Laptop for Uni

[NewPCBuilder]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get a cheap laptop that will be used solely for surfing the net, projects/reports (Powerpoint, Words, Excel), and watching videos. I have a gaming rig at home, so I won't be doing any gaming on this laptop. This laptop below caught my eye because of its pricetag, but I can't really find more info about it online.

The specs are as follow:
Lenovo Ideapad 100

Intel Celeron N2840 Processor
(2.16GHz Turbo 2.58GHz)

2GB RAM

500GB HDD

Windows 8.1

14.0" HD LED Display (1366x768)

1 year Warrenty

S$399 (Challenger)

RAM is not upgradable afaik, and I will probably be topping $75 extra to extend my warranty for an additional 2 years. Also comes with 5 years of free Diagnostics service by Challenger.

Will this be good enough?

 

[escksu]

Wah.... Celeron... ITs very slow though......

 

[ykgoh]

Think is sufficient. Source: http://laptoping.com/cpus/product/intel-celeron-n2830-n2840-n2820-specs-benchmark-reviews/

In the real world use, the Celerons are satisfactory only for the usual daily chores, such as web surf with a handful of browser tabs opened, writing essays in Word, Excel calculations, and video and music playback. For more complex duties like video production or professional photography editing, the Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 series are the way to go.

However, if you can find something with 4gb ram is better imo. 2gb ram is really testing the limit, and you better keep your Windows clean of bloatware.

 

[jellyboy]

http://list.qoo10.sg/item/BRAND-NEW-ACER-ASPIRE-ES1-111-C3NT/419636514#questionAnswer

they offer ram upgrade, 2gb is definitely a bit blah.

its 1.3kg so its light to carry around.

 

[kandinsky]

I have a old laptop with 2gb ram, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a very patient person. Maybe on a new system it's fine. Can the HDD be upgraded to a SSD? That'll improve your user experience lots.

Also not sure if paying 18% of the product price on extended warranty is a good idea.

This review mentions that the battery life is not great.
http://www.slashgear.com/review-lenovo-ideapad-100-a-lightweight-budget-laptop-24394251/

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get a cheap laptop that will be used solely for surfing the net, projects/reports (Powerpoint, Words, Excel), and watching videos. I have a gaming rig at home, so I won't be doing any gaming on this laptop. This laptop below caught my eye because of its pricetag, but I can't really find more info about it online.

The specs are as follow:
Lenovo Ideapad 100

Intel Celeron N2840 Processor
(2.16GHz Turbo 2.58GHz)

2GB RAM

500GB HDD

Windows 8.1

14.0" HD LED Display (1366x768)

1 year Warrenty

S$399 (Challenger)

RAM is not upgradable afaik, and I will probably be topping $75 extra to extend my warranty for an additional 2 years. Also comes with 5 years of free Diagnostics service by Challenger.

Will this be good enough?

These Pentium/Celeron/Atom N series are Atom grade low power series and are still not fast enough (to consider no lag) for mainstream work and surf net.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon-5350-sempron-3850_5.html#sect1

In the above, Atom-grade low power Bay Trail-based quad core Celeron J1900 still significantly slower than desktop-grade Ivy Bridge low power dual core Celeron 1037U. Single threaded performance is still much higher and relevant with the latter for work and web usage.

For about $150-200 more you can already get much faster mainstream performance with something along these lines:

Haswell/Broadwell-based Core i3-4xxxU/5xxxU
Intel HD Graphics
4GB RAM & above

 

[ykgoh]

I have a old laptop with 2gb ram, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a very patient person. Maybe on a new system it's fine. Can the HDD be upgraded to a SSD? That'll improve your user experience lots.

Also not sure if paying 18% of the product price on extended warranty is a good idea.

This review mentions that the battery life is not great.
http://www.slashgear.com/review-lenovo-ideapad-100-a-lightweight-budget-laptop-24394251/

Well, the review mentions this, and I quote:

When using the laptop for general office work and Web browsing, the system performed fine without any hesitation or stuttering. The system also remained pleasantly cool to the touch.

I am guessing for TS' usage should just suffice if (s)he is only doing office productivity, web browsing and media playback. Some people actually try to do gaming on N2840 (800x600, low quality, 30 fps experience) and they said it was fine. User experience and satisfaction is a very subjective thing. Ts may find it OK.

 

[clay9477]

Saw a good deal. But you need pay around $100+ more.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/n...-acer-e5-573g-cheap-5113984.html#post95433986

 

[wwenze]

Some poly students buy $2000 laptops. So it's really up to you.

When using the laptop for general office work and Web browsing, the system performed fine without any hesitation or stuttering.

In 2015, and with a fresh OS, yes.

In 2017, after being owned by the typical Apple or Facebook user, no.

It's like MRT... you want just enough now, or you want to buy one that can actually support 5M population...

 

[kandinsky]

Well, the review mentions this, and I quote:

The review unit was specced with 4GB ram.

User experience and satisfaction is a very subjective thing. Ts may find it OK.

Agreed. Everyone has different expectations. Everyone's type of 'general office work' varies too.

 

[ykgoh]

The review unit was specced with 4GB ram.

My bad. Didn't know Lenovo IdeaPad 100 comes in 4GB ram model. Thought it is standard configuration with 1 name.

 

[Jian19]

wont recommend it

u are better off with 2nd hand i5 lappy or get a entry i3 one at least

 

[Phen8210]

celeron ah, drop the idea bro.
its not even worth the price tag.

If u do projects daily, better get something quick.. like one that have ssd inside.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

celeron ah, drop the idea bro.
its not even worth the price tag.

If u do projects daily, better get something quick.. like one that have ssd inside.

Rather buy and install SSD separately and swap the HDD out. Use HDD and external drive. Can save battery life and some mass along.