Everywhere + Chromebook = Ugh!

poppellerant

Just don't listen to those who tell you to install Linux or buy another Chromebook.

The simple fact is that you could buy a cheap laptop which was released 10 years ago, yet still usable today, and put an SSD (Solid State Drive) drive in it and still have plenty change out of your £300 budget. Then it's just the small matter of installing Windows 10 onto it.

debitcardmayhem

Not everywhere but nobody here:D

Starter for 10
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdT%2bsHfCbkebAmPTGPSv4fjxNDTnqIWKZmvlsicwcpWvUCN%2brYCBuOe7ijS4QSwHBlEc8U81jjzTeIntqcpNIBfdZ5z64pP3K%2fQ%2bJqly6piakla9F09s6G0%2f5F0oDdid6vEB4E7pDao7FH0PZ72cBovxNpJiwDc6rQdFfDDZmbkH7F5glj%2bhDqXAAM%2bGRXgdIzkK2RaEnFGFOFD0jwta73bIrbDbRbcDissaNPE9PdTE8jCZZ2JGm1iQ%3d
Buy yourself an SSD and fit it
Of course someone will come up with more/better options

System

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Not everywhere but nobody here:D

Starter for 10
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdT%2bsHfCbkebAmPTGPSv4fjxNDTnqIWKZmvlsicwcpWvUCN%2brYCBuOe7ijS4QSwHBlEc8U81jjzTeIntqcpNIBfdZ5z64pP3K%2fQ%2bJqly6piakla9F09s6G0%2f5F0oDdid6vEB4E7pDao7FH0PZ72cBovxNpJiwDc6rQdFfDDZmbkH7F5glj%2bhDqXAAM%2bGRXgdIzkK2RaEnFGFOFD0jwta73bIrbDbRbcDissaNPE9PdTE8jCZZ2JGm1iQ%3d
Buy yourself an SSD and fit it
Of course someone will come up with more/better options

Like the look and sounf that, Happy with it, but I wouldn't know where to start fitting anything.

[Deleted User]

About 6 months ago I paid £230 for a used Dell 12 inch laptop with 8gb ram and 256 gb ssd from CEX with a 2 year warranty.
It has been superb and is a joy to use as it feels premium.
New laptops at this price don't come close.
Ive never had any trouble with CEX and you should be able to trade in your chromebook.

poppellerant

No disrespect to anybody, but islandman has mentioned that they are 80 years old. So I'm not sure how comfortable they would find reading a 12 inch screen when reading/composing emails, browsing the web, etc.

I would scale back on the RAM and SSD size and get a larger screen. I would imagine that 4GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD for storage would be plenty. Of course if you want to keep a lot of photos etc, you can use an external flash or hard drive.

Frozen_up_north

poppellerant wrote: »

Just don't listen to those who tell you to install Linux or buy another Chromebook.

The simple fact is that you could buy a cheap laptop which was released 10 years ago, yet still usable today, and put an SSD (Solid State Drive) drive in it and still have plenty change out of your £300 budget. Then it's just the small matter of installing Windows 10 onto it.

That’s not good advice, as you are assuming that 10 year old hardware has manufacturers updates for Windows 10... good luck with that. Graphics, battery/screen backlight control, track pads, etc all need Win 10 drivers and generic Windows drivers aren’t guaranteed to work.

A far safer bet is a new laptop with an SSD, or failing that a refurbished “office grade” one with a warranty. You probably have to spend around £500 for a new decent spec domestic grade laptop
(SSD drive, 8GB RAM, i5 processor, long battery life, 15” screen, etc). There are quite a few ex office laptops in the £200 to £300 range, most don’t include a new battery so factor that in.

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

About 6 months ago I paid £230 for a used Dell 12 inch laptop with 8gb ram and 256 gb ssd from CEX with a 2 year warranty.
It has been superb and is a joy to use as it feels premium.
New laptops at this price don't come close.
Ive never had any trouble with CEX and you should be able to trade in your chromebook.

Oddly enough, that's where I take my devices when I upgrade. I always decline voucher/money off though. Will have a look in there in next few days. Mind you, I don't think Ive ever bought second-hand. Always thought there could be something wrong with it, which is silly really as mine have always be fine when sold there.

System

poppellerant wrote: »

No disrespect to anybody, but islandman has mentioned that they are 80 years old. So I'm not sure how comfortable they would find reading a 12 inch screen when reading/composing emails, browsing the web, etc.

I would scale back on the RAM and SSD size and get a larger screen. I would imagine that 4GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD for storage would be plenty. Of course if you want to keep a lot of photos etc, you can use an external flash or hard drive.

Yes, six months short of 80, need glasses to read,laptop,phone,tablet, telly but not walking out, just a walking stick, ha ha

poppellerant

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

That’s not good advice, as you are assuming that 10 year old hardware has manufacturers updates for Windows 10... good luck with that. Graphics, battery/screen backlight control, track pads, etc all need Win 10 drivers and generic Windows drivers aren’t guaranteed to work.

I can't agree with you I'm afraid. I regularly use a laptop which is 10 years old and still functions perfectly well while running Windows 10 on an SSD and 4GB of RAM. In fact I genuinely believe that it would surpass the OP's requirements.

As for updates, well even 2 year old mobile phones stop receiving Android security updates. My 10 year old laptop still continues to receive security updates from Microsoft, in addition to any drivers that I keep up to date.

Frozen_up_north

4GB RAM is barely adequate and a 64GB SSD is no use. A basic installation of Windows 10, an “office” package (Libre Office), a photo viewing/editing package, etc. will probably end up using 30 to 50GB. A 128GB SSD is the minimum useful size, 256 doesn’t cost much extra, 500 is overkill.

I would only look at laptops with 8GB RAM and a minimum of 128GB SSD. RAM and SSD prices are fairly low these days.