Laptop recoms - everyday use & basic gaming

[Siko]

Hi all,

Am looking for a new laptop to replace one that came out when Pontius was a pilot! I looked through the last 2 months worth of threads on here and couldn't see anything vaguely similar but apologies if this is being asked all the time. Looking for something that can cope with everyday use along with a bit of mild gaming if possible - nothing CoD like, just RTS or even Flight Sims if I can get DCS or IL2 to work.

Main specs are 16gb ram/512gb ssd and i guess dedicated graphics, no idea on processor. Budget £5-700 (don't laugh!) but hoping to pay on interest free if possible using the Paypal 3 payment thing so may go a bit over if finance available. I know nothing about the different processors nowadays and have seen some pretty decent laptops for £500 that reviews have said can cope with moderate gaming. I've been looking at laptopsdirect and ebuyer but am totally confused with what is available.

Cheers

[sparkyhx]

dell refurbished - tend to be pretty good and in good condition, their warranty and support are good as well.

just do some research into processor speed you want/need and whether you want onboard or dedicated graphics, then look for the spec

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/dfh/shop/dell-refurbish...

[Siko]

Thanks - I did look at new Dells a while back as I had a really good code (33% off) but I noticed from reviews the screens were being panned. I do like Dell though and have bought from them before so will have another butchers

[ChickenvanGuy]

If you're not wedded to Windows, the single best laptop you can buy right now for everyday use is a MacBook Air M1. Just above your budget direct from Apple refurbished (so as good as new, basically)

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/FGN93B/A/ref...

It'll last for years and will fly through anything you ask of it - except Windows games, so it's look for Mac games or go for the Dell refurbished, as posted above, if the games are a deal-breaker for you.

[Siko]

Thanks - I do like the look of the Macbooks (a lot!). Definitely up there as an option if I can find one at a decent price or with interest free....

I found this HP i7 which seems pretty reasonable value and might play some undemanding games ok (no dedicated graphics).

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hp-250-g9-laptop-i...

[r3g]

Don't buy secondhand laptops. They get sold when they get full of crud and dust and start overheating/fans spinning at max when you open more than half a dozen tabs in your browser. None of the modern laptops can be cleaned internally without spending 10 hours disassembling the entire thing, which absolutely nobody does. Buy new.

[sparkyhx]

r3g said:

Don't buy secondhand laptops. They get sold when they get full of crud and dust and start overheating/fans spinning at max when you open more than half a dozen tabs in your browser. None of the modern laptops can be cleaned internally without spending 10 hours disassembling the entire thing, which absolutely nobody does. Buy new.

Drcond hand general or including Dell refurbs? I've never heard of anyone with a bad experience with Dell Refurbs, and I've had 2. First one lasted years, iI decided a future proof with a Win11 capable one last year The old one is a 'spare' now., still works fine, but wifey wanted something new and shiny

[aka_kerrly]

r3g said:

Don't buy secondhand laptops. They get sold when they get full of crud and dust and start overheating/fans spinning at max when you open more than half a dozen tabs in your browser. None of the modern laptops can be cleaned internally without spending 10 hours disassembling the entire thing, which absolutely nobody does. Buy new.

Are you talking about 10+ year old laptops bought from a bloke who "fixes" laptops in his shed or do you work in Currys?

There won't be many new/refurbed less than <5 year old laptops on the market running hard disc drives that still require fans, a solid state laptop runs considerably cooler & faster even with a dozen tabs open. With no fan there is no requirement for plenty of holes for dust to get into so the likelihood of ever needing to take it apart is slim.

OP, you've seen the Dell outlet, ACER and ASUS also have outlet stores online too. I've also sourced plenty of laptops from Laptops Direct who tend to have a variety of different grades from brand new, lightly used, refurbed etc

[Siko]

I thnnk possibly two separate issues here - yes I wouldn't buy a secondhand laptop for exactly those reasons either, but a refurb from someone like Dell or Apple is a different beast entirely. I've bought many Apple refurbs over the years and all have been as new condition and worked flawlessly, heard good things about Dell outlet too. Cheers all for the advice am leaning towards the HP G9 but will sleep on it over the weekend versus the Macbook.

[captain_cynic]

Siko said:

Hi all,

Am looking for a new laptop to replace one that came out when Pontius was a pilot! I looked through the last 2 months worth of threads on here and couldn't see anything vaguely similar but apologies if this is being asked all the time. Looking for something that can cope with everyday use along with a bit of mild gaming if possible - nothing CoD like, just RTS or even Flight Sims if I can get DCS or IL2 to work.

Main specs are 16gb ram/512gb ssd and i guess dedicated graphics, no idea on processor. Budget £5-700 (don't laugh!) but hoping to pay on interest free if possible using the Paypal 3 payment thing so may go a bit over if finance available. I know nothing about the different processors nowadays and have seen some pretty decent laptops for £500 that reviews have said can cope with moderate gaming. I've been looking at laptopsdirect and ebuyer but am totally confused with what is available.

Cheers

If you can stretch your budget by another £100 you can get something like this Asus TUF gaming F15

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-FX506HC-HN057W-i5-11...

I5 CPU, 16 GB RAM and a RTX 3050.

If you want to run most games, you'll need a dedicated graphics card, the old Intel IGMs just can't cope any more. I've the previous years model of this laptop (except with the AMD proc) and it's been great. Its a tiny bit on the heavy side (2.3 KG) but has a fantastic screen and the best thing is that it's easily upgradable (I.E. you can put in more RAM or a 2nd M2 SSD), Asus publish videos on how to do it.

The laptop has handled everything I've thrown at it, although the hardest thing I've thrown at it was BeamNG.Drive and that ran fine (albeit at 90% RAM usage). I'm an unashamed Asus fanboy, my previous two Asus laptops lasted 5 years and still work they just can't play modern games any more.