Which Laptop?
I'm starting uni in 2 weeks and my course is English language and linguistics, which means its a lot of online research and essay writing. Now I have zero idea on laptops, can someone recommend me the best budget laptops for my course please. The highest I'd pay is £500.
I'm starting uni in 2 weeks and my course is English language and linguistics, which means its a lot of online research and essay writing. Now I have zero idea on laptops, can someone recommend me the best budget laptops for my course please. The highest I'd pay is £500.
I wouldn't spend more than £400 on a laptop.
You are not likely going to require something high spec, churning out thousands of computations in seconds or require a memory bank the size of Facebook's servers.
The sort of laptops that I would look at would involve specs along the lines of:
•
4GB RAM or higher - otherwise you would be severely limited on how many things you can do at once
•
2.0GHz processor or faster - anything less and it would feel like snail pace
•
About 100GB memory, unless you download a lot of PDF files and have a lot of large files - and I mean in the thousands; you can go as low as 64GB and still get a reasonable laptop, but the smaller this is the more you need to practice storing your stuff in memory stick or external hard drives (a pain).
•
A few USB ports
Whilst you don't need the following features, they are handy to have (if they don't come as standard):
•
Built in mic
•
Built in camera
•
Screen size is up to you, but I would go for the 13" - 15". Anything larger than 20" and it will feel more like a desktop computer than a laptop. Anything smaller than 13" and it will feel more like a tablet/notebook computer, more suited for browsing.
What I would recommend getting on top of the standard laptop are:
•
All in one printer (around £50) with minimum printing speed of 15 ppm (any slower and it feels like snail pace)
•
Earphones - because most listening products aren't designed to last more than a year, and expensive headphones and earpods can be a hassle.
•
Wired mouse (because wireless mice are a pain, and you would be crucified for having a trackball) - one around £10 or less is more than adequate
•
Memory sticks (I recommend 2 at least) - it's either that or a very very sturdy pocket sized portable hard drive (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/CENyPHExRDxn1Zut8)
•
USB port Hub - it's like an extension lead for your USB devices (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/tnbSn94w4fJFFDT19) - don't go for one that costs more than £10
•
Laser pointer (optional; I'm a fan of Kensingtons: https://images.app.goo.gl/UewEVK1uvQ1n21YU9) - useful for presentations, but unless your future job uses a lot of presentations, I wouldn't bother too much with this
•
Microsoft Office Home and Small Business Edition - more expensive than the Student Edition, but you can still use it for anything after uni; it's also a staple for any computer. Essential software would include Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Anything other than these 3 are optional and are more suited for specific professions or specific purposes.
•
Antivirus and antispyware software - don't pay more than you need to; anything around £30 is more than adequate
•
Laptop bag - really handy when you need to move around a lot; I recommend those where you have a strap over your shoulder (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/otYbiLvvf8QkHozS7) as opposed to a backpack (https://images.app.goo.gl/pwCHshiEKEzzwNg6A), unless your laptop is really heavy. Don't spend more than £30 on one; they're not that special.
•
A monitor (optional) - so you can either have a wider screen or dual screen. See: https://images.app.goo.gl/nLcwXZFHreMN244r5, https://images.app.goo.gl/qXJ2nbMmg2U3A4sD8 Most monitors can be bought for £100-250, depending on size.
•
HDMI cable (optional) (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/XFR4YYAv1yZNMecw5)- because you can connect your laptop to a TV or a monitor; get one for about £10
•
VGA cable (optional in case you want the monitor above) (seee: https://images.app.goo.gl/2BUUKzr22daKqK1z9) - this is used to only connect monitors, but I am not sure whether your chosen laptop has such a socket. If it doesn't, no need to buy one. Again, £10 max.
•
Mini - speakers (optional) (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/huG8ukwRaXrmHDez7) - in case the built in speakers on your laptop aren't loud enough. Don't go crazy on this, unless you have a thing about amazing sound quality and music.
•
Tablet (optional) with stylus and case - in case the laptop is too cumbersome and you want to take notes on a smaller device; also can connect to a laptop wirelessly or using cables. This is probably the only time when I would go for an Apple device over an Android.
•
Ethernet cable (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/jDekUbdVaQuqd7M4A) - in case your wireless doesn't connect to the uni's WiFi or you want a more stable internet connection. It's quite common for unis to require you to use ethernet cables by the way. Go for one that's around £10 or less.
•
DVD/Blu-Ray Reader - if you have some DVDs or Blu Rays you're dying to watch regularly
Anything that isn't Apple would be significantly cheaper, and possibly work better (you can tell I am not a fan). Anything with the above specs with Apple that isn't second hand would likely cost more than £500. Your choice.
Let me know if you want recommendations on what sort of software and apps to have on your computer as well.
You are not likely going to require something high spec, churning out thousands of computations in seconds or require a memory bank the size of Facebook's servers.
