Laptop purchase help needed

shooby337

Hi, been about 10yrs since I brought a laptop so bit out or sorts. I’m looking to get my 11yr old son one for school work. Looking at the Entry level £200-300 price range. Seems most at this price are Windows 10S which I hear is quite restrictive.

So questions :
 1)Are there any decent laptops with full windows 10 within this price? (as I find the websites even if I say windows 10 it chucks the 10s into the filtered results!!!) Would want a brand name one and not some cheap unknown make that you get in these catalogues 
2) Would windows 10S be ok for him to use Microsoft office stuff in (I have a licence key for 3 users somewhere in my emails) 
3) Would a chrome book be more suitable then Windows 10S laptop? 

Thanks for any help or advice you maybe able to give. 

neilmcl

I think you'll struggle with W10S, and a Chromebook for that matter, if you want to install your existing software. I think the main difference between W10S and W10 is that you can only download and install apps from the Windows Store with W10S.

You might want to up your budget by a little or look around at refurbished machines with at least either Intel i3 or AMD Rysen 3 processors and an SSD drive.

There might be some bargains to look for in the coming weeks as Amazon Prime day will be on as well as Black Friday in Nov.

neilmcl

I just saw this and might be worth looking at - https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/refurbished-hp-156-laptop-full-hd-ips-panel-i5-1035g1-8gb-ram-256gb-ssd-ps38999-delivered-using-code-at-laptopoutletdirect-ebay-3556613

shooby337

neilmcl said:

I think you'll struggle with W10S, and a Chromebook for that matter, if you want to install your existing software. I think the main difference between W10S and W10 is that you can only download and install apps from the Windows Store with W10S.

You might want to up your budget by a little or look around at refurbished machines with at least either Intel i3 or AMD Rysen 3 processors and an SSD drive.

There might be some bargains to look for in the coming weeks as Amazon Prime day will be on as well as Black Friday in Nov.

Thanks. That’s my understanding of 10S that you can only install things from their online store. 

 Yep I been thinking that will wait to around Black Friday to see if any decent deals pop up. No rush as it be an Xmas present 

WaywardDriver

Is it going to be all work and no play for your son? Depending on the game you may need a laptop with decent processor and screen. A refurbished ex-business laptop may be your best bet within budget.  

Hi_Fidelity

Windows 10 S can be converted to Home for no cost?

support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode ... add https etc. if necessary - I can't post links yet

Neil49

Hi_Fidelity said:

Windows 10 S can be converted to Home for no cost?

support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode ... add https etc. if necessary - I can't post links yet

That's correct. 
Just ensure that the laptop you choose is actually up to the job of running Windows 10 Home. Alternatively I would be looking for a refurbished laptop from a trusted source that has a decent specification. 

J_B

Hi_Fidelity said:

Windows 10 S can be converted to Home for no cost?

support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode ... add https etc. if necessary - I can't post links yet

That link? 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode

shooby337

WaywardDriver said:

Is it going to be all work and no play for your son? Depending on the game you may need a laptop with decent processor and screen. A refurbished ex-business laptop may be your best bet within budget.  

he has an Xbox for play. So not the end of the world. 

Hi_Fidelity said:

Windows 10 S can be converted to Home for no cost?

support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4456067/windows-10-switch-out-of-s-mode ... add https etc. if necessary - I can't post links yet

Yeah I read something about that but wasn’t sure if it was actually possible 

shooby337

This is the one I was originally looking at 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-a315-42-15-6-amd-ryzen-3-laptop-256-gb-ssd-blue-10193910-pdt.html?awc=1599_1601468564_9fa8db3cff615433db1c1b7f9115ce76&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~TechRadar~Editorial+Content~103504~Future+Publishing.