University of Chester

Chester

Any suggestions on which laptop to get for uni?

Hey I'm not the best when it comes to knowing which laptops are good and which are not so much... Anyone on here that can suggest a good laptop that would for my needs for uni?

I'm going to be studying mainly in my room with a place to charge it but would like to be able to move around, go out for coffee and study etc. so good battery life would be good,
I don't want a chrome book because as far as I've seen they don't support Microsoft word :frown:

I will be on a tight budget so nothing really over 500, even that's a bit too much.
Something with good storage space would be nice too :P

Sorry for sounding dumb, I tried to understand laptop specs but I have no idea what I'm doing 😂😅

Reply 1

EtherealElf

Go for a MacBook Air. Trust me, it's worth it. All my life, I've despised Apple products due to their 'elitism' in the market but MacBook is amazing. Splurge on this and you'll never regret. Tighten your budget elsewhere. If you're looking for a light, portable laptop which you need for the basic purposes go for Air with the 128 GB storage or if you're into movie making, music editing and gaming, go for the Pro. It's hardware is upgradeable.

http://www.laptopmag.com/college-laptops Do check this out and explore your options.

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Reply 2

Unbroken Oath

Yeah macbook's are good for work.

Reply 3

aka_bambi

I'll have a look, but I'm a bit hesitant on buyin appl laptops, do they have any word alternative for essay writting? I'm so used to word whenever I use anything else it just confuses me xD how big is the air? Same size as an average laptop or smaller? :smile:

and would I be able to take on an air, not my main priority but I do kinda get sidetracked and end up gaming haha

Reply 4

SolidSnake1510

Dont bother with Apple unless you want to overpay just for the logo. I'd recommend the one i got last year for uni which is the lenovo flex 2 13.3inch. I thoroughly recommend this laptop, its very light and compact and perfect to carry around in your bag. Really good performance wise too.

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Reply 5

aka_bambi

I saw the Lenovo flex and wanted to go for it but I wasn't sure how long it's last and whether it's be any good for uni work :smile:

has it lasted you?

Reply 6

EtherealElf

Original post by aka_bambi

and would I be able to take on an air, not my main priority but I do kinda get sidetracked and end up gaming haha

There is Pages. Keynote lieu of PowerPoint and Numbers in the place of Excel. But the store from where I bought my MacBook, the Microsoft Office programs were installed free of cost. The updates are frequent, so it doesn't really remain ancient.

Reply 7

EtherealElf

Air comes in two sizes BTW. The 11 inch one seemed awfully small to me. I went with the 13 inch version and it's quite good :smile:

Reply 8

aka_bambi

Yeah the fact the MacBook is upgradeable is plus but the whole £1000 price tag is a bit steep for a uni student. I'm not saying you got help with your money but I'm going to have no financial help from parents etc. so I'm going to have to be really careful with my money

Reply 9

Charmed_77

Personally I am getting the new mac book. I've been to the store and it seems worth the money you will spend. Best part is how light it is and is easy for transport with the new battery life they have installed. Plus the speaker give great sound for music/movies you wanna listen/watch. I've spoken with a few friends and few IT experts and they given great reviews on it. I was worried with the switch from MS WORD as well, but since you can get it for on the mac (i use it on my iPad all the time) i find that helpful. Looking forward to this purchase!!

Reply 10

Unbroken Oath

Original post by aka_bambi

It will last a very long time (3-6 years or greater if you take good care of it). It's a solid investment.

Reply 11

vee_wuvshugs

Original post by aka_bambi

Not going to lie, I bloody love Macs but for uni, it's not essential to have one. You can buy a pretty decent laptop with that budget and right now there are sales. Watch tech channels on youtube eg Detroitborg or Mobiletechreviews to really make a good, informed decision.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 12

SolidSnake1510

Original post by aka_bambi

I saw the Lenovo flex and wanted to go for it but I wasn't sure how long it's last and whether it's be any good for uni work :smile:

has it lasted you?

It sure has, i also game on it from time to time nothing too demanding obviously. I carry it everyday in my backpack to uni which is almost a 40 minute journey and i hardly notice it. Its lighter than most uni books!

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Reply 13

Josh_MG

Why are people suggesting MacBooks when he has said his budget is £500?? MacBook Air cost like £750! Yes, Mac's come with pages, Keynote and numbers for free, but Microsoft office is also available to purchase(currently office 2016 for Mac beta is free on Mac until launch this fall!) if you ever need it.

You can get laptops that cost a fraction of the cost of a Mac but with similar or better specs! Mac's are used primarily by creative sectors & really have not much of an advantage over windows laptops. Just personal preference, I use both, and honestly there isn't much of a difference & there are things I find annoying on both operating systems.

If you were to get a windows laptop I would recommend an ASUS! Depending on what you'll be using it for will dictate what specs you'll need & therefore the price. But for general work using office, you'll only need 4GB RAM, Intel iCore3/5 processor & however much memory you want.

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(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 14

aka_bambi

Thanks everybody, it's helpful hearing everyone's opinions, I'll have to think about it all. The mac is appealing because it's upgradeable and won't stay stuck in the time it was made haha but the price tag is very off putting especially when I don't have that saved up to begin with so id have to go into my loan whereas any other laptop would be covered by a fraction of my monthly wage at my part time job. It's so difficult to choose 😫

Reply 15

EtherealElf

Original post by aka_bambi

MacBook costs around £730 in my country but I got it for £630 due to the student discount. Do enquire the Apple store about the discount.

Reply 16

Lil2wkd

Okay sharing my two cents: There is nothing explicitly wrong with Macbooks-they're solid machines that rarely go wrong. However, if you're going to mostly be using your computer for internet, streaming, listening to music, work etc, they're IMO not worth the extra that you're going to find yourself paying. If your course is more media orientated, go for it, but for the most part, you're almost definitely fine with a regular laptop. I made it through three years with a Samsung Netbook that cost something like 250 quid, and in my second and third year it spent most of its time hooked up to my TV with a keyboard and mouse plugged in. Admittedly this was a few years ago, but you don't need to spend a fortune on a laptop if you're just using it for the basics (I'm not including gaming, though I managed quite well on mine, but I was retro gaming). My current laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 series and cost me around $500 (I'm now in the US), so around 500 quid if it was in the UK I guess. I can game well enough on it, it doesn't come with anything fancy, but does have a load of Dell Bloatware, most of which can be removed (get a tech friend to do it if you aren't sure).