I have a highschool senior needing a computer and a highschool junior coming up right behind her. I'd like to surprise them each with something but I have no idea what/how to choose. I also need a laptop. I'll use it for writing, picture edits, online browsing etc. Thinking about going to Best Buy but I usually get overwhelmed and end up going with whatever the sales person reccomends. I never feel like I know what I'm getting. What would YOU buy considering the uses?
Really it all depends on your budget. I have two laptops. One I spent $3200 on and one I spent $250 on. They both can go on the internet and I can check my email, surf Facebook, write on the forums, etc. Bot the cheaper one cannot do much beyond that. On the expensive one, I do video editing, I have 2 external 24" 1080p monitors, the laptop has a 3K display, I also use photoshop, and play some video games. If you just need a cheap one, Asus makes a few on the lower end that might meet your needs. If you want something mid to higher end, Lenovo has some great selections that last for the long run. For someone in School, I would recommend a Lenovo Yoga with an optional 3 year warranty that includes accidental damage. It's a very durable and portable laptop, and with that warranty you know it will last 3-4 years without any problems. But you will be over $1k out the door. Again not sure what your budget is. But if you want a computer for someone that will last 3-4 years with heavy daily usage, $1k is not really that much money.
Well, I'm not going to be able to go more than about 2-$300 each. I saw these tablet laptops with removable keyboard on home shopping at $150 each and wondered if they would do the job. My son is the only one interested in gaming a little but I'm more concerned about it's use for school.
For daily use for a student, you probably want a 14" to 15.6" or somewhere in between. For memory, you really don't want anything less than 4GB nowadays, and 8GB should really be considered for the long term. As for processor, 6th gen Intel processors are the latest (they came out 6 months ago), and it goes i3, i5, i7, in that order for performance. An i3 is really bare bones performance, and anything 5th gen or older is a few years old right from day 1. For hard drives, you really should look at an SSD for power savings, speed, and light weight. Most kids will probably need at least 250GB minimum. Old SATA drives of 500GB or larger are still alright, but the computer will be slower, have less battery life, and be heavier. As for brands, ASUS, Lenovo, HP, they are all pretty decent. Dell was good years ago, but has been lacking as of lately.
My last Computer, purchased about 3 1/2 years ago, has an i7 chip. I wanted a good one that SHOULD last a few years and fairly fast. Rebuilt the last one that I had several times and then gave it to my Brother who still uses it. I thought that I'd like a heavier duty power supply but the one in this unit works ok. External items that I attach are powered by a separate AC source. My unit also has a lifetime Tech Support.
Intrex in Raleigh is my favorite place for windows. They sell / build to your specs, without all the bloatware. They sell parts for the DIY crowd also. Personally, I like Linux.
