Laptop For First Year Collage Science Student?

Smallglass · 21-08-2022 10:21pm #1

Could anyone recommend a laptop for a first year Science student,what spec etc should I be looking out for?Tia

Pissy Missy · 21-08-2022 10:58pm

I've been in college for too many years studying the social science sector. They might need to download spss, but possibly not. A basic laptop will be fine, such as https://m.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8866583/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice,+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7Ccat_50000560%7CLaptops%7C50000564/Trail/searchtext%3ELaptop.htm

It doesn't come with a dvd player, I like my 15inch, this comes with a 14 inch which isn't so bad.

Now if you want to treat them with a faster model with more free memory space, then I would recommend this baby

https://m.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9489653/Trail/searchtext%3EAsus+VivoBook.htm

30-08-2022 7:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058259800/laptop-for-first-year-collage-science-student

get something well built that will last for the term of college

the matebook d15 is a a good option

metal durable construction, good cpu, decent screen

was in argos for 550 euro but out of stock a good while there now

it's on amazon (no import fees due as amazon takes care of that)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-Matebook-Windows-Intel-Laptop/dp/B09M8K4RYQ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=matebook+d15&qid=1661883476&sprefix=matebook+d%2Caps%2C233&sr=8-4

Darwin · 30-08-2022 7:39pm

Always worth looking at what Dell and Lenovo have on offer as you are dealing direct with the manufacturer and both have bases in Ireland. This Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is pretty decent value for what it offers, it has an up to date AMD processor and 16GB RAM so should fly along:

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/500-series/IdeaPad-5-Gen-7-15-AMD/p/82SG0016UK

I would pay the €50 or so for the 2 year extended premium onsite warranty if available - this means a tech will call to your home to fix any hardware issues should they arise.

31-08-2022 7:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119544357#Comment_119544357

that's not a bad deal (although the metal version is not the base model afaik) but fyi lenovo.com is a reseller company called Digital River and not Lenovo directly and it will be shipped (and returned if necessary) not from Ireland but somewhere else (shipping from and returning to abroad also with Dell).

SuperBowserWorld · 31-08-2022 7:47pm

The cheapest M1 MacBook air. Last year's one.

It'll last for years and survive a lot of wear and tear. Plus it's really light. Battery lasts for ages. Silent. You could get 8+ years out of it.

If you can afford it. 1229 euro.

The new M2 one is more expensive for little extra plus you need to get the bigger SSD for better SSD performance making it even more expensive.

https://www.apple.com/ie/macbook-air-m1/

Now, maybe software is an issue ? Make sure the software required runs on it.

I think apple laptops are ridiculously priced but the entry level Airs have a perfect price/performance/reliability/weight/strength balance to them.

Darwin · 31-08-2022 8:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119549824#Comment_119549824

Yes I've had the displeasure of dealing with digital river! I'm on my third Lenovo at this point (mostly bought Alienware for the past 15 years). I bought my Yoga 9i in June, motherboard died after 2 days so I got in touch with Lenovo tech support. They were brilliant, they diagnosed the problem quickly and the tech offered me a replacement straight away and logged it in the system. After that I was dealing with digital river who were a pain in the ass the whole way. I've also had many dealings with Dell/Alienware and their onsite support and generally no complaints once they accept you have a fault. The Lenovo premium warranty is significantly less than Dell/Alienware's (iirc about €60 for 2 year onsite with Lenovo vs Alienware who give first year onsite then charge about €120 for second year etc).

Both brands offer academic discounts which in my view makes them quite attractive to students (as well as Acer I believe, although their support is flaky to say the least). The laptop you posted is a good deal too and amazon are usually a pretty good bet in terms of customer service.

Laptop For First Year Collage Science Student?

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