Light, affordable laptop or netbook

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 9:38am #1

Hi,

I was hoping to buy a very light but good laptop but need to spend as little as possible, as I am a college student. I'll either buy one in Cork or on the internet. I already have a HP Pavilion, so I can do my main work on that. However, it would be great if I had something good to work on similar stuff in college. If nothing else though, I would like to have the "machine" :P for note-taking.

In terms of budget, at the moment it looks like I'll need to go the netbook route as they are so much cheaper - if I am going down that route, where is the cheapest place to buy one? Has anyone used the latopsdirect.ie website? If I install Windows 7 myself and also install a version of Microsoft Office, does that take something off the price?

Also, if it was just for notetaking and nothing else, what would be some even cheaper ones that ye would recommend?

Sorry for the general description...I'm not great at spec and so on...

I'm starting from scratch, so any help at all would be very much welcome!

Thanks.

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 10:49am

Also, what outlets etc do student discounts?

Torqay · 06-10-2012 11:35am

Student2012 wrote: »

Also, what outlets etc do student discounts?

This crowd claims to offer "great deals" for students, but don't fall for it, they're not great deals and the BoI "student loan" is nothing but a rip off at 10.8% APR.

And now if you don't mind, give us a figure for your budget. If you want a netbook, €250 should be OK, if you want some lightweight 13-14" laptop you better start thinking 500 yoyos or more.

kirving · 06-10-2012 11:45am

I'm just after buying a second-hand HP 6930p (~€265) from eBay as I need a laptop for college. I'm doing a project which requires one, but I've never ever needed on before now for taking notes in class.

If I was taking notes though, I wouln't be using a laptop. I'd be buying a Windows 8 Tablet.

That said, if you wan't a laptop, go for something with a 12" screen or so. Any bigger and it's a pain to carry, uses more battery, won't fint on the desk, etc. Maybe a second had HP 2530p? 12" screen. They're about 3-4 years old so the battery might be a bit of an issue, but you could get one for <€250 or so and they're much nicer to work on than a netbook. Most should be in good nick too, as they're a business notebook, and were very well built.

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 11:55am

I'd be hoping around max 250 in terms of price.

As for a second-hand laptop, would you be able to let me know what the Ebay one is like? I've never purchased a second-hand laptop and was a bit hesitant to do so this time. It would be great if I could get a good quality one though and pay that much less just because it isn't brand new

I find my current laptop way too heavy and I'm not sure if other good laptops out there are significantly lighter - the ones I've looked at aren't. The best thing about the netbook would be that it would be somthing I could just shove in my bag!

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 11:56am

I forgot to ask - what are some important points that I should look at in the spec of a netbook?

Thanks for the advice so far - it's great to have a point of reference!

kirving · 06-10-2012 12:05pm

I will do yes. Should have it Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. I'm buying it from a company who specialise in sellin ex-corporate laptops which are replaced by the company after a given amont of time. Now it is going to have a few scraches and stuff from being used. I have no illusions about that, but I just need something that works well and had at least 2GB RAM, and a disk drive.

Not too sure what differentiates netbooks between one another. I see them as all the same really!

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 1:01pm

Would you be able to tell me the name of the company selling it? I'll check them out! I might ring some shops in Cork incase they do a student discount too.

I have no idea re netbooks either. To me, picking one out is like closing my eyes and putting a pin in a map!

I might draw up a list of possible websites and outlets. In terms of actual shops, I'll keep an eye on Harvey Norman, PC World, Argos and...I think Tescos and Dunnes sell them too.

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 1:06pm

This is going to sound lazy of me to ask, but can you see anything laptop-wise here that is in the max 300 hundred price range and is decent?

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie

Torqay · 06-10-2012 1:17pm

Refurbished 14" Acer with a Core i3 for 285 yoyos would be the only laptop in this price range worth a recommendation in terms of processing power.

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 1:37pm

Thanks! That's a good price.

It says it doesn't hold charge $:\$

What if "one" was to push it up to 400.

I'm starting to think I'll just stick with my own laptop and get a netbook for taking notes. I probably won't do a major amount of work "on the move" anyway

DyldeBrill · 06-10-2012 1:38pm

if you want a cheap and affordable laptop then get an emachine

I've had mine for 3 years now, still standing!

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 1:47pm

DyldeBrill wrote: »

if you want a cheap and affordable laptop then get an emachine

I've had mine for 3 years now, still standing!

I hadn't heard of the emachine before!

Student2012 · 06-10-2012 1:52pm

I've been browsing through the net and I kind of like the look of the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and the Acer Aspire One. The former mainly because of the screen size. Pizmania seem to have good laptop prices too, although I'll have to have a closer look at the spec.....

Light, affordable laptop or netbook

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