School lap top options

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Stu1

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#324871 5-Jun-2026 12:59

Apologies couldn’t find an open topic. School visits this week for next year. The preferred school is a MS365 school recommended 8gb laptops 128 min storage .The Chromebook we have cannot download MS365 so will need something. For my son we ended up getting a Lenovo 4gb slim it’s worked great so far for year 9 and half of year 10. I think 8gb is overkill for year 9 and 10. I normally wait for Black Friday sales but given the cost of lap tops the last 2 years are insane . Is it worth buying one now or holding out to Black Friday ?. Im shocked how much the prices have increased in the last 2 years . I did want to just upgrade my sons for years 11 + but apparently that’s playing favourites miss 12 going on 15 thinks it’s fair she gets a new one. Note she’s on the spectrum so rational decision making can be really hard for us

Andib

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#3500545 5-Jun-2026 13:06

Would an ex lease corporate laptop from the likes of PBTech count as a 'new' laptop? They are often much better value and a lower spec new machine

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xpd

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#3500546 5-Jun-2026 13:11

4GB for anything Windows related these days is pushing it IMHO.

Take a look at ex-lease devices, can be some good systems picked up for decent price. Look at anything Dell Latitude or HP Probook, they tend to run forever - my wife is still using her 10 year old Probook.

Costs have increased mainly due to storage and RAM sky rocketing.

We didn't look at new laptops for the kids until the eldest was 16 or so when they were a bit more mature and understood the costs etc. Eldest got a Macbook, and sibling got a Dell gaming laptop - both still going strong after 18 months.

XPD / Gavin

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wellygary

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#3500549 5-Jun-2026 13:34

Just bought our year 10 child a Macbook Neo with Education discount...

Pretty much all of MS365 is in a browser these days, and there is a Mac version of Edge...

Stu1

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#3500604 5-Jun-2026 14:15

will look at ex lease need something lightish as well as my sons school bag Is insanely heavy even with a light laptop. They have lockers but his view is time he gets there after school that xtra 5 mins of unpacking makes him miss the train . She will be travelling as well with the school bus, 8gb probably would be better . I think ex lease will be more affordable not so much the money side just she’s not the most careful

Stu1

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#3500606 5-Jun-2026 14:19

wellygary:

Just bought our year 10 child a Macbook Neo with Education discount...

Pretty much all of MS365 is in a browser these days, and there is a Mac version of Edge...

I thought I could get away with her existing chrome book if browser based but they have that teams and one note need to be downloaded to the PC?

Junior Students:
Chromebooks will support most Microsoft functions. Ipads are sufficient for Year 9 and 10 but extra applications need to be installed at home to support Office 365 at school (OneNote, Teams).
Senior Students:
Chromebooks will not support all Microsoft functions for Senior Students.

Office 365 can be downloaded (free) onto student laptops at the beginning of the school year. The following information is to be used as a guide only, however higher specifications will extend the useful life of the device which must be Windows 11 capable.

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#3500607 5-Jun-2026 14:21

I suggest PB ex-lease too. 8GB/256GB min, with a decent Intel CPU.

If you can get 14" model it will be much smaller & lighter too.

The corporate ones are more rugged and stand up to a bit more abuse.

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xpd

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#3500609 5-Jun-2026 14:30

From my daughters school...

RECOMMENDED DEVICES FOR YEAR 7-10
Laptop recommended
Full functionality, good screen size, easy file transfer
Many models available, recommend 8GB Ram or more
If you have a Chromebook from Primary School this is acceptable to use until the end of
Year 7, please make sure that the primary school account is not the owner of the
chromebook.
Windows 11 devices are recommended from Year 8 – Year 13

XPD / Gavin

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Handle9

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#3500610 5-Jun-2026 14:48

wellygary:

Just bought our year 10 child a Macbook Neo with Education discount...

Pretty much all of MS365 is in a browser these days, and there is a Mac version of Edge...

All the core M365 applications run on Mac natively.

Stu1

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#3500613 5-Jun-2026 14:57

I will get my son a Mac or neo if needed for year 11. The way she treats things ideally I’m dreaming but budget around 600

Stu1

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#3500623 5-Jun-2026 15:29

xpd:

From my daughters school...

RECOMMENDED DEVICES FOR YEAR 7-10
Laptop recommended
Full functionality, good screen size, easy file transfer
Many models available, recommend 8GB Ram or more
If you have a Chromebook from Primary School this is acceptable to use until the end of
Year 7, please make sure that the primary school account is not the owner of the
chromebook.
Windows 11 devices are recommended from Year 8 – Year 13

Depends if a MS or google docs school. If I go to one school it’s google docs so can keep using the existing Chromebook, the front runner is a MS school so chrome book not acceptable the model we have

cddt

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#3500632 5-Jun-2026 16:37

xpd:

... easy file transfer ...

Boggles the mind. https://xkcd.com/949/

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alinz

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#3500658 5-Jun-2026 20:50

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKASU1504013/ASUS-Vivobook-Go-15-E1504TA-156-FHD-Intel-N150---8

This is quite a good deal for $570.

I do think there's value in having a brand new battery. Edit: Thought it also had usb-c charging, but it does not.

Sale seems to end today though.

xpd

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#3500716 6-Jun-2026 09:47

Stu1:

xpd:

From my daughters school...

RECOMMENDED DEVICES FOR YEAR 7-10
Laptop recommended
Full functionality, good screen size, easy file transfer
Many models available, recommend 8GB Ram or more
If you have a Chromebook from Primary School this is acceptable to use until the end of
Year 7, please make sure that the primary school account is not the owner of the
chromebook.
Windows 11 devices are recommended from Year 8 – Year 13

Depends if a MS or google docs school. If I go to one school it’s google docs so can keep using the existing Chromebook, the front runner is a MS school so chrome book not acceptable the model we have

At my kids (well, one now as eldest is finished) school they're both.... they don't tie to one eco-system, long as the device can do the work they leave it open to the students/parents but towards the last few years, Windows/MS tends to be the better option mainly because the software they need just isn't available for Chromebook. (And the kids by then have figured out games are limited on ChromeOS ;) )

Also, if the kids not of a "geek" mindset, switching OS's part way through school can be frustrating.

XPD / Gavin

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