Laptop advice

benson1980

Hi all,

I know this question gets asked a fair bit. Need to recommend something for relative in their 70s. We bought ourselves a used thinkpad x280 off Ebay a few months back. Very pleased with it, but they'll want a bigger screen. Robustness rather than portability is probably the priority.

In terms of getting best value for money, is it generally still considered by the experts on here that used business models (from Ebay or similar) are the way to go? Just thought I'd check to see whether times/recommendations have moved on, and/or if refurbs from a particular outlet are a better option perhaps. It will get pretty normal usage such as browsing, photos and editing, word processing etc but as said with a budget of probably £300 to £400 I'd just want to get the best laptop I can for them. Possibly thinking of something like the T470 or T480 as a larger equivalent to the one we have.

Thanks

Neil_Jones

What does being in their 70s have to do with anything?

What is the competency level of this relative?

benson1980

Neil_Jones said:

What does being in their 70s have to do with anything?

What is the competency level of this relative?

Necessity for bigger screen. To add some context. Didnt really think that much of mentioning it to be honest.

jamesd

Given eyesight issues, perhaps it's a better idea to spend on a big monitor? I have a very nice (but costly!) 48"inch, 4k OLED display.

grumpycrab

 a used thinkpad x280 off Ebay a few months back. Very pleased with it, but they'll want a bigger screen. Robustness rather than portability is probably the priority.

Buy the same and plug in an external monitor.  Or buy an external monitor first and demonstrate with your thinkpad to see if suitable.

poppellerant

I would probably aim for a laptop with a screen no smaller than 15".  Perhaps even a 17" if portability isn't too important.

CoastingHatbox

The venn diagram of affordable sturdy laptops with large screens (over 15") doesn't have a great deal of overlap.

They are also more scarce on the second hand market. Is a desktop an option?

benson1980

CoastingHatbox said:

The venn diagram of affordable sturdy laptops with large screens (over 15") doesn't have a great deal of overlap.

They are also more scarce on the second hand market. Is a desktop an option?

In fairness, yes it might be. Obvious solution. They have an Ipad that they get on well with so it's not so much small screens or eyesight issues. I just think they like a slightly larger machine is preferable for the one they use in the office. I don't think I've ever seen them actually move it.

Thanks for the advice. I'll pitch the desktop option to them.

Farway

benson1980 said:

CoastingHatbox said:

The venn diagram of affordable sturdy laptops with large screens (over 15") doesn't have a great deal of overlap.

They are also more scarce on the second hand market. Is a desktop an option?

In fairness, yes it might be. Obvious solution. They have an Ipad that they get on well with so it's not so much small screens or eyesight issues. I just think they like a slightly larger machine is preferable for the one they use in the office. I don't think I've ever seen them actually move it.

Thanks for the advice. I'll pitch the desktop option to them.

You can get small form factor ones, I have used Dell with SSD from e bay, but I did have keyboard, mouse etc already so no need for me to buy them

Movaraks

Look on ebay HP Laptop 17 should suit your relatives. The screen is very large and quite reliable Laptop