Uni Student Laptop Spec under £1000 all in, thoughts please. Thanks

[Average Bloke]

Love the web site but frankly I would hate to miss something and its all about getting the best fit for £1000. So a new Uni student needs a laptop, the course is Economics and its over 4 years. Your thoughts good and bad all welcome, thanks.

Chassis & Display
Vyper Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1

FREE Geforce Fortnite bundle w/ select GTX cards
1st Storage Drive
120GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 320MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 520 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 120W AC Adaptor
Battery
Vyper Series 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2019 (1 Digital License)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - 3 User, 1 Year
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £952.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[markh]

looks good - personally I'd put in 16GB RAM (and 2666MhZ RAM, the frequency upstep barely costs any more) and a faster SSD like the WD Black or Samsung in the M.2 SSD bit - this'd make the whole thing feel a lot zippier and is still doable for under a grand.

 

[Oussebon]

Are you using any special software? Large databases / excel spreadsheets that will live and be used on your laptop?

Are you intending to do any gaming (if so, what sort of games) or anything else that will use a dedicated graphics card?

What is your thinking behind the 2 SSDs?

1st Storage Drive
120GB ADATA SU650 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 320MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB ADATA SU800 M.2 2280 (560 MB/R, 520 MB/W)

 

[Average Bloke]

Hi and THANK YOU for your comments and advice. I am sure what I am asking will be useful for lots of parents over the next few months as we help to set up our children for life at Uni.

Great tips about the increase in RAM to 16GB..will do that. Also a great spot and an error on my part having 2 SSD. I'll change that too, only 1 required and frankly I'm not sure how big I should go?

And to answer the question I expect this laptop will NOT be used for games so the requirements are more basic internet use, TV watching, internet, Word and I'll say Excel but nothing too flash. I cannot imagine any massive specialist software being required. Its more Lets get a fast laptop that is great now and can therefore cope for a good few years. We could probably get by with a lower spec. However paying more now might just get a bit more life out of it and therefore be the most economical choice in the long run.

I do have a further question. Since our students will spend many hours looking at the screen is this an area you would recommend pushing more money towards, again the budget is fixed so more money here means its got to come from somewhere else.

Thanks again everyone, all comments good and bad are welcome as it helps me and also those like me fine tune what is an important purchase.

 

[Mustafo95]

For sure double the ram to 16GB. That'd completely make it future proof for the next 4 years. 2x8 at 2666MHz is all around the solid choice.
Clearly GPU is not a priority for you but nonetheless you're still getting a dedicated GPU in 1050 TI. It's a good option to have it in the back pocket, if necessary it will get the job done. No changes are needed there.
CPU as well, stick to the i7. I'd imagine economics will involve lots of calculations and those kinds of calculations will require a software that needs CPU juice all day every day.
For storage I'd go for 512GB INTEL® 660p M.2. Maybe get a 1Tb External HDD down the line in several months or whenever the storage size becomes a liability. There is always a cloud storage too.
I'd suggest not to get a paid AV software. Malwarebytes + Windows Security Centre should thwart anything that comes their way.
Silver Warranty for extra £6 is always a great option.

I'm not building the laptop here so it might go over £1000. But if you get rid of the AV, and maybe get only 1 8GB@2666MHz memory stick and get the 2nd one next year or something, that might work.
Of course it all changes if you go for a better display, which means different chassis, different series of laptops etc.
If display is the most important component there are better laptop series out there. IPS will be the key word you're looking for.

 

[polycrac]

For Economics the most you'd need outside of standard MS office would be MATLAB and then only for a very math based Economics course. MATLAB isn't very demanding in terms of specs.

Unless the laptop is also for gaming you don't need a dedicated graphics card at all, skip it and save the money.

 

[SpyderTracks]

For Economics the most you'd need outside of standard MS office would be MATLAB and then only for a very math based Economics course. MATLAB isn't very demanding in terms of specs.

Unless the laptop is also for gaming you don't need a dedicated graphics card at all, skip it and save the money.

I'd highly recommend skipping the dgpu also, it's an expensive addition of zero benefit.

Something like this would be equally as powerful for their uses, but it's a much more premium chassis, storage drive is vastly superior

Big P.S.... there's a very likely argument here that you can get away without ordering windows on this build and save extra cash, the reason being is that most (I think all) students qualify for vastly reduced cost, if not free versions of MS software and OS through the university.

Chassis & Display
Lafité Series: Aluminium Chassis: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-8565U (1.80GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB WD Black™ SN750 M.2 NVMe SSD (up to 3470MB/s R | 2600MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Battery
Lafité Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (36WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" LAFITÉ SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £944.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/lafiteiii-15/hTdGV72c7s/

 

[Oussebon]

I had this typed earlier but apparently never hit "post" :/ Advice is similar to the above
...

However paying more now might just get a bit more life out of it and therefore be the most economical choice in the long run.

There is some merit in the general principle, but in this context that's not actually how it works.

As a broad brush, the laptops get more expensive because they have better graphics cards and are better for gaming. What you're buying for more money is more gaming performance. And screens with higher refresh rates and gsync, whose primary application is.. gaming.

