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Laptop for college

  • 08-09-2009 11:03am
    #1
    Ronin247
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭


    Wife is going to do an online college course and I am going to buy her a Laptop.

    Was thinking about a dell inspiron or something like that but I dont really know what are the best features to look for in terms of memory and graphics.The main usage will be,

    Course work.
    Light internet browsing(have a desktop for that)

    I would like it to have DVD writing/watching.

    Budget is E500.
    Any suggestions on what to look for or particularly what to avoid
    Thanks in advance for any and all help


Comments

  • #2
    feb09
    Closed Accounts Posts: 58 ✭✭feb09


    Well if you want to watch dvds avoid them small netbooks because they don't have dvd drives.
    You don't need to think about graphics cards at all. Any graphics card will be fine unless you want to play the latest games.
    Windows 7 operating system is due out at the end of october, so make sure you get a free upgrade from vista.
    Get at least 2GB of RAM.
    Dell have a nice laptop on offer at the moment for 429, some discussion about it here :

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055659583


  • #3
    Ricky91t
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,281 ✭✭✭Ricky91t


    feb09 wrote: »
    Well if you want to watch dvds avoid them small netbooks because they don't have dvd drives.
    You don't need to think about graphics cards at all. Any graphics card will be fine unless you want to play the latest games.
    Windows 7 operating system is due out at the end of october, so make sure you get a free upgrade from vista.
    Get at least 2GB of RAM.
    Dell have a nice laptop on offer at the moment for 429, some discussion about it here :

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055659583

    +1 to that,Sounds like a very good system and with the win 7 upgrade it will run perfectly


  • #4
    kikel
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2,584 ✭✭✭kikel


    Any basic laptop would suit her needs. And as mentioned early an upgrade to windows 7 would finish it off nicely.


  • #5
    Ronin247
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭Ronin247


    Thanks for the help. The only issue I have with that Dell 1545 is that it doesnt include "WORD" as standard which I would have thought would be very important for college work.
    The price has dropped to E399 which means I could upgrade to the T4200 processor for a further E35.
    Just put off with the missing "WORD" which would be included with "works plus2008" which is a E20 upgrade. Everything is extra, even stuff I thought would be standard,Kind of feels like buying a car and being asked do you want wheels on it


  • #6
    Ricky91t
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,281 ✭✭✭Ricky91t


    Ronin247 wrote: »
    Thanks for the help. The only issue I have with that Dell 1545 is that it doesnt include "WORD" as standard which I would have thought would be very important for college work.
    The price has dropped to E399 which means I could upgrade to the T4200 processor for a further E35.
    Just put off with the missing "WORD" which would be included with "works plus2008" which is a E20 upgrade. Everything is extra, even stuff I thought would be standard,Kind of feels like buying a car and being asked do you want wheels on it

    I don't know why you're complaining about it not having word...

    Very few systems actually come with word these days and most only have a 60day trial

    Buy the inspiron 1545 and then get this http://www.software4students.ie/Microsoft_Office_Enterprise_2007-details.aspx

    Will be fine.


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  • #7
    Alanstrainor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,157 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    You're not going to get "word" for free with your budget. Use Open Office, it's the same thing but free.


  • #8
    Ronin247
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,256 ✭✭✭Ronin247


    Dont wish to complain about the lack of word just the fact that everything is an add on,some places are now even quoting prices ex VAT,I prefer it nice and simple with everything in one nice box and the price is all inclusive,guess I am just getting old.
    I will buy the Inspiron and would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and help me.:D:D


  • #9
    NoreenMF
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 39 ✭NoreenMF


    I'm looking to buy something similar myself and I noticed that you can get the Office for students for €70 when you buy your laptop through Dell? Might be something worth considering. HTH


  • #10
    saphire
    Closed Accounts Posts: 52 ✭✭saphire


    Like Ronin above, I'm also looking at getting a laptop, but unfortunately I'm not very computer literate. I was looking at the 1545 above and adding on the T4200 processor and the 6 cell battery. This would bring total cost to 454 euro. Lidl I see are also selling a laptop this thursday for 459 euro. I would be grateful to anybody that has seen the lidl laptop spec if they could advise me as to which would be the better purchase.


  • #11
    Ricky91t
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,281 ✭✭✭Ricky91t


    saphire wrote: »
    Like Ronin above, I'm also looking at getting a laptop, but unfortunately I'm not very computer literate. I was looking at the 1545 above and adding on the T4200 processor and the 6 cell battery. This would bring total cost to 454 euro. Lidl I see are also selling a laptop this thursday for 459 euro. I would be grateful to anybody that has seen the lidl laptop spec if they could advise me as to which would be the better purchase.

    The 1545 would be better!A thread on the lidl machine was made earlier,I posted my comments on it there :)


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