Laptops for students (2019 edition). Part 1 - extremely cheap solutions
It's physically impossible to manufacture a laptop that would 'tick all the boxes'.
- Laptops with the most powerful graphics cards are much heavier than 1 kg.
- Laptops with the most powerful processors have extremely short battery life.
- Laptops with mechanical keyboards are much thicker than 2 cm.
- Laptops with high refresh rate monitors don't cover 100% of Adobe RGB color space.
- Laptops with OLED screens don't have refresh rates higher than 60 Hz.
- Laptops with graphics cards more powerful than GTX 1060 cannot be powered on the go by power banks.
Long story short - there isn't a single perfect laptop. However, there are plenty of very good laptops (and other solutions), at different price points.
- 100€ solution - refurbished laptop with Intel Core i3 and 4 GB RAM
You don't need to break a bank in order to get a laptop. You can get a usable refurbished laptop with Intel Core i3 (preferably from 2nd generation) and 4 GB RAM, that will hold at least SOME charge on the battery.
2nd generation is not that much more powerful in terms of processor speed than 1st generation, but the Intel HD 3000 (integrated with 2nd generation Core-i series processors) will allow you to play simple e-sports titles such as Fortnite, League of Legends (and Teamfight Tactics), Dota 2 (and Autochess), or even GTA V (on lowest possible settings, but still).
There are obvious compromises, in pretty much every area. BUT you do get a laptop with a performance that is good enough for basic web browsing and text or spreadsheet editing (which CANNOT be taken for granted even with more expensive new laptops equipped with Celeron-N chips. Those are terrible). The worst part is the battery life. Most sellers don't guarantee more than 30 minutes. And even if you were to get a new battery, 1.5 hours on a single charge would be as good as it gets.
- 100€ alternative - Kindle Fire 7 with keyboard and refurbished AMD A4 desktop (with monitor)
But what if I told you there is a way to get a device that can last you for the whole day on a single charge, and a device that can comfortably handle web browsing, office work, and even e-sports gaming - all of that for just 100€.
I would be correct, but there is one catch. You would need two devices (and the total cost of those 2 devices would be about 100€)
You can usually get Kindle Fire 7 from the previous generation for around 35€
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B01J90O57K
Add a keyboard for 5€ and you are ready for the whole day of taking notes (or the whole day and night of taking notes - you can charge your Kindle with USB power bank)
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575410747&toolid=10001&campid=5338345295&customid=&icep_item=202465578015&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229487&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
Kindle Fire 7 is not the only sub-40€ tablet, but it's by far the best sub-40€ tablet. It's not because of it's technical specifications (which are pretty bad). It's due to it's very well optimized software.
You can take notes with the Evernote app that works without any stuttering. And if you get bored, Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok also work flawlessly. You can even play Minecraft and Asphalt 8.
Of course, the built-quality is not great, the bezels are huge, the screen resolution is low, the panel is quite dim and even the battery life (the biggest advantage of Fire 7 compared to any refurbished laptop) is not that great in comparsion with other 7-inch tablets.
Still, for 35€ your choice is limited to either some cheap Android tablet that will NOT get the job done (because it will be lagging and freezing even in the most basic applications) or Kindle Fire 7 that WILL get the job done (even if it's not perfect).
So we have spent 40€ - there is 60€ left. Kindle is great for taking notes and social media, but cannot quite compete with Windows machines when it comes to multi-tab browsing, internet research or spreadsheet editing. But not every Windows machine is a laptop - you can get refurbished desktops for very low prices.
For example, 37.50€ will get you a desktop with AMD A4 that will outperform most 2nd generation Intel Core i3 processors in single-core benchmarks. And its integrated graphics - Radeon HD 7480D will wipe the floor with Intel HD 3000. The hard drive is also slightly bigger, the RAM is the same.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575410747&toolid=10001&campid=5338345295&customid=&icep_item=303268377091&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229487&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
This auction offers free shipping within Germany, but if you are somewhere else, try to look for local deals with any AMD A4 processor, 4GB RAM and some storage. With either free shipping or pick up in person.
Then we will need a monitor. Panoramic monitors (those with wide aspect ratio 16:9 or 16:10, instead of old-school 4:3 'square' aspect ratio) are great for productivity and inexpensive enough. For 18.95€ we can get this Hanns.G HW191D with signal cable and power cable included.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575410747&toolid=10001&campid=5338345295&customid=&icep_item=183627759716&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229487&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
Again, this auction offers free shipping within Germany, but do try to look locally for something equally cheap. Any wide-screen monitor at this price will be equally bad. But it will get the job done.
So we are left with about 4€ for mouse and keyboard. That's not a problem, because if you look locally, you can easily get fully functional mouse and keyboard for 1€ each
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575410747&toolid=10001&campid=5338345295&customid=&icep_item=202231685028&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229487&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575410747&toolid=10001&campid=5338345295&customid=&icep_item=382945619916&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229487&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
In part 2 we will take look at 'normal' solutions. New laptops that provide the most value for money at different price points.