£400 budget for gf

markk · 15 Nov 2020 at 23:07

Loooking for a new laptop for the GF, max budget is £400. She currently has a HP 15-AF067SA (AMD A8-7410, 8GB, 15.6" 1366 x 768 screen, 2TB HDD) which is very sluggish now. She uses it for the usual browsing, light Photoshop work and Embroidery software (Wilcom Hatch) too.

Ideally want:
Better CPU than above
8GB - or 4GB with expansion
15.6" screen
256GB+ SSD

Is this possible for the budget? Absolutely cannot go above £500.

Edit - managed to convince my gf to increase the budget to £500!

pallys · 16 Nov 2020 at 18:35

Nothing wrong with CPU, buy an SSD and replace the hd in it, profit.

markk · 16 Nov 2020 at 21:11

pallys said:
Nothing wrong with CPU, buy an SSD and replace the hd in it, profit.

It's being passed down to a family member, so a new one is needed.

PC777 · 16 Nov 2020 at 21:26

Someone needed a similar one in my family for similar reasons just recently, for having an actual large retail chain and being a Dell for great tech support I recommended a Dell Inspiron 3000. Obviously won't mention where, would recommend OCUK but they're all gaming, more than they needed.

Can get one for approx £480 on a Black Friday 'sale' currently going, Ryzen 3500U, 8GB ram, 256 SSD and SD card slot for easy storage expansion. Plus 15.6 screen.

Likely better online only deals, but for convenience and for a less savvy user worth it. Also many laptop models are sold out from various retailers as you'd expect.

markk · 18 Nov 2020 at 12:36

Thanks @PC777, That one is defo top of my list so far. Trying to hold out for a 4500U as mentioned in other threads which should be possible, it's just trying to find one in stock!

markk · 19 Nov 2020 at 13:59

Still looking, seems to be a bad time to buy!

Settled on;
4500U
8GB
15.6" screen
256GB SSD

Should be doable for £500 - just cannot find stock :rolleyes:

PC777 · 20 Nov 2020 at 22:03

No worries Markk, hope you get hold of one with a 4500U, would be better for sure.

Just as an update I set up the family member's new Inspiron 3000 today, was really impressed by the build quality, also had a backlit keyboard that I didn't know about. Only 256GB SSD drive but super fast boot times replacing an old laptop with a slow old HDD, so you can imagine the recipient couldn't believe how quickly it all booted on the new machine.

Even those 3500U's seem like an awesome laptop CPU though, for just photos and email, etc, more than most will need.

markk · 22 Nov 2020 at 21:58

Ordered a Inspiron 3000 in the end, just could not find a 4500U for £500 in stock anywhere, but hopefully will not be much difference. Delivery expected 18th Dec, it did say expected to ship 2nd Dec before I ordered :mad:

PC777 · 23 Nov 2020 at 16:32

No worries, I honestly think she'll still be really happy with it, that 3500U is still pretty awesome, can even do some light gaming with the IGPU. They must have had a load of orders for the delivery delay, took a week from my relative ordering it - at least you'll get it before Xmas.