Laptop Virgin

magicmushroom

Hi all

So I am due to start college this September as a mature student.

Up until now I've used an iPad for my internet needs but I'll obviously need a laptop now for college work.

I have no idea what to look for, I don't know about all this RAM stuff etc.

Can anyone tell me what specs I will be looking for?
Which brands are the best?

The laptop will just be used for basic college work (so I'll need a Microsoft package), streaming movies etc online, general internet usage and also maybe a bit of gaming (who doesn't love the Sims lol).

My budget will be around the €500 mark.
I don't need specific model suggestions (although they would be useful) but just an idea of what minimum spec details to look out for.

Basically a 'laptops for dummies' type of thing!

Thanks very much for your help

K.O.Kiki

http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_thinkpad+t%2A++ssd/

ThinkPad T-series are robust, strong CPUs, decent battery life, good keyboards.

SSD > SSHD, an SSD (flash) drive makes computing so much better for everything.
4-8Gb RAM.
CPU: Core i7 > i5 > i3 > anything else

magicmushroom

Thank you

TerrorFirmer

Nothing wrong with buying 2nd hand at all but those Thinkpad's are not good value.

€360 for a 1st gen i5 which would be 5 years old now. There are far more powerful and newer laptops being sold on adverts for the same money.

I bought a Dell Lattitude with an i5-M520, 4GB, 64GB SSD for €170 a while ago on adverts from a guy who sells a few of them. That's what those era machines sell for.

And €200+ for an almost ten year old basic Core 2 based Thinkpad with a 160GB hard drive.

Those are bad prices.

Have a look at the Dell website. You can get a current generation i3 based Inspiron with 4GB of Ram and a 500GB hard drive for €429 shipped to you.

If gaming is limited to the sims then you'll be fine with that, or something like this which works out at €350 after cashback.

If you prefer to buy in store this is good enough value in PC World, same as the Dell though you'd have to research which laptop has a better battery/is lighter etc.

K.O.Kiki

Forgot about the Dell Latitude series, good call.

Wouldn't go for Inspiron myself.

magicmushroom

Would anyone mind telling me if this sounds any good?


http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/toshiba-l50-d-b-136-amd-a8-processor-8gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-with-optional-microsoft-office-365-personal-white/1436926235.prd?amendCommerceItemId=ci53958000525

Toshiba L50 D-B-136 AMD A8 Processor, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb Hard Drive, Wi-Fi, 15.6 inch Laptop with Optional Microsoft Office 365 Personal - White

Useful info:

• AMD A8-6410 quad core processor
• 8Gb RAM
• q1Tb (1000Gb) hard drive
• 15.6 inch HD LED-backlit display (1366x768)
• DVD SuperMulti dual layer drive
• AMD Radeon R5 Graphics
• 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth
• Webcam with microphone
• Skullcandy tuned speakers with DTS® Sound™
• 2x USB 3.0 (1x USB Sleep and Charge), 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI
• Card Reader

€529.00 including Office 365