Advice on suitable laptop please

ellieh1

My daughter is going into 3rd and her school are now getting them to do more and more of their work online. They use Google classroom, and other software like Audacity for music. We have a budget of €500 and would greatly appreciate if someone could recommend a laptop that would be suitable. Hopefully if would do her for the rest of school years. It does need a cd drive as she needs this for listening cds for exam papers. Thanks in advance.

smuggler.ie

ellieh1 wrote: »

My daughter is going into 3rd and her school are now getting them to do more and more of their work online. They use Google classroom, and other software like Audacity for music. We have a budget of €500 and would greatly appreciate if someone could recommend a laptop that would be suitable. Hopefully if would do her for the rest of school years. It does need a cd drive as she needs this for listening cds for exam papers. Thanks in advance.

min spec from Currys and alike for this tag

for ALL online you might fit into 500 - no future doh, will be low grade.
Most schools(their own fault if they dont) have O365 as well and do use it.
In next 3-4 she will go to collage and might need to do more office stuff, some other. If not willing to buy another lap by that time, might invest bit more.
Could have secondhand(~5years), but more power for € than those in Currys. See Lenovo P50 - wide upgrade options(if need to be), almost bought myself - work got me new HP just before i pulled trigger. Not so slim - real mobile workstation...

your call

pah

The 500 euro price level is a tough one. There are plenty out there but many would be sub standard IMO. I would recommend anybody looking to spend new and have something decent to stretch for at least an i5 processor with 8GB RAM.

That could mean 600 if you get a good deal. My advice is look at currys,. HN etc and filter on i5 with 8GB see what's available and google the model number for honest reviews.

Regarding the need for CD you can get an external USB CD drive for about 25 quid so I wouldn't make that a necessity.

phelixoflaherty

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/aug/15/whats-the-best-laptop-for-a-student-for-under-500

Always gave practical advice

Check the comments below the article too

ForestFire

Just for info there are student discounts available on many manufacturers direct websites, like lenovo with 15% of selected laptops.

Not sure of suitable device or options at the moment. Might have time to take a look later.

Stanford

pah wrote: »

The 500 euro price level is a tough one. There are plenty out there but many would be sub standard IMO. I would recommend anybody looking to spend new and have something decent to stretch for at least an i5 processor with 8GB RAM.

That could mean 600 if you get a good deal. My advice is look at currys,. HN etc and filter on i5 with 8GB see what's available and google the model number for honest reviews.

Regarding the need for CD you can get an external USB CD drive for about 25 quid so I wouldn't make that a necessity.

*****************************************************
Agree completely, a decent spec is as follows:
i5 processor (don't be forced to go to a lower i3)
8GB RAM
256 SSD plenty (not HDD)
External CD drive, these are rarely built-in as laptops get thinner
Internal wireless and graphics card
Plug in headset and camera for Zoom lectures

Both HN and Currys have good sales on at the moment

Plode

Just get a Chromebook, and use anything else to play the CDs.

bobbyy gee

Wait for Intel 11 laptops on october as the. Intel 10 have poor performance
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/features/intel-evo-laptops-interview-chris-walker-tiger-lake-11th-gen-core-ultraportable-2293939

BionicRasher

Chromebook all the way
Ideal for Google classrooms

They are fast, good battery life, most are touchscreen and will last as updates are frequently pushed to them

riclad

if they use microsoft office 365 you,ll need to buy A windows laptop .

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0525-14-laptop-intel-pentium-gold-128-gb-ssd-silver-10193349-pdt.html
above chromebook with 14 inch screen.
i think you could buy a 15 inch screen laptop in the shops in moore street with a cd/dvd drive for 400 euros .secondhand with gaurantee .
or on adverts.ie .make sure it has windows 10 installed.
put in a cd disc to make sure the drive is working ok.
plenty of shops sell preowned laptops with a gaurantee.
https://ie.webuy.com/product-detail?id=slapacea31521012b&categoryName=laptops-windows&superCatName=computing&title=acer-a315-21-a6-9220-4gb-ram-1tb-hdd-15%22-windows-10-b

if you buy laptop from cex you get a gaurantee for 12 months.




https://powercity.ie/product/434224
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/USB-External-DVD-CD-RW-Disc-Burner-Combo-Drive-Reader-Windows-Mac-Laptop-PC-UK/132876832923

you can buy an external cd drive for 20 euros, plugs into the laptop via usb port.


if you are using zoom , or skype for lessons online i think its important to have a 15 inch screen at least

sibersha

Have a look on Lenovo site, they have student discount I think and further 10% off if you sign up to newsletter.