| Laptop recommendations please! 12:16 - Jul 3 with 2753 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
I've been putting off buying a new laptop for ages, but as I'll be studying a Master's from September I have to bite the bullet and go for one.
I was doing a bit of research a few weeks ago and was shocked at how expensive laptops have become (well into the £1,000 range seems pretty standard). Ideally would want to spend under £1,000 if possible.
I just need something which will allow basic tasks and programmes. No gaming is required.
Prefer a bigger screen. Maybe in the 17"-19" range.
Hopefully it should be good enough to last a few years.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. |  |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 12:29 - Jul 3 with 2297 views | JackNorthStand |
Recently went from a MacBook to a Razer gaming laptop. Glad I made the switch, I don’t use it for playing games but the screen display is excellent and it runs very fast and has vast memory.
Id recommend Razer another gaming laptop brand is Alienware. Both run windows.
Edit: screen size of mine is 18 inches +/- [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 12:49]
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 12:44 - Jul 3 with 2251 views | DanTheMan |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 12:29 - Jul 3 by JackNorthStand |
Recently went from a MacBook to a Razer gaming laptop. Glad I made the switch, I don’t use it for playing games but the screen display is excellent and it runs very fast and has vast memory.
Id recommend Razer another gaming laptop brand is Alienware. Both run windows.
Edit: screen size of mine is 18 inches +/- [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 12:49]
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Alienware is incredibly overpriced for what it is, I don't have any experience with Razer laptops but their price would be well over 1k limit. Sounds like OP doesn't need a full graphics card.
ThisIsMyUsername, how desperate are you for the screen size? Once you start going into the 17inch+ range you are into "gaming" laptop territory usually which might explain why you're seeing a lot of high price laptops. The GPUs themselves can be very expensive, especially in laptop form. |  |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:00 - Jul 3 with 2204 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 12:44 - Jul 3 by DanTheMan |
Alienware is incredibly overpriced for what it is, I don't have any experience with Razer laptops but their price would be well over 1k limit. Sounds like OP doesn't need a full graphics card.
ThisIsMyUsername, how desperate are you for the screen size? Once you start going into the 17inch+ range you are into "gaming" laptop territory usually which might explain why you're seeing a lot of high price laptops. The GPUs themselves can be very expensive, especially in laptop form. |
Hi Dan. Fair enough re screen size. It's not essential, especially if that means going into a price range beyond that of more regular laptops. I just added that bit as everything is generally easier when using a desktop monitor, but I got through my Bachelor's using a smaller screen with no problems. I suppose the ideal is as big as possible (whatever that is) before it becomes the 'gaming' laptop type money that I mentioned. | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:04 - Jul 3 with 2183 views | mrfixit426 |
Ebuyer.com are currently doing a deal on this:
Lenovo Legion 5 Ryzen 5 8GB 512GB SSD RTX 3060 17.3" Win10 for just under £800. I've used both Ebuyer and Lenovo Legion laptops and never had any complaints. |  | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:26 - Jul 3 with 2132 views | WicklowBlue |
If your requirements are just basic tasks such as browsing, email and apps have you thought of a high end chromebook?
I have one and it's great, can do pretty much everything I need work wise instead of my MacBook Pro. Plus more secure, less potential OS issues than Windows.
Just a thought.  |  | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:33 - Jul 3 with 2107 views | DanTheMan |
That's fairly decent but they've skimped on RAM (8GB gets used up remarkably quickly) and it's got a 3060 in it you don't need, which means it might be loud and a battery drain. Depending on whether you need a good battery life, that's something to consider.
eBuyer and Lenovo are both good though.
On the screen thing, honestly, I'd just spend £100 on a screen you can use along with a cheap keyboard + mouse bluetooth set.
