What do you need it for?
If going 2nd hand I’d really recommend cex as they give a two year warranty.
whats your budget?
Usage: basic internet really, no games or anything that specialised Budget: hopefully less that about £300
If you literally just want internet then consider a Chromebook, you can get them dirt cheap.
Daft (but genuine) question: what else is there that I could use it for? I mean, I do the odd bit of work on it (MS Office, Word, XL, ppt etc) but can’t think of much else…
Games, recording music, design work, video editing, etc.
Video / music editing, heavy spreadsheet work, gaming, running a business, a media centre - all sorts.
If you want to use MS Office then a Chromebook won’t be for you, though I don’t miss having them (I use Google’s alternatives at work and home).
Considered getting a good tablet with a keyboard instead? For most casual use they’re more than enough, and you can get Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc for them nowadays too.
e.g…?
Won’t be doing any of these
Do you need a disc drive?
CWBAFT
Yes
few laptops come with CD/DVD drives these days, so your best bet is to grab a cheap USB cd/dvd drive off amazon for about 15 quid . just a tip
Buy online or in a store?
I got this around 6 months ago for around £350 and I’ve been pretty happy with it. Use it for basic internetting and some work stuff including fairly heavy data processing. I’ve found having a solid state hard drive makes a massive difference in terms of speed. The main drawback is that the hard drive is pretty small - I replaced the CD/DVD drive with a second hard drive.
https://www.ebuyer.com/800868-lenovo-v110-laptop-80th0013uk?mkwid=s_dc&pcrid=250126554847&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CjwKCAjw75HWBRAwEiwAdzefxPrG2Pq4cP4O5up-oSFSSLgL_X98RjkQlZvCQSnunQeBt8GtI6Wr4hoCNLUQAvD_BwE
*need it about
Lenovo’s seem to always be a great option for value for money and options.
Microsoft Surface Pro or Book if you’re feeling well flash I guess.
Basically if you spend a decent amount you tend to get a good machine
