The Student Room Group

DSA Laptops.. HELP!

Hi everyone,

So I’ve had my needs assessment completed by the DSA and it has been sent to whoever.
So I have a few questions ...
There’s 3 quotes with different laptop options.
Can some please explain what it means? What laptop is it?
WKH15 Notebook 15 - 15.6in Core i5-8265U’

15.6 Inch Notebook Core i5-8250U’

WKH Notebook
Core i5-8250U

Do I find out what laptop it is before putting £200 towards it?
If I do decide I’d like a specific laptop and am happy to contribute more, will they upload the software still?

I’m really struggling to actually understand the assessment needs report tbh. I don’t really get the deal 😭
Original post by Hello1234789Xxx
Hi everyone,

So I’ve had my needs assessment completed by the DSA and it has been sent to whoever.
So I have a few questions ...
There’s 3 quotes with different laptop options.
Can some please explain what it means? What laptop is it?
WKH15 Notebook 15 - 15.6in Core i5-8265U’

15.6 Inch Notebook Core i5-8250U’

WKH Notebook
Core i5-8250U

Do I find out what laptop it is before putting £200 towards it?
If I do decide I’d like a specific laptop and am happy to contribute more, will they upload the software still?

I’m really struggling to actually understand the assessment needs report tbh. I don’t really get the deal 😭

i5-8250U and i5-8265U are the names of processors, both of which are very similar and very good for what is essentially a £200 laptop. WKH appears to be the name of a brand that provides laptops for DSA, but just the brand name, processor and screen size (WKH15 presumably denotes a 15" display) isn't enough to determine which specific models of laptop are being offered here.

But yeah, if you can make use of a cheap laptop then the laptops being offered here have better processors than you'll find elsewhere without spending £400+ or buying used.
Original post by Hello1234789Xxx
Hi everyone,

So I’ve had my needs assessment completed by the DSA and it has been sent to whoever.
So I have a few questions ...
There’s 3 quotes with different laptop options.
Can some please explain what it means? What laptop is it?
WKH15 Notebook 15 - 15.6in Core i5-8265U’

15.6 Inch Notebook Core i5-8250U’

WKH Notebook
Core i5-8250U

Do I find out what laptop it is before putting £200 towards it?
If I do decide I’d like a specific laptop and am happy to contribute more, will they upload the software still?

I’m really struggling to actually understand the assessment needs report tbh. I don’t really get the deal 😭

Hi.
Don't worry too much about this initial report its a load of gobbledygook and basically the only people that understand it are DSA.
What happens is that when you have your assessment the assessor has to send off at least 2 quotes for equipment and then DSA decide which one you get. From the look of what you've put they all appear to be very similar, they are all Notebooks around 15.6 inchs with a core-i5 type processor.
I don't know if it will be the same for you as I didn't get a laptop through DSA as mine was up to standard, but they provided all my software on memory sticks. But i'm sure that if you did decide to upgrade and they upload the software for you then they would just put this on the upgraded laptop.
Reply 3
HelloI am a student who has to work with Photoshop and store loads of pics. So the cheap regular laptops DSA offering are not enough for my course requirements. Also my assesor says that I have to pay for the upgrade. I dont have an extra £600-700. But at the same time I am not able to use their laptop in my course also. Should DSA provide me the laprop that meets my Study needs or not? They are telling me that they don't have to. Then what is the all point!?
Original post by Greta777
HelloI am a student who has to work with Photoshop and store loads of pics. So the cheap regular laptops DSA offering are not enough for my course requirements. Also my assesor says that I have to pay for the upgrade. I dont have an extra £600-700. But at the same time I am not able to use their laptop in my course also. Should DSA provide me the laprop that meets my Study needs or not? They are telling me that they don't have to. Then what is the all point!?

What laptops are they offering you?
Reply 5
Only one option. HP 14 inch notebook i5. 1035GI, 8GB, 256GB SSD
Reply 6
Only one option.
HP 14 inch notebook i5. 1035GI, 8GB, 256GB SSD
Original post by Greta777
Only one option. HP 14 inch notebook i5. 1035GI, 8GB, 256GB SSD


That laptop has a recent quad core processor, it's not a cheap laptop and will be fine for Photoshop. More power is obviously nicer but it's not like they aren't offering you something that's fit for purpose. If you need more space than that for storing your images then you can pick up a 2TB portable hard drive for a little over £50 (possibly a little under as we get closer to Black Friday) for holding your library.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by Greta777
Only one option. HP 14 inch notebook i5. 1035GI, 8GB, 256GB SSD

Good luck my friend T_T
Reply 9
Thanks for the encourgement. It costs £400. I have never seen that you can have a computer for photoshop with this kind of money! I wonder if 8GB is enough?
Original post by Greta777
Thanks for the encourgement. It costs £400. I have never seen that you can have a computer for photoshop with this kind of money! I wonder if 8GB is enough?

Photoshop is a program with a low floor and a high ceiling, but going in as an undergrad then a decent 4core/8thread processor and 8GB of RAM is a perfectly decent starting point. If you do find your workload would benefit from more RAM, it's likely to be an easy upgrade as most HP laptops at this price point have user-upgradable memory.
Original post by Greta777
HelloI am a student who has to work with Photoshop and store loads of pics. So the cheap regular laptops DSA offering are not enough for my course requirements. Also my assesor says that I have to pay for the upgrade. I dont have an extra £600-700. But at the same time I am not able to use their laptop in my course also. Should DSA provide me the laprop that meets my Study needs or not? They are telling me that they don't have to. Then what is the all point!?

Hiya,
I am having this exact issue with them now and I am honestly furious about it. Can you tell me what you did in the end please? I'm really hoping you got additional funding and set a precedent or something!
Original post by Maria_Martin
Hiya,
I am having this exact issue with them now and I am honestly furious about it. Can you tell me what you did in the end please? I'm really hoping you got additional funding and set a precedent or something!
The DSA is in place to offset additional costs you face as a disabled student. Every student is required to use Photoshop on your course so it is expected you supplement the provided laptop to account for this.

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