World and choose blind. They will all fit the spec so pick the best looking. The downside with these is (1) Bulkier and heavier and (2) They run Windows with all the virus, spyware, trojans etc that come with it unless you run a strict anti-virus update policy - and you can still come unstuck.

Looking at the budget does it include software because the PC is going to be of little use without it. OK so Windows comes with basic text editing and some pretty crap graphics stuff but you are probably going to need a decent Word Processor, maybe a presentation tool like Powerpoint, depending on the subjects studied a spreadsheet and database. Need decent graphics software?. All this lot can cost more than the PC.

Now back to Mac. OK it's £350 over budget but MacBook fits the size of 13". 250 Gbyte hard drive is going to take some filling. It has a good fast DVD drive and reasonable and expandable RAM. More important it comes with a VERY reliable operating system and as standard comes with good photo manipulation, video editing, music creation and web building tools as standard. Decent contact database, calendar, mail and web browsing software and the only additional purchase is likely to be iWorks, about £65, for a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program. All compatible with Microsoft Office files. If Office is really important for a little more Office for Mac is an option and a Mac doesn't need any anti-virus software or a damned great computer bag to carry it around.

 

[Dellis]

Now a bit more time for a fuller reply. First what do you mean by large hard drive and fast. "Large" depends on what you want it for. If its mainly textual any hard drive that you can find will never get filled. My Sony Reader back up folder of around 60 full length books is only 15 Mbytes. Music also take up very little space. My 4000 track itunes folder is only 20 Gbytes and 30 DVDs copied to the hard drive come out at 38Gbytes. This lot hardly makes a dent into any hard drive you can buy today (my home iMAC with USB drive for back ups + net drive + installed drive gives me 3.5 Terrabytes!!

Now what is fast. For word processing I can't type any faster on my very fast iMAC than I could on my 15 year old PC and the time for programs to open, load and save files etc. are so little different it does not matter. If the PC is mainly for this type of work go for a cheapy. If you want something that will process images at decent speeds, for example running Photoshop, you will want at least a duel core processor and as much RAM as you can squeeze in. Want to play DVDs. A fastish machine helps but the graphics drivers make a bigger difference. If you are editing video nothing will be fast enough.

If you want a PC laptop your requirement for a 13" screen makes life very hard. There are a few around, Advent and Toshiba for example, but they have the big drawback of not having a CD/DVD drive. About the only 13" fully featured laptop is the Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Sticking with PCs, going down in size still has the DVD problem and adds under sized keyboards. I use one for bike travel when I know all I want is Mapsource and the odd email but it's a sod to do anything meaningful on. Going up in size gets you to the 15 - 15.5 size range. Here you have a massive choice and the basic spec you have of a "large hard drive and fast" means you could pretty well go into PC World and choose blind. They will all fit the spec so pick the best looking. The downside with these is (1) Bulkier and heavier and (2) They run Windows with all the virus, spyware, trojans etc that come with it unless you run a strict anti-virus update policy - and you can still come unstuck.

Looking at the budget does it include software because the PC is going to be of little use without it. OK so Windows comes with basic text editing and some pretty crap graphics stuff but you are probably going to need a decent Word Processor, maybe a presentation tool like Powerpoint, depending on the subjects studied a spreadsheet and database. Need decent graphics software?. All this lot can cost more than the PC.

Now back to Mac. OK it's £350 over budget but MacBook fits the size of 13". 250 Gbyte hard drive is going to take some filling. It has a good fast DVD drive and reasonable and expandable RAM. More important it comes with a VERY reliable operating system and as standard comes with good photo manipulation, video editing, music creation and web building tools as standard. Decent contact database, calendar, mail and web browsing software and the only additional purchase is likely to be iWorks, about £65, for a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program. All compatible with Microsoft Office files. If Office is really important for a little more Office for Mac is an option and a Mac doesn't need any anti-virus software or a damned great computer bag to carry it around.

Andy,

I'm a Mac user myself and I have tried to persuade her to go down the Mac route but she's adamant that she wants a pc She only needs MS Office and already has a licence on her current laptop which has turned up its toes. I know what you're saying about going for a 15" but she needs to carry it around quite a lot and, in her words, is "too weedy" to carry a larger laptop hence the search for a smaller machine. The search continues.


Dave

 

[wessie]

As someone who is currently doing an MA, I'm with Andy. I'd hate to do my coursework on the netbook I'm using at the moment. I make far too many typos due to the small keyboard and reading research documents is a PITA on the small screen.

I used a 15" laptop for my BSc a few years ago and have a desktop for the donkey work of the MA. The laptop was okay but I got cramp on the flat keyboard if writing a large essay.

However, if madam must have 13 inches then I don't suppose anything else will do. In that case, have a look at the Sony outlet https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/shop/VAIO-CLEARANCE/ which has a number of factory recon Vaios at reduced prices. There's a 13" one just over your budget - note it has a bluray drive unlike many of the cheaper machines. This will work with DVD & CD as well.

You'll need to be quick as they are limited stock. Although if you go back the following day something new will appear.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

13" laptop for that money doesn't exist unless you go second hand. I buy all the hardware for my work and just checked with everywhere and even with the discount my company gets the cheapest I can find is an Acer at £789 and yes that has a cd drive. For that size and money your looking at a netbook which will be neither fast nor have a large hard drive. Any amount of choice at 15" but if she cant carry it then that's no good.