If you don't need a dedicated graphics card (and from what you're saying, you don't), you don't need the Vyper.
The Cosmos at ~£100 less would be literally just as good.

You also don't need an i7 CPU, nor would office work see any perceptible benefit. Video encoding, handling large, complex spreadsheets or databases, 3d modelling, maybe, depending on the workloads.

Indeed for the uses you're describing, a -U series CPU would be more than fine, and these come in lighter (and/or smaller) chassis, and due to the lower power draw of the CPUs and the absence of dedicated graphics, battery life will be better too.

The Vyper makes no sense here; no point paying for a 1050 ti you're not going to use at all, and an i7 that doesn't benefit your uses.

Instead consider the

Cosmos 15.6"
(Cheaper, a bit thinner, apparently better battery life)

Ultranote 15.6"
(much cheaper, longer battery life, internal dvd drive option, lighter)

Or one of the Lafites in their aluminium chassis. These are much lighter.

Pretty much anything other than the Vyper, basically (and the Engima / Gemini; they're not quite what you're after I think)


Chassis & Display
Cosmos Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS 60Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor 8300H (2.3GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB WD Black™ SN750 M.2 NVMe SSD (up to 3100MB/s R | 1600MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 90W AC Adaptor
Battery
Cosmos VII Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £745.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/cosmosvii-15/v9Dayw3xVV/

NB as you can see there's a dedicated GPU in the Cosmos, but it's cheaper and has lower power consumption, and is the cheapest option available in the 15.6" Cosmos chassis.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The other point worth mentioning is that gaming laptops require an awful lot more power and therefor, stronger cooling. For these reasons, you get much worse battery life and they're much much louder when the fans are running to move more airflow.

If you're in a lecture theatre, the last thing you want is a jet airplane running away under your fingers whilst everyone's trying to concentrate.

 

[kennylarsen]

Similar to all the above, weight is more important than you'd think. I'd avoid paying for office, most university's will give it free of you can wait until registration. Caveat: I'm on my send lafite and really like them, I'd do this:

PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK SPECIFICATION
The specification below has been formatted so you can easily copy and paste this to our forums when discussing your specification. Once you've copied the specification, please click here to continue.
Chassis & Display
Lafité Series: Aluminium Chassis: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor i5-8265U (1.60GHz, 3.9GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB WD Black™ SN750 M.2 NVMe SSD (up to 3470MB/s R | 2600MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Battery
Lafité Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (36WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" LAFITÉ SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD (RED)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £871.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/lafiteiii-15-red/2kJPGXnq46/

I could argue the toss for only getting 8gb or ram to be honest, but if you can afford the £16. Keep the change for a second battery when the first one starts to die and a decent rucksack to carry it it. I have a Thule crossover which is wonderful and makes a difference to how easy the laptop is to carry and therefore how likely you are to take it where you need it!

 

[Average Bloke]

A big thank you to everyone for all your helpful advice. The general themes and top little tips are great and will help myself and others with similar requirements optimise the configuration.

Themes appear to be i5 possibly over i7, drop windows and get via the Uni, go for silver warranty as its not expensive, 16GB Ram appears popular and no extra on a graphics card. I'm now reflecting on which chassis to go for... I'm going to sleep on that one. Oh I did read on another thread a 2m cable was helpful. It's these little details that together just make a laptop really great to use.

If anyone has any other top tips that would help others looking for a non gaming laptop for Uni then feel free to continue to post. For myself I am a very grateful for the sharing of expertise and advice that I have received. I expect to finalise my config this coming week.

THANK YOU.

All the best

A

 

[Oussebon]

When you've nailed down what chassis and components you're likely to go with, post back up

Even when the components are all great there can sometimes be some surprising value hidden away in the configurator. e.g. a 500gb WD Black being only £1 more than the Intel 760p. Sometimes faster RAM is cheaper... So people may be able to highlight potential deals to squeeze out every last drop of value from the spend.

 

[Average Bloke]

Hi

After a little reflection, always a good idea in my book, here is my best guess, feel free to comment. Also those other parents might see this as a decent starting point to which they can adjust according to budget, preference and subject course. I've gone with a 500GB hard drive but might drop too 250GB - I'm still deciding on that area. I've added a 2m cable, a little insurance cover as it appears good value for the risks involved etc etc... and generally tried to follow the advice given as its all sensible and given in good faith. Thank you.

Chassis & Display
Lafité Series: Aluminium Chassis: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor i5-8265U (1.60GHz, 3.9GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB WD Black™ SN750 M.2 NVMe SSD (up to 3470MB/s R | 2600MB/s W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Battery
Lafité Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (36WH)
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" LAFITÉ SERIES MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD (RED)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
30 Day Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £872.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/lafiteiii-15-red/x3bjaxe!WX/

 

[Oussebon]

Spec looks solid to me.

That's not a 2m cable btw. That's two 1m cables.

Note that the cable for the laptop in total is longer. There is the power adapter ('brick') and a cable built into it that plugs into the PC. And then the 1m cloverleaf cable that connects the power brick to the mains.

Stick to the 500gb SSD. It's only £33 more than the 250gb one.

 

[Average Bloke]

Nice spot, cheers. Yep 500GB. A