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Results day here in Scotland today and I now have about 5 weeks to get my daughter ready for biology at Aberdeen.
Top of the list is laptop. She would love a MacBook and we have MacBook at home and all on iPhones so quite invested in Apple but they are just too spendy, even refurb ones are too pricey just now.
So probably looking at refurb Lenovo, HP etc. She won't be too heavy a user but I guess would like to be able stream Netflix etc. as well as usual uni work. Main things for me are being reliable, easy to manage, some longevity and affordable (Ideally under £500)
Any thoughts?
Edit, just seen this. I'm pretty poor at understanding processing power etc. Would this work for what she needs?
Isn't buying a laptop basically the same as buying, I dunno, a washing machine these days? By which I mean that, iunless you have very specific requirements, they're all essentially the same, they'll all do what you need them to do, just buy one at the price-point you're happiest with?
That would work - it's the same spec that my first year electronics student son is using.
If you use macs and iphones at home, spend the little extra to get a macbook or you'll regret it IMHO.
If you use macs and iphones at home, spend the little extra to get a macbook or you’ll regret it IMHO.
I would prefer to, just makes like a lot easier with icloud, back-ups, password sharing etc.
I refuse to have non apple computers or phones in the family. Life is too short for windows/android fettling and tech support IMHO.
Is there a big step up between 8Gb and 16Gb of memory? Is it worth the extra spend?
Have you checked Hoxton Macs for refurbed?
yep, that link above is for Hoxton
If she's going to use it for the full 4 or 5 years, then it might be better paying a bit more for an M1 chip version. That's the upgrade I'd go for.
3 daughters at Uni (or just finished):
D1: Macbook Pro bought for her when entering 6th form - she's just graduated (and did a years travelling before Uni and did a placement year) and it's still going but needed a new screen after falling off pissed daughter's bed! Pretty damn expensive and she freely admits she didn't need a Mac for her business management course.
D2: Chromebook. Has been really great but she's in her final year and has said that she can't add voiceovers to presentation slides so may need to look at something else.
D3: Dell XPS13. Great - so nice I bought a used one for myself. Possibly the best bang for buck option.
A LOT of work is done online using Office 365 (unreliable in our experience - lost a lot of work through it not saving when it said it had) and Google Docs (100% reliable so far) so almost anything that can get on the internet will work. Zero need for fast processors.
Life is too short for windows/android fettling and tech support IMHO.
And just to add some balance, a good friends daughter starts uni in September - she has a MBP and hates it.... wants a Windows laptop.
Apologies I didn't click your original link.
Macbook air is pretty capable but small screen. Will run all standard software and a smaller capacity storage wont be a problem with googledrive / dropbox cloud backup and storage.
Not so much connectivity as a MBP but a very nice thing to use.
Longevity is a bonus with Macs, I'm still using a 2011 one and its doing fine but as folk will say, windows will do that too. Personally, if you are an Apple family already with student or educational discount, its the way to go IMHO.
<p style="text-align: left;">I kit out all the kids with refurbished mid-high spec Asus laptops from xsonly.com. Asus because they make quality kit and make motherboards for a lot of the other manufacturers. Performance and longevity wise, make sure it's got an SSD and as much RAM as you can afford and it should be good to get them through 6th form and uni.</p>
Ask the university (the specific department, ideally) what software she will need to run for her courses and whether there is anything that is better done on a Mac or Windows. If the university does everything using Microsoft 365, stick with Windows. The idea that Windows machines are hard to use is nonsense - any OS that you're unfamiliar with is a PITA until you learn how to use it, then it's totally intuitive.
Longevity is a bonus with Macs
If you buy a good quality Windows machine, it will last just as long as a Mac, plus they have much better backwards compatibility with old hardware and software (although Windows 11 has cut a lot of that off.)
Just as you haven't explicitly stated it I'm going to make sure you are aware of the education discount available from Apple. They used to be pretty hefty discounts and only visible when accessing Apple webstore from an institutional IP address - no idea if that's how it works now. You also used to get 3 yrs Applecare included for free (rather than 1 yr), again no idea if that's still the case.
Re. your first link - I personally wouldn't buy anything with an Intel chip nowadays, you're throwing away one unarguable* Apple advantage if it's not something with an M chip.
*awaits arguments.
My daughter had my old macbook air (about 4 years old when she started) and it saw her through Uni. Still have it now. She had a M1 version when she graduated and expects to keep that just as long. We're all apple here so accept the tax of being in their walled garden 😉
She didn't need a Mac. But the air is super light, great battery and it was going spare so a no brainer.
Oh and @timmys is absolutely right. I think we bought the new one via unidays and it saved us 10% and got the three year cover.
I personally wouldn’t buy anything with an Intel chip nowadays, you’re throwing away one unarguable* Apple advantage if it’s not something with an M chip.
If you need to run Windows apps in an emulator, an Intel chip Bootcamped with Windows is the way to go. Niche thing, obviously, but it is a consideration for some people.
