FabSwingers.com forum: Tech help please.

By *he Regina Phalange OP Woman
over a year ago

Lanarkshire

I’m looking to buy a new laptop for starting the next phase of my education.

I’m not the best with computers or technology. All I can say is it must have Word built in and I don’t like wee flimsy tiny keyboards.

Can anyone tell me good brands and which ones to avoid? If you know of shops running any deals? All help appreciated.

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By *mumaWoman
over a year ago

Livingston

Avoid Lenovo Ideapads, they are crap. And don't buy from Curries/PC World, they will palm you off with any old shite they can!!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I would always buy a mac. More expensive to begin with BUT, they simply last longer, at least twice as long as most laptops in addition they inbuild antiviral so you're not shelling out your for that subscription yearly also. In the end works ok cheaper, not to mention compatible with all your other Apple stuff.

I used to think differently, but now I'm converted.

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By *ikilovesCCouple
over a year ago

village life, closest main town inverness

Had many and various as a family down through the years,

HP Pavilion has proved the most robust and long lasting.

More of a workhorse than a slim pretty thing though,

but then, so am I

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

HP for me too. Had mine for years...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I got my new mai one from box.co.uk. Not a problem. Returned one for another all good. Works a dream touch wood

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I'm the same as above, a HP did me good for years

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By *ane DTV/TS
over a year ago

Glasgow ish

HP, been a workhorse for me.

Unless you can pick up a clearance special from PC useless, look online for one.

If your after a slimmer laptop, look for one with Bluetooth and get a separate keyboard and mouse.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

HP are great long lasting as I use them on a daily basis for the government,but I would say avoid windows 10 , windows 7 is great ,plus you want acrobat Adobe pro 9 for pdfs conversions and redaction it's an amazing tool

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I think you'll need to buy word, but the student version is pretty cheap.

You could try a look at a Chromebook, most new ones can install the Word android app. Longer battery life than a Windows laptop. I have one and think it's great, but they are not for everyone

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I’m looking to buy a new laptop for starting the next phase of my education.

I’m not the best with computers or technology. All I can say is it must have Word built in and I don’t like wee flimsy tiny keyboards.

Can anyone tell me good brands and which ones to avoid? If you know of shops running any deals? All help appreciated."

And you never asked me. Why? Pfffft

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I think you'll need to buy word, but the student version is pretty cheap.

You could try a look at a Chromebook, most new ones can install the Word android app. Longer battery life than a Windows laptop. I have one and think it's great, but they are not for everyone"

Chromebook are great take a bit if getting used to though

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By *edzyWoman
over a year ago

Aberdeen

Many educational institutions will have licensing that allows you to install office 365 (word is part of this) on your own laptop for free.

Look for something that says i5 processor, look for 8gb ram, at least 256gb hard drive - preferably ssd (solid state drive)

Look for discounts through work deals or student discount

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By *andy_FraserTV/TS
over a year ago

Edinburgh

Like others have said, you should get a discount on Office 365. If you can't then Open Office is a suitable free alternative.

I've not seen mention of them, but Toshiba laptops are worth their cash. Some of them tend to be on the cheaper end of the laptop scale, but you can get great deals on some of them.

Just be aware that any laptop that's less than £300 will likely only do you 2-3 years.

Although someone else said to avoid Windows 10, I say to go for it. Yea there's LOTS of big updates initially, once it's up and working it's great.

Mandy

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By *he Regina Phalange OP Woman
over a year ago

Lanarkshire

"I would always buy a mac. More expensive to begin with BUT, they simply last longer, at least twice as long as most laptops in addition they inbuild antiviral so you're not shelling out your for that subscription yearly also. In the end works ok cheaper, not to mention compatible with all your other Apple stuff.

I used to think differently, but now I'm converted. "

I have a fear of Apple as two classmates used their laptops last year and had issues converting their assignments on to the Colleges Computers to allow them to print. I really don’t want to buy a printer at this point.

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By *alcon43Woman
over a year ago

Paisley

Apple uses word as well. You can get student discounts in a lot of places once you have your matriculation card.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

HP Pavillion, mine has been with me for 7 years and still going strong! Get at least 8GB of RAM

Check out LibreOffice for an alternative to Microsoft Office. And it's free!

Also get free anti virus software too, I use Avira.

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By *areBares7778Couple
over a year ago

glasgow

"I’m looking to buy a new laptop for starting the next phase of my education.

I’m not the best with computers or technology. All I can say is it must have Word built in and I don’t like wee flimsy tiny keyboards.

Can anyone tell me good brands and which ones to avoid? If you know of shops running any deals? All help appreciated."

Hi, try Dell outlet online just put it into google bundle with 3 year warranty get some good deals on there xx

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By *argaidMan
over a year ago

glasgow

Here's the thing, if all your want to do is run Word pretty much any laptop will do you.

My laptop is ancient by the perpetual updaters' standards but it still does everything I need it to do perfectly. Unless you need to be running games or doing graphically intense software my guess is that you won't need to be on the cutting edge either.

Sorry, but the notion mooted above that Crapple© machines work out cheaper in the long run or last longer is pure mince. Everything about them is more expensive, they're no more reliable and rarely do anything better than machines at half the price.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

If you're just going online and using word etc then buy a good pc.

If you're doing anything creative then go for apple, even though they're not as sturdy as they were a decade ago...but that's built in obsolescence for you.

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By *pinCouple
over a year ago

edinburgh

"HP are great long lasting as I use them on a daily basis for the government,but I would say avoid windows 10 , windows 7 is great ,plus you want acrobat Adobe pro 9 for pdfs conversions and redaction it's an amazing tool"

No don’t avoid windows 10, windows 7 has legacy support but will end in 2020. 7 is a more classic windows build but will end up more hassle. You can install older windows office builds or use libre to avoid susceiptions for office. Apple is good but you’re overpaying on the hardware for the privilege of apple.

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By *ola cubesMan
over a year ago

coatbridge

Try a small build shop you can get more bang for your buck when not paing for a logo

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Agree with the above avoid PCWORLD outdated and over priced. The old saying you get what you pay for is true. Remember not much in a laptop can be upgraded so make sure to go for a spec greater than your current needs or wont last you very long. Be pulling hair out as to slow. Find ASUS very good but again not the cheapest. If don't mind buying online try SCAN CO UK...

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