Just looking for a budget laptop, around £300-400, something with a half decent cpu, something I can put an ssd in if I want to, and that is tough. What brand would you go for?? Any proof to back up your choice, awards etc?
I have a Toshiba Satellite Laptop, not top of the range by any means when I got it 3 years ago but it's perfectly reliable (now). The motherboard did die early on but it got picked up and repaired quickly and free of charge, didn't have to pay for any postage. Customer service was good. Asus laptops are good but customer service its pretty appalling from what I here (look at the Asus section on these forums and you'll see what I mean). I've not heard any bad things about Samsung or Lenovo but I don't know their products very well either. Personally I would avoid Dell laptops. They don't seem to be up to scratch when it comes to longevity but the customer service isn't terrible. However, I have experienced a number of Dells falling apart and breaking not long after the warranty runs out. Apart from the poor customer service I'd recommend Asus laptops.
I've had a lot of experience with Lenovo business grade lappys. They have a pretty good build quality. I've been contemplating buying an x120 myself.
I've always vouched for Toshiba as a solid, reliable budget laptop brand. Recommended two Toshiba's to my older brother and my mother and both have been solid as a rock so far (two years or so). I'd avoid Acer personally, had some fairly negative experiences with them such as motherboards dying just after a year etc. My gf has had a Samsung notebook for three years and the only problem she's had is the battery dying but that was her own fault for leaving it charged but unused for 6 weeks! Samsung replaced the battery under warranty still though. I can't say I've had much other experience with laptops, but hope this helps anyway!
Tbh I had a up that has lasted 5 years until about a month but other people have said hp are meant to be pretty crap, especially ATM along with dell inspiron laptops. It's all a matter of how much the user has used it and other factors such as charging routines and any drops. Lenovo are meant to be pretty good but for £300-£400 you aren't going to get a durable laptop. Business and premium models are meant to last longer but are £1000+
Any sold as business laptops tend to be more reliable - and get better service - than the consumer models. Something like a Dell Vostro 3550 would get you a Sandy Bridge i3 for ~£350 and it's a pretty solidly built laptop. I'd avoid low-end consumer laptops (inspirons, cheap HPs and Acers etc) as they tend to cut a lot of corners for the sake of slightly more RAM/bigger hard drive/anything that'll look good in an advert.
at that price range: http://www.ebuyer.com/275877-lenovo-thinkpad-x121e-laptop-nws5ruk http://www.ebuyer.com/271568-lenovo-ideapad-s205-laptop-m632euk or for a little more: http://www.ebuyer.com/275878-lenovo-thinkpad-edge-e525-laptop-nz62guk The rest will pretty much die on the day the warranty runs out and DO NOT forget to clean out the dust at least every 6 months.
