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How to pick
Cheap laptops are where the worst value in computing lives, because the savings come out of the parts you notice most. Never accept a mechanical hard drive, whatever else the machine offers, and treat 8GB of memory as the absolute floor. A cheap machine with a solid state drive and 16GB will feel fine for years. Also check whether the memory is soldered in, because if it is you cannot fix that decision later.
What I recommend
Two things never to compromise on
Cheap laptops are where the worst value in computing lives, because the savings come out of the parts you notice most. Never accept a mechanical hard drive, whatever else the machine offers, and treat 8GB of memory as the absolute floor. Also check whether the memory is soldered in, because if it is you cannot fix that decision later.
Refurbished business laptop
This is the honest answer to a tight budget. A three year old ThinkPad or Latitude with an SSD will outperform and outlast anything new at the same money, and it was built to be repaired.
- Better machine than anything new at the price
- Built to be opened and repaired
- Parts widely available
- Battery may need replacing
- Cosmetic marks are normal
- Older processor generation
- Look for
- ThinkPad, Latitude, EliteBook
- Why
- Built to be repaired, drivers long sorted
- Buy
- Last year's models, not the newest
- Value
- A fraction of new
Budget Windows laptop
If new matters, the rules are simple. Solid state drive, never a spinning one. 16GB if you can stretch, 8GB absolute minimum. And a screen at 1080p rather than the lower resolution panels that still appear at this price and are genuinely unpleasant to look at all day.
- New, with a warranty
- Widely available and easy to return
- Build quality is the first thing cut at this price
- Screens are often dim and low resolution
- Memory frequently soldered in
- Loaded with software you do not want
The option people forget
If everything you do happens in a browser, and for a great many people that is the truth, this is a better machine than a cheap Windows laptop.
Chromebook
Starts in seconds, updates itself without drama, and is very hard to infect. An excellent machine for anyone who finds Windows stressful. Check the Auto Update Expiration date before buying, because that is when it stops being safe online.
- Fast and stays fast, unlike a cheap Windows laptop
- Almost nothing to maintain
- Very hard to infect with anything
- Excellent battery life
- Will not run Windows programs at all
- Leans on having an internet connection
- Auto Update Expiration date decides its lifespan
- Cheapest models still ship 4GB, which is not enough
- Check first
- Auto Update Expiration date
- Memory
- 8GB, not 4
- Screen
- 1080p rather than lower
- Not for
- Windows programs
Not sure if it is enough machine?
Send me what you are looking at and I will tell you honestly whether it will do what you need.