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Kathryn

Laptop recommendations wanted

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Hi all,

 

My daughter is hopefully going off to Uni in September and is looking to buy a new laptop. She wants suggestions for a laptop which is good for gaming as well as everything else a laptop should do.

 

Any ideas gratefully received!

 

K x

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If she is applying for the Disabled Student's Allowance, this will normally cover a pretty good quality laptop that may well be built specifically for her needs and will likely be a more expensive model than she would be looking to buy herself. It would be capable of running pretty much any normal thing and probably more as it will be designed to run assistive technology software some of which uses up lots of bits of the computer (can you tell I haven't a clue what I'm talking about when it comes to computer speak? :rolleyes::lol:).

 

A DSA provided/funded laptop would also come with a very comprehensive warranty whatsit so she wouldn't have to worry about it breaking down or pressing some buttons and it going ping! :oops:

 

If she is buying one herself, apparently you're not supposed to choose a computer because it's a pretty colour. The same also applies to cars. I've heard they both come with lists of numbers that are in some way important... :wacko:

 

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Are we allowed to name names? The techie I keep in my cupboard under the stairs recommends the one that rhymes with Bell, Sell & Hell :D

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Hi Kathryn,

 

Depends entirely on your budget really. If money is no object, then I would suggest something along the lines of these: Rock: Xtreme Range .

 

However if you are on a budget, this one is a very good buy and it will play most games reasonably well: Acer Aspire 7540G Laptop with Windows 7

 

I own the acer, it is a nice little laptop and £200 cheaper than it was when I bought it six moneths ago.

 

Zen

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Hi Kathryn,

 

Depends entirely on your budget really. If money is no object, then I would suggest something along the lines of these: Rock: Xtreme Range .

 

However if you are on a budget, this one is a very good buy and it will play most games reasonably well: Acer Aspire 7540G Laptop with Windows 7

 

I own the acer, it is a nice little laptop and £200 cheaper than it was when I bought it six moneths ago.

 

Zen

I also have the Acer Aspire but the 5332 model.I think it is quite reasonable to consider all the features.It was £120 cheaper when I brought it,so may be worth checking or even waiting a little for some sales.

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Thanks for the recommendations. She's bought a laptop before but she particularly wants one which will play most games as she enjoys the xbox but won't have it at university.

 

K x

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I was in a second hand game shop yesterday and an XBOX 360 with Hard disc, wireless controller etc. was £120 all inclusive.

 

A laptop that will play the latest games (rather than a laptop that will play some games) can be an expensive beast so an XBOX360 and a budget laptop may be a better use of funds, especially as she won't need to repurchase her favourite games or learn new controls. Comcentional CRT televisions can be picked up for nothing or next to nothing on eBay or freecycle.

 

 

Simon

 

 

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Hi all,

 

My daughter is hopefully going off to Uni in September and is looking to buy a new laptop. She wants suggestions for a laptop which is good for gaming as well as everything else a laptop should do.

 

Any ideas gratefully received!

 

K x

 

Hi

 

It does depend what sort of games she wants to play. The operating system plays a role in that some games will not play on Vista/Windows 7, or can be harder to get to play.

 

Compaq have done/do laptops with Nvidia graphics cards in. You might be able to get a new one off ebay for a good price. Several high street names have clearance 'shops' on ebay now. The amount of RAM is very important, and you may need to know that Windows XP doesn't recognise a RAM size over a certain size (? 4Gb or 6Gb).

 

It's also important to note that the small netbooks do not have an integrated disk drive so you might need to buy an external one.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

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Are we allowed to name names? The techie I keep in my cupboard under the stairs recommends the one that rhymes with Bell, Sell & Hell :D

 

Heard too many bad things about their laptops, they break down far too easily.

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Is she going to be living in halls? I ask as some universities block access to gaming servers such as those for xbox. A friend of mine lives in halls and cant play his xbox.

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Heard too many bad things about their laptops, they break down far too easily.

I know someone who has one, and it keeps overheating and turning itself off. I thought maybe they had just got a dodgy one. They do come in pretty colours though!! :lol:

 

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I know someone who has one, and it keeps overheating and turning itself off. I thought maybe they had just got a dodgy one. They do come in pretty colours though!! :lol:

 

A friend of mine had the overheating, randomly turning itself off, the colour randomly chipping off, power cable failures, hard disk failures and the list goes on within a few months of getting the thing. Like most things, you get what you pay for.

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A friend of mine had the overheating, randomly turning itself off, the colour randomly chipping off, power cable failures, hard disk failures and the list goes on within a few months of getting the thing. Like most things, you get what you pay for.

 

 

I have had a work laptop, two desktops and a home laptop from them and had vary few problems so your friend may have been unlucky!

 

Simon

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I have had a work laptop, two desktops and a home laptop from them and had vary few problems so your friend may have been unlucky!

 

Simon

 

That's good, it wasn't just one person that had problems with them, but glad that you haven't had problems with them.

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Dell laptops are ok, but they are REALLY over priced for what they are. On a budget Acer or Asus are the way to go really.

 

Zen

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if you have the budget Alienware ones are awesome :) But zenemu is right Acer and Asus are really reasonable and their customer service is great.

 

Samsung ones are also pretty good - i got one for 350 through my work and it's really fast and handles me playing the sims and studying for german :)

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Thanks for the suggestions - I'll pass them on to her.

 

Pearl - yes very excited but a lot still to be sorted out before then. :)

 

K x

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