choose laptop for my needs and budget

cisko65

Hi, I need to buy a laptop for word-processing everyday use, mainly documents, simple pictures, and applications for pdf etc. 

Considering the sales my budget is £350-375.

I am not an expert, but looking at various laptop models I listed what seems suitable for me. In some cases there are alternatives which I am not familiar with.

- Windows

- IntelCore i5 is enough (other processors to consider?)

- 8 GB of RAM are enough

- Storage 512 GB

- Ports: USB-C, at least one USB-A (Often use it connected to desktop monitor, keyboard, printer and headphone jack and charger)

- Battery at least 8 hours

- Screen not smaller than 14.5"

- BLACK comfortable keyboard (silver one not user friendly for me)

- Wi-fi, of course

- Windows, Words and other programs included. I doubt Microsoft 365 will be included considering my budget.

- Same for insurance

- I've seen that Currys Business has different products available.

As I said I'm not an expert, so pls be as clear as possible when making suggestions. And apologies if I missed essential specifications

Thanks very much.

Woodstok2000

There are so many varieties of processor, and they're changing so fast with such differences in performance it can be hard to determine what you need. Even within the i5 range there can be a huge performance range.

I would suggest shopping based on your other requirements, and then using something like https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php to get the fastest processor you can within your price range.

Do you really need insurance? It may already be covered under home contents/ gadget insurance or your bank account if you have a premium one. If not, adding it to your home insurance may be cheaper than a standalone policy.

cisko65

Woodstok2000 said:

There are so many varieties of processor, and they're changing so fast with such differences in performance it can be hard to determine what you need. Even within the i5 range there can be a huge performance range.

I would suggest shopping based on your other requirements, and then using something like https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php to get the fastest processor you can within your price range.

Do you really need insurance? It may already be covered under home contents/ gadget insurance or your bank account if you have a premium one. If not, adding it to your home insurance may be cheaper than a standalone policy.

Thanks for suggesting the website but it seems too difficult for me to use. 

I've been to currys and they are not very helpful to listen to my queries. They tend to suggests the models they want to sell.

Ideally I need some advice from the forum on what model would meet most of the details I listed. 

Grumpy_chap

The OP may find this thread worth a read:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6647673/new-laptop-what-do-i-need-to-be-looking-for/p1

QrizB

8 hour battery life might be a bit of an ask. Is this a definite requirement? Would 4 hours be enough?

Woodstok2000

This is decent for the money: https://www.currys.co.uk/products/asus-vivobook-15-x1504va-15.6-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10286933.html

To demonstrate what i was talking about above, the below laptop is almost identical, but the processor is 30-40% slower:

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-15fc0537sa-15.6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-512-gb-jet-black-10282659.html

Frozen_up_north

Modern laptops running Windows 11 are mostly very good with regard to battery run time.

Currys are out of stock of the linked Vivobook, John Lewis has stock and 2 year warranty as standard.

https://www.johnlewis.com/asus-vivobook-15-laptop-intel-core-5-processor-8gb-ram-512gb-ssd-15-6-full-hd-silver/p113888119

Woodstok2000

Frozen_up_north said:

Modern laptops running Windows 11 are mostly very good with regard to battery run time.

Currys are out of stock of the linked Vivobook, John Lewis has stock and 2 year warranty as standard.

https://www.johnlewis.com/asus-vivobook-15-laptop-intel-core-5-processor-8gb-ram-512gb-ssd-15-6-full-hd-silver/p113888119

Thanks, didnt notice it was out of stock! That is another great example though - the JL laptop is the same price, but the processor is a newer model and about 20% faster than the Currys one.

OP - if you can put up with silver, thats a great deal!

cisko65

QrizB said:

8 hour battery life might be a bit of an ask. Is this a definite requirement? Would 4 hours be enough?

Not really. I've seen most laptop now have a minimum of 8hrs.

Cisco001

ASUS Vivobook 16, M1607KA, AMD Ryzen AI 5, Copilot+, FHD+ IPS, 16GB RAM (Upgradable 32GB) 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Laptop

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-16-m1607ka-16-copilot-pc-amd-ryzen-ai-5-16-gb-ram-512-gb-ssd-windows-11-laptop-cool-silver-wcode-4781777

Make sure the laptop with upgradable RAM slot if you go for 8GB RAM

cisko65

Cisco001 said:

ASUS Vivobook 16, M1607KA, AMD Ryzen AI 5, Copilot+, FHD+ IPS, 16GB RAM (Upgradable 32GB) 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Laptop

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/asus-vivobook-16-m1607ka-16-copilot-pc-amd-ryzen-ai-5-16-gb-ram-512-gb-ssd-windows-11-laptop-cool-silver-wcode-4781777

Make sure the laptop with upgradable RAM slot if you go for 8GB RAM

Will get it from John Lewis, with insurance. Thanks!