The sort of laptops that I would look at would involve specs along the lines of:
•
4GB RAM or higher - otherwise you would be severely limited on how many things you can do at once
•
2.0GHz processor or faster - anything less and it would feel like snail pace
•
About 100GB memory, unless you download a lot of PDF files and have a lot of large files - and I mean in the thousands; you can go as low as 64GB and still get a reasonable laptop, but the smaller this is the more you need to practice storing your stuff in memory stick or external hard drives (a pain).
•
A few USB ports
•
Built in mic
•
Built in camera
•
Screen size is up to you, but I would go for the 13" - 15". Anything larger than 20" and it will feel more like a desktop computer than a laptop. Anything smaller than 13" and it will feel more like a tablet/notebook computer, more suited for browsing.
•
All in one printer (around £50) with minimum printing speed of 15 ppm (any slower and it feels like snail pace)
•
Earphones - because most listening products aren't designed to last more than a year, and expensive headphones and earpods can be a hassle.
•
Wired mouse (because wireless mice are a pain, and you would be crucified for having a trackball) - one around £10 or less is more than adequate
•
Memory sticks (I recommend 2 at least) - it's either that or a very very sturdy pocket sized portable hard drive (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/CENyPHExRDxn1Zut8)
•
USB port Hub - it's like an extension lead for your USB devices (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/tnbSn94w4fJFFDT19) - don't go for one that costs more than £10
•
Laser pointer (optional; I'm a fan of Kensingtons: https://images.app.goo.gl/UewEVK1uvQ1n21YU9) - useful for presentations, but unless your future job uses a lot of presentations, I wouldn't bother too much with this
•
Microsoft Office Home and Small Business Edition - more expensive than the Student Edition, but you can still use it for anything after uni; it's also a staple for any computer. Essential software would include Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Anything other than these 3 are optional and are more suited for specific professions or specific purposes.
•
Antivirus and antispyware software - don't pay more than you need to; anything around £30 is more than adequate
•
Laptop bag - really handy when you need to move around a lot; I recommend those where you have a strap over your shoulder (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/otYbiLvvf8QkHozS7) as opposed to a backpack (https://images.app.goo.gl/pwCHshiEKEzzwNg6A), unless your laptop is really heavy. Don't spend more than £30 on one; they're not that special.
•
A monitor (optional) - so you can either have a wider screen or dual screen. See: https://images.app.goo.gl/nLcwXZFHreMN244r5, https://images.app.goo.gl/qXJ2nbMmg2U3A4sD8 Most monitors can be bought for £100-250, depending on size.
•
HDMI cable (optional) (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/XFR4YYAv1yZNMecw5)- because you can connect your laptop to a TV or a monitor; get one for about £10
•
VGA cable (optional in case you want the monitor above) (seee: https://images.app.goo.gl/2BUUKzr22daKqK1z9) - this is used to only connect monitors, but I am not sure whether your chosen laptop has such a socket. If it doesn't, no need to buy one. Again, £10 max.
•
Mini - speakers (optional) (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/huG8ukwRaXrmHDez7) - in case the built in speakers on your laptop aren't loud enough. Don't go crazy on this, unless you have a thing about amazing sound quality and music.
•
Tablet (optional) with stylus and case - in case the laptop is too cumbersome and you want to take notes on a smaller device; also can connect to a laptop wirelessly or using cables. This is probably the only time when I would go for an Apple device over an Android.
•
Ethernet cable (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/jDekUbdVaQuqd7M4A) - in case your wireless doesn't connect to the uni's WiFi or you want a more stable internet connection. It's quite common for unis to require you to use ethernet cables by the way. Go for one that's around £10 or less.
•
DVD/Blu-Ray Reader - if you have some DVDs or Blu Rays you're dying to watch regularly
Let me know if you want recommendations on what sort of software and apps to have on your computer as well.
A few things here that need pointing out:
•
8GB of RAM is definitely preferable, and in 2024 there is frankly no reason to buy anything with less unless you are severely budget constrained, which the OP is not
•
Choosing a processor based solely on clock speed is a really bad way of doing it. Modern i5 processors have base clocks as low as 1.3GHz but by virtue of their modern architecture and core counts they offer fantastic performance for standard tasks, and soundly beat older processors whose clock speeds would indicate otherwise while also being significantly more power efficient. Sending them on a chase for 2GHz base clocks will result in them omitting a lot of good options in their budget range
•
There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a modern wireless mouse, outside of the cheap bargain basement stuff that's just badly built overall with connectivity being one bad point among many
•
Spending any money at all on antivirus is a waste, there are very few paid solutions that offer any measurable improvement to security over free options like Malwarebytes and even Windows Defender, and those that do cost more than £30
•
Spending money out the gate on an Office suite before you've had the opportunity to see if your usage is going to be covered well by free options is somewhat premature
•
You're recommending wasting money on a VGA cable? In 2024? Really?
