BYOD Laptop for High School 7 hours minimum battery life.

LVendorbid1 on 08/12/2022 - 11:56

Hi everyone newby here but I was interested in the hive mind opinion on a student going to high school and required to buy a laptop with the following minimum specs would probably up the RAM to 16g and would like USB C powered for convenience and future proofing. The spec which I am particularly having trouble with is the 7 hours minimum use between charges, and could this be handled by an external battery to boost during the day. The machines have to be lugged home everyday so they will have to be reasonably robust and not too expensive as I am sure it will be lost at some stage and I am asking this forum. VB1

PC Windows 10 or later

Current Mac OS (not really interested in going down this path as I am unfamiliar with them)

RAM -8GB minimum (I think most people would recommend 16 these days)

hard drive -256GB minimum (SSD not specified but would prefer this)

CPU Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 or higher

Battery life -minimum 7 hours capability

Wireless capabilities 802.11n/aa/ax

Chromebooks and Ipads not recommended and they use Google Workspace.

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • AndyC1 on 08/12/2022 - 11:56
    -7

    This has been asked a number of times before. Use the search facility on the top right to find previous threads.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 08/12/2022 - 12:09
    +1

    Acer usually have the cheapest screen repairs, if the screen gets broken.

    I'd shy away from a MB for a y7.

  • masonDK on 08/12/2022 - 12:11

    Surface laptop 3,4 should fit the bill. Also keep an eye out on laptop deals.

    • kerfuffle on 08/12/2022 - 13:01
      +1

      SL3 definitely doesn’t last 7 hours. I have one.

  • Che0063 on 08/12/2022 - 12:12
    +3

    External batteries have long been dead, there are no mainstream laptops still offering this. Your best bet is to (as you have identified) bring a type C power bank.

    For 7 hours of battery life (depending on what you're doing) you should search for U series cpus (Core ix-xxxxxU or Ryzen x-xxxxU) and a battery capacity of at least 50Whrs, or idealy 60Whrs and above

    Keep in mind that the 12th gen Intel mobile CPUs (Core ix-12xxxU) anecdotally appear to be more power hungry than their 11th and 10th gen counterparts. I wouldn't bother going back to 8th gen processors

  • wombat81 on 08/12/2022 - 12:14
    +4

    Surface laptops are great. Reasonably priced. Well built. Good battery life. My daughter has the smaller surface Go laptop and it's been great. Easily has 7 hours of battery. But it is worth tweaking settings to extend battery life eg screen brightness, Auto sleep etc on whatever you end up with.

    Just some tips as a parent of 2 kids with school laptops, and as a digital tech high school teacher…

    • You absolutely need a good protective case for the laptop. This has been great for my son https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4000010381019.html
    • Windows laptops are best. No issues with software compatibility etc. Chromebooks cam be a pain. Mac books will definitely be a pain.
    • Consider insurance for accidental damage. Insurance4that does policies for individual laptops for less than $100 pa with a $100 excess. The laptop WILL get dropped. I guarantee it.
    • Snap on hard cases are available for some models (eg surface Go) and are worth having.
  • oscargamer on 08/12/2022 - 12:37
    +5

    I also dislike and do not know Macs, however, bought one for our 14yo daughter last year and WOW. A MacBook with the M1 chip and 8gb ram.

    I still don't get them, or use them, or like them, but daughter loves it. It's intuitive to her, does everything and more, huge battery life. Can't fault it.

    You should consider one at least….

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 08/12/2022 - 15:05

      I'm a big fan of the Macbook Pro M1.
      Great for music, but not for a Year 7 kid.

      Screen replacements are @ $700

      • [Deactivated] on 08/12/2022 - 15:47
        +1

        Get Apple Care+ if user is a kid.

    • gee-man on 09/12/2022 - 08:15

      They won’t need a MacBook Pro, an Air will be plenty for what they need, and it has amazing battery life and ticks all the boxes. Also a whole lot cheaper.

      I never used to be an a Apple guy, spent 30 years in the Windows world, and now I use a Mac for work and an Air for my own projects and love them.

  • jonagrah on 08/12/2022 - 12:44

    Does the school offer a laptop to purchase?

    It's what we did. I might found a slightly better laptop elsewhere, but the school dealing with warranty issues and repairs made my decision easier.

    • Vendorbid1 on 08/12/2022 - 15:42

      No they don't and I am not sure why, surely you want a standard machine with the same software and no admin rights and the ability to bulk buy. I know some schools do this and it makes sense.

  • samyall on 08/12/2022 - 13:43
    +2

    M1 Macbook Air is the way to go.

    I would recommend 512 GB HD and 8 GB ram. The SSD is so fast that the lower ram wont be a huge issue. This will be $1800 AUD.

    The build quality of Macbooks is second to none and will last being thrown around day after day.

    • gee-man on 09/12/2022 - 08:21

      School kids won’t need 512GB unless they’re doing video editing or other heavy stuff. Can save a couple hundred bucks if that matters.

  • Danstar on 08/12/2022 - 13:47
    -1

    7 hours battery life? Kids aren't in school for 7 hours (break times, sports classes, etc.). 4-5 hours would be more than fine.

    • wombat81 on 08/12/2022 - 14:11

      In reality, after 2-3 years a 7 hour battery is probably only lasting 4-5 hours anyway. School kids absolutely need 7 hours of battery life.

      • Danstar on 08/12/2022 - 15:40
        -1

        A school day at most is 7 hours. After you deduct breaks, assemblies, sports lessons and actually using text books and no laptop. The most a student used a laptop per day would be 3-4 hours. Year 11/12 students maybe longer depending how they like to study / learn.

