Laptop Under £200

Terry98

I need to source a laptop for a student going to Uni next year.

Ideally it will need Win7 or higher, SSD, 4GB RAM and a 14" screen. The laptop is required for text and Internet so the best processor for the money will suffice.

It would be good if it was new but I know £200 for the above spec might be asking a lot so a grade 1 or 2 used with some sort of warranty would be a good alternative. I could source and install the SSD myself if needed.

D_M_E

If it's not going to be needed until next year, wait until the Christmas or January sales and you should get close to what you want for the money.

jaydeeuk1

I'd wait till next year, no point getting a laptop now unless you need it right now too.

John_Gray

To give you an idea of what's available on the second-hand market at the moment, have a look at Microdream's current range. I've sorted the list in order of increasing price.

Fightsback

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

I'd wait till next year, no point getting a laptop now unless you need it right now too.

I wouldn't, have you seen Sterling's recent performance on the foreign exchanges ?

Terry98

Thanks for the replies. We are getting the laptop as a joint birthday present and he will not have another one until he goes to Uni so we need to buy it in the next few weeks!

The Microdream link looks good....a Dell or a Lenovo would be at the top of our list.

Heedtheadvice

Just bought from microdream the other week and so far really pleased with the refurb Dell, the cost and their service.
Off the shelf models available via Amazon (slightly more expensive) but some customisation of hardware can be done buying direct.

bengalknights

Try the tier1 online website they have quite a lot of ex business refurbs with specs you want

Strider590

Personally i'd buy used on an auction site, buy from a private seller where you can see actual images of the laptop and not generic images from the web.
As long as they say it works perfectly and the images look good, you should get a bargain.
I've found the bigger refurb laptop sellers to be less than honest recently, selling some right junk.

DavidP24

Forget the requirement for an SSD, stick with 320gb or 500gb HD.

I can get that spec on 2nd hand market for £50 for a Dell 15 inch inspiron, I usually swap out CPU for a 9800 which is about £25. Plenty of bigger hard disks but keep it under 500gb and go external if need more.

Has a lot of Grunt with that cpu change, problem you have is RAM, make sure it has 4gb min to start as memory for old kit is expensive now. Win7 used to need 2gb but now 4gb is minimum. 8gb is great!

DavidP24

Agree private seller best,. why ad a middleman