Something like this might be suitable:
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-v15-g3-82tt-core-i7-1255u-16gb-512gb-ssd-
Wicklow is also right that maybe a Chromebook might be suitable unless you need access to certain Windows only products. [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 13:35]
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:44 - Jul 3 with 2081 views | gordon |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:00 - Jul 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Hi Dan. Fair enough re screen size. It's not essential, especially if that means going into a price range beyond that of more regular laptops. I just added that bit as everything is generally easier when using a desktop monitor, but I got through my Bachelor's using a smaller screen with no problems. I suppose the ideal is as big as possible (whatever that is) before it becomes the 'gaming' laptop type money that I mentioned. |
BTW I work in research and constantly on a computer - have a decent Lenovo laptop with a 14" screen, usually have it connected to a widescreen desktop monitor - generally use the monitor for the thing I'm actively doing and the laptop screen usually has 'how to rename a column of a dataframe in R' or some similarly pathetic coding advice.
If you're starting a Master's, definitely worth seeing what discounts you get as a student with each of the manufacturers, can be up to 20% I think.
EDIT: I think the other thing that is really important re size is actually the extent to which you need to be able to port it about - eg I cycle a lot with my 14" in a padded case and a padded Thule bag, but with the larger sizes it gets harder to carry/cycle with them a lot without greater risk of bashing them against something. [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 13:51]
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 13:54 - Jul 3 with 2042 views | vilanovablue |
I use an Asus Expert Book which is good enough for basic tasks as you outline, I would second the idea of considering an external monitor. I'd also agree that 16GB of RAM is definitely a good idea. |  | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:12 - Jul 3 with 1975 views | NorthLondonBlue2 |
Apple do student discounts and sometimes throw in a pair of AirPods with a new laptop.
I would go for the new MacBook Air with a 15” screen. The battery life is outstanding (18 hours iirc) and their machines are really solid and stable. It should last you for 5 years easily.
I switched from Apple to Windows (Lenovo) a couple of years ago and regret it. The battery life on my high-end Thinkpad is terrible (4-6 hours from new) and it still occasionally crashes. I’ll be going back to Apple as soon as I can. | | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:14 - Jul 3 with 1966 views | vilanovablue |
The Asus one looks pretty solid and the 15 inch screen is a decent compromise. It'll do everything you need :) | | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:16 - Jul 3 with 1962 views | DanTheMan |
I'd ignore HP laptops, they're generally poorly built. If you want it to last a few years, steer clear.
The ASUS one has a lower-spec CPU, which probably explains the price difference. ASUS stuff is generally decent though.
Could always just sell the monitor on, no point hoarding it and someone would have it. The only reason I suggest it is that it'll save you £100+ over getting a 17 inch. But if you're happy in the 15-16" inch range it doesn't overly matter. | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:19 - Jul 3 with 1945 views | Ely_Blue |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:12 - Jul 3 by NorthLondonBlue2 |
Apple do student discounts and sometimes throw in a pair of AirPods with a new laptop.
I would go for the new MacBook Air with a 15” screen. The battery life is outstanding (18 hours iirc) and their machines are really solid and stable. It should last you for 5 years easily.
I switched from Apple to Windows (Lenovo) a couple of years ago and regret it. The battery life on my high-end Thinkpad is terrible (4-6 hours from new) and it still occasionally crashes. I’ll be going back to Apple as soon as I can. |
This! |  |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:22 - Jul 3 with 1937 views | DanTheMan |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:12 - Jul 3 by NorthLondonBlue2 |
Apple do student discounts and sometimes throw in a pair of AirPods with a new laptop.
I would go for the new MacBook Air with a 15” screen. The battery life is outstanding (18 hours iirc) and their machines are really solid and stable. It should last you for 5 years easily.
I switched from Apple to Windows (Lenovo) a couple of years ago and regret it. The battery life on my high-end Thinkpad is terrible (4-6 hours from new) and it still occasionally crashes. I’ll be going back to Apple as soon as I can. |
How much is the discount? The lower spec Air is £1400, so it'll take some discount to get it lower than £1000. | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:23 - Jul 3 with 1922 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:12 - Jul 3 by NorthLondonBlue2 |
Apple do student discounts and sometimes throw in a pair of AirPods with a new laptop.
I would go for the new MacBook Air with a 15” screen. The battery life is outstanding (18 hours iirc) and their machines are really solid and stable. It should last you for 5 years easily.
