Best budget laptop for school

Grey_Critic

daveyjp said:

It depends on what the school expects and recommends, but my daughter does all her school work on a tablet with a keyboard.

With web based Office 365 and cloud computing the school advise this is more than adequate.

Most sensible reply - If the school requires him to have a laptop then they should at least give some guidance. I would also expect them to try to do a deal with some supplier but I suppose that would be asking to much.

Tucosalamanca

truescot said:

This is where my complete ignorance comes in. "Throwing your money away" whilst appreciated, doesn't really mean anything to me in terms of what would be the practical problems my son would encounter when using it day to day. For instance if he was accessing TEAMS, past papers online, youtube and other websites or create word documents, what would hinder him?

Also I've never upgraded a laptop in my life. Use it for a few years then get a new one. Shelling out £450 straight after Christmas is not really an option unless anything cheaper would be actually useless. 

Look at the Amazon reviews of the £149 laptop 
'booting up takes what seems an age', 'Bought this as a back up to my chrome book. In comparison it is slower than death and the updates take hours'

The machine will struggle running multiple tasks, which is something that teenagers do and will be necessary for studying.
A slow pc slows workflow, the last thing you want is a child losing interest.
As time goes on, it will become less and less suitable, particularly as your kids will expect more from it and technology moves forward.
It's possible (likely) that Windows will do a big update at some point, the small flash hard drive might be unable to accommodate it, which would mean compromising on security and features. In extreme instances, some programs may not be compatible.
These things can be overcome but it's not always straightforward.
Windows recommend having at least 64gb available for updates. Assuming 10gb for programs, this would only leave around 50gb storage, which isn't a great deal.

The PC I've shown offers a lot for the money and should comfortably last 4-5years (long enough to finish Uni)
I need to find out if it's possible to install a second hard drive (1tb ssd for around £70) as 512gb is unlikely to be sufficient for my son's requirements. Cloud storage costs money/data allowance and isn't always reliable, external hard drive isn't really practical.

km1500 said:

This is £399 but 100 off with the code SAVE100 so £299

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptop-computers-2-in-1-pcs/inspiron-15/spd/inspiron-15-3515-laptop/cn31503sc

Not sure how long the sale is on for.

This is a great deal as a compromise. It will suit most light users and is infinitely better than the £149-£249 stuff that pcworld/argos sell. At £299, I'd be tempted...

Nicki_Sue

Hi.
If you are hoping for your son to use the laptop in school, check with them. If your son requires it for a SEN-related need, for example, they should be able to provide one. If not, still check because whatever you get needs to be compatible with the school system. For example, a Chromebook wouldn't connect to our school's system. 

If it's to use a home your son's school tech department might have recommendations on where to get a refurbed one cheaper or have access to some sort of scheme.

Good luck!

macman

How about a Chromebook? Plenty of options there around £300, does't need antivirus protection, no endless system updates...
The school really should be giving some better guidance than just 'must be able to run xyz'
None of those tasks require anything high-end. 

km1500

Problem with Chromebooks is that Google decides not to update at some point and so in the bin they go.

debitcardmayhem

km1500 said:

Problem with Chromebooks is that Google decides not to update at some point and so in the bin they go.

Same goes for Microsoft .....

TOP_CAT

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-x515ea-laptop-intel-core-i5-1135g7-24ghz-8gb-ddr4-512gb-m2-ssd-ps37663-at-ebuyer-ebay-4071074

wiseonesomeofthetime

TOP_CAT said:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-x515ea-laptop-intel-core-i5-1135g7-24ghz-8gb-ddr4-512gb-m2-ssd-ps37663-at-ebuyer-ebay-4071074

Following the link, it states that the deal expired four days ago.

TOP_CAT

The post was 4 days ago what did you expect ...nothing lasts forever.

The site has laptop options you can check daily to see if they suit or not .
The so called deals never last long if they are any good .

facade

TOP_CAT said:

The so called deals never last long if they are any good .

The way to tell if a Currys "offer" is a good deal is to see if it is out of stock