        Secondly; most schools would have a place students can charge their laptops if they do go flat. Either in the class or library

        • wombat81 on 08/12/2022 - 20:02
          +1

          Schools have very limited times and places students can charge. Student laptops going today at the end of the day is a big problem. They use them before school on the bus, the play games at break and burn the battery, they forget to charge overnight, they leave screen brightness at 100%, they need it for study after school, plus many other reasons.

          I get what you're saying, but in reality it doesn't work that way.

          Source: me, high school teacher.

          • Danstar on 08/12/2022 - 22:00
            -4

            @wombat81: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid using a laptop on the way to school; Be it on the bus or when they get to school early. Playing games? Think your school needs to be a little more strict in regards to what the kids should be using the laptop for. Not hard to make a child responsible to charge it every night; to your point if they’re using it every night for homework, plug it in while using it?

            Making everything too easy is the reason why the world is becoming lazy and every new generation just expecting so much for little effort in return.

            • wombat81 on 08/12/2022 - 23:00
              +4

              @Danstar: Lol. Life is too easy for kids and they're lazy if they have a laptop with decent battery life? I've heard it all.

              Next time you put fuel in your car, make sure you only have just enough to get you where you need to go. Can't stand all those lazy people who put more fuel in than they need. I also assume your phone has enough battery capacity to just get you through the day. Wouldn't want to be one of those lazy phone users with their fancy smancy excess battery. Life's so easy for those people and easy = bad.

              I'm not sure why you're so stuck on this. Surely anyone buying a laptop for any purpose would buy one with more battery life than the minimum they require? That's how normal people with common sense operate, no? Why would a school laptop be any different?

              Kids are learning. That's a huge part of being a kid. They're going to make mistakes. They're going to make poor decisions. They're going to forget things. Having a safety net of a couple of hours of laptop battery life is a good, normal thing to have. Despite your delusion, it's not going to lead to the demise of society as we know it.

              Having said all of that, you still didn't actually read/understand my original comment, so I'll say it again. In reality, after 2-3 years a 7 hour battery is probably only lasting 4-5 hours anyway. School kids absolutely need 7 hours of battery life.

              Also in reality, many students use their laptops for >5 hours per day at school. My school, which is fairly typical, has 5.5 hours of class time per day. It's very common these days for the bulk of that time to be on computer.

              • Danstar on 09/12/2022 - 06:09

                @wombat81: This is just 1 example of adults treating kids like they need their hand held till they’re 18.

                They don’t absolutely need a laptop that lasts 7 years. I agree, it would be more convenient; but it’s a year 7 child. They don’t need a top of the line laptop for school work. Also a bigger battery would most likely mean a heavier laptop; kids school bags are heavy as it is with books, lunch, pencils case, etc.

                After 2-3 years they’ll probably
                Need a new laptop, cos like you said. It’ll get used so much, it probably won’t last beyond 3 years with wear and tear.

                Despite your fallacy that kids must have long battery life to be able to survive a school day; I’m sure kids will still manage if their laptop battery last 4-5 hours a day.

                • wombat81 on 09/12/2022 - 08:36
                  +1

                  @Danstar: Nah kids are just too spoilt. They should use the same laptop for the next 17 years like we had to back in the 60s. All these lazy kids getting new laptops every 3 years. That's why society is going down the toilet.

    • LanceVance on 08/12/2022 - 15:34

      You'd want the headroom.

  • Benoffie on 08/12/2022 - 14:32

    Unless your school is an Apple school, avoid. What is the school recommending?

    Dell, HP, Acer all in the running. Touch screen handy, avoid gaming rigs. 13-14 in screen best (for weight, battery and handling).

    Personally I would go for a Dell Inspiron 5xxx series or similar with an i5 knowing that in Year 10 youll be planning an upgrade.

    Should be a sale via eBay just prior to Xmas 🤷‍♀️

    • Vendorbid1 on 08/12/2022 - 15:49

      Apparently around half have PCs and half have macs and thanks for the tip on Dell Inspiron.

  • LanceVance on 08/12/2022 - 15:34
    +1

    Check the Dell Outlet.

  • Gdsamp on 08/12/2022 - 18:26
    +2

    How many years are you expecting to get out of the laptop? ie is child going into year 8 or year 11

    Ngl you're pretty much specifying a Mac with those requirements, in particular Macbook Air M1 or M2. Shouldn't be an issue if you're unfamiliar with them, it won't be you using it day-to-day. Fairly small learning curve for general use. MS Office of course is available for Mac, but you've mentioned they use Google Workspace. as these are web apps there shouldn't be any compatibility issues.

    If durability and battery life (as a package deal) are key considerations, there isn't really any competition at the 1-2k price point, barring Thinkpads (but their battery life can be hit or miss, depending on the workload).
    Customer service (i.e. apple store) is unmatched in the Windows space though I do have a ThinkPad and opted for on-site repairs that I've only had to use once.
    Stick an Airtag in a durable case with the laptop, no worries.

  • Guerilla89 on 09/12/2022 - 01:31

    Call the school and talk to the tech, they'll know who offers the best product for the price or at least be able to give you good advice.

    • Wandersen on 09/12/2022 - 08:23

      This is the best piece of advice here :-)

      My kids go to an Apple Distinguished School and they supply the devices. Definitely makes life easier!

  • jrvb42 on 09/12/2022 - 17:01
    -2

    Reject any such requirement if a public school. Equipment should be supplied if deemed essential.

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