 

[Mighty_Quinn]

Another one for the Mac

Take your daughter into the nearest Apple store, I'm sure she will soon be persuaded (as I was to buy one), they actively encourage people to use the display models. I got so fed up with the time Windows took to open, and the constant freezing/crashing of my Dell laptop.

If she can't be persuaded (I have an 18 year old son too), then can I suggest one of the Dell's, you can select the spec to meet your budget/requirements and their after sales care is very good.

Mighty Quinn

 

[GS TRV]

match her £500 and get an mac book

+1

 

[bigkid2071]

Laptop...

Being a student Apple will give you 15% discount off a Macbook... and if your quick you might even get a free iPod Touch thrown in...

 

[Dellis]

Thanks for all the tips. We'll have another look round at the weekend.

Dave

 

[exeter_lad]

PC World and External Hard Drive



I went through this with my daughter 6 years ago. Bought from PC World INCLUDING an extended 5 year warranty. WELL WORTH IT.

There is always a branch nearby. They provide free annual health check and each time it went wrong they fixed it toot sweet.

I would also recommend an external hard drive - dead cheap now. All the family have one and use it as their primary storage (backed up to laptop) - if a laptop does go down then they haven't lost their prize assignment, etc,etc.

 

[billynomates]

Hi Dave
I was looking for a laptop although 15" for my daughters birthday and was advised by some on here to try the Dell website ended up with an extremely good deal for £470.
350g HD,4gig Mem, stand alone graphics card,dvd rewriter, dual core with case larger battery and anti virus for 18 months.
ian

 

[Gonzo]

Hi Dave
I was looking for a laptop although 15" for my daughters birthday and was advised by some on here to try the Dell website ended up with an extremely good deal for £470.
350g HD,4gig Mem, stand alone graphics card,dvd rewriter, dual core with case larger battery and anti virus for 18 months.
ian

I have to say, another vote for Dell. Have bought 2 laptops and a desktop from them in the last 12 months. Quality is excellent and the helpdesk is absolutely brilliant for when you need a little help. The laptops we've bought have been a little larger but I do know they do some good portables / netbooks.

 

[judge]

If it absolutley has to be Windoze and 13" then your budget is very tight. It might just about get you Dell's Vostro 13" but I'd chuck a couple hundred more at it and get the XPS, better chassis, better screen with proper graphics card and dedicated XPS support.

But I'd still recommend a Macbook Pro 13"

 

[bowser]

Here is my two penny worth.

Forget a mac a windows pc will get you much better value for money, the range of software available is far greater, it is true the installed apps are better on a mac but when you want something else then the range of mac software is poor in comparison, it is generaly way more expensive for the software. And important as a student there is nowhere near as much available to "borrow" !!! Dont forget there are student editions of a whole range of windows software that come very cheap, there is free ware and shareware.
Steer Clear of ACER nothing wrong with the kit in principle but their backup is crap, they only have a help desk open 9-5 mon to fri and there first line response to everything is to restore to factory backup which dont help much. Dell is not bad but everything is built to order and somtimes their customer support is a little varied.
My suggestion would be a Samsung, they are right on top of the game recently with their laptops, the netbooks are by far and away the best available, for a laptop have a look at their Q series -
Samsung NP-Q330-JA01UK
* CPU & Chipset: Intel® Core™ i3 -350M, 2.26GHz
* Display: 13.3" WXGA LED, Gloss, 1366x 768
* Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* Storage: 320GB SATA
* Memory: 3GB
Its under your budget, and a really nice laptop, my daughter is looking at one as she wants a 13inch laptop for whilst travelling for same size and weight reasons.

 

[cookie]

Here is my two penny worth.

Forget a mac a windows pc will get you much better value for money, the range of software available is far greater, it is true the installed apps are better on a mac but when you want something else then the range of mac software is poor in comparison, it is generaly way more expensive for the software. And important as a student there is nowhere near as much available to "borrow" !!! D

IME most mac software is miles better than windows equivalent. although there is less to choose from, it's not a problem as you can always get what you need, usually produced by someone who gives a shit what the product is actually like.

it pretty much always seems cheaper than too.

you're right that there is less to borrow. i find most of it so good, i don't mind paying though.

 

[bowser]

IME most mac software is miles better than windows equivalent. although there is less to choose from, it's not a problem as you can always get what you need, usually produced by someone who gives a shit what the product is actually like.

it pretty much always seems cheaper than too.

you're right that there is less to borrow. i find most of it so good, i don't mind paying though.

In which case I will take you back to my post, when you are a student in Uni, then cost of anything is a major factor, cost of laptop, cost of software, can I just use a copy of me mates etc etc. With that in mind the fact that you dont mind paying extra for the software is great but the anwser was based on what was a good laptop for a student at university.

I will allow that most apple software is very good, however the apple version of office is not the same and nowhere near as good, it a fact that office is the defacto standard and for any student a copy of office is almost essential, thats why you can get a student version for about a tenner.
Add to that the fact that depending on courses there is often software provided on a course and while there MAY be a mac version there is ALWAYS a windows version provided. When my sister was at Reading none of the software provided with her course was mac compatible.

So again for a student, at a uni a windows pc is almost always the best choice.