Probably good advice, it's an OK spec. Been good to me so backing everything up and upgrading would be worthwhile.
Buying a Windows laptop for schoolwork - new or used?
- Thread starter deebster
- Start date
donmarrese
Active Member
I'm in the trade, and as the previous guy said...there is a flurry to buy up 2-4 year old laptops from Gumtree and ebay, remove hard drives replacing with SSD drives, loading them up with the latest Win 10 OS's and charging serious bucks!
Currys best deal at the mo is an HP i3 8GB ram + 256SSD Win 10 for £450...Last January, this same laptop could be bought for £320!
I prefer John Lewis for anything electrical as their warranty is for 2 years...but at the mo, they are out of stock of almost everything...
So next best thing is to buy an i3/i5 second-hand Laptop. Remove the old mechanical hard drive and replace with an SSD Hard drive...you can pick up one 256GB "Pioneer" from Amazon for about £35
These drives are 5X quicker than the old style hard drive...making an old laptop a spring chicken again! look on Youtube on how to open up specific models...
Loading up the latest Windows onto your new hard drive....
((You can use a Windows 7 Product key, normally found underneath laptop... to activate a Windows 10 OS) Win 7 home = Win 10 Home etc)
Win 10 install can be downloaded from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
this download contains both Win 10 Pro and Home. Once downloaded, you'll need an 8GB usb stick ...follow instructions and the way you go...if you need more advice on reloading a laptop, pm me.
When looking at a second hand laptop to buy, look at the mouse pad and keys...if they are shiny as F**k leave it alone....it's had a lot of use...our finger pads cause a lot of wear!
Listen for fan noise...it should be present, but not chugging...that would be another sign of overuse/very dusty environment.
A gentle fan flow on the face is good...feel the laptop for heat after leaving on for 15 mins....if it's hot, hand it back...clogged fan or poss a graphics chip overheating = nightmare!
I prefer 4th Gen i5's which still have plenty of guts (processing power) paired with an SSD drive usually starts Win 10 in 5 secs.
If for schooling, get the kids at least 15'6 inch screens...the 14" versions are very small font, and not good for kids eyesight let alone 45's+
Pm me if you need any free advice, hope this is of some help...
Currys best deal at the mo is an HP i3 8GB ram + 256SSD Win 10 for £450...Last January, this same laptop could be bought for £320!
I prefer John Lewis for anything electrical as their warranty is for 2 years...but at the mo, they are out of stock of almost everything...
So next best thing is to buy an i3/i5 second-hand Laptop. Remove the old mechanical hard drive and replace with an SSD Hard drive...you can pick up one 256GB "Pioneer" from Amazon for about £35
These drives are 5X quicker than the old style hard drive...making an old laptop a spring chicken again! look on Youtube on how to open up specific models...
Loading up the latest Windows onto your new hard drive....
((You can use a Windows 7 Product key, normally found underneath laptop... to activate a Windows 10 OS) Win 7 home = Win 10 Home etc)
Win 10 install can be downloaded from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
this download contains both Win 10 Pro and Home. Once downloaded, you'll need an 8GB usb stick ...follow instructions and the way you go...if you need more advice on reloading a laptop, pm me.
When looking at a second hand laptop to buy, look at the mouse pad and keys...if they are shiny as F**k leave it alone....it's had a lot of use...our finger pads cause a lot of wear!
Listen for fan noise...it should be present, but not chugging...that would be another sign of overuse/very dusty environment.
A gentle fan flow on the face is good...feel the laptop for heat after leaving on for 15 mins....if it's hot, hand it back...clogged fan or poss a graphics chip overheating = nightmare!
I prefer 4th Gen i5's which still have plenty of guts (processing power) paired with an SSD drive usually starts Win 10 in 5 secs.
If for schooling, get the kids at least 15'6 inch screens...the 14" versions are very small font, and not good for kids eyesight let alone 45's+
Pm me if you need any free advice, hope this is of some help...
The Bish
pfm Member
I've bought 3 lenovo machines from ITZoo - really good service and great machines - here's a link Cheap Refurbished Lenovo Laptops (itzoo.co.uk)
The P50s are really powerful but hefty machines, might be a bit big for schoolwork, but they also have X260, X270 etc, all will be a lot better than a new low-end jobbie from currys IMO.
