Laptop purchase
Discussion
Hi guys, not a frequent visitor to this area of ph so please, be gentle!
My 12 year old (& eldest) who has just started high school has asked for a laptop for christmas.
Having trawled many web pages trying to pick up some understanding of what specs mean to some degree, the only thing I'm half confident on is that my budget for a box fresh new (not keen on a refurb) laptop sees me at a 14" screened Lenovo or HP with a 7th Gen I3, 4mb ram and probably a SSD (though the HP in the frame has a 1tb hard drive).
I'd welcome any comments from those with an understanding of the capabilities of this level of machine as to whether I'm doing little more than buying a bigger screened way to watch rubbish on you tube than her phone or if she might actually be able to make some practical use of it.
I expect web browsing will be a piece of cake but what of powerpoints with graphics, photoshop, movies, the dreaded Fortnite her slightly younger sister will be playing come the 25th on the xbox dropping down the chimney?!?
For all the above spec could do am I as well buying a pentium powered Lenovo with a hard drive rather than ssd and save myself £120 or so in the process or will that age so rapidly its a waste of time?
Thank you in advance for your input...
My 12 year old (& eldest) who has just started high school has asked for a laptop for christmas.
Having trawled many web pages trying to pick up some understanding of what specs mean to some degree, the only thing I'm half confident on is that my budget for a box fresh new (not keen on a refurb) laptop sees me at a 14" screened Lenovo or HP with a 7th Gen I3, 4mb ram and probably a SSD (though the HP in the frame has a 1tb hard drive).
I'd welcome any comments from those with an understanding of the capabilities of this level of machine as to whether I'm doing little more than buying a bigger screened way to watch rubbish on you tube than her phone or if she might actually be able to make some practical use of it.
I expect web browsing will be a piece of cake but what of powerpoints with graphics, photoshop, movies, the dreaded Fortnite her slightly younger sister will be playing come the 25th on the xbox dropping down the chimney?!?
For all the above spec could do am I as well buying a pentium powered Lenovo with a hard drive rather than ssd and save myself £120 or so in the process or will that age so rapidly its a waste of time?
Thank you in advance for your input...
Requirements are unknown to a degree in truth. Her requirements are little more than 365 and no doubt watching you tube at the moment, however I assume her digital literacy classes at school in the next couple of years and anything that sparks will have her working with other software.
Not keen on a refurb as it is a gift for a child and I've read very mixed reviews of what has been delivered when customers have opened up their refurbed units.
The lenovo unit I'm looking at can have the RAM upped to 8, so that area can be addressed.
Not keen on a refurb as it is a gift for a child and I've read very mixed reviews of what has been delivered when customers have opened up their refurbed units.
The lenovo unit I'm looking at can have the RAM upped to 8, so that area can be addressed.
Budget is around the £350 mark. She is getting other gifts and I don't really want to overspend on the elder.
This was the one I had been gravitating towards;
https://ao.com/product/80x4002suk-lenovo-laptop-wh...
I'll have a look at the Dell suggestion thanks for highlighting it.
This was the one I had been gravitating towards;
https://ao.com/product/80x4002suk-lenovo-laptop-wh...
I'll have a look at the Dell suggestion thanks for highlighting it.
Edited by ALY77 on Friday 7th December 10:22
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...
^Can I assume this is far superior for the sake of an additional £61, albeit its certified refurbed?
^Can I assume this is far superior for the sake of an additional £61, albeit its certified refurbed?
Thanks for all your input folks - Still plugging away trying to find something but I'm sure we'll get there.
At the point where I'm looking at test pages comparing the older i5 processors which appear to be in many of the refurb units I've found and finding they perform pretty similarly to the 7th gen i3 ones.
The only conclusion I can draw is that I'm probably looking too hard given what its for and need to give it a rest for a couple of days!
At the point where I'm looking at test pages comparing the older i5 processors which appear to be in many of the refurb units I've found and finding they perform pretty similarly to the 7th gen i3 ones.
The only conclusion I can draw is that I'm probably looking too hard given what its for and need to give it a rest for a couple of days!
Thanks again for all your input guys - Points raised have been invaluable.
After much digging around I've finally ordered a brand new 14" HP with an i5-7200u, 8gb ram and a 1tb hard drive (I know, SSD would have been better!).
Between the well known supermarket outlet price and a current well known auction site 15% off promo, the bottom line came in at £325.15 delivered with a 12 month warranty.
Hopefully it'll go down well in a fortnight or so!
After much digging around I've finally ordered a brand new 14" HP with an i5-7200u, 8gb ram and a 1tb hard drive (I know, SSD would have been better!).
Between the well known supermarket outlet price and a current well known auction site 15% off promo, the bottom line came in at £325.15 delivered with a 12 month warranty.
Hopefully it'll go down well in a fortnight or so!
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