mikeydoughnut Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Ey up folks. My lickle lad wants a laptop for his birthday. He’ll be ten so starting to want summat he can do stuff on. I was going to get him a couple of ‘how to code’ books n that. So summat that’ll have enough nuts to do things without it being slow and laborious. Good for homework, browsing but also with a bit of a brain. Possibly could be used in music production of some kind and matches up to production hardware n that. I know fuck all about this sort of shit but know enough that these sorts of things are out of date in ten minutes. So summat that can be upgraded and will be able to utilise the latest software n that. A bit convoluted, sorry about that like. Genuinely out of my depth but don’t want to waste money. Budget let’s say top end 7/800 quid but as cheap as possible please 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 I deal with these sort of questions from friends and family a lot, here is my go to advise: Buy used, business grade machines. Lots of companies buy hundreds of laptops at a time on lease and run them for 2-3 years before replacing them. Business machine tpyically have better components and better materials so will last longer. You want to be looking at Dell Latitudes, HP ProBook/EliteBook or Lenovo ThinkPad laptops. I would say a minimum of i5, 16Gb RAM and a 256/512Gb SSD. Screen size is up to your lad, I think 14" is the sweet spot personally. On the music production, Mac's are still the go-to platform for production. He'll be able to run Ableton on a PC which could get him started but he'll end up wanting Logic and that is Mac only. Happy to help if you have any other questions 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growinggold Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Imo get yourself on ebuyer and look at the gaming laptops should easy get summit's for that budget. Should be beefy enough for few games and last a few years. Bigger the CPU and ram n graphics the better. I'm no expert btw, just a causal gamer. Last laptop I bought was Lenovo ThinkPad l460 for £150 off eBay very basic but really cost effective. I can only edit images, browse. It's has no power or graphics. So games n editting music are a no no. But it was budget lappy my 3yo can slam around all she likes. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.o.i.n.t Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) Just now, J.C said: Buy used, business grade machines [etc etc] @mikeydoughnut Absolutely 2nd this. 'Best bang for the buck' I myself have recently got a Thinkpad t470, and upgraded it with a 1tb Nvme drive, and an extra 8gb (to 16) all for under 500. It runs linux perfect, so that's an option, but they come with Windows 10 professional which sets up on first boot. Very happy with it.. and that coding stuff? It's more sysadmin I do, but it's perfect for that. ...The guides to help you with them upgrades are easy to follow and carry out. Edited April 12, 2022 by j.o.i.n.t 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 @j.o.i.n.t - I picked up a ThinkPad X1 Carbon with a broken screen for £300, new screen was £55 and an hour of my time and its a beast. Problem with new laptops from PC World etc is they are usually rubbish, cheaply made and survive less than 2 years 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.o.i.n.t Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 @J.C Man, it's nice to read that. I have the same view! X look nice, but I'm a Thinkpad addict. Almost a cliche as a linux user, eh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diddy Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 7 minutes ago, J.C said: Buy used, business grade machines I third this. I have done this for every "new" laptop that I have bought. Being a year behind the current curve is not a bad thing in the Laptop world. I used to go straight to a guy who had a unit in Glasgow and every year roughly between March through June he had all the ex office laptops as the offices were on a sort of deal where they just pay a set rate and everything gets renewed every year or 2. I have had most of mine in new state at much less than half the current price. You will find some really high spec laptops in there and it will do everything you want. I deffo wouldn't be bothering with a gaming spec laptop for a 10 year old. Biggest speed increase in recent years imho ? Moving to SSD's. That single upgrade increases the responsiveness of the current laptops out of recognition. So make sure it has at least 1 SSD on there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 I know very little about tech but bought this Lenovo T530 a few years ago, refurbished by a local charity for £120, works for me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeydoughnut Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Cheers folks. Lots of bits in there I understand to a degree. I’ll have a look and post some specs on here of a couple that I’ve seen. I’ll look for sites that are selling in refurbs etc as you say. I used to be into all this stuff. I was a Total War nerd. But I’m going back a long time. So understand some terminology but I’m about 15 years behind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.o.i.n.t Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 @mikeydoughnut Yeah man, shout em out. If you do look at Thinkpads, make sure it's 1080p screen, and NVMe storage - give it a bit more lifetime, before kid rejects it (they get picky, eh ).... The arse basic specs on em, specially the screens, can be shite, and the combinations... there's a lot. With those specs a basically perfect machine is about 290-300, with more modern 'pimping options' (upgrades). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeydoughnut Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Fuck man it’s proper confusing. So the i5 processor thing. It’s got a few different ‘kinds’ … to save me learning all about computers n that, how do I tell what’s a crap one, mid range, summat good? Found a website that grades them, very few A’s, should this bother me? Also they do key worker discount so I can get someone to get me 10% off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeydoughnut Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - Intel Core i5-6300U 2.4GHz - 8GB RAM - 120GB SSD Grade B i5 intel Core i5 - 6300U 2.40 GHz 6th Generation 8GB 120GB Solid State Drive 14 inch 1920 x 1080 Integrated Graphics Yes Windows 10 Home HDMI If I up grade the ram to 16 and the storage to 240 that comes to just under 500. I’m I on the right track? Thanks for the help by the way it’s much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 @mikeydoughnut - Nice machine but on the X1 Carbon's you can't upgrade the RAM, only the SSD. But you are in the right ball park, I have a bit of a love affair with the X1 Carbon, great bits of kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) I'm not sure if I can post links, but this is currently at a great price: Edited April 12, 2022 by lildaveham Nope no ebay links allowed please. Thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDo Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) On 4/12/2022 at 3:33 PM, mikeydoughnut said: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - Intel Core i5-6300U 2.4GHz - 8GB RAM - 120GB SSD Grade B i5 intel Core i5 - 6300U 2.40 GHz 6th Generation 8GB 120GB Solid State Drive 14 inch 1920 x 1080 Integrated Graphics Yes Windows 10 Home HDMI If I up grade the ram to 16 and the storage to 240 that comes to just under 500. I’m I on the right track? Thanks for the help by the way it’s much appreciated Hi mate some good deals at the moment at currys on a few laptops there. if want a very good spec one HP Pavilion 14-dv0564sa 14" Laptop - Intel® Core™ i7, 512 GB SSD, 16 Gb ram Silver £799 then use code HPLAPTOP20 for 20% off. Then use code FREENEXTDAYDEL for free next day delivery they also do 24 months interest free credit on that aswell Edited April 17, 2022 by MrDo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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