PC or Lap top for 13 year old Student

[Skyedriver]

Son currently has an awful HP Stream and we were going to get him a new "computer" for Christmas.

Had just about started to look for a lap top (I have had Toshiba for years) but at his school assessment last night the "Computer Teacher" suggested a proper PC would be a better investment as it would have better graphics card etc

Now I thought most of his school work at home would consist of writing essays etc BUT apparently in Computers he is now into basic Vectors (thought they were Vauxhalls) and in Technology he has access to ACAD for Strudents ( I used BricsCad occasionally on the Tosh).

Lap top more portable but in the words of his teacher, "do you want a 13 year old with something portable".
He/I has a separate keyboard, mouse and a Dell monitor anyway

Any thoughts or comments or recommendations greatly appreciated.
(And worth waiting for Black Friday or is that a con now?)

[Skyedriver]

randlemarcus said:

Second hand off eBay, buy local. Be slightly wary of IT teachers advice, if they were any use, they wouldn't be an IT teacher. Laptop with separate GPU will move you up from cheap HP Stream type stuff, but you may be amazed at what you can buy.

As regards the 13 year old with a portable, teach the boy good practice, rather than trying to beat him at IT. No lappie or phones in the bedroom is a Good Start.

Very interesting and astute comments

It was likely to be a Christmas present so would prefer new
IT teacher did seem a little hazy but it was late in the evening and everyone was tired
The HP Stream was a disaster in retrospect
Teach a 13 year old who knows "everything"???
His current lap top does sit in his bedroom but it's pretty much redundant, he can do basic homework on it but not the stuff he's moving into now. His desk for homework is there so the monitor etc is there too. That's where the new kit would go. Always think he should be doing homework in his room, not in the living/kitchen areas where there's too many other distractions.
We make him leave his phone and a FireHD8 tablet in the living room when he goes to bed to stop him using them late into the evening. He wouldn't use a new lap top or PC in the same way.

[Skyedriver]

sgrimshaw said:

Budget would help.

Good question, not sure of the answer but if I said around £550, would I be laughed out of court? My last Toshiba (about 4 year ago) was a little over £500.
I don't think it need be of a spec for gaming if that makes a difference, as he's not into that as such but not sure what they teach him these days. When I was at school computers were only seen in movie films and Space Family Robinson..

[Skyedriver]

sgrimshaw said:

Not at all.

You can get a lot of Desktop for £550, more power, storage, ram ... well more everything really ... than a similarly priced laptop

Take a look at the specialist builders like:

https://www.palicomp.co.uk/

or

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/

They both have "ready built" PC's or you can configure your own spec.

If you still want to look at laptops, then Lenovo seem to give you a "good bang for your buck" these days and there is a HP which falls right in your budget which is highly recommended by PC Pro labs:

Here's a link to the HP:

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hp-250-g6-i5-7200u...

I've used laptopsdirect many times and their service and prices have always been excellent.

Plenty of choice on their site too.

Thanks, most helpful
Wouldn't buy another HP, ever after the current one. Won't even buytheir sauce anymore, :-)
The place I worked befor retiring used Laptops Direct I think, but will talk to the two specialists you mention and get their comments. There is a place here in Oban who "do" computers apparently, according to his teacher, both bought in and special builds but no experience of their skill or costings. Need to call in there too.
Thanks again

[Skyedriver]

Following advice I'd decided I'd look at a "proper" PC rather than a lap top as he (i've) got all the ancilliaries however this has popped up on the John Lewis Black Friday sale.

https://www.johnlewis.com/dell-inspiron-13-5000-se...


"only" 8GB RAM and 256 GB hard drive but it's an SSD drive whereas the towers for a similar price are not.

am I being unnecessarily distracted??

[Skyedriver]

Can I please ask those in the know about this spec? It's a local computer shop build.
I've been using computers for CAD since 1989 but have little idea about the insides except what I've learned down the line. (Can rebuild engines but computers are a black art)

Remembering it's for a 13 year old to use, mostly (hopefully) for school work, where there are learning about computers and use a basic ACAD programme. He's not into gaming (war games etc) but I may put a driving game on it.

