I'm considering purchasing a laptop as a gift for my mother this Christmas?
I'm considering purchasing a laptop as a gift for my mother this Christmas?
I'm looking to buy a laptop as a Christmas present for my mother to pass time on outside of the house.
I'm able to spend around R7000/$420)
The main purpose is to give my mother something to do to pass the time when away from home. Sometimes my mother needs to wait around for long periods of time without access to an electrical outlet. Therefore I want the battery to last at the very least 2 hours. More (up to 4 hours) would be very beneficial. Performance isn't very important. My mother won't be using it for work or serious gaming (if it can emulate Gamecube/PS2 games it's good enough.).
Reliability would certainly be good. I'd like the laptop to last at least a few years. Other than that, I would want to be able to use mouses, keyboards (not the laptop keyboard) and game controllers with it. Also needs to be compatible with the 27 inch monitor I’ll mention later (unless the laptop screen is already a comfortable size like 15.6 inches and up). I would imagine basically any laptop will meet these requirements but I thought I’d mention them anyway.
While the main purpose of the laptop is to give something for my mother to pass the time with, It WOULD be hugely beneficial if I could comfortably learn programming on it (Emphasis on the word “comfortably”. I know that hypothetically one could learn programming with basically any computer, but I don’t want to have to wait 5 minutes every time I press compile. I’m starting learning from nothing so I imagine I won’t be making significantly taxing code anytime soon. Still, I’ll be using this laptop for a good while. Also, my current laptop, an Inspiron M531-5535, chokes every time I so much as open Microsoft Word 2010 –it takes several minutes to do so-. Even getting a context menu via right clicking an icon often takes a minute long wait). Also I wouldn't want her to suffer long wait times every 5 seconds when she wants to open a browser or something like Microsoft word, Paint etc)
It would also be nice if I could play Tevi (a 2D indie game so I would imagine it’s not super taxing) with a smooth frame rate. That’s not important though, just a small nicety (though, I suppose the more capable it is the larger the selection of games my mother could play. Still not important though, especially because modern stuff is mostly trash anyway)
A screen size of 15.6 inches would be nice. Not much of a concern though as I actually found a SE2717H (a 27 inch monitor) lying around my house a while back (Can’t say I know where it came from, but I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth). 15.6 inches would be nice for when taking it out of the house (I imagine carrying a 27 inch monitor around might be a bit troublesome). On top of that I’m so used to 15.6 inches from my current monitor that I’m wondering if I wouldn’t prefer that size anyway (I could see myself liking something like 17 inches the most). In any case, clearly a small concern.
Can’t say I care about weight and thinness. I have a hard time imagining many do and yet the industry seems intent of making paper thin laptops for some reason.
I am open to refurbs, but longevity is one of the primary concerns.
I’m afraid I’m not in possession of much money. $420/R7000 is about the limit. A puny budget, I know, but hopefully sufficient for the puny requirements.
I did see a deal that looked good to me (I know very little about computers though):
Asus Vivobook Go Intel® Core™ i3-N305 8GB RAM 512GB SSD Laptop
There’s also this:
Proline 14 Intel® Core® i7 1065G7 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD Laptop
The Vivo seems to have a better CPU and GPU and is 15.6 inches. It seems superior in every metric I have information for. I don’t know about battery life though. That’s a big one.
My thanks in advance for any assistance. It is greatly appreciated. My apologies for any imposition as well.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
When working with code, poor writing can delay compilation, which is why this place helps you learn how to write it efficiently.
My current machine, an Inspiron M531-5535, struggles with even opening Microsoft Word 2010 – it takes a few minutes.
https://dl.dell.com/manuals/all-pro...pt..._reference guide_en-us.pdf
To give you a clearer picture, this laptop was released in 2015. Does your device still come with the original HDD, or have you swapped it for an SSD?
If I were you, I’d consider upgrading the budget slightly and try boosting the RAM to 16GB. Among the models you’ve listed, the 10th Gen laptop seems like a solid choice. You might also be able to lower the processor voltage (Vcore, cache, iGPU) and cut power consumption, which could improve battery life and reduce heat output.
Do you have any other recommended sources for buying?
Thank you for the friendly introduction. Are you suggesting that using a less powerful processor would encourage me to write more efficient code? It’s similar to someone training with weights to build strength.
I’m concerned about an HDD, as I’m not sure what’s happening. To test things out, I’ve started comparing CPUs and GPUs on UserBenchMarks. The site indicates the Vivo’s CPU performs slightly better. While I’m open to your thoughts, this feels like a chance to understand more clearly—so I’d appreciate your explanation if you’re willing.
Undervolting sounds useful. Is it something straightforward to adjust?
Do you have any other recommended places to buy something?
Any location would work, but since this is meant as a Christmas gift, it should arrive before then. I assume the address provided covers a reasonable area for delivery reasons (I’m in Fourways, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa). This should help with safety.
Thank you very much for your assistance so far. Your support means a lot.
I believe this area covers enough space for safety reasons.
The information here is mostly for the US audience, which is why we request access from sites you own.
This undervolting sounds useful. Is it straightforward to perform?
If the BIOS allows it, you can apply ThrottleStop to lower your Intel CPU voltage, as long as it's not above 10th Gen.
UserBenchMark is an unreliable tool—it often favors Intel data and is biased toward that platform.
Another worry besides using too little RAM is that without a dedicated GPU, things might go wrong. Indy games usually perform inconsistently on iGPUs, IMO.
It turns out I had a good chance. Incredible Connection was on clearance with an i5 1334u for just another $60. Don't worry, it wasn't used or refurbished—just a solid offer. It comes with 14 days return policy, which felt like a great deal. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything under $600 with more RAM, and I don’t have that much money.
Regarding UserBenchMark, I’ll definitely remember this. I’ll also explore undervolting options, which could be really useful.
Thank you for your help so far—it means a lot.
Excited to know you found a laptop within your budget. Sometimes going to a store in person helps you discover something surprising yet satisfying.