Laptop for university

securityguy

lonestarfan wrote: »

Thanks. I think he does want a larger screen though but I'll put it on the list to consider.

You have to carry the damned thing around with you, though. Now that big monitors are cheap, there's a lot to be said for a small, portable machine plus an external monitor to have on your desk.

tonyh66

lonestarfan wrote: »

Thanks. That's what I considered - part of my post in the forum about whether he needed a tv licence.
Might still consider that but not sure whether too.

if its a computer monitor no TV licence is needed

NiftyDigits

If you are wary of DELL, there is SONY.

£499.99

Processor: Intel® CoreTM i5-3210M, 2.5GHz
Operating system: Windows 8
Chipset: Intel® HM76 Express Chipset
Language and keyboard: English (QWERTY)
Keyboard Style: Backlight keyboard
Hard drive: 500 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3-SDRAM
Display: 43.8cm LED 1920x1080 + webcam
Webcam: HD digital camera
Graphics: AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7650M 2GB
Optical Drive: DVD disc drive
Wireless LAN: Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11bgn)
Bluetooth®: Bluetooth® 4.0
USB Port(s): 3x USB 2.0 + 1x USB 3.0
Finishes: Black
Battery: Battery life up to 3.5 hours
HDMI(TM) output: HDMI(TM) output
Adobe® Creation: No Adobe Creation
Adobe® Lightroom®: No Adobe® Lightroom 4
Sony Creative software: Imagination Studio Suite 4
McAfee Security Software: No protection
AC Adapter: 1 AC Adapter

lonestarfan

tonyh66 wrote: »

if its a computer monitor no TV licence is needed

It is if you are plugging it into an electrical supply and are watching live tv. quite a lot of nonsense involved re battery operated, live or on catchup tv blah blah blah. That's a separate issue and is very well documented on the TV licence thread lol. Thanks anyway.

lonestarfan

securityguy wrote: »

You have to carry the damned thing around with you, though. Now that big monitors are cheap, there's a lot to be said for a small, portable machine plus an external monitor to have on your desk.

I agree. The student laptop/tv licence thread some time back in the techie forum has a lot about this angle. So still need a good chat with nephew about whether he does want bigger monitor in the room seperate to the laptop. The room in Halls is so tiny that by the time I've loaded him up with a laptop a tv and a printer and xbox etc etc there won't be any room for his study books lol.
I think we said in the end that we would go for standard laptop in time for the his arrival at uni and as he'd be busy in the first week he'd see what others have taken in terms of tv's monitors etc
So thats just reminded me now that he needs the internet connection for is his x box as well. You can watch v through that as well but again will need a tv licence so we decided we would buy a tv licence and then get the refund at the end of the academic year for the unused portion.

lonestarfan

NiftyDigits wrote: »

If you are wary of DELL, there is SONY.

£499.99

Never had a Sony. What do you think of them?
How good is the processor on it compared to the Acer we were considering?

NiftyDigits

lonestarfan wrote: »

Never had a Sony. What do you think of them?
How good is the processor on it compared to the Acer we were considering?

Supposedly a premium brand, but they also bundle a fair amount of junk with their machines.

Honestly? If it were me, I would like to purchase an extended warranty to go with the laptop. DELL's are a bit pricey. The ACER is a refurb, so the cheap warranty to which I linked is not available. The SONY also has only one year.
The SONY and ACER have the best processor. The DELL perhaps the best video card. ACER & SONY more RAM and perhaps more function. The SONY in addition has a Full HD screen. The ACER graphics card if confirmed as a 710M is a bit of a let down compared to the other two.
Clear as mud?

lonestarfan

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Supposedly a premium brand, but they also bundle a fair amount of junk with their machines.

Honestly? If it were me, I would like to purchase an extended warranty to go with the laptop. DELL's are a bit pricey. The ACER is a refurb, so the cheap warranty to which I linked is not available. The SONY also has only one year.
The SONY and ACER have the best processor. The DELL perhaps the best video card. ACER & SONY more RAM and perhaps more function. The SONY in addition has a Full HD screen. The ACER graphics card if confirmed as a 710M is a bit of a let down compared to the other two.
Clear as mud?

Lol :rotfl::
Yes clear as mud.
I'm erring towards the Sony as you say it has more RAM which is good I think ! but also has a good graphics card.
As he will play football manager 13 perhaps its good to have good graphics card and a good HD screen? He's also possibly going to watch sky sport/sky go. I worry about him damaging his eyes watching TV on a laptop with poor resolution.
Actually its not really being used for much uni work is it other than typing essays and PowerPoint presentations. Ive got him student microsoft office suite for his work.
Sony has more function so that's good isn't it?
Thanks a lot.

NiftyDigits

lonestarfan wrote: »

Lol :rotfl::
Yes clear as mud.
I'm erring towards the Sony as you say it has more RAM which is good I think ! but also has a good graphics card.
As he will play football manager 13 perhaps its good to have good graphics card and a good HD screen? He's also possibly going to watch sky sport/sky go. I worry about him damaging his eyes watching TV on a laptop with poor resolution.
Actually its not really being used for much uni work is it other than typing essays and PowerPoint presentations. Ive got him student microsoft office suite for his work.
Sony has more function so that's good isn't it?
Thanks a lot.

Look at it this way. The machine sits in between the top two shown there. The first is £880 and the second £650. So £500 is a good price for a SONY. I'm surprised that it's still there. Not too many FULL HD screens on the market at that price.

NiftyDigits

Also like the matte screen, backlit keyboard, shock protection...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/sony-vaio-e-series-174-commercial.html