Most tablet devices on the market at the minute are quite powerful, portable, and easy to use. They are excellent for browsing, running the basic Office 365 Apps and a selection of Apps available in the associated stores and for some students they may be all you require. However, you cannot always install the software you require for your studies on tablet devices, this is usually due to operating system constraints, or the amount of available storage, plus printing from these devices can at times also cause issues. Buying a laptop or a desktop device will give you many more options to install software, attach peripherals, e.g., external monitors, a printer and extend the power options and storage capacity of the device.

In most cases this will be a personal preference for the type of device you prefer. These days most of the software you will require for your studies will run on both platforms, but it is worth checking with your School that this is the case for Mac devices before making a purchase, as some software may not run on the Apple operating system. Typically, Windows PCs are used throughout the University as the core device and they are the only device available in our central rooms and in our student computer spaces.

Desktop or laptop devices for student devices

The Medium Specification would be the recommended specification and would cater for most general student needs. The Intel i5/AMD Ryzen 5 or equivalent processer along with a minimum of 8GB RAM should have enough capability to take you through your degree course, but please read the Additional Aspects to consider below, before purchasing a device, as some course activity may require a higher specified device.

• If your device does not come with a built-in webcam and microphone, consider buying them. A 1080P HD, 30fps webcam with built-in microphone should suit most general purposes.
• Laptop Battery Life – you will want a device that will last you through a normal day’s usage, look for a device that has a minimum 8-hour battery life.
• Do you want a Touch screen device? This can be a very useful and user-friendly option but having a touchscreen can drain your battery a bit faster and it can increase the overall cost of the device.
• Where you intend to install additional software, you may want to look at upgrading your storage to 1TB or above. This may be required if you are installing large software packages, video files, plans, or images. Remember you have access to Microsoft OneDrive for additional storage.
• Laptop Portability - If you intend to buy a laptop to bring into University every day, then consider the weight of the device and the overall size of the device. Typically, the bigger the screen size the heavier the device. A device about 1.5kg – 2kg is as heavy as you would want to be carrying round every day, but often the size and weight is a trade-off for the functionality you need.
• Consider the ability to connect an external monitor. Look for devices with HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, or similar ports.
• At least 3 USB ports (including USB C) for example connecting external storage, a full-size keyboard, an external mouse, or a printer.
• Display resolution. For most uses a device capable of 1920x1080 resolution will be fine, however if you are intending to purchase a higher specification device for activities like design work, video production, gaming, or graphics creation and manipulation then consider upping the resolution to 2560 x 1440 (2K), 3200 x 1800 (3K) or 3840 x 2160 (4K). Increasing the resolution will add additional cost to your device.
• One other thing to consider is the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) often referred to as the graphics card, but it does much more than process graphics and is involved in all the high-powered processing on your device. If you intend to use your device for design work, video production, gaming, or graphics creation and manipulation then you will need to look at upgrading the specification of the GPU, for these types of activity a minimum 2GB graphics card would be necessary, and some very heavy applications may require a 4GB graphics card. You may want to contact your School and ask about aspects like this before buying a device.
• If you get a device with an Ethernet port then that means you have the option of plugging the device directly into your broadband router using an ethernet cable, this will result in faster browser and file upload and download speeds.
• Look for devices where the device components have a warranty of at least 3 years, some however, will only come with 1 year. (Note the manufacturer warranty does not cover accidental damage, you will need to look at additional insurance options for this type of cover.)
• You cannot really improve the processer once you have bought the device, however before purchasing check if your device has options to expand the RAM or the storage capacity at some time in the future. These options to extend are typical in a lot of devices and can be used to extend the power and lifespan of your device.
• Be secure and consider antivirus software with any purchase.

Student discount scheme:

• Visit dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-advantage/cp/students
• On this page there is a link “Redeem Your Voucher Codes Here” with further instructions if required.
• A link will take them to a page where it requests that they enter their University email address – it will then send the student their unique voucher codes to their email inbox.
• From this point the process is the same.

Students will receive the following discounts:

• 5% on Inspiron
• 10% on XPS, Alienware, Inspiron Gaming, Monitors, Projectors
• 20% on Accessories
• Discounts stack on top of the money off deals on the Dell Deals pages however they cannot be used in conjunction with another coupon code. (i.e., if our site is running a SAVE10 code in a sale you cannot add both the SAVE10 and the Dell Advantage code.)

Student discount scheme:

Discounts for Youth (16-26-year olds), Apprentices, Students & Teachers and Seniors:

• Discount Programs: Student, Military, and Seniors 50+ | ID.me | Lenovo UK
• Staff/Student Discounts - exclusive discounts by signing up at: JOIN NOW (lenovo.com)
• Outlet Store Deals - Low prices on new and refurbished systems. Explore now (lenovo.com)

Please note some of the devices are refurbished.

HP Store offer students up to 30% discount via the HP Student Store, with a valid .ac.uk email address. No need for a HP student discount code, any offers will be applied automatically.

Find out more at: HP Student Store - HP Store UK

Queen’s Student can have access to Office 365 Apps at no extra charge and can download up to 5 active versions of the Office App suite on any device for free (for the duration of their time at Queen’s). https://office365.qub.ac.uk/

By signing up with a University email account Staff/Students can get extra discounts on the purchase of Surface devices and accessories at Back to School - Discounts and offers for Students | Microsoft Store.

By signing up with a University email account Staff/Students can get extra discounts on the purchase of devices and accessories.

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/campaigns/education-pricing or via

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/education_routing/find_your_institution/access

The Student Hardship Fund is open to all students and can be used to support the cost of IT and/or Wi-Fi.  You will need to submit some supporting documents and outline the reasons why you need the support of the fund.  More information can be found at Student Financial Support | Study | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk).

This is only open to students from Northern Ireland and Great Britain and can be used to support the cost of IT and/or Wi-Fi. You will need to submit some supporting documents and outline the reasons why you need the support of the fund.  More information can be found at Student Financial Support | Study | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk).