Laptop for mum

DeadEyeDuk

Superhero Level Poster
Hi guys.

Been tasked by dad with getting mum a new laptop as her's is getting a tad old now and could really do with a refresh. Her current laptop was from PCS in 2011, so has done well. It is a Genesis III with the following spec:

Genesis III: 15.6" Glossy HD LED 16:9 Widescreen (1366x768)
Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Mobile Processor i3-2310M (2.10GHz) 3MB Cache
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Intel® HD Graphics 3000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD


So in some ways, I suppose I am looking for something similar, just 2016 style.

With a relatively simple build, my only real thoughts I suppose surround the CPU, graphics card, RAM and hard disk.

CPU wise I think an i3 will still suffice (would like that rather than the ones above on the drop downs).

Graphics wise, I noticed on the last order that it just had the internal graphics and no card. Now, she isn't gamer, and the internal probably would be fine, but am just wondering if it is worth getting one with a dedicated card in case she does want to play games that the internal gfx can't handle. Obviously comes at a cost, but although the budget isn't huge, I am more than happy to add something of use.

RAM...I would think 4GB is still fine, but as with anything, I am wondering whether 8GB would be the way to go if it only costs I tad more?

Ok, so disk space. The choice here would seem to be simple large-ish HDD (larger than her previous one), or SSD and HDD as secondary. Pretty sure that would be massively overkill, and money could be better spent elsewhere, but just a pondering really. Obviously would get a decent single HDD anyway, so probably more than enough.


Size wise, I think the 15" range is fine. I did wonder about a 17", but it might bet too big. I mean, she isn't using on the train or anything, just at home really, so maybe a bigger screen is the way to go.

Still wondering about Office software. I know with the move to 365 it is all a bit more complex now, but thinking (as PCS still offer it) whether a copy of Office 2016 would be best for her. One off payment and does everything she would need (she does use things like Word and Excel).

Budget wise, I am not really sure. I am thinking somewhere around the £500 mark, but flexible either way depending on feedback about the above.

This is a surprise, and it is really important that I get it right, for reasons I won't go into now.

(Once I have done this one, just need to convince the powers that be that it would a good idea for me to get a new PC...she is coming up to 5 years old you know!!!)

Cheers all

DED
 
Top