I'm starting uni in 2 weeks and my course is English language and linguistics, which means its a lot of online research and essay writing. Now I have zero idea on laptops, can someone recommend me the best budget laptops for my course please. The highest I'd pay is £500.
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/msi-modern-14-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-512-gb-ssd-black-10250973.html
There's not much point spending more than £400 (the above poster is right on the front), as for £350-£400 you can get fantastic options with great performance and high quality displays in a slim & light form factor. The only reason to spend more would be to chase specific features like a smaller size or higher resolution display, or maybe trying to find something that manages to cram in a low-tier GPU so you can do some gaming in your spare time. I'd save the rest for accessories like the ones the poster above has suggested (well, maybe not exactly like), but wait until after your studies start and you actually know what you need.
For the sort of tasks someone doing a language course is going to be doing, 8GB is going to be fine for longer than the duration of their degree.
I'm starting uni in 2 weeks and my course is English language and linguistics, which means its a lot of online research and essay writing. Now I have zero idea on laptops, can someone recommend me the best budget laptops for my course please. The highest I'd pay is £500.
Have you considered getting a certified refurbished laptop? They usually have a few cosmetic signs of wear and tear and might be a little older, but can still be very good and often come with at least a 6-12 month warranty.
BackMarket also offer a student discount.... 😉 https://www.backmarket.co.uk/en-gb/l/laptop/630dab14-5051-49b9-bc7b-bb20876d4850
I got a refurbished iPad from there and it honestly runs like new and was over half of the price of buying a new one, 12 month standard warranty on all purchases on BackMarket
Currently they have M1 MacBook Air for just under £500 (for 'Fair' condition) before any discounts, the same model I have. It survived having Notion, Spotify, 70+ safari tabs, emails, WhatsApp and Word open all at once when I was finishing my dissertation and it didn't even get warm (context: I studied Politics & History so heavy essay subject). Only started to slow down at 100 tabs and it was only slightly, and the battery life is second to none. I'm confident it will see me through my MA as well (2025-2026). Would *not* recommend an intel core Mac, I had one of these before the M1 and it had a chronic overheating problem, cooked itself from the inside out and died. The ONLY critique I have with it is that it only has two USB-C ports so most standard plug ins will not work, but if you really need to plug things in you can get a multiport adapter on Amazon for about £20. Personally I use Notion (so all my research work is on the cloud & shared across devices) and now as a grad I use Google Docs so I don't need to plug anything in really, but that's just me.
If you'd prefer a Windows machine I would recommend looking for 6-8GBs of RAM / memory and an i5 or i7 to keep you running smoothly. BackMarket has looooooads of Windows machines in all shapes, sizes and brands, from Dell to ThinkPad.
You are not likely going to require something high spec, churning out thousands of computations in seconds or require a memory bank the size of Facebook's servers.
The sort of laptops that I would look at would involve specs along the lines of:
•
4GB RAM or higher - otherwise you would be severely limited on how many things you can do at once
•
2.0GHz processor or faster - anything less and it would feel like snail pace
•
About 100GB memory, unless you download a lot of PDF files and have a lot of large files - and I mean in the thousands; you can go as low as 64GB and still get a reasonable laptop, but the smaller this is the more you need to practice storing your stuff in memory stick or external hard drives (a pain).
•
A few USB ports
Whilst you don't need the following features, they are handy to have (if they don't come as standard):
•
Built in mic
•
Built in camera
•
Screen size is up to you, but I would go for the 13" - 15". Anything larger than 20" and it will feel more like a desktop computer than a laptop. Anything smaller than 13" and it will feel more like a tablet/notebook computer, more suited for browsing.
What I would recommend getting on top of the standard laptop are:
•
All in one printer (around £50) with minimum printing speed of 15 ppm (any slower and it feels like snail pace)
•
Earphones - because most listening products aren't designed to last more than a year, and expensive headphones and earpods can be a hassle.
•
Wired mouse (because wireless mice are a pain, and you would be crucified for having a trackball) - one around £10 or less is more than adequate
•
Memory sticks (I recommend 2 at least) - it's either that or a very very sturdy pocket sized portable hard drive (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/CENyPHExRDxn1Zut8)
•
USB port Hub - it's like an extension lead for your USB devices (see for example: https://images.app.goo.gl/tnbSn94w4fJFFDT19) - don't go for one that costs more than £10
•
Laser pointer (optional; I'm a fan of Kensingtons: https://images.app.goo.gl/UewEVK1uvQ1n21YU9) - useful for presentations, but unless your future job uses a lot of presentations, I wouldn't bother too much with this
•
Microsoft Office Home and Small Business Edition - more expensive than the Student Edition, but you can still use it for anything after uni; it's also a staple for any computer. Essential software would include Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Anything other than these 3 are optional and are more suited for specific professions or specific purposes.
