Laptop for grandson

[Torper]

Several years ago we made the rather silly promise that when each of our grandchildren went to secondary school we'd give him (they're all boys) a laptop on the basis that that would assist with his education.  Well, the time for the first has come - in fact has passed, as the eldest is now 14 and anxious to receive his laptop.  I've never had a laptop and am a bit confused as to the enormous choice out there.  Grandson is not academically brilliant, but he is musically very talented, both instrumental and vocal, and fancies trying his hand at writing music (I believe that there is software that can help with that).  He's also artisistic and in particular is into drawing comics.  He believes that a laptop will help him with both of these, as well as with his IT at school.  Although he denies it, I'm sure that he would like it to have at least some modest gaming capability although we won't be catering for the latest high spec games.  We don't want to buy the cheapest as we would like to think that the laptop will serve him throughout his time at secondary school and perhaps beyond.  On the other hand 14-year-olds are not renowned for being particularly careful so we've also been considering getting a cheapish one at this stage and upgrading later although we view that as a less desirable option.

 

So I'd be very grateful if anyone could advise as to the specification that would be desirable.  We had set a limit of £400 and still hope we might get something within that figure although we would be prepared to go a bit higher if necessary.  We are of course talking about a Windows machine; Apple is way beyond our price range. 

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

DT

[chriswright03]

If in doubt I always go to somewhere like this.

 

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1405716/best-laptop-for-students-uk-the-best-laptops-for-school-college-and-university-in

[Bernard Lamb]

If in doubt I always go to somewhere like this.

 

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1405716/best-laptop-for-students-uk-the-best-laptops-for-school-college-and-university-in

Watch out.

My anti virus doe not like it.

Bernard

[chriswright03]

Strange that Bernard I have been using it 'with' anti virus for ages without any issue at all..  Good warning though if yours has picked up on it.  Is this one any better?

 

http://www.techradar.com/

[Enterprisingwestern]

Sounds like a good swap, I'd accept!

 

Mike.

[jonny777]

Get him a Mac, and introduce him to Garageband. 

 

The music that can be generated on that is amazing, even my 3-year old granddaughter can master some of the instruments and chord options. 

 

I think Garageband is now a free download from the App Store. 

 

Reconditioned MacBooks would be occasionally within your price range. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by jonny777

[chris p bacon]

I'd get an etcha-sketch and write 'iMac' at the top of it.

 

He'll be the envy of so many......

[Hilux5972]

An Apple MacBook is definitely worth the extra expense, and as Jonny said above, decent reconditioned ones can occasionally fall into your price range.

[Kylestrome]

Those people suggesting getting a Mac should remember that the OP needs to buy an up-to-date laptop that is as 'future-proof' as possible for the price he wants to pay. An old MacBook, however cheap, will not provide the solution. As a dyed in the wool Mac user myself, I would have to admit that a new Windows machine would be the more affordable option. If however, he were prepared to bite the bullet and buy a new MacBook it would certainly by the first choice for anyone who is more artistically inclined.

 

David

[Torper]

Thanks for the MacBook suggestions, We're not going to go down the Apple route.  For a start, I'd want to get his a reasonably large screen, say 15.6 inches.  You can get that in a variety of Windows machines, and even with an Intel i5 processor you can spend as little as £400.  As far as I can see, Apple don't do a 15 inch Mac with an i5 processor - their nearest is 13 inches  and an i5 for about twice the price.  I'm also concerned that a Mac really does tie you to Apple whileas you have much greater freedom, both with hardware and software, with Windows.  But there again I probably would say that because I've always been a Windows (and before that DOS) user.

 

Garageband is, I'm sure, excellent, but there are Windows alternatives, some free, eg LMMS.  And I'm not at all sure that the old adage that Macs are better for graphic designers holds true any longer - I suspect that it's based on tradition rather than current reality.  And I am also mindful that grandson is a 14-year-old boy and that games (whatever he might say) will feature amiong his unspoken requirements and they are much more plentiful, especially free ones, on Windows.

