Decent basic laptop under £200 - is there one?

Spiritseeker

Hi all,

I am looking for a new laptop for under the £200 mark. The only things that I definitely want are a screen no smaller than 15.4", a wireless internet connection and an OS already installed/the disc included to do so.
The laptop will literally just be for browsing the net, checking emails, social sites etc. No gaming planned, not much software to be installed - probably just drivers for a printer, adobe, MS office etc. The very basics!

Is there anything out there that will run at a decent speed and have 'some' storage? (say 250GB) One that is a reliable build and has no awful flaws?

I know sub £200 is not easy to find - I haven't found any which has a 15.4" screen myself. Am I just looking for too much for too little?

thanks in advance

stilltheone

The short answer is no....but you already know that.

buglawton

You won't get a new one of the spec you need for that price, but can do what I do & buy good quality ex-business ones, e.g. Lenovo, on-line. Make sure it comes with a licensed copy of Windows - if Win7 then there is a proper tool built in to make a full recovery backup. Solid used corporate machines often outlast cheap consumer ones.

buglawton

ok here's one example of ex-corporate, in this case a Compaq from a co I bought form in the past:
http://www.tier1online.com/Product/4181-XH200EA*23ABU/Open_Box_Compaq_Presario_CQ56_102SA.htm

...now all we have to do is wait for the critics to arrive....

stilltheone

buglawton wrote: »

ok here's one example of ex-corporate, in this case a Compaq from a co I bought form in the past:
http://www.tier1online.com/Product/4181-XH200EA*23ABU/Open_Box_Compaq_Presario_CQ56_102SA.htm

...now all we have to do is wait for the critics to arrive....

It's not £200

RussJK

buglawton wrote: »

...now all we have to do is wait for the critics to arrive....

The 'Presario' branded desktop wallpaper is horrible

It's not terrible, and will do the job the OP wants with the screen size they want. The CPU passmark is ~675, so more than double that of a standard netbook, and faster than the new dual core netbooks.

If the OP really wants under £200 or nothing, then probably the best they can do is look on ebay for an older machine from a business seller, using "buy it now" and not auction mode, and look for a 3 month warranty.

Use http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php to get a sense of the performance of the machine, so you know what you're buying. For reference, a cpu passmark of 300 is slow netbook territory, 900 is ultraportable laptop territory, 1500 is minimum IMO for a desktop replacement laptop, and 2200+ are for people with the new generation of laptops.

stilltheone

RussJK wrote: »

The 'Presario' branded desktop wallpaper is horrible

It's not terrible, and will do the job the OP wants with the screen size they want. The CPU passmark is ~675, so more than double that of a standard netbook, and faster than the new dual core netbooks.

If the OP really wants under £200 or nothing, then probably the best they can do is look on ebay for an older machine from a business seller, using "buy it now" and not auction mode, and look for a 3 month warranty.

Use http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php to get a sense of the performance of the machine, so you know what you're buying. For reference, a cpu passmark of 300 is slow netbook territory, 900 is ultraportable laptop territory, 1500 is minimum IMO for a desktop replacement laptop, and 2200+ are for people with the new generation of laptops.

Hey! What are you saying?? My CPU Benchmark figure: 396 That is for my main PC.

spakkker

The CQ56 103SA was on sale Tesco , end Jan, £239 with T3500 cpu - 1475 rating. A used version with much lesser cpu for same price does not sound at all good.

Spiritseeker

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I hadn't thought of a used business laptop, that's something I'll look into. I really am on a budget, so will keep my eyes peeled.

I appreciate the link to the benchmark listings - that is really useful.

grumpycrab

Does it have to be mobile? Do you have a spare monitor/TV? If no and yes, here's a possibility for £200...

eMachine ER1402 £100 on Monday morning http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/emachine-er1402-desktop-99-99-again-ebuyer-monday-11am/933438
(ok, its not a laptop but its small!)
DVD drive £26 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180608
Windows Home Premium £70 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173791

globalds

Dell outlet.
http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=7716&SC=lowToHigh&c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh

Look for the inspiron laptops . Cheapest I can see is £203.96 + delivery.

It is worth waiting for a voucher or free delivery as they do this pretty often.