new laptop-recommendations please

[matsu]

hi gang
my 16yr old daughter needs a new laptop.she is off to do A levels in sept and needs it for her photography-so storing pics is essential
she will also be doing art and design so it will need to be capable of coping with those demands and she luuuuurves her music and youtube so
what spec ans any recommendos please?
budget upto 500squid...poss bit more if neeeededd but dont tell her that

thanks in advance
matsu

[edd666999]

From what you have described "photography" "pics" "music"  id be tempted to go 2nd hand/ new mac, basically because you will be super dad then haha

[Ifti]

I may have a basic spec Dell laptop up for grabs soon if interested? Will slash the amount you want to spend in half.....!

If you wanted new though, I would also be tempted to go with an Apple system - but its whether she will be comfortable using a Mac, and whether it will be compatible (the same programs used etc) as her school/college.......take her into an Apple store and see what she thinks..............on second thoughts, only do that if you have a FAT wallet........ lol

[sline]

I recently purchased one of these - ASUS UL30A-QX328V from Save on Laptops, steal at under £350 and includes a 2 Year Warranty

Great reviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/Asus-UL30A_Laptop_review



Small, Light enough to carry around - yet still has decent performance, 13.3", 3GB, 320GB, HDMI - but best of all embedded 3G so if she gets a Three Mobile Broadband Sim - either paid or contract she can get online anywhere without a dongle

I use for photography and video too - no issues and has been streaming movies to PS3 in 1080 while I've been working on it too

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ASUS_UL30A-QX328V_1068303.html

[andrewparker]

You mention her doing art and design, so really it's got to be a Mac. In all my years working in the design industry I've never walked into a design studio populated by PCs. For instance our studio has six 27" iMacs, five Mac Pros, and seven MacBook Pros of various sizes! You might have to dig a bit deeper (possibly look for a refurbished model), but it will last, and it will give her a good start later down the line when she's entering the workplace.

[matsu]

thanks guys
i reaaly appreciate the input-
ill look into macs but have a feeling that alot of her college work will be pc/windows based.
will def check out the links...

oh and howdy ifti- hope ya doing ok mate!¬

matsu

[andrewparker]

ill look into macs but have a feeling that alot of her college work will be pc/windows based.

They all are - and then they feed into an industry that uses Macs exclusively. It's daft. We get a huge amount of work experience placements, and very few know how to use a Mac.

Regardless of what platform you choose, there won't be any compatibility issues if she has a Mac at home, but uses a PC at college. Our developers sit behind gruesome Alienware laptops (if you think Macs are expensive think again!), and we exchange files on a daily basis.

[edd666999]

Plus you can dual boot windows or mac osx. Kids these days can figure out technical issues quite quickly, if not we are here lol

[Ifti]

thanks guys
i reaaly appreciate the input-
ill look into macs but have a feeling that alot of her college work will be pc/windows based.
will def check out the links...

oh and howdy ifti- hope ya doing ok mate!¬

matsu

Hiya mate, yeh I'm not too bad. Just saving up.......for that M3 I've always wanted...... Lol

[matsu]

thanks again guys- i,m researching all wkend.

ift- get yourself back in the VAG lol

matsu

[Poppa Dom]

As an educator I would say you would be fine with a Mac - Mac Office for all MS Office apps, run windows 7 in addition to MacOS too if needed. All I run is a Mac, as do about 30% of my students.

[matsu]

thanks again
anyone know a good place to source a refurbed/2nd hand mac?
and what sorta price am i looking at?
she has re found her enthusiasm for interior design so thats def the direction she is heading
matsu

[edd666999]

you can get:

http://www.bestbuy.co.uk/product/1000152521/apple-13-macbook-pro---intel-core-i5-320gb-4gb-memory.aspx?ref=AW&loc=HotUKDeals&awc=2533_1308991832_886803ab235316782a7a55afba025d94


for £808.01 delivered by using LAPTOP12 discount code and topcashback.co.uk


or get it for £859.20 directly from apple, pm and i can forward you the link to this.

[andrewparker]

Your best bet is to buy it through the educational discounts programme, or even better if you have a friend with a VAT registered business, get them to buy it.