 

So at the moment I'm thinking of a Lenovo machine with a 15.6 inch screen at about £400, but am not sure whether to get one with an i3 processor and 8MB of RAM or an i5 one with 4MB.  I suspect that the latter is the better bet as it is much easier to upgrade memory than the processor.  But there again I'm suspicious that it's so cheap (Laptops Direct).........

 

DT

[Robert]

I agree with you Torper, a PC will suite him better.  Macs are good, but if the machine is also to help him with his school work, he is more than likely to be using PCs at school.

 

However, if he is going to be playing games on a regular basis, you may want to consider a desktop over a laptop.  You get more machine for your money, and true gaming laptops are still very expensive.  Desktops can also be upgraded more easily than laptops when (inevitably) his graphics card (or insert alternative component here) is too slow to play the latest version of whatever.

 

Lenovo machines are actually very good.  I am typing this on my company laptop which is a Lenovo.  My previous Laptop was also a Lenovo which lasted for seven years before it was upgraded.  I have a Lenovo desktop at home, and so does my wife.  Neither of us have had any problems.  Bear in mind, the Lenovo Think Pad was previously the IBM Think Pad before IBM got out of the PC market.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Robert

[Zomboid]

These days desktops seem to be pretty specialised, more for the hardcore users. They would actually be better suited to music creation and games than a laptop, but getting a decent one for £400 is just not realistic from what I've seen.

 

If you go for the i5 with 4GB, try to check that it is actually expandable. Having RAM soldered to the motherboard is a thing these days.

[MJI]

As someone who uses computers all day long.

 

I HATE Windows post 7.

 

If I HAD to buy a new computer, I do not know what I would do. Everytime I touch one I have to fight the urge to FDISK and install 7.

 

I am learning Linux as that is more like classic Windows now than Windows 10

 

Last time I was asked I did suggest an Apple product as they owned Apple telephones and played music on them.

 

Apple OS is based on Unix successor called BSD.

 

As to choices ask them what they need to do.

 

Arty go Apple.

 

Techie go Linux or Windows 7

[Tim Dubya]

TBH a new machine with Windows 10 will be perfectly alright. Look for something with lots of memory (RAM, about 8gb) good graphics and a decent processor, an i5 will be good enough (forget i3's if specking for the arty/music route).

As for make and model, I can't really help but I would suggest getting some PC mags and reading lots of reviews, well worth the expense on the research

 

Above all, happy hunting.

.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Tim Dubya

[Torper]

Thanks for your help, everyone.  Having taken on board all your comments, having been told by Grandson that he really would like a mchine with a touch screen, and with the finances having been given a boost by a contribution from Grandson's parents, it seems that a Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 (core i5-7200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS touchscreen) is the likely purchase at £629.

 

DT

Edited November 11, 2017 by Torper

[royaloak]

Thanks for your help, everyone.  Having taken on board all your comments, and with the finances having been given a boost by a contribution from Grandson's parents, it seems that a Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 (core i5-7200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS touchscreen) is the likely purchase at £629.

 

DT

In your opening post you had a limit of £400 so how does that fit?

Edited November 11, 2017 by royaloak

[jjb1970]

Thanks for your help, everyone.  Having taken on board all your comments, and with the finances having been given a boost by a contribution from Grandson's parents, it seems that a Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 (core i5-7200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS touchscreen) is the likely purchase at £629.

 

DT

My company issue laptop is a Dell something or other running Windows 10 and I'm very happy with it. The build quality seems very solid, I travel a lot and I'm not too gentle with it but it takes it and the casing soaks it up without looking tatty. My own lap top is a Toshiba and although it replaced an old Toshiba I'd had for years which was almost bombproof I'm very disappointed with the quality of my current machine. The company lap top I had with my last employer was a high end HP and that was a great machine but it didn't travel well. Not that I know much about laptops.

[chriswright03]

Thanks for your help, everyone.  Having taken on board all your comments, having been told by Grandson that he really would like a mchine with a touch screen, and with the finances having been given a boost by a contribution from Grandson's parents, it seems that a Dell Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 (core i5-7200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, IPS touchscreen) is the likely purchase at £629.

