need help/suggestions on laptops

missiemog

my student daughter has decided she needs a laptop for college work (and i-tunes, and surfing, and playing games ...).

would appreciate advice/suggestions on what would be the best to buy - value for money-wise of course - for what she's needing.

thanks in advance.

x

Chunks

Morning MM

I have bought a few laptops over the years (most recent purchase at Christmas - cheepo notebook).

1) For i-tunes you need hard drive space the bigger the better;
2) Surfing (assuming you have internet at uni) do they have wifi in halls/off campus if yes you need wifi onboard (most have now); and
3) Games - can be hit and miss since they often need resources only really found in desktops - get a ds lite for her birthday and save the agro ;-)

Pop down to PC world and have a look at the kit on offer, what the thing looks like is also an important factor! See what you fancy and then buy the same thing off the 'net for a lower price.

Boring but think about backing up college files and use a password to access the laptop. They can go 'missing' far more easily than a desktop i.e. you don't want to lose your work and you don't want that nerd in the front bedroom looking at your stuff.

Good luck,

Chunks

gonzo127

whats the budget and what are the 'games' she wants to play (some titles would be very helpful)

just try to bare in mind that gaming laptop is a bit of a oxymoron (and usualy very expensive ~£1000+ for anythign decent) in that to get a powerful gaming system requires a lot of power, a lot of power means huge battery and quick power drain, which generally means people will always have to have the laptop plugged into the mains and because of the heat given off will be required to be on a desk or simular which takes away the bonus of the portability reason for having a laptop

WolfSong2000

I recently bought the Lenovo z560...cost me just under £600, so may well be way above your budget, *but* if it does me as well as my current Lenovo, it should last about 5 years and has good specs and should be capable of playing most games (e.g. sims 3). Lenovo also do the G560 which is cheaper.

I'd recommend Lenovo because of the reliability and build quality - my old one has taken quite a knocking over the years, but has proved virtually indestructable, which is handy if your daughter is planning on taking it on to campus, etc.

missiemog

thanks for responses!

the only games she plays are the freebie ones online like solitaire etc, nothing major.

she doesn't download much off the net so that's not too much of an issue (yet).

budget, at a rough guess, is around £400. is that a bit low? i'm assuming she'd also need to purchase windows software (which isn't cheap).

oh, and it's just for home use not taking to college - only for preparing and saving documentation required for college.

thanks again for responses - very helpful.

x

gonzo127

ok £400 is reasonable budget and windows is usually included with a laptop purchase, check out the thread at the top of the forum which is laptops for ~£350 for some ideas

amcluesent

>she'd also need to purchase windows software (which isn't cheap).<

Microsoft virtually give their stuff away to students, easily available if she has a ".ac.uk" email or via one of the companies mentioned on this forum.

I used a HP 2510p, get them off Ebay for about £200. It's light, so carrying about isn't a chore but still pretty robust.

Don't overlook an online backup service like Mozy so that all her work is automatically saved should laptop gets nicked, broken.