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Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:50 am
by Nefarious
Need a new basic laptop in a hurry. Any deals or recommendations before I just grab the cheapest off ebuyer?
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:25 am
by scotta
buy cheap buy twice!
If cheapness is the priority then chromebook is probably the way to go.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:28 am
by Jobbo
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:44 am
by Broccers
scotta wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:25 am
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:58 am
by Nefarious
scotta wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:25 am
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:21 am
by scotta
Nefarious wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:58 am
scotta wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:25 am
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:27 pm
by JonMad
Will a chromebook do Office? (properMS Office, not just Google docs/spreadsheets)
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:43 pm
by Carlos
JonMad wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:27 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 1:39 pm
by 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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 1:51 pm
by Beany
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 1:39 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:17 pm
by scotta
Beany wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 1:51 pm
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 1:39 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:31 pm
by DeskJockey
Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:40 pm
by Broccers
Carlos wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:43 pm
JonMad wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:27 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:16 pm
by scotta
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:31 pm
Never had that problem on any of the Lenovo ones I've had.
How many have you had?
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:23 pm
by DeskJockey
scotta wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:16 pm
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:31 pm
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...
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:07 pm
by 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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:50 pm
by scotta
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:23 pm
scotta wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:16 pm
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:31 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:56 pm
by 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?
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:33 pm
by scotta
DeskJockey wrote: Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:56 pm
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.
Re: Good deals on cheap laptops?
Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:46 pm
by DeskJockey
That's frustrating. Only ever dealt with one Dell laptop and that lasted a decade before finally giving up.