Good deals on cheap laptops?

[Nefarious]

Need a new basic laptop in a hurry. Any deals or recommendations before I just grab the cheapest off ebuyer?

[scotta]

buy cheap buy twice!

If cheapness is the priority then chromebook is probably the way to go.

[Jobbo]

Worth looking here: https://www.hotukdeals.com/search?q=laptop

[Broccers]

chromebook is probably the way to go.

Cant agree more - been working on mine for years and its absolutely spot on. Only downside is you can't set up your printer from it, you need a pc or laptop but if you have cloud print sorted already it is not an issue.

[Nefarious]

buy cheap buy twice!

If cheapness is the priority then chromebook is probably the way to go.

By "cheap", I mean basic. I doubt it'll ever run anything more than office and a web browser.

[scotta]

buy cheap buy twice!

If cheapness is the priority then chromebook is probably the way to go.

By "cheap", I mean basic. I doubt it'll ever run anything more than office and a web browser.

Chromebook will do the job then.

Be aware however that chromebooks have very little internal storage so you need to embrace cloud storage...That you dont like.

[JonMad]

Will a chromebook do Office? (properMS Office, not just Google docs/spreadsheets)

[Carlos]

Will a chromebook do Office? (properMS Office, not just Google docs/spreadsheets)

Yes. Office for web or MS apps like Word, Excel etc

The newer Chromebooks should have access to the appstore.

[DeskJockey]

If you want a Windows machine get something used/refurb on eBay. A 2-3yo business laptop will be much nicer to use than most of the basic new laptops.

[Beany]

If you want a Windows machine get something used/refurb on eBay. A 2-3yo business laptop will be much nicer to use than most of the basic new laptops.

Indeed. £300 on a three year old laptop will be far better than £300 on something new.

[scotta]

If you want a Windows machine get something used/refurb on eBay. A 2-3yo business laptop will be much nicer to use than most of the basic new laptops.

Indeed. £300 on a three year old laptop will be far better than £300 on something new.

Until the TPM chip fails and turns it into a brick. Seen this a few times on Dell machines..Handily when they are just out of warranty.

[DeskJockey]

Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.

[Broccers]

Will a chromebook do Office? (properMS Office, not just Google docs/spreadsheets)

Yes. Office for web or MS apps like Word, Excel etc

The newer Chromebooks should have access to the appstore.

Yes - we have office365 on all pcs, phones and chromebooks.

[scotta]

Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.

How many have you had?

[DeskJockey]

Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.

How many have you had?

In total I've had six and supported another 2-3 personally. Adding in devices supported through work, that goes up to about 75-100.

Not suggesting that my experience is absolute proof, merely pointing out my experience. Of the not-work laptops most were in use for 5+ years.

Lenovo batteries on the other hand...

[Explosive Newt]

Dell outlet sometimes has real bargains - https://www.dell.com/en-uk/dfh/shop/del ... /cp/outlet - they are refurbs but I have had two from there without issues. There is a 15" basic inspiron on there for £300 right now.

[scotta]

Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.

How many have you had?

In total I've had six and supported another 2-3 personally. Adding in devices supported through work, that goes up to about 75-100.

Not suggesting that my experience is absolute proof, merely pointing out my experience. Of the not-work laptops most were in use for 5+ years.

Lenovo batteries on the other hand...

the Dell stuff we had were XPS 15 units so £1300 a piece we had around 100 of them and i saw it on about 4 or 5 machines. but you'd be pretty well pissed if you had spanked £1300 on a laptop that died within 2-3 years.

[DeskJockey]

Absolutely. While clearly a smaller issue, the battery problems with Lenovo were quite annoying. I had my first battery was replaced under warranty, after that they just shrugged. Bought an aftermarket battery (reputable brand) that outlasted both the original batteries and the laptop.

Was it a bad batch or was it over several model years?

[scotta]

Absolutely. While clearly a smaller issue, the battery problems with Lenovo were quite annoying. I had my first battery was replaced under warranty, after that they just shrugged. Bought an aftermarket battery (reputable brand) that outlasted both the original batteries and the laptop.

Was it a bad batch or was it over several model years?

didnt seem to matter - all purchased at different times.

[DeskJockey]

That's frustrating. Only ever dealt with one Dell laptop and that lasted a decade before finally giving up.