Best laptop for a Uni student?

nikki2804

Hiya, I'm looking for some advice please.

I start Uni this month and my old laptop has packed up (a HP that continually overheated mid job) and I'm looking for a new one but finding a decent one seems to be a mine field and most have really mixed reviews.

Ideally I want it to be lightweight, decent memory and RAM, decent battery life and the ability to latch on to a weak wifi signal would be great (apparently the uni's wifi is notorious for being weak in certain buildings)

I liked the sound of the Dell xps 13 and the various macbooks out there (OH is very anti-apple though)

I would like something that is going to last and wont go out of date 30 seconds after I buy it (I want to get a least 5 years of Uni out it :rotfl:)

Any ideas? Thanks.

Budget wise, I'm pretty open to all budgets for the right laptop but do baulk at macbook prices (15% student discount though)

Pincher

Dell XPS 13: 13.3" in a 11" foot print, 1.3kg.

This is a girly spec for somebody with more money than sense.

You need something with a swappable cover to accessorise, no doubt.

Check out the Lenovo Yoga range.

The Android tablet with a fold out stand is surprisingly handy, compared to the iPad flat panel. The Yoga PCs are pretty neat too.

nikki2804

So a pink, sparkly laptop isnt a uni must have? Thats not good, it was the only reason I was going. In all seriousness I'm not a fan of accessorising my electronics and haven't been since I was about 11.

I've looked at the Yoga series but the 2 in 1 thing puts me off. I have a tablet, I don't like it. I want a laptop.

enfield_freddy

when I were a lad we used to pray that someone , someday would invent the tablet,,,

Fightsback

I'll tell you if you can answer this question:

How long is a piece of string ?

tonyh66

any laptop will do you, 13/14 inch screen for portability but you will hate having to sit infront of one that size for hours writing something up.
Memory and RAM are the same thing.
Any laptop will last, as long as you look after it and computers don't go 'out of date'.
Avoid Apple unless you want to pay through the nose for windows equivalent software.

Cisco001

Having a quick search on web.
Lenovo M30-70 @saveonlaptops seems good value.
350 pounds, I5 4210u, 4 GB ram, 500GB sshd, 13.3"


Review
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-M30-70-Notebook-Review.121117.0.html

ThemeOne

They're a bit old school in many ways, but checkout the Lenovo Thinkpad range. They're still the standard choice in many businesses and are generally well built and hardy.

RobTang

The XPS13 is a fine machine if you have the money its a good buy as is the new MacBook.


Spec matter a bit less these days, there hasn't really been a massive increase in speed for years and the majority of machines are "fast enough" now anyway for most consumer applications.


If you want to have something that lasts you have to buy build quality (both the above machines would be good). If you don't mind something slightly thicker and a bit more dull the Lenovo T450 is pretty bullet proof as well.

henm2

ThemeOne wrote: »

They're a bit old school in many ways, but checkout the Lenovo Thinkpad range. They're still the standard choice in many businesses and are generally well built and hardy.

I use an old Thinkpad X200 bought last year for £90 on ebay. Well built and runs fine. I've put on it a dual boot of operating systems Linux Mint 17.2 Cinnnamon and Windows 10 (tweaked with classic shell of course). The machine is fine for academic work but not gaming. Also having just checked there are still plenty available but now £84. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAST-WINDOWS-7-IBM-Lenovo-X200-Laptop-2-4Ghz-1YR-Warranty-Office-CHEAP-Wireless-/370916356683

cydney65

henm2 wrote: »

I use an old Thinkpad X200 bought last year for £90 on ebay. Well built and runs fine. I've put on it a dual boot of operating systems Linux Mint 17.2 Cinnnamon and Windows 10 (tweaked with classic shell of course). The machine is fine for academic work but not gaming. Also having just checked there are still plenty available but now £84. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAST-WINDOWS-7-IBM-Lenovo-X200-Laptop-2-4Ghz-1YR-Warranty-Office-CHEAP-Wireless-/370916356683

I second this. I bought the X200 from the same seller for the same price. It runs Win 10 fine and is very capable for studying. It's also a bit quirky, which I like.