Macbook air on unidays is 899 with free £130 gift card
If you need to run Windows apps in an emulator, an Intel chip Bootcamped with Windows is the way to go. Niche thing, obviously, but it is a consideration for some people.
I did nearly put that caveat in, but decided to leave it out for brevity!
No idea what this Unidays thing is, but edu discounts direct from Apple used to be way more than the 10% being quoted. Probably decent discounts are a thing of the past, but I would try and at least check what Apple do.
Have a look at yesterday's "what laptop?" question:
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/work-laptop-choice/
I wouldn't be buying a Mac for Uni duties. It'll be different from what everyone else has and what the lecturers are familiar with, and there may be compatibility issues if there's specialised software she needs for her course.
Plus it'll be a promising target for theft. And how well do they bounce?
It’ll be different from what everyone else has
Last time I taught graduates (3 years ago) not one of them had anything other than an Apple laptop as their personal device.
If you need to run Windows apps in an emulator, an Intel chip Bootcamped with Windows is the way to go.
I literally have no idea what that means.
I literally have no idea what that means.
And it's very unlikely that you will need to.
I literally have no idea what that means.
For some specialist jobs, there is software that is only available for Windows. For example, I use this in my work:
https://remarksoftware.com/products/office-omr/
You can run that on an Intel Mac in two ways. You can use Bootcamp to install Windows and run Windows completely normally. To switch to MacOS, you have to reboot the computer into the MacOS.
Or, you can install an emulator, which is software that runs within the MacOS but lets you install and run Windows. You then install your Windows apps. The Parallels emulator lets you run the Windows apps as though they are Mac OS apps, so you just use your MacOS as normal, with Windows apps appearing to run within that. However, in my experience, Bootcamp is much better if you really need to do heavy duty Windows work. Either way, you need an Intel chip to run traditional Windows apps.
On an ARM equipped Mac, you can install a version of Windows using Parallels, but that's the ARM version of Windows, not the Intel version. You won't be able to run traditional Windows apps in that. So, I can run Office OMR on an old Intel Macbook, but I would not be able to run it on a new Mac. Very niche case, but a big deal if it does affect your work.
I refuse to have non apple computers or phones in the family. Life is too short for windows/android fettling and tech support IMHO.
It's just a what you are accustomed to thing
If you're going windows. Ho, dell or levelo. 15. Whatever screen. 16gb ram min 512 gig hard drive ideally SSD. Partner just got something like this for £599. HP.
It’s just a what you are accustomed to thing
Absolutely. Old dog, new tricks etc.....
This thread is becoming very complicated.
my only advice is to go down to Curry’s before you buy (if there is one close by of course). When we were looking for a laptop for my son for studying, the local Curry’s had some stonking sales. We bought him a Samsung, which was very spendy, but also hugely reduced. I think it was £1,600 down to £900.
i don’t know enough about ‘puters to advise you, but my son was attracted by the fastest chip he could get. The Samsung had an i7 chip. As far as I can work out, my flipping work laptop only has the equivalent of an i5!
Bootcamp, Parallels, emulation... or you can buy a PC and not have to bother with any of that. You're knocking in nails with a screwdriver.
I genuinely don't understand this. If you want to run PC software, get a PC. If you want to run Mac software, get a Mac.
Here is the advice from the university
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/it/student/it-essentials.php
As you can see, Mac or PC are fine and she’ll get a copy of Microsoft 365, which will cover most of what she needs for study. All the course content will be delivered through MyAberdeen (blackboard) but you can access that with pretty much anything (including your phone). I’m not familiar with the biology courses I’m afraid but biologists aren’t really big IT users as far as I’m aware. Maybe some stats packages if she ops for those courses but plenty of students use macs (and chromebooks) these days.
Cougar
Full Member
Bootcamp, Parallels, emulation… or you can buy a PC and not have to bother with any of that. You’re knocking in nails with a screwdriver.I genuinely don’t understand this. If you want to run PC software, get a PC. If you want to run Mac software, get a Mac.
This is what I would advise (and why I do my work on Windows machines). But, Mac fanbois have invested their identity into the brand so running Windows on a Mac is an easy way to let them get work done without having to deal with tantrums about how they used Windows back in 1995 and Macs are so much better.
Lenovo T14. This is my work laptop. Good solid laptop, small, light fast, good battery. Loads on eBay last I looked for decent money.
The Samsung had an i7 chip. As far as I can work out, my flipping work laptop only has the equivalent of an i5!
You have to be carefull when comparing CPUs like that, for example a 13th gen i5 has pretty identical performance to a 12th gen i7.
It becomes more complicated with laptops as they cannot dissipate heat in the way a desktop can, and the chips will throttle speed when running hot, which lowers performance.
I genuinely don’t understand this. If you want to run PC software, get a PC. If you want to run Mac software, get a Mac.
I suspect the reality is that 95% of the software will be running in a browser anyway (Office 365 etc.)
I suspect the reality is that 95% of the software will be running in a browser anyway (Office 365 etc.)
