Cheap laptop for student?

pineapplesherbet

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Hi, my son is a full time student and we are trying to find a reasonably priced laptop. Does anyone know of either laptops with a payment plan scheme or cheap laptops for students please? Thanks :-)

V_Chic_Chick

Unless your son is doing something like graphic design, then he just needs a basic netbook.

I'm doing an essay-based subject, so all I ever use my laptop for is writing essays and surfing the internet. I have an Acer Aspire One (not particularly recommending it, it's just an example) which I believe cost in the region of £250 (it was a present).

I then run Ubuntu Linux and OpenOffice - a free operating system and Office-style software package. Linux isn't always the most user-friendly option for the uninitiated, but OpenOffice is absolutely fine and largely compatible with MS Office (although complicated stuff can sometimes throw up formatting issues).

The other thing - because I have to write a lot of essays, I like a larger screen, so I have a separate monitor which I can just hook up to the laptop.

pineapplesherbet

Many thanks for that info. He's a music student, he also needs a bigger screen. I found out that BT sell laptops for £150 and PCs for £99 (a bit more if you're not on certain benefits) which have good reviews. Thanks for taking the time to reply though :-)

sally_80

My Sony Vaio did me really well through my first 2 years of uni. Although after 2 years the battery is knackered and it freezes quite often now. But I figure I used it everyday for two years quite often leaving it on for a week.

The only thing I'd recommend is make sure it's something portable. It may not seem important for the first few months but you will really appreciate a smaller lighter laptop in the long run.

he200hi

Check out price shadow.com just found this site and saved money, checks the whole web for the best deals, and even tracks prices over period of time.... Might be useful for jan sales:T

phildallier

you can go to studentcomputers.co.uk it's a good site for not expensives laptop

ScribbleNInk

If he particularly needs a big screen it might be worth thinking about getting a portable laptop (as sally_80 said) but getting a bigger monitor for his desk. Then when he's working at home he gets the big screen but he won't get annoyed by carrying around a big laptop everywhere.

Amanda_Dawson

Even I am looking one for my son. but I am confuse , because I don't want to compromise with quality.

Smp1993

I see that your son is studying music. I do hope that this is not a surprise gift as he is probably using certain computer software at university and if you get him a bog standard laptop then you could find that it does not have enough memory to store the software he needs. I know that apple macs are good for this sort of course from friends at uni that study music tech- they are pricey but as a student you get it for £825 (Roughly around that) and you can also choose to finance it if you cannot afford it all in one go. It is through the apple education store. Hope this helps.