Tower PC
AMD A10-9700 quad Core CPU
8Gb DDR4 Memory
No removable drive
1 Tb Hard Disk Drive
DVD Re writer
Integrated Radeon R7 Graphics
Gigabit Network Adapter
High Definition Audio
Windows 10 Home 64 bit
MS Office 2016 Home and Student

Possible upgrades: GeForce GT730 2Gb Graphics Card or Radeon RX460 2Gb Graphics card
1Tb Hard drive replaced by 240Gb SSD (so better storage just not as much!)

thanks in advance for any help

[Skyedriver]

Bump (sorry)

Skyedriver said:

Can I please ask those in the know about this spec? It's a local computer shop build.
I've been using computers for CAD since 1989 but have little idea about the insides except what I've learned down the line. (Can rebuild engines but computers are a black art)

Remembering it's for a 13 year old to use, mostly (hopefully) for school work, where there are learning about computers and use a basic ACAD programme. He's not into gaming (war games etc) but I may put a driving game on it.

Tower PC
AMD A10-9700 quad Core CPU
8Gb DDR4 Memory
No removable drive
1 Tb Hard Disk Drive
DVD Re writer
Integrated Radeon R7 Graphics
Gigabit Network Adapter
High Definition Audio
Windows 10 Home 64 bit
MS Office 2016 Home and Student

Possible upgrades: GeForce GT730 2Gb Graphics Card or Radeon RX460 2Gb Graphics card
1Tb Hard drive replaced by 240Gb SSD (so better storage just not as much!)

thanks in advance for any help

[Skyedriver]

RogerDodger said:

What are you being quoted for that? It means nothing wihout a price. (and what's your max preferred spend?)

I'll look at this properly for you tomorrow, but a price is vital, as I can't give an opinion on it without.

For now:

Tower PC - cool
AMD A10-9700 quad Core CPU - I rather an Intel i5 or i7 - I know nothing about AMDs and they are often hardly any cheaper when compared properly
8Gb DDR4 Memory - 16Gb better , 8 will do
No removable drive - not an issue
1 Tb Hard Disk Drive - a 1 TB SSD is only £120 now, or get him a cheap 256Gb SSD boot/windows drive and then a 1Tb mechanical HDD for data. Prob cost the same as a 1TB SSD
DVD Re writer - get a bluray re-writer - only a few pounds more and will do DVDs too
Integrated Radeon R7 Graphics - avoid integrated graphics if you intend gaming at all.
Gigabit Network Adapter - standard
High Definition Audio - standard
Windows 10 Home 64 bit - fine
MS Office 2016 Home and Student - naturally.

Edited by RogerDodger on Friday 23 November 19:55

Thanks Roger, the above was quoted at £499 inc VAT

[Skyedriver]

Thanks for that Roger,
I assume that company are reputable, only worry I guess is if it "goes wrong" than I can't just take it into the shop.
the guys suggestion of an SSD rather than a HDD was going to add cost bringing it up to the ebuyer price, his thinking was the 256GB SSD would fill up with school work and ACAD files. The external HDD would be OK though. His thoughts were the AMD processor was as good as the intel one but I wouldn't know the difference. Is the 15 core OK or should we go for an i7 core
Stuff like Office he can get off the school site or "for Students"
Regards

[Skyedriver]

LuS1fer said:

Just received our Lenovo Thinkpad T440S i7 12GB RAM, 240Gb SSD from My Cheap Laptop (Solent Laptops Ltd)
Quick delivery - looks new. Very quick. Easy Windows 10 Pro activation.
Fantastic for £399.
Planning to get a cheap USB storage drive.

Always worried about anything "refurbed" but those prices are pretty impressive.
Still not sure if a PC or a Lap top would be better for him but will probably go "new" for him. On the other hand my lap top is suffering structural problems (broken hinge).......

[Skyedriver]

No further forward due to other things getting in the way. Going to call into the shop again later this week to talk again, one hiccup, having said he'd prefer a proper PC his Mum has said would a lap top not be better then you could take it with you if need be.
Lap tops do seem to have a good spec at circa £500 but as my second lap top is trying to self destruct I still think, logically, you get a better computer for your money as you're not buying a keyboard, screen etc. Am I wrong?
And I've googled so many different computer components, I really don't know which is best anymore. A little knowledge etc....

[Skyedriver]

cat with a hat said:

I would buy him a decent second hand desktop and monitor/s.

Do you really want him hunched over a mediocre laptop on a small screen destroying his posture?


edit: hes asked for a proper PC and you are both considering giving him a laptop. I can only imagine how frustrating he finds it

Edited by cat with a hat on Monday 3rd December 23:47

Aye, you're right, (said he, hunched over a lap top)
Back on track looking for a decent spec PC at a sensible price that is at least part "future proofed"

Re frustration, there is no one in this world (possibly with the exception of Mrs May) more frustrating than young son but that's 13 year olds.....

[Skyedriver]

HantsRat said:

Aren't most schools going down the BYOD route? If so it would be worth a decent spec laptop rather than a desktop.

His school, new building, have just restocked with new PCs