Sure, but if you need to use something from the other 5%, you need to buy a computer that can run it.
Sure, but if you need to use something from the other 5%, you need to buy a computer that can run it.
Any specialist stuff that doesn't run in a browser will be available on dedicated machines in the department.
The cost of university is ££££££ so getting a really cheap laptop is a false economy (in my opinion).
As a student she will be carrying it around alot and using it not plugged into a power socket when in lectures, study areas etc. so I would get something light with all day battery life, a decent screen and USB-C charging.
The last thing she wants to be doing is carting around some massive corporate re-furb with a battery that only lasts an hour or two and that uses a proprietary charger.
I bought a 13" Asus with 8GB memory, 500GB SSD and OLED screen for £500 last year that would be ideal but the price seems to have crept up to £795.
In the OP's shoes I would be looking at 0% interest deals for a MacBook Air. I have been doing university visits with my daughter and, when asked, most of the lecturers have said that 50%+ of students seem to have Macs.
One caveat to that. My son who is 26 managed to break 4 laptops in his 4 years at Uni. The last one we got him was a refurb from my company and he had to suck up the weight of it - old Lenovo 15" ThinkPad
Oldest son finished his MA 2 years ago. His Asus didn't last a year. The Dell hi spec 2in1 lasted for 4 years, still going strong, and was a great price through Dell.com. Synching w office365 was not a problem ever
As above check any course specific requirements that might dictate spec. Think duration of course not just year 1
Get something light and good battery life for day to day lugging around campus, augment with a large monitor for work/netflix back in her room
Any specialist stuff that doesn’t run in a browser will be available on dedicated machines in the department.
It sucks when you have to commute across town in shitty weather to run software instead of doing it at home on your own computer, or are doing field work and can't do any analysis to check that your data is good until you get back to the office. Just check that the courses you're going to take don't need to run anything limited to one OS.
Just as you haven’t explicitly stated it I’m going to make sure you are aware of the education discount available from Apple.
....... and Dell - https://www.dell.com/en-uk/lp/students
Maybe others too.
Just been through this with daughter.
We kept an eye on the inevitable Lenovo discounts on their website. Bagged some kind of Thinkpad - a T16 I think.
Its got a great build and was very heavily discounted. I'm quite envious. Some reasonable discounts on the leonovo website right now actually.
how they used Windows back in 1995 and Macs are so much better
This grips my shit. It's like me judging Macs because I used System 7 once.
I suspect the reality is that 95% of the software will be running in a browser anyway (Office 365 etc.)
O/M365 in the browser is useable for occasional use and I've recommended it in the past for people who just want to create a document twice a year. For Uni work though, that's going to be painful.
Maybe consider an external monitor and keyboard/mouse for use in her room with whatever laptop you get? Especially if using a 13” screen, would make long days at the computer more comfortable
Lecturer on a Scottish biological sciences program here...
Don't assume there won't be much IT involvement since it is biology. We include bioinformatics and statistics in our syllabus from level 1, including the use of R for data analysis and presentation, and learning python.
Either Windows or Mac should be fine. A Chromebook is definitely not and considerably disadvantaged the students who turned up with them...
Comments above about battery life are key... Expect to have some long days when the timetabling Gods are cruel and if it is being used for note taking in lectures you don't want to be worried about whether it will last the session or not.
I used to be a bit of a laptop snob - not any more.
Currently a teacher in a Google orientated school. I do have a machine to do a bit of Adobe create cloud (Photoshop and premiere pro) and CAD (Fusion 360) but every other thing I do is best done on a chromebook. It's gobsmackingly awesome for a stupid amount of money. It's also a flipy foldy number with a touch screen which does a passable job as a tablet. I sketch on it, write hand written notes on it. Great in a meeting, great to carry around. And the battery lasts a frankly silly number of hours.
And......here's the best bit......leaves you bags of cash left over for a monitor and keyboard. I consider prolonged use of a laptop for proper work as almost an inhumane act. Why do it to yourself. My wee Chromebook drives a 27inch monitor just fine with the Chromebook screen acting as a second screen. Perfect for a student with an almost disposable (exaggerating for effect, but certainly cheap) machine to walk around with and a proper, not knacker yourself with a tiny little screen setup when pulling an all nighter.
If the uni is a Google ecosystem and the course requires no specific installed apps that are windows/Mac only I'd seriously consider one.
If the university does everything using Microsoft 365, stick with Windows
The global IT consultancy of 300,000 employees I work for does everything using Microsoft 365.
We have 100,000 Macs deployed. They all work fine.
In the end I went for refurb MacBook Air 13in M1 with 256GB. £775 for excellent condition model from Hoxton. Should be plenty of laptop for her and it is her 18th birthday before she goes to Uni so this will be her present. I'm happy with that choice.
For those who have set up Uni students, do you keep the kid on the iCloud family plan? Seems to make sense for accessing paid for iCloud storage and helping her with remote support. I guess we keep the plan as it is and just load up her profile on the MacBook. Is this correct?