Another "What laptop should I get?" thread

[The Duck Man]

Hello there - what laptop should I get?

When I last got one it was in 2009. I'd stopped taking much of an interest in computers by then - I'd lapsed as a PC gamer a few years earlier - but I still carried an awareness of what a decent spec was for a laptop. The one I got - an Acer - did a good job for me up until early 2014, when it was nicked in a burglary. Since then I've survived with my tablet, but while that's fine for web browsing it's a pain when you have to do something a bit more practical - research something, book a holiday, write the greatest screenplay since Stuart Little 2 etc.

So I'd like a laptop, but I now have no idea what a reasonable spec is these days. I don't have any especially complex needs - I'd like a decent sized screen for DVDs/blu-rays etc, a reasonable keyboard. My main concern is that it won't lag after a few years, while I obviously don't want a tiny hard drive I can always save to the cloud/an external. I'm a Windows man, but am ambivalent towards those ones that turn into a tablet.

Think that covers it? I've got £150 in John Lewis vouchers too.

[canadagoose]

If you can, I'd go for a laptop with an easily-replaceable keyboard. I made the mistake of buying an aesthetically pleasing but difficult-to-repair system just over a year ago[nb]a Toshiba Satellite L50 model - can't remember the exact name of it but it's one with an island-style keyboard[/nb], and when the keyboard broke, it was really difficult to replace - I ended up making a bodge of it and had to have the laptop completely disassembled and put together again. Also, the keyboard isn't half as satisfying to type on as my Toshiba Portege M400 - which is pretty old now, but feels really solid and well-built.

Lenovo laptops seem to have a good reputation, although they have made some low-end machines in recent years that don't seem too brilliant in terms of build quality. I probably wouldn't bother with the machines that cost less than £250, for instance; sure, they'll work, but you'll probably find them a bit sluggish due to their lack of RAM, and they probably won't be too resilient.

Seeing as you have John Lewis vouchers, if your budget stretches to £400, here's a decent Lenovo with 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD and a Core i5: http://www.johnlewis.com/lenovo-ideapad-300-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-ram-1tb-15-6-black/p2457271 I'd definitely recommend going into the shop and having a little type on their display laptops before you buy anything, though. It'll let you eliminate the laptops with less-than-brilliant keyboards and not-so-great performance.

edit: I've just noticed the reviews for that laptop, and one person thinks the keyboard is good, while the other hates it. Definitely worth trying it out in real life before you buy, in that case.

[Glebe]

I'm a Lenovo guy... I believe Asus laptops are really sturdy and high-performance or summit, but they're a bit pricey.

[falafel]

I just got an Acer 592g. It's great. Battery life is not great for a modern laptop but that's down to it being a fairly compact but also decently powerful machine offering really good value. If you can stretch to it and don't mind the battery life it will be a decent performer for a while yet. No DVD drive, but i don't think many do these days.

[Wilbur]

The advice I give on this hasn't really changed much over the years. If you get a refurbished Lenovo Business laptop you get a machine that was massively expensive and highly engineered for a fraction of the original price. If you are lucky it may even have some of the residual 3 year warranty still left. I use Tier1 http://www.tier1online.com/Grade-A-Lenovo-Laptops?sort=bestselling. Go for Grade A and they are usually almost like new although may have some keyboard wear (other suppliers area available). If you want added warranty their price is reasonable although I've never had to make a return yet.

[great_badir]

The advice I give on this hasn't really changed much over the years. If you get a refurbished Lenovo Business laptop you get a machine that was massively expensive and highly engineered for a fraction of the original price. If you are lucky it may even have some of the residual 3 year warranty still left. I use Tier1 http://www.tier1online.com/Grade-A-Lenovo-Laptops?sort=bestselling. Go for Grade A and they are usually almost like new although may have some keyboard wear (other suppliers area available). If you want added warranty their price is reasonable although I've never had to make a return yet.

Agree with this, however would extend it to also include Samsung, Toshiba Satellite and, if your budget stretches far enough, Sony Vaio.  Acer and Asus seem to be good value for money, but I've heard lots of stories about them not lasting that long.