Cheap laptop for university (computer science)

xpygmy · 22 May 2014 at 21:38

In September I will hopefully be going to uni to study computer science. I am looking for a cheap laptop that will have enough power for coding and everything else I will be doing in my computer science degree. The laptop won't have to be super powerful since when in my room I will have access to my desktop.

What I am looking for:
- cheap (less then £400)
- light
- powerful enough for general computer science activities
- web browsing
- Netflix & movies
- ability to play the odd game (a low resources demanding one) would be great too

Si105 · 22 May 2014 at 21:47

While I don't have an exact recommendation, I will say that when my MacBook Pro died before uni I decided to replace it with a more powerful normal laptop, the battery life really cripples you if you aim to work on it in the library etc as you have to be near a plug 24/7, so I would put that high up on your list of requirements.

mightymouse · 25 May 2014 at 14:23

maybe you should get a sub £400 ultrabook for coding and leave the gaming with the current rig you've got in your sig

edscdk · 25 May 2014 at 15:33

HP 250 G2 Laptop £317.00

- Intel Core i3-3110M 2.4GHz
- 4GB RAM + 500GB HDD
- 15.6" LED + DVDRW
- Webcam + Bluetooth
- Windows 8.1 64bit

Ryan-3 · 25 May 2014 at 16:05

mightymouse said:
maybe you should get a sub £400 ultrabook for coding and leave the gaming with the current rig you've got in your sig

I'd go for this idea. When it comes to laptops that are capable of gaming, you aren't going to want to carry it around campus or be seated out of reach of a socket.

A friend of mine spent a small fortune on his laptop, and it lasts about 90 minutes and weighs almost four times more than my MBA! :eek: