Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 15:19:47 GMT
I am looking for one or both of the following types of laptop. I do not know where to start in terms of detailed spec or pricing. Assistance anyone?
Laptop 1. For me. 14" screen, reasonably light and powerful, but only so that it works quickly rather than needing it for gaming. To be used for basic business and browsing purposes and some TV/YouTube watching. Spend no more than £500? Will require MS Office. I do want SSD drive. I have seen an Acer Aspire 3 A314-31 Pentium N4200 4GB 256GB SSD 14 Inch Windows 10 for £280 but is that good enough? Or is an HP 240 G6 Core i3-7020U 8GB 1TB 14 Inch Windows 10 for £335 better even though it has a HDD?
Laptop 2. For my student son. Will need 15.6" screen both otherwise I suspect similar spec to me. SSD drive. Also want to spend no more than £500. Is this any good? Lenovo V130 Core i5-7200U 8GB 256GB SSD DVDRW 15.6 Inch FHD Windows 10 for £430.
All available at Laptops direct in their sale..
Thanks.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 12, 2019 21:48:42 GMT
I've not looked at laptops for ages - last I bought for myself was a MacBook Pro in 2014 (13.3"). Before that it was a 15.6" HP laptop for my step-son. My current work laptop is also a high powered 15.6" Full HD workstation type laptop.
Observations for your sons laptop....
1. 15.6" laptops are the sweet spot for prices because the screen size is common and the bigger laptop doesn't need to be so cleverly packaged.
2. 15.6" laptops are really heavy so I'd not want to carry one much - mine rarely moved from the desk at home with the screen and keyboard nearly unused.
3. When I went to Munich years ago for work I took the previous work laptop (14" I think) and the MacBook. The MacBook packaging was so much better and lighter.... I'd not want to take the current work laptop on a trip like that.
I am assuming you need Windows 10 on both but I'd consider 14" for both. If your son needs a bigger screen at times then a monitor at his accommodation would be my suggestion.
As fr processors, if it's an Intel CPU then Core i3 at a minimum for both but Core i5 would be better. Which model CPU you go for depends on what it will be used for. Some of the Intel CPUs have low clock speeds with a fairly high boost to higher clock speeds. Take my on order new workstation to replace the Core i7 I have.... base clock speed on the new CPU is lower and the top clock speed is higher but not on all CPU cores. Flat out the old 4-5 year old laptop is faster than the new one being forced on me.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 12, 2019 21:53:51 GMT
Just looked on John Lewis and they have an ASUS laptop with an AMD Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD... I'd take a Ryzen 5 over a Core i5 any day. And there's a similar spec HP one. The ASUS one is £449.
If this was me I'd be looking up reviews of the ASUS VivoBook 15 X512DA-EJ254T Laptop, AMD Ryzen 5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6" Full HD, Slate Grey.
There's an i3 version of it too but it only has 4GB RAM and the Core i3 vs Ryzen 5 is not a fair battle :-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2019 4:43:55 GMT
Great. That's really helpful.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2019 6:24:09 GMT
So I bought the Asus but IT said the spec wasn't good enough for our system and we would need to upgrade. So that's gone back and we are buying some HPs which they recommended.
In the meantime I offered the Asus to son #2 for university but no! Needs, yes needs an iMac Pro. Thankfully there is some student discount and he will contribute to its purchase from savings.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 26, 2019 7:33:07 GMT
Just went through a similar exercise with Boy1 — only he expressed a geek’s disdain for the MacBook Pro (I have one and don’t entirely get on with it either) and went for a monstrous 15-inch Dell with a room-warming i7 processor, which he imagines he’ll need for CAD and the like.
He won’t, I suppose, have to carry it far, but I still suspect he’s bought too much; or maybe the amount of travel I do makes me unduly envious of compact, lightweight laptops.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 26, 2019 8:24:39 GMT
........ a monstrous 15-inch Dell with a room-warming i7 processor, which he imagines he’ll need for CAD and the like gaming........ ...there, fixed that for you..... |
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 26, 2019 10:29:54 GMT
Espada I assume you mean he wants a MacBook Pro? Which compared to when I got mine (13") a number of years ago have shot up in price, far ahead of inflation or weakening of the £ to $ rate.
If you can afford one, the size, weight, build quality of the MacBook is worth it IMO. I happen to prefer MacOS to Windows but then again I didn't use Windows much on my first PC either (Linux dual booted with OS/2 Warp).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2019 12:19:26 GMT
Ah, yes. MacBook Pro! 13". £1167 with discount. Then £199 for Applecare, £39 for a USB C multipoint adapter etc etc. Hadn't even bought Office yet.
But I can see the advantage of it in terms of portability although personally I would prefer a Windows 14" machine. As I rarely use a laptop other than to stream BT sport to the TV it is irrelevant atm.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Sept 26, 2019 15:29:46 GMT
Apple Care is heavily discounted when you use an educational discount. At least it was - it used to be discounted by £151 inc VAT.
You'll probably get a discount on all of the items.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2019 19:55:14 GMT
Yes - I think he did get some discount.
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