[Squidgyness]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

No need to spend anywhere near 400-600 pounds for what you need. You can do everything you want on a Chromebook or a 2-300 Windows laptop and it will last you 5 years plus.

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A chromebook certainly would allow you to do basic internet browsing and is basically bulletproof true. That's certainly an option, though beware of the small storage on most models, not that most basic tasks use much. You also won't have access to the full desktop operating system version of windows, just the app version however I imagine you could get everything you'd need to done regardless, so definitely worth a look.

However I still strongly caution against getting a £200-300 laptop. For £370 you can get a lenovo 330s with i3/4gb ram/fast SSD storage and a fulll HD screen. For £300 max you'll get a pentium with a 720p screen. It's worth the money to get the slightly higher model.

In computing there is a sweet spot where you get value for money, and a £300 laptop is not in that spot. It will do I suppose if you want the bare minimum, but I always like to build in a bit of room for slow down as the average user doesn't clear internet files, downloads, run Malwarebytes, or otherwise keep a sterile computer.

EDIT: Also remembered, have a look on ebay for IBM/Lenovo thinkpads. Made for business use and as such more reliable than consumer laptops. You can get some good deals on refurbished models.