 

DT

 

 

In your opening post you had a limit of £400 so how does that fit?

[Torper]

Well, we got the Dell and grandson is very pleased, as well he should be.  It seems to be a very capable little unit.

 

I thought I'd mention that we got it from the much-maligned PCWorld.  Their advertised price wasn't quite the cheapest, but they immediately knocked £20 off it under their price match guarantee when I pointed out that John Lewis was cheaper by that amount.  We also received excellent unhurried advice, demonstration and help from two clearly knowledgable young salesmen and were generally very impressed with the service we received.  Their salary is not commission based and we felt under no pressure to purchase.  I'd happily buy from PCWorld again.

 

DT

[Harry Lime]

However, tAs someone who has taught Computing/IT/ICT in schools, the best advice for parents is to buy the best you can afford. That does not have to be an Apple Mac as very often, these may not run the software used in your grandson's school. Mac's are very sleek, very sexy and also, very nickable - especially if the laptop is going into school.

 

On the whole, many schools are still using PC/Windows-based systems and software, so buying a Mac is not always helpful. Much of what schools ask students to do is use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint - possibly Access) and if your grandson is doing GCSE Computing, then he can download suitable free software for this, based on the school's chosen exam syllabus and preference. If you or your grandson's parents can, it is worthwhile talking to his IT/Computing teacher before taking the plunge. Ping the teacher an email in the next week or so if you can and ask them what work they will be expected produce using IT.

 

Therefore, a fairly robust Acer, Lenovo or similar kind of laptop would suffice. Bearing in mind that it will be used fairly frequently (and I am guessing on the internet), therefore something that is relatively easy to repair should also be borne in mind too. This is just a selection from one well-known high street dealer - others are also available

 

Hope this helps

[Ian J.]

I'll close the door after the horse has bolted...

 

I recently (a few months ago) had to replace an aging (11 years+) Acer laptop. I got a new Acer Travelmate P259 from eBuyer for £412.00 with an i5 7200U CPU, 4 GB memory and a 500 GB HDD, 15.9 inch screen (though only 1366x768 pixels - I would have preferred full HD but they were twice the price!). I replaced the HDD with an aftermarket Samsung 250GB SSD for £90 (which I freshly installed Linux Mint 18.2 on), and upgraded the memory fully to 32GB for £240, total price about £740. Not a touch screen though. I am considering getting a separate 4K monitor for around £500 or so (the integrated graphics can apparently handle it).

Edited November 20, 2017 by Ian J.

[Torper]

Thanks for that, Ian.  I don't think we did badly in comparison - the Dell has an i5 7200U, 8GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD.  The screen is only 13.3 inches, but it's a full HD touch screen.  I reckon 8GB memory is enough for Grandson at the moment, but it can be upgraded to 32GB.  All that came to £629.  If it hadn't been for the requirement for a touch screen we could probably have done better for less.   I'm gratified to hear from you, by the way, that the integrated Intel graphics supports 4K (confirmed at https://ark.intel.com/products/95443/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz) though I can't see Grandson using that for that for some time (at least not until his parents get a 4k TV).

 

And thanks for your comments, Harry; I'm pleased to say that we did buy the best windows machine we could afford and hope that it will last Grandson at least throughout his time at school.

 

DT

Edited November 21, 2017 by Torper

[JJGraphics]

. . . last Grandson at least throughout his time at school . . .

 

I very much doubt it will!

[jjb1970]

Computers are a mature technology now, and have been for a while. The days when you needed to replace a PC regularly and when performance was making huge leaps every 6 months are behind us. So these days unless you are using a PC for gaming you'll probably find that you don't need to replace it until it dies or you want a change.

 

I just bought a Microsoft Surface Pro (they had some good deals over black Friday) and although it is still very new I am very impressed. MS still have an image as being the staid and backwards alternative to Apple but I think their Surface tablet concept is superb and an excellent product which deserves a lot more recognition.