I switched from Apple to Windows (Lenovo) a couple of years ago and regret it. The battery life on my high-end Thinkpad is terrible (4-6 hours from new) and it still occasionally crashes. I’ll be going back to Apple as soon as I can. |
Thanks for the tip but def not paying that much! And AirPods look stupid IMO anyway :) | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:26 - Jul 3 with 1914 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:16 - Jul 3 by DanTheMan |
I'd ignore HP laptops, they're generally poorly built. If you want it to last a few years, steer clear.
The ASUS one has a lower-spec CPU, which probably explains the price difference. ASUS stuff is generally decent though.
Could always just sell the monitor on, no point hoarding it and someone would have it. The only reason I suggest it is that it'll save you £100+ over getting a 17 inch. But if you're happy in the 15-16" inch range it doesn't overly matter. |
Thanks for the advice re HP.
So the Lenovo you suggested is looking like a decent shout overall.
Presume there's not much else out there to rival it in a similar price bracket (say in the £600-£700 range) or you'd have suggested it. | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:36 - Jul 3 with 1871 views | Ely_Blue |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:23 - Jul 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Thanks for the tip but def not paying that much! And AirPods look stupid IMO anyway :) |
An apple laptop will outlast a windows machine any day on both longevity and robustness! | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:39 - Jul 3 with 1855 views | DanTheMan |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:26 - Jul 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Thanks for the advice re HP.
So the Lenovo you suggested is looking like a decent shout overall.
Presume there's not much else out there to rival it in a similar price bracket (say in the £600-£700 range) or you'd have suggested it. |
Not that I can find. You could maybe get a bit lower by going for one of the ones with a i7-1165G7 CPUs but it'll just shorten the lifespan of the laptop for not a lot of savings over 2-3 years. | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:43 - Jul 3 with 1842 views | fab_lover |
I'd really look to get something from eBay that's second hand.
There are a load of sellers on there who have a business in refurbing laptops that come with a warranty. |  | | |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:45 - Jul 3 with 1835 views | blueasfook |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:43 - Jul 3 by fab_lover |
I'd really look to get something from eBay that's second hand.
There are a load of sellers on there who have a business in refurbing laptops that come with a warranty. |
Nah, you dont know whose grubby fingers have been on that keyboard or what other kinds of detritus you might find under the keys. |  |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:52 - Jul 3 with 1814 views | DanTheMan |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:36 - Jul 3 by Ely_Blue |
An apple laptop will outlast a windows machine any day on both longevity and robustness! |
It'll also cost double the price, which rules them out.
The reason people usually have issues with Windows machines is that they'll buy something that costs £400 with rubbish specs and build quality and then get frustrated it doesn't last long. It tends to only need some more RAM and / or an SSD to feel nippy again.
MacBooks are really nice bits of kit but not everyone needs one. [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 14:53]
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 15:08 - Jul 3 with 1771 views | Ryorry |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:23 - Jul 3 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Thanks for the tip but def not paying that much! And AirPods look stupid IMO anyway :) |
Fair enough if you're too stretched now, but a Macbook would save you buying another laptop in 4-5 years' time unless you want to upgrade. My previous one lasted 8 years (and is still going after 10, just needed a new add-on keyboard as the 'e' had worn away, then stopped working altogether).
No problems with the new one after 18 months. |  |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 16:49 - Jul 3 with 1673 views | Ely_Blue |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 14:52 - Jul 3 by DanTheMan |
It'll also cost double the price, which rules them out.
The reason people usually have issues with Windows machines is that they'll buy something that costs £400 with rubbish specs and build quality and then get frustrated it doesn't last long. It tends to only need some more RAM and / or an SSD to feel nippy again.
MacBooks are really nice bits of kit but not everyone needs one. [Post edited 3 Jul 2023 14:53]
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If he’s happy to buy at least 2 windows machines to last less than the lifespan of a MacBook then sure! | |
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| Laptop recommendations please! on 16:53 - Jul 3 with 1669 views | DanTheMan |
| Laptop recommendations please! on 16:49 - Jul 3 by Ely_Blue |
If he’s happy to buy at least 2 windows machines to last less than the lifespan of a MacBook then sure! |
I get that you have a bit of a hardon for Apple products, but there were fairly clear limits set in terms of budget.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
I've had Windows machines that lasted ages, most people just don't look after them. | |
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