This one is a good spec - grade A with UK keyboard for £325 - Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad X270 Laptop 6th Gen i5 8GB 256GB (itzoo.co.uk)
The P50s are really powerful but hefty machines, might be a bit big for schoolwork, but they also have X260, X270 etc, all will be a lot better than a new low-end jobbie from currys IMO.
This one is a good spec - grade A with UK keyboard for £325 - Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad X270 Laptop 6th Gen i5 8GB 256GB (itzoo.co.uk)
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
I would normally but their customer service recently (white goods) has been appalling.
Paul_Riordan
pfm Member
I have used these guys to buy new and refurbished computer gear a few times - https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ct/laptops-and-netbooks/laptops?sortOrder=1
They seem to have quite a few different Windows laptops at under £200.
Hope this helps
Paul
PS:
The only relationship I have with them is as a customer.
They seem to have quite a few different Windows laptops at under £200.
Hope this helps
Paul
PS:
The only relationship I have with them is as a customer.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
Colin Barron
pfm Member
I recently purchased an HP I7 probook, 8gb ram 120gb ssd for £200. It was in good nick. They are on Ebay but will charge £240 due to Ebay charges. The computers are reinstalled with Windows 10. Warranty 12 months. The man to speak to is Jonny. Their biggest seller is £70 for a system unit, monitor and keyboard; they were not obsolete junk either.
They are in washington Co Durham.
http://www.ncrecycling.co.uk/contactus.html
They are in washington Co Durham.
http://www.ncrecycling.co.uk/contactus.html
Last edited:
Colin Barron
pfm Member
There are some good quality laptops available from companies that recycle and guarantee their supplier that the data will be wiped and a new windows installed before they sell it on. The main problem with second hand laptops is they may need a new battery.
robs
should know how this works by no
I bought my work laptop (for traveling) s/h about 18 months ago from tier1, another refurbisher, and have been very happy with it. A quality ex business laptop from a reputable supplier is almost certainly going to be a much more reliable and hardy workhorse compared with anything bought new from Currys etc at the same price. Business vs consumer. You'll be buying what was a relatively high performance laptop designed to be thrown around and with a long warranty back then, as opposed to a plastic disposable consumer product now. The main questionmark is probably over the battery, but they are relatively low cost if you need to replace. Performance will probably be little different (or better!).
Having said that, the current s/h price for the same model I bought 18 months ago has gone up a lot...inflation or coflation..
I (regrettably in hind site) bought my daughter a new 'Currys' laptop a couple of years ago. She has trashed it. Currently held together with Gorilla tape and had the power socket replaced. She is not gentle with it, but it is also fragile.. If (when) it needs replacing (at her cost!), I have suggested it should be be with a s/h Thinkpad X something or Dell T something.
Having said that, the current s/h price for the same model I bought 18 months ago has gone up a lot...inflation or coflation..
I (regrettably in hind site) bought my daughter a new 'Currys' laptop a couple of years ago. She has trashed it. Currently held together with Gorilla tape and had the power socket replaced. She is not gentle with it, but it is also fragile.. If (when) it needs replacing (at her cost!), I have suggested it should be be with a s/h Thinkpad X something or Dell T something.
Cheese
Bitter lover
Just two things, definitely use the local version of Teams rather than the browser version. You don’t want to be in a session and be the only one not having the full range of possibilities.
Secondly, new or second hand, don’t be too stingy. Following Covid-19, Teams has been thrown on the market in a beta state, with the effect that it still uses an awful lot of resources. 8GB ram is absolute minimum and even then, merely having Teams open will eat up 70 per cent of the ram. I recommend Lenovo too, certainly over HP whose current notebooks are a nightmare I have never experienced anywhere else. Good looking Ultra cheapo stuff.
Google : what annoys me is that they constantly change their panel of applications, they bring out something useful and shut it down a few years later when they feel they don’t earn enough with it. But that’s the destiny of those who don’t want to pay for licenses.
Secondly, new or second hand, don’t be too stingy. Following Covid-19, Teams has been thrown on the market in a beta state, with the effect that it still uses an awful lot of resources. 8GB ram is absolute minimum and even then, merely having Teams open will eat up 70 per cent of the ram. I recommend Lenovo too, certainly over HP whose current notebooks are a nightmare I have never experienced anywhere else. Good looking Ultra cheapo stuff.
Google : what annoys me is that they constantly change their panel of applications, they bring out something useful and shut it down a few years later when they feel they don’t earn enough with it. But that’s the destiny of those who don’t want to pay for licenses.