£1500 Budget Desk Setup Challenge: University Student
Hopefully you have got the results you needed to get into the university of your choice. If you are planning on going to university this year, it is time to consider what you need to buy in terms of computer setup that will aid you in your studies for the next 3-4 years. This £1500 challenge will hopefully give you guidance on what you need for a computer set up for university. The setup will be targeted for a general student that is studying a less computing heavy course. You might be able to find the items cheaper on other sites but for this purpose, all prices will be taken from Amazon.
Here is what will be included in this setup:
Laptop
Monitor
Smartphone
Printer
Headphones
Accessories
Laptop
Asus Vivobook
Price: £549.99
The bulk of the budget will go towards the laptop which will be the workhorse of your studies and will allow you to study anywhere, either in your dorm or at the university library. The laptop will need to be future proof for the duration of your studies. The laptop of choice is the Asus Vivobook which costs £549.99. The Vivobook is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 3700U that contains 4 physical cores which run at 2.3GHz and can boost up to 4.0GHz. Selecting a laptop with an AMD processor will decrease the price as Intel laptops will be slightly higher than the AMD equivalent. The laptop is equipped with 8GB RAM which is good enough to run office-based tasks and one-off image processing tasks such as Adobe Photoshop. The 512GB SSD will mean load up times of Windows and applications will be zippy. The 14inch screen size and the overall footprint of the laptop will mean it will be slim and portable which taking it out of the dorm. The Vivobook comes with USB 3 and USB 2.0 ports so the laptop will be able to cater for devices you may have that use the old-style USB port. It has an HDMI output, which will be important to the setup when connecting it to a monitor.
Monitor
Dell SE2719HR
Price: £154.98 (includes HDMI cable)
When in your dorm on those rainy days, you don’t want to be doing work or watching Netflix on a 14inch screen from the Vivobook. Having an external display will help, this is where the Dell 27inch monitor comes in handy. The LED display will mean it’s energy-efficient and the colours will be more accurate than traditional monitors. The slim design will mean it won’t take up much space on your desk. The HDMI port will enable you to connect the Vivobook to the monitor and work off the 27inch monitor rather than the 14inch screen of the Vivobook. The monitor is priced at £149.99, however when bought with an Amazonbasic HDMI cable, altogether it costs £154.98.
Smartphone
OnePlus Nord
Price - £379.00
The smartphone of choice is the Best Budget Smartphone, the OnePlus Nord. The recently released smartphone comes in Teal Blue or Grey and comes equipped with 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The NORD is equipped with a 6.44 AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and is 5G compatible when 5G comes available. The phone comes with a Warp Charger that will charge your phone back to life in a shorter time. The phone comes with 4 cameras on the rear (48MP Primary, 8MP Ultra Wide, 2MP Macro and 5MP depth) and 2 cameras on the front (32MP Primary and 8MP Ultra Wide). For the price, the NORD overall is a great smartphone that has all the latest technology that can compete with the flagships of iPhone, Samsung, and Google.
Printer
Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720
Price - £127.18
The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3720 provides print/scan/copy/fax functionality which will be great for a student that will require the print/scan/copy function. The small profile means it can be tucked away somewhere but the Wifi function will allow you to print without having to connect via a USB. The Epson printer also allows cloud printing which means you can print documents from anywhere. There is a dedicated paper tray which means no more of those times when the paper gets jammed, the printer is also able to print double-sided which is great for saving paper. The inks themselves are cheap if you go for third party providers which cost £22.99 for all 4 cartridges, however if you go for the official cartridges from Epson they cost £37.95. Having a printer on hand will be great for those last-minute deadlines or printing off official documentations.
Headphones
Sony WH-CH710N Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones
Price - £99.00
Having a good pair of noise-cancelling wireless headphones will be a great solution to those noisy housemates that are partying away in the next room. The Sony WH-CH710N noise-cancelling wireless headphones will allow you to eliminate unwanted noises and allow you to focus on that assignment you have left to the last minute. The headphones have 35 hours of battery life with quick charge functionality. With a built-in mic, you can take calls from the headphones. The wireless functionality will allow you to walk around without having to be tethered to a wire.
Accessories
Wireless Keyboard and Mouse: Jelly Comb Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
Price - £27.19
When connected to your external monitor, you can set up the laptop to continue to run when you shut the lid. If you choose to do this then you will need a wireless keyboard and mouse. The Jelly Comb wireless keyboard and mouse is a stylish wireless set that comes in space grey or white. Both the keyboard and mouse comes with a lithium battery which means no need to change the battery, just need to recharge. The clean design will make your desk setup look on point and clean.
Portable Hard Drive: Seagate Expansion Portable 4TB External Hard Drive
Price - £83.99
The 512GB SSD in the Vivobook may not be enough to store photos, videos, documents, and music. The Seagate 4TB portable hard drive will allow you to store files, the hard drive doesn’t require an external power source as it is run by computer power. You may find that you need to transfer big files from your laptop to another computer on campus, the portable hard drive will also allow that. Having a back-up drive will save you endless hours of deleting files from the laptop and then finding out later you needed that file you just deleted.
Backpack: Vaschy Unisex Classic Lightweight Water-Resistant Rucksack Travel
Price – £21.99
You have brought all these gadgets but you need a bag to take them to your lectures. The Vaschy Unisex bag makes a great option as it has a pouch for your laptop and enough room to store notepads and stationary. The rucksack is water-resistant which will be important to store all your electronics. The bag comes in many colour options so you aren’t just bound to black.
Price Breakdown
Laptop: Asus Vivobook - £549.99
Monitor: Dell SE2719HR Monitor - £154.98 (including HDMI cable)
Smartphone: OnePlus NORD - £379.00
Printer: Epson Workforce Pro WF-3720 - £127.18
Headphones: Sony WH-CH710N Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - £99.00
Wireless Keyboard and Mouse: Jelly Comb Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – £27.19
Portable Hard Drive: Seagate Expansion Portable 4TB External Hard Drive - £83.99
Rucksack: Vaschy Unisex Classic Lightweight Water-Resistant Rucksack Travel - £21.99
Total Cost: £1,443.32
Remaining Budget: £56.68
*Prices may change
Summary
The setup suggested will allow you to adapt to the course and assignments you take throughout the 3-4 years. The computer setup will give you an option to go single or dual screen with the option of the external monitor. The devices suggested are what I think would be great, there are always other options to consider when purchasing your devices. This setup is merely a guide for you to consider buying devices to use at your university which you may have not considered before. You can remove some aspect of the setup if you have a lower budget or you can purchase one of the devices suggested to complete your current setup. Hopefully, this guide has helped point you in the correct direction and has allowed you to make an informed decision on what you need to complete your chosen university course.
Good luck and wish you success on your course. Knuckle down on your studies and enjoy your time at university, meeting new friends, and making great memories.