We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More » This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Need PC laptop recommendations around £500 budget

Hoseman

Hoseman Posts: 389 Forumite

Part of the Furniture

100 Posts

Name Dropper

Combo Breaker

29 October 2023 at 9:15PM in Techie Stuff

I need your recommendations, please. I'm after a PC laptop for work use and it will be used as follows:

- Browsing
- Videocalls
- Multiple applications open
- Multiple Chrome tabs open (usually around 30 to 40)

Looking for the following:

- SSD Disk - at least 4/500GB
- 15.6 screen
- Decent screen
- Reliable brand (like HP as well as any others)
- Reasonably light (when occasionally carrying around)
- Future proof (expansion opportunities eg RAM)

Thanks

0

Comments

facade Posts: 7,535 Forumite

29 October 2023 at 11:17PM

You won't get all that for £500 in a brand new laptop. You can get close, but will have to compromise on "future proof" at least, most light laptops cannot be expanded apart from the SSD.

An Acer Aspire 3 with 8GB and an i7 is around £500, which would tick most of your boxes.

You stand more chance with an ex-corporate one from one of the refurbishers.

I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

(except air quality and Medical Science )
1
Bonhomie Posts: 365 Forumite

30 October 2023 at 10:19AM

https://www.box.co.uk/82S900YQUK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Gaming-3-Intel-Core-i5-8G_4415151.html

1
GDB2222 Posts: 26,052 Forumite

30 October 2023 at 10:34AM

Chrome memory saver helps with 30-40 open tabs. It removes resources from tabs you have not touched for a while.

No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
1
400ixl Posts: 4,482 Forumite

30 October 2023 at 11:01AM

Look for something with an Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 16Gb RAM and 500Gb SSD. You don't need an i7 or Ryzen 7 for your needs and would gain more from more RAM memory.

15" screens and light don't really go together, so do you need 15" or will 14" do?

You could get a certified refurbished Dell from their official outlet store which would meet your requirements.

https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfb1&l=en&s=dfb&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw/PR7UdW72wC8MM+yxZppflWkMNTyWJ4e+nQtdSo0QyxboYjAaOcN9z/pB2LT0Rhe+122mDb3NHXJ9fkvjYRnke0BRedtvnPM3v/rGPKrC8+DEN2UNk3Xk+nhgmgtpnFjvfASW7HQuDcoUJ/7i94olI9xQVvVUlvZkdamcMiAAAMxjCQ6MJm/hts8xI0JFvXRIIc4TqD7fdCnzIAAJ5tHHh/SXdAlxWdZX1+ouQhuGqv1zldZDNlXXqDskBJE=

1
steviebabes Posts: 2,064 Forumite

30 October 2023 at 11:54AM

We have two of these - https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-15-x1500ea-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-black-10240161.html
Lightweight and good battery life. Only 8gb RAM but the i7 version has 16gb for more money.

1

★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories

All Categories
350.4K Banking & Borrowing
252.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
453.3K Spending & Discounts
243.4K Work, Benefits & Business
598K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
176.6K Life & Family
256.5K Travel & Transport
1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
16.1K Discuss & Feedback
37.6K Read-Only Boards

MSE News

Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payments this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
Which NatWest and RBS branches are closing from 2025? Here's the full list – and banking alternatives
NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which are both part of the NatWest Group, will shut at least 108 of their bank branches in 2025 and beyond, after the Group announced a further 52 NatWest closures.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
Winter Fuel Payments will be reinstated to all pensioners in England and Wales this winter – but will be clawed back automatically from those earning over £35,000 a year, the Government has confirmed. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis.
Car finance mis-selling update: regulator prepares for compensation scheme – and warns against using claims firms
Payouts for mis-sold car finance could be another step closer as the financial regulator has set out the factors it will consider if it were to introduce an industry-wide redress scheme – though we won't know more about how this will work until after a key Supreme Court decision expected in July. In the meantime, the regulator has warned that you DON'T need to sign up with a claims firm to be included.
Winter Fuel Payments to be extended to pensioners earning £35,000 or less – here's what we know so far
Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to all pensioners with incomes of £35,000 or less this winter, the Government has confirmed. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up.
Winter Fuel Payments extension confirmed for this winter – watch Martin Lewis' instant response and his message to the Chancellor
Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to more pensioners this winter – though not to everyone – the Chancellor has today confirmed. However, exact details of who will now qualify still remain scant. Watch MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis give his instant response, as well as his key message for Rachel Reeves.
Nationwide Fairer Share: Free £100 bonus confirmed for 2025 – here's who will get it
If you bank with Nationwide, you could get a free £100 paid into your account in June or July as part of the building society's 'Fairer Share' scheme. The bonus will be paid to millions of its current account customers who also have savings or a mortgage with it.
Forced onto a prepay energy meter? You may be due money back as 10,000s to be compensated
If you had an energy prepayment meter forcibly installed or your smart meter was remotely switched to prepay mode without your permission, you could be entitled to compensation of up to £1,000 and may even be eligible to have your energy debts written off.