Wanted: Refurbished laptop with SSD, Windows 10, USBs 2 & 3, upto £350

chaucer

Hello all. Both my desktop and laptop are at or about ten years old and I am about as many years out of date in knowing what is what in terms of tech spec.
I would like a laptop and am happy to buy Refurbished to gain a higher spec for my budget.
It is mainly for home use but also in conjunction with an audio interface to record guitar and vocals.

I have been advised to seek:
SSD
Both USB 2 (for the interface) and USB 3
Windows 10
8gb RAM
Intel U Series processor (for low noise) or i7
1080 (minimum) monitor


Any advice, links and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

bengalknights

Tier1 Online sell business grade refurbs that should fall within your specs and budget

WAYT

bengalknights wrote: »

Tier1 Online sell business grade refurbs that should fall within your specs and budget

Perhaps you can link to one or two....

chaucer

Thanks. I'll check out their site.
I've been trawling Amazon - I have some vouchers to use ... and found:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H5MXX2W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=271GLW9T9FL5N&coliid=I6VOW606PTM3N

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQ53RI0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=271GLW9T9FL5N&coliid=I372KDCAWN7GQW

Any good for my purposes?
At a keen price?

WAYT

chaucer wrote: »

Thanks. I'll check out their site.
I've been trawling Amazon - I have some vouchers to use ... and found:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H5MXX2W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=271GLW9T9FL5N&coliid=I6VOW606PTM3N

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQ53RI0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=271GLW9T9FL5N&coliid=I372KDCAWN7GQW

Any good for my purposes?
At a keen price?

Neither fit your your basic criteria. Old machines. Screen size 14" & 12.5" respectively. Low resolution screens. Neither have the low voltage CPU you requested.nor i7.
Windows 10 isn't important since you can upgrade for free anyway.

So for me, a definitive no.

were

for older laptops, unless you need power saving, avoid the i3, as the first version was not a number cruncher by any means. i5 were ok though.

chaucer

Of those specs I was advised to look for, priority for my needs I think are ...
SSD and i7 for low noise
USB 2 for interface compatibility and usb 3 for up to date connection

Is 8gb ram essential or just a bit of future proofing?

Monitor resolution doesn't seem such a biggie to me. Is it?
And screen size.

I'll mostly be plugged in so battery life isn't top priority.

How come W10 is free?

WAYT

Something a fair bit newer closer to your spec is this Dell Inspiron 15-5558 for £348. Unfortunately over budget, as you would need another £50 for a solid state drive.

Processor Intel Core i5-5200U 2.2 GHz
Graphics adapter NVIDIA GeForce 920M - 4096 MB, Core: 954 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, DDR3, ForceWare 353.30 (10.18.13.5330), Optimus
Memory 8192 MB DDR3-1600, dual-channel, two memory banks (filled)
Display15.6 inch 16:9, 1920x1080 pixel, LG Philips 156WF6, IPS, glossy: no
MainboardIntel Broadwell-U PCH-LP (Premium)

They had an identical model earlier, though with a 500 GB HDD for £323. Leaving a bit in the budget for the SSD.

Jivesinger

chaucer wrote: »

How come W10 is free?

Because the free upgrade from Windows 7/8 never ended through certain upgrade routes.

chaucer

I'm still struggling here.

I really have no understanding of the various models ... either by name and definitely not by model number ... how old the models are, which is a better machine, which preceded/superceded which etc.
I have narrowed down a few and it seems they are 5-7 years old ...

I know I'm asking for someone to share their knowledge ... but without I could be spending hours and hours looking at things that are no good.

I need help please.

Also...

Is £350 too restrictive a budget?


I'm open to any and all suggestions ...

Spending a little more, shopping elsewhere etc.

Thanks.

prenton01

Why don't you get one of these

Well known MFR just as good as top end makes

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Earphone-Gift-Original-Xiaomi-Mi-Notebook-Air-12-5-inch-Laptop-Intel-Core-M3-6Y30-CPU/32818878107.html?