•
Antivirus and antispyware software - don't pay more than you need to; anything around £30 is more than adequate
•
Laptop bag - really handy when you need to move around a lot; I recommend those where you have a strap over your shoulder (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/otYbiLvvf8QkHozS7) as opposed to a backpack (https://images.app.goo.gl/pwCHshiEKEzzwNg6A), unless your laptop is really heavy. Don't spend more than £30 on one; they're not that special.
•
A monitor (optional) - so you can either have a wider screen or dual screen. See: https://images.app.goo.gl/nLcwXZFHreMN244r5, https://images.app.goo.gl/qXJ2nbMmg2U3A4sD8 Most monitors can be bought for £100-250, depending on size.
•
HDMI cable (optional) (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/XFR4YYAv1yZNMecw5)- because you can connect your laptop to a TV or a monitor; get one for about £10
•
VGA cable (optional in case you want the monitor above) (seee: https://images.app.goo.gl/2BUUKzr22daKqK1z9) - this is used to only connect monitors, but I am not sure whether your chosen laptop has such a socket. If it doesn't, no need to buy one. Again, £10 max.
•
Mini - speakers (optional) (See: https://images.app.goo.gl/huG8ukwRaXrmHDez7) - in case the built in speakers on your laptop aren't loud enough. Don't go crazy on this, unless you have a thing about amazing sound quality and music.
•
Tablet (optional) with stylus and case - in case the laptop is too cumbersome and you want to take notes on a smaller device; also can connect to a laptop wirelessly or using cables. This is probably the only time when I would go for an Apple device over an Android.
•
Ethernet cable (see: https://images.app.goo.gl/jDekUbdVaQuqd7M4A) - in case your wireless doesn't connect to the uni's WiFi or you want a more stable internet connection. It's quite common for unis to require you to use ethernet cables by the way. Go for one that's around £10 or less.
•
DVD/Blu-Ray Reader - if you have some DVDs or Blu Rays you're dying to watch regularly
Anything that isn't Apple would be significantly cheaper, and possibly work better (you can tell I am not a fan). Anything with the above specs with Apple that isn't second hand would likely cost more than £500. Your choice.
Let me know if you want recommendations on what sort of software and apps to have on your computer as well.
Recent humanities grad - most unis offer Microsoft office suite for FREE for students during their time at the institution, verified using their student emails. Aside from this, Google offers many 'dupes' of MO for free, you just have to have an internet connection. Or, OpenOffice also dupes MO, also free. Best to wait until induction at the university to find out before dropping money on it.
VGA is very outdated, HDMI is far more standard. I can't remember the last time I saw a VGA cable in use outside of work (NHS still uses them for some monitors).
I'm starting uni in 2 weeks and my course is English language and linguistics, which means its a lot of online research and essay writing. Now I have zero idea on laptops, can someone recommend me the best budget laptops for my course please. The highest I'd pay is £500.
Hi @Jannatul 123,
I see you have had some excellent advice!
Personally I agree that you don't need to spend over £400 for a laptop. I highly recommend looking at refurbished laptops if you want a great device at a fraction of the price. I personally brought a refurbished laptop off curries for around £250 and its been great, however there are other great companies to buy from!
There isn't much I can add on when it comes to the laptops specs, however I do recommend making sure you have a built in camera and microphone.
Good luck with university 😊,
-Sophia (Business and Management)
.But any thoughts suggestions on what option ishould use will be helpful.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Equipment required for university
- bobby16's Laptop recommendation thread
- Laptop needed or not?
- which laptop should i buy?
- What laptop or Mini laptop do you use and have? And how much are they?
- Laptop vs iPad at Uni
- What's the best laptop for programming?
- DSA Laptop
- Anyone Bought/Using LENOVO IdeaPad Gaming 3 16" Model?
- DSA Laptop
- What laptop to get for mechanical engineering.
- Calling current Vet Students - laptop or tablet??
- What laptop/ipad do you recommend me to get for university?
- Ipad vs laptop
- Recommendations for laptops (for med school) PLEASE
- 16" laptop too big?
- What laptop to get for University for Engineering
- Best laptop for pharmacy at uni?
- DSA Disabled Students Allowance Laptop Upgrade Advice - Please Help!
- iPad or Laptop for uni?
Last reply 3 months ago
Macbook Air M3 vs Microsoft Surface 7 vs ASUS Zenbook 14 OLEDLast reply 3 months ago
Is an HP 255 G9 laptop - 15.6", Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD laptop from DSA worth it?Last reply 3 months ago
Best value for money laptop for aerospace engineering student?Posted 3 months ago
If you're here to ask "what iPad should I buy?" read this first!Last reply 4 months ago
Is it worth purchasing a laptop/tablet for GCSEs?
