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Good quality, entry level laptop..?

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RainbowsInTheSpray
RainbowsInTheSpray Posts: 1,380 Forumite
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in Techie Stuff
Hi guys. Am looking for recommendations for something which really only needs to handle general net surfing. No bells and whistles. On the other hand I'd like reasonable quality, and whatever battery life and future proofing might come with that.

Budget not unlimited but any suggestions considered initially.
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  • Vitor
    Vitor Posts: 58 Forumite
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    A refurbished HP Elitebook G7 go for about £300 on t'Bay
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,884 Forumite
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    What are your priorities? Light weight? Good keyboard? Large screen? Small screen?  New? Or is second hand okay? Windows?


    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • RainbowsInTheSpray
    RainbowsInTheSpray Posts: 1,380 Forumite
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    Open to suggestions but probably: new/sensible keyboard/reasonable screen size/good battery.
  • victor2
    victor2 Posts: 7,657 Ambassador
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    I've just got Linux running on a 20 year old laptop. Battery is next to useless and it is very slow, but it will access the internet, so long as you're patient with it! Cost me nothing but (quite) a few hours work.
    Not saying that's the solution, but if you're prepared to go down that route, an older "refurbished" laptop may do the job admirably.

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  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Posts: 4,027 Forumite
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    used business laptop.
  • RainbowsInTheSpray
    RainbowsInTheSpray Posts: 1,380 Forumite
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    I think I'll give up on this one.
  • getdownmonkeyman
    getdownmonkeyman Posts: 5 Forumite
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    Assuming you are not wedded to Windows, an Asus Chromebook for £200/£300 will do a good job for general surfing.
  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 12,605 Forumite
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    If you are only net surfing you don't need a laptop.

    A used ipad will be better than any cheapie laptop.  My old ipad at 7 years old is still in daily use, my 6 year old laptop now gathers dust thanks to the ever bloated upgrades windows constantly impose.
  • Bonhomie
    Bonhomie Posts: 275 Forumite
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    RainbowsInTheSpray said:
    I think I'll give up on this one.

    Best...too vague.
    What's a 'reasonable' screen size?  :)
  • Annemos
    Annemos Posts: 722 Forumite
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    Just to say, I shall shortly have to look for a new one, too. 

    My HP is about 7 years old. It seems to be slower and slower and stalls when I am following videos that people have made. (It seems to enter a sleep mode and then takes ages to shift into gear once a video has ended.) I am not an expert, but the CPU goes to 100% utilisation when it stalls. 

    I also have the impression that Windows Edge is far too big for it. Especially if I have more than two tabs open. 

    Now they have told us that Windows 10 will stop being supported in October 2025. So that is when I shall have to give up on this one! And look for an alternative. I shall need to find out if I can get around the CPU issue with a new one. 

    (I need to print documents sometimes. Surf the web. No gaming or fancy things!) 

    Good luck Poster. 
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