Ideas for a laptop for 15 year old girl

duncan32

Hi,

I am going to get my daughter a proper laptop (she has had a cheap refurb one for years, bless her ).

Budget is between £500.00 and £750.00 max.

She loves writing, would use it for browsing the internet, has a big interest in Media Studies at school (which I imagine she will do as one of her A Levels so that might be relevant). She has mentioned that she would maybe like the touch screen option, but I am not sure about this (seems just another thing that can go wrong!).

Would really appreciate some advice and or suggestions from anyone kind enough on here, please.

:T

Thanks!

Duncan

angryparcel

duncan32 wrote: »

Hi,

I am going to get my daughter a proper laptop (she has had a cheap refurb one for years, bless her ).

Budget is between £500.00 and £750.00 max.

She loves writing, would use it for browsing the internet, has a big interest in Media Studies at school (which I imagine she will do as one of her A Levels so that might be relevant). She has mentioned that she would maybe like the touch screen option, but I am not sure about this (seems just another thing that can go wrong!).

Would really appreciate some advice and or suggestions from anyone kind enough on here, please.

:T

Thanks!

Duncan

either of these would do the job

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-3567-laptop/pd?oc=cn35601&model_id=inspiron-15-3567-laptop

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6318071

with the dell one you can add microsoft office at the ordering stage

agrinnall

Unless she is the world's most careful teenager she is going to drop it, spill stuff on it, leave it on the bus, etc., etc. I wouldn't even consider spending the bottom of your range (assuming I hadn't won Euromillions last night, which unofrtunately I didn't).

duncan32

Thanks Agrinnall and Angryparcel !

Totally get the point about probable damage (although she is very careful to be honest). Like the look of the Dell one (and I am pretty sure I could get the microsoft office from my own PC (I got it on mine a month ago and I am sure he said it can be used by up to four laptops). I just wonder what she is losing out on by having the 3000 and not any of the level up? Thanks again. Duncan

angryparcel

duncan32 wrote: »

Thanks Agrinnall and Angryparcel !

Totally get the point about probable damage (although she is very careful to be honest). Like the look of the Dell one (and I am pretty sure I could get the microsoft office from my own PC (I got it on mine a month ago and I am sure he said it can be used by up to four laptops). I just wonder what she is losing out on by having the 3000 and not any of the level up? Thanks again. Duncan

the 3000 v the 5000 is just the processor

Inspiron 15 3000 £379.00 is a Intel® Pentium® Processor (Quad Core) - on SPECIAL

New Inspiron 15 3000 £379.00 is a 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 processor

Inspiron 15 5000 £379.00 is a Intel® Pentium® Processor (Dual Core)

for the same price i would chose the Intel® Pentium® Processor (Quad Core)

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-3552-laptop/pd?oc=cn55227&model_id=inspiron-15-3552-laptop

SouthUKMan

If your daughter is into media, then maybe a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air would fit the bill? They're very 'media' and have a lot credibility as a trendy but serious tool. My daughter loves using hers for writing and editing videos. My son uses one for photo editing.

Admittedly, bought as new they are well out of your budget. However a 2013 / 2014 model is certainly within budget if bought from a re-seller (with guarantee). If you are brave and go down the private seller route or even eBay you might be lucky and pickup a 2015 model within your budget.

If you're not used to MacBooks, they tend to pack a lot more punch in terms of specs than the same vintage Windows based laptops, they're far built better than most Windows laptops and because of this they hold their price incredibly well. In my opinion there would be no shame whatsoever in getting a MacBook Pro or Air that's two / three or four years old. It will still be a very capable machine for several years to come.

I_have_spoken

Touch screens are reliable but the pens get lost every easily, so don't for a device that needs a fancy £40 pen to operate.

I'd go for one with a detachable screen, most peeps prefer these now so they have a tablet option too.

Don't get an Atom processor unit, they are way to slow; for your budget get an i5, 8GB RAM and 256Gb SSD and it'll be good for several years with Windows 10

WAYT

Really nothing special about those laptops.

Bulk standard.

Pentium N3710? No thank you. Minimum i3.
Media studies? Where is the graphics card?
HD screen? I prefer Full HD IPS
HDD? I prefer SSD.
Touchscreen already mentioned
Backlit keyboard also useful.

Just examples, not requisites. But an illustration of the very average value of the laptops.

duncan32

SouthUKMan wrote: »

If your daughter is into media, then maybe a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air would fit the bill? They're very 'media' and have a lot credibility as a trendy but serious tool. My daughter loves using hers for writing and editing videos. My son uses one for photo editing.

Admittedly, bought as new they are well out of your budget. However a 2013 / 2014 model is certainly within budget if bought from a re-seller (with guarantee). If you are brave and go down the private seller route or even eBay you might be lucky and pickup a 2015 model within your budget.

If you're not used to MacBooks, they tend to pack a lot more punch in terms of specs than the same vintage Windows based laptops, they're far built better than most Windows laptops and because of this they hold their price incredibly well. In my opinion there would be no shame whatsoever in getting a MacBook Pro or Air that's two / three or four years old. It will still be a very capable machine for several years to come.

To be fair she did originally want a macbook, but I am really hesitant to go for one due to the relatively high cost. I will maybe have a look at the models you suggest.

Thanks.

Duncan

duncan32

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Touch screens are reliable but the pens get lost every easily, so don't for a device that needs a fancy £40 pen to operate.

I'd go for one with a detachable screen, most peeps prefer these now so they have a tablet option too.

Don't get an Atom processor unit, they are way to slow; for your budget get an i5, 8GB RAM and 256Gb SSD and it'll be good for several years with Windows 10

OK, I am imagining that I5 (and all of the other things mentioned) will take me into the top range of my original budget? Not the end of the world at all, any ideas of a good one to go for? As I say she is super careful and would I imagine treat it like a child

duncan32

WAYT wrote: »

Really nothing special about those laptops.

Bulk standard.

Pentium N3710? No thank you. Minimum i3.
Media studies? Where is the graphics card?
HD screen? I prefer Full HD IPS
HDD? I prefer SSD.
Touchscreen already mentioned
Backlit keyboard also useful.

Just examples, not requisites. But an illustration of the very average value of the laptops.

Hi WATY,

Exactly what I want to be reading :T.
I want this purchase to be future proofed through her A Levels and maybe even to the start of University, so prepared to go the extra mile to achieve an end result that will tick all the boxes. Do you have any specific suggestions, please? :T