Many threads on this, in short bottom of the range Lenovo, upgrade RAM and HD to SSD, job done.
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=192795&highlight=cheap+laptop
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=176810&highlight=cheap+laptop
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=171284&highlight=cheap+laptop
I would push the budget to a little over £300 and get a Core i3 processor, it is worth the extra. Otherwise, they will be pretty much the spec you are looking at, with a 15.6inch screen. Stick to most reasonably well-known brands: Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Fujitsu, Lenovo. Be wary of Acer, as the built-in mousepads can be sticky, and HP Pavilions tend to last about 18 months before the displays go.
Buy the best Lenovo you can afford, they have proven bomb proof for me. Or consider ASUS, I've brought a couple over the years and they have been faultless. Personally I'd avoid HP, every one belonging to me or my family has failed, including one two weeks ago where a faulty PSU made the USB ports become live at mains voltage giving my three year old nephew and my brother in law who was holding him a nasty jolt and destroying the laptop... I'll never go near one again.
Yep, I am not a fan of HP. The Pavilion range is built down to a price, and don't last. Certain models of business laptop you have to remove the entire bottom of the case to, upgrade the RAM (Fujitsus you unscrew a hatch, much quicker and easier)
My business is selling IT kit, every time a customer insist on a HP, my heart sinks. I just know within two years they will have a problem with it. Only other issue I have known is the Acer trackpad issue I mentioned above. All other brands are pretty reliable, Lenovo are very good.
HP bottom end is rubbish, but second hand refurbished Elite with new samsung ssd, windows 7 pro at £220 is spot on. I have had mine over a year no problems apart from new battery from Ebay at £15.
Yes, bottom end/home units are rubbish, mid-range are ok-ish, up market business machines (over about £700 new) are much better. Most other brands are decent wherever in the the range you go though - I have never had a problem with Asus, Fujitsu or Lenovo, occasional minor niggle out of warranty with Toshiba, and frequent touchpad pad issues with Acer laptops (desktops are fine).
yep, I have an elitebook folio 9470m and no issues in over 3 years of constant use... but after buying a cheap one, and the Lenovo G50 looks fine for me...
As long as you aren't doing anything too heavy, the G50 is a decent machine. Believe it has just gone end of life, so deals are out there.
just surfing, bit of RAW image processing (canon's DPP), MS office etc...
Ahh, should be fine for that. My only other concern with bottom-end laptops is that upgrading RAM is a pain. Either they only have one slot, or getting to the memory slots is a nightmare because you have to take the whole thing apart. Even mid-range HPs are like this.
One thing I check these days when supplying is does it have a separate 'hatch' to access the RAM slots - Fujitsuusually do, Acer, Asus and Lenovo generally don't at the bottom end of the market.