[Technology] Laptop question

[The Rattler]

Hi people

Seeking NSC expertise please. I need to buy 2 x Laptops for the junior Rattlers to use for their school/ homework. Hoping not to spend more than £600-£700.

Any recommendations please? Obviously I would have asked this question of BG were it not for his sad passing.

Thanks!


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[schmunk]

£600-700 each, or in total?

 

[Mr Bridger]

These are good value.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Saw the thread title and thought of BG, RIP.

 

[Shorehamseagull]

If they don’t need specific software and just the internet, seriously consider a chromebook -

https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chromebook/shop/

Perhaps you could get one windows and one chromebook if they did need software for specific things. Or if you have a home pc for that?

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Saw the thread title and thought of BG, RIP.

Same here, I loved his threads. RIP

 

[happypig]

Wifey needed a new laptop and I bought her an ex-corporate IBM thinkpad T410 from ebay. If you don't want to play top-end games then a machine like that is a good buy (I used thinkpads at work for years and know how well specced and rugged they are). I was so impressed with hers that I bought another as a testing and devlopment machine.
I paid around £130 but I already had spare memory to upgrade to the max.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-T...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

[The Rattler]

£600-700 each, or in total?

In total. Optimistic / tight-fisted combo!!


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[The Rattler]

Wifey needed a new laptop and I bought her an ex-corporate IBM thinkpad T410 from ebay. If you don't want to play top-end games then a machine like that is a good buy (I used thinkpads at work for years and know how well specced and rugged they are). I was so impressed with hers that I bought another as a testing and devlopment machine.
I paid around £130 but I already had spare memory to upgrade to the max.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-T...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Thanks for the idea!


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[spence]

If they don’t need specific software and just the internet, seriously consider a chromebook -

https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chromebook/shop/

Perhaps you could get one windows and one chromebook if they did need software for specific things. Or if you have a home pc for that?

Chromebooks have a shelf life. Lucky to get 5 years. My pc is at least 7 years old. Otherwise i would consider a Chromebook myself

 

[Madafwo]

Wifey needed a new laptop and I bought her an ex-corporate IBM thinkpad T410 from ebay. If you don't want to play top-end games then a machine like that is a good buy (I used thinkpads at work for years and know how well specced and rugged they are). I was so impressed with hers that I bought another as a testing and devlopment machine.
I paid around £130 but I already had spare memory to upgrade to the max.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-T...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

My last 2 laptops have been eBay refurbs and I can't really fault them. If you go for the most expensive options on those you'd have 2 decent laptops for browsing/homework with money left over. Definitely get one with an SSD.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/showthread.php?376598-Help-new-laptop&highlight=

Ended up with the Asus Vivobook c£350

 

[RyFish]

Chromebooks have a shelf life. Lucky to get 5 years. My pc is at least 7 years old. Otherwise i would consider a Chromebook myself

Not so in all cases - some are getting updates until June 2028.
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...w-get-up-to-eight-years-of-chrome-os-updates/

 

[Bold Seagull]

Hi people

Seeking NSC expertise please. I need to buy 2 x Laptops for the junior Rattlers to use for their school/ homework. Hoping not to spend more than £600-£700.

Any recommendations please? Obviously I would have asked this question of BG were it not for his sad passing.

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Might want to consider their overall tech experience, Apple or Android phones? Google Apps and Google home or Microsoft, Amazon etc.? It all works together of course but some setups work more seemlessly than others. As an example Hove Park School are on an iPad educational programme, so maybe worth finding out the software the school want the kids to use and how it will be submitted.

That could go a long way to informing your laptop choice to start with.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Might be worth a look at the Dell Outlet - ready to shop PCs that have either come from cancelled business orders or returned by punters.

Lenovo direct is also good - I bought one from there a couple of years ago with next day delivery.

If it is only for schoolwork then don't get dragged into over speccing the machine.

 

[dazzer6666]

Saw the thread title and thought of BG, RIP.

This

 

[schmunk]

If it is only for schoolwork then don't get dragged into over speccing the machine.

THIS - but if you're buying a Windows laptop, I'd strongly suggest at least 4GB RAM, and ideally an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor from the last few years or and AMD Ryzen processor.

Above all, though, the biggest single thing to make laptops useable is an SSD hard drive, so make sure you get one.. That said, they're currently pretty cheap to swap-in if needed: https://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/solid-state-drives/120gb-to-480gb-25-sata3-ssds (e.g. 240GB for <£40).