Laptop for student

suzialwaysbroke

My daughter has just gone to uni & appears to be the only one without a laptop (shame on us!)
Can anyone advise where to get a cheapy but ok one for under £200?

Many thanks:cool2:

[Deleted User]

You're gonnna struggle to find one new for under 300 pounds. You might want to look in the loot free ads paper for 2nd hand kit.

s0198362

suzialwaysbroke wrote:

My daughter has just gone to uni & appears to be the only one without a laptop (shame on us!)
Can anyone advise where to get a cheapy but ok one for under £200?

Many thanks:cool2:

Why does she need one? it will only be at risk of theft, and bump up her insurance. There seems to be a common misconception that students can't get through university without a computer. I had one, but used it about once for university work. And before anyone asks, I did a proper degree in chemistry.

r.mac_2

Hi there,

I am currently on my second degree and while I have a computer at home that happens to be a laptop, I don't take it to uni with me. It is too heavy as I have books to carry and there is risk of theft (even on a law course!!!), coffee spills and bashing about in public transport.

At my uni there is a facility for students to borrow laptops. It is free. You pay a small deposit (i think its currently about £20) and you have it for three days. However the sevice is underused and as long as you keep the IT dept up to date with your movements they are happy for people to use them continuously. Perhaps you could look into this option?

HTH

[Deleted User]

Maybe the OP's daughter doesn't enjoy hanging around the uni campus and would like to work from the comfort of her own student home.

I also did a 'proper' degree (BSc Genetics) and used my computer considerably for searching for literature (most is now searchable online) and project write ups - I doubt i'd have managed without it if i'd depended on Liverpool uni's antiquated IT network.

If you want to reduce the theft part (and reduce the cost), you can buy a standard desktop, but these are more a pain when it comes to moving in/out of rooms each term.

Sarahpuggy

I couldn't have got through my degree without my computer/scanner/printer...for a fact!

Depending on the type of work she needs to do on it, the ones you get for £300 wont have alot of memory or space to do that much. it depends though, my degree consisted of using alot of images and big files.

You can get a really decent one that will last all through the degree for about £500/£600.

I dont think it will bump up her insurance at all as most places expect students to have these things these days!

Sarah x

bambam69

I agree, the days of pen and paper are long long gone. s0198362 may not have used their computer for college work, but it sounds like maybe they got change from a quid for a pint too...?

These days everything has to be typed up and printed out, so not being able to work when you need to rather than when computer labs or libraries are open puts you at a huge disadvantage. If you are hugely organized and keep conventional working hours then you can probably get away without a computer, but even the best students I know spend time at their computers the night before a deadline knocking out the last few hundred words etc.


I do feel like there is a bit of a vogue for laptops when a much cheaper base unit would do the job just as well at up to half the price. These are a bit more hassle as take up space but can be picked up even at your budget if your willing to shop around (try ginger6.com, I'd recommend them). They are also much harder to nick or leave in the student union after an impromptu beer.

[Deleted User]

I think laptops are more practical. I lived in 3 different places as a student, came home when it wasn't term time, visited my parents occasionally... it would have been nice to not lug a big monitor (pre TFT screens) and a big base unit each time I moved place.

Cheapo laptop that can run windows and MS office should suffice. People vastly overestimate the requirements of PCs they need. The only thing I'd push for is more memory. A 40gb hard disk should be more than enough unless they plan to stuff it full of mp3s and films

Katrina-trying_to_save!?!

I have a laptop and use it quite regularly (to surf the net) but it is a pratical thing to have for uni. Most people in my class have one but they dont bring them to uni? u can use the ones on campus which would be an idea and i feel helps me get more motivated. But to have one in the house either a laptop or comp is ideal, but really i hardly ever use it for constructive methods!!

elaine373

I posted the same request about 6 weeks ago, on behalf of my daughter, with the same question and ended up buying one from ebay for 120.00. I bought it from a reputable uk seller and so far its been excellent.I didnt know that you could borrow them from the uni though, That also sounds like a great idea.

sgx.saint

I bought an ACER Laptop from ebuyer for £389.00, excellent specification and as I used Quidco I also got cash back, not much about £7 but every penny counts!