Need a laptop but confused, please help

400ixl

For your needs and close to your budget something like this would work https://www.johnlewis.com/asus-vivobook-15-laptop-intel-core-i3-processor-8gb-ram-512gb-ssd-15-6-full-hd-silver/p111535573

Good enough processor, 8Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD, 15" screen. 2 year warranty and Asus is a fairly decent midrange brand.

Does Have Windows 11 Home in S mode but you can easily do a conversion to the full version free of charge.

Eyeful

1. Your local library is almost certain to have an online subscription to "Which?
.Ask them to sign you into on "Which?" online & look for latest report of "Best laptops 2025"
They may even have hard copies of the magazine that you can read through.  

2. If you do not have a subscription & try it at home some of the information is blanked to encourage you to get a subscription. Have a look here:
 https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops/article/how-to-buy-the-best-laptop-aNXXi9d9wmfn

3. You can also see what they think about Chromebooks for people that want to do emails, browsing & a few documents.

Lets us know what you end up with. 

CurlySue2017

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and some very detailed replies, I have to say I am not very "techie" so this has helped a lot.

Someone asked if it has to be a laptop and the answer is yes, we have no space for even a small desktop set up so it does have to be small and portable.  Another question was about the tablet - this is just a cheapo supermarket one and is only a small one so for e-mails and a quick look at things it's fine, but if I am doing any kind of document it is far too small.

Reading the replies and looking at the links, I'm now swaying towards something like a Chromebook and steering away from Windows - it seems like a lot of faff and expense for something that isn't really necessary for my level of usage, although some people have suggested to steer clear of Chromebooks - but I'm unsure why?   

BlueonBlue

Look at the 15.6 or 16in Vivobook laptop deals on HOTUKDEALS
I will link something later but should be £275-400 .....often around £329-360 but you need to wait for a deal that suits .

flaneurs_lobster

CurlySue2017 said:

Reading the replies and looking at the links, I'm now swaying towards something like a Chromebook and steering away from Windows - it seems like a lot of faff and expense for something that isn't really necessary for my level of usage, although some people have suggested to steer clear of Chromebooks - but I'm unsure why?   

This is a pretty good article from HP comparing PCs & Chromebooks, they sell both so not bias. I

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/chromebook-vs-windows-laptop

One argument against CB is the limited time period for receiving OS updates, it's very similar to that received by mobile phones (the OS is a variation on Android). Just one (more) thing to check when considering a particular model.

I used Chromebooks as a home user quite happily for a couple of years but did have access to partner's Windows laptop when I needed to use software that wasn't web- or app-based (Calibre for eBook management, Audacity for sound editing were the two most frequently needed).

jshm2

The eMMC machines cannot have storage upgraded (not without soldering anyway). Hence it's best to avoid, unless it's going to be a display machine or kiosk. 

Other machines can have their drive upgraded. 

bob2302

Ruger22 said:

Upgrading the internal hard drive would have been the most cost-effective solution if you still had the old laptop.

You won't find anything decent for £250. Cheap laptops are useless as they are far too slow and a waste of money. (I've made that mistake).

I quickly looked at Argos and saw the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15.6in i5 for £329. It has 256GB SSD storage. 
It'd be the cheapest I'd recommend.

An i5 is overkill for the OPs stated use. My laptop is well over 10 years old and was less powerful than an i3 of the day when it was new. Since the original drive was replaced by an SSD, it's been fine for browsing, email etc. 

BlueonBlue

When you buy a deal on price you dont really need to worry if its i3 i5 or Ryzen 5 these days for general browsing .

You will want to know if you can add more ram  in the future though if its only got 8gb and not 16gb along with other specs that matter to yourself.

peterlore

CurlySue2017 said:

I'm looking to get a new laptop and I am finding all of the choice a bit of a minefield to be honest.
I am very nervous about getting another one, because the last one was a disaster.  In my defence it was bought for me as a gift but the issue was that there was not enough storage space on it to run Windows updates.  This was without saving ANY additional things on it, I deleted everything I could and it just could not run the updates, so within a very short period of time it became competely unusable.

With that in mind, could someone please tell me what the difference is between these two storage options please?  And which is best?
Storage: 128 GB SSD
Storage: 128 GB eMMC

Could any of you advise where you would look to buy one from?  Am I best just heading down to Currys PC World or Argos?

It would be very basic use really: A few documents, internet browsing, e-mails that kind of thing.  I wouldn't be using it for gaming or anything like that.

So...There are a few storage technologies at play these days, and in the case of emmc the storage technology is comparable to conventional 2.5gb hard drives - the access read and write speeds are fairly limited in comparison to newer NVME technologies. It's fine and is stable, but is largely used as an effort to drive down costs on low to mid budget laptops.

 and if you're running windows you're going to want at least 512gb storage to be comfortable.

as others have noted, if cost is a concern then you can look at a refurb which is pretty much in most cases a boxed returned item that can't be sold as new, or is being sold at a lower price because stock is being refreshed. If you google something like currys or dell outlet, it's usually a good way to get a link directly to their outlet or ebay stores.

Emily_Joy

Do not buy a new laptop with this budget - it will be inferior and will not last long. Get a second hand business level laptop on eBay. Look for a genuine private seller - it will  be either an ex-office laptop or an ex-university laptop that will come with all paperwork. You can get a business level model for a fraction of the original price and it will last.