Need a laptop but confused, please help

CurlySue2017

Thank you again for all the advice.

Reading some more of the links provided, I think a Chromebook is now out of the running and a refurb is going to be the preferred option because I would like it to have Windows (despite not needing all of it's features, it is familiar and easy to use for a non-techie like myself).

I am definitely considering Morgan Computers, so thank you @flashg67 for that suggestion.  The Dell outlet is also a consideration.

The search continues
 

BlueonBlue

Thing is with the ex business refurbs in the 15.6in sizes you may as well buy a new 15.6 or 16inch Vivobook  if you can be bothered looking for a deal on HUKD over a period of time .

Refurbed 14inch are different  or better prices but still come discounted up on HUKD

Be aware of dells customer service it is not john lewis in any way shape or form so choose your poison.
Sometimes your local JL has returns sitting around in store but you have to go in and ask.

BlueonBlue

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-15-156in-i3-1215u-8gb-512gb-laptop-silver-ps269-with-marketing-sign-up-free-cc-4512916
£269-279  15.6inch

Others are available if you look/work at hunting one down over a period of time
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-15-e1504fa-156-full-hd-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-7320u-8gb-ram-512gb-ssd-windows-11-home-4512706
£269 15.6inch

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-14-em0015na-laptop-14-fhd-ryzen-5-7520u-16gb-ram-1tb-ssd-wcode-via-hs-work-students-discounts-4512069
£322 14inch 

If you can wait out a better 300 nit screen (or even a Oled screen recently was £360 hitting 2400 degrees ), better processor or other features etc  will come along either at these prices or near to it .
It may take time and some work but when a deal gets real hot you need to be on it .

Ruger22

bob2302 said:

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. 

Are you able to use Windows 11 on it? 
Windows is ending support to Windows 10 in October.

400ixl

Unless you will be taking the laptop about with you a lot then you are better off buying a new retail laptop that an older refurbished business laptop.

CurlySue2017

400ixl said:

Unless you will be taking the laptop about with you a lot then you are better off buying a new retail laptop that an older refurbished business laptop.

Thanks, can I ask why?

Flatfacedcat

CurlySue2017 said:

some people have suggested to steer clear of Chromebooks - but I'm unsure why?

I had to use Chromebooks in one of the companies I worked for in the last years and I wish to never have to ever again in my life. This because, compared with computers running Windows as operating system, I noticed that with Chromebooks is possible to do a lot less things than with a Windows operating system; I found the usage to be extremely limited. And the control that the user/owner has over it that also seemed a lot more limited than computers running Windows.
Like others said, avoid Chromebooks - they are just trash.

CurlySue2017 said:

a refurb is going to be the preferred option

Refurbished laptops can be a great choice if they come with the standard warranty of at least 1 year. Buying a refurbished laptop usually means buying a laptop that used to be somewhere in the top-end league in terms of performance two-three years ago. Usually these laptops come from corporations that replaced them after few years.


Whether refurbished or new, few parameters to care about are these:
* as operating system, from my perspective both Windows 10 v22H2 and Windows 11 v24H2 are okay even if Windows 10 has already got to the end of its road, but if you intend to choose a completely new one then make sure it comes with Windows 11 and that has its license embeded into the BIOS

* the RAM, for what you mentioned you need it (office activities as far as I understood) should be minimum 8 GB - with less than this Windows 11 may run not as fast

* the storage capacity, as someone else pointed out, should be minimum 256 GB (though even this is already small for 2025 standards. To give you a clear image: now I am writing you from my laptop which runs Windows 11 v24H2 that I installed by myself and before installing it I had Windows 10 v22H2 - when I was running Windows 10 the size of the partition that I dedicated only to Windows was 50 GB; after installing Windows 11 on the same partition formatting everything, so a clean install on a clean disk, I realized 50 GB was too little for Windows 11, so I formatted everything again and resized the partition for Windows only to 100 GB. So 100 GB of storage is only for Windows 11. If you buy a total of 256 GB (which in concrete terms it means that the available space will be around 220-230 GB), deducting the 100 GB dedicated to Windows 11 your laptop will be left with circa 120-130 GB of usable space. To decide if 256 GB is a good deal, ask yourself if 120-130 GB is an amount of space enough for your needs

* the brand: some laptops have a problem with the cooling fan. About this issue, laptops assembled by ASUS are those that most often display this problem. Overheating leads to death of a laptop. So avoiding ASUS laptops, or more in general those brands that are notorious for having cooling fan issues could be a good idea. Another brand that is really bad at laptops is Samsung. I would stay away from anything that is ASUS or Samsung.


If you go around shops, have a look at what is possible to find within your budget and for your needs, take note of the specific brand and model and then post it here, we will be able to give you feedback before buying it so that you can make an optimum choice