Need a new laptop - Backmarket?
Discussion
I’m looking for a new laptop mainly to allow me to take care of admin tasks a bit more easily. I want to be able to do a bit of photo editing and use design software to create artwork - only on a casual level, not professionally.
I’d like it to have and HDMI output and if I can use GeForce Go for a bit of gaming that would be great.
I have a limited budget, no more than £400. I’ve been on backmarket but I have no idea what I’m looking for specs wise.
A little guidance would be appreciated! Thanks.
I’d like it to have and HDMI output and if I can use GeForce Go for a bit of gaming that would be great.
I have a limited budget, no more than £400. I’ve been on backmarket but I have no idea what I’m looking for specs wise.
A little guidance would be appreciated! Thanks.
Good selection on there. You could at a push get an Mac M1 Pro for around £400 This will be much faster than the intel laptops around the same price. I presume they come with a HDMI dongle, if not you`ill need one.
I`ve had some Dell Inspirons and the case is very poor quality, the paint scratches and chips like nobodies business.
16 GB RAM is the minimum, go for 32GB if possible.
For storage, 256G will run windows, but will disappear fast if you are creating lots of files and storing locally. If you have cloud storage or a NAS then its fine. The pricing for increasing storage on that site is very Apple, £240 to upgrade from 256 to 1Tb is nuts.
Conversely, going up CPUs seems pretty reasonable, just go for the most expensive
The 11th Gen Intel chips are pretty cheap,
HP EliteBook 840 G8 14" - Fair - Core i7-1185G7 - 256 GB - 16 GB - £310.00
I`ve had some Dell Inspirons and the case is very poor quality, the paint scratches and chips like nobodies business.
16 GB RAM is the minimum, go for 32GB if possible.
For storage, 256G will run windows, but will disappear fast if you are creating lots of files and storing locally. If you have cloud storage or a NAS then its fine. The pricing for increasing storage on that site is very Apple, £240 to upgrade from 256 to 1Tb is nuts.
Conversely, going up CPUs seems pretty reasonable, just go for the most expensive
The 11th Gen Intel chips are pretty cheap,
HP EliteBook 840 G8 14" - Fair - Core i7-1185G7 - 256 GB - 16 GB - £310.00
They can be fine. We have used them a couple of times for some business laptops for a project.
Caveat. One overheated and melted the riser, power cable and HDMI cable but we got a refund so no issues with them as a company and i'm sure it was an isolated incident.
The key is look at the specs carefully as you can easily end up buying what you think is a decent one without realising its 10 years old and a more modern one with lower spec would actually be much faster (last time I let the Director order
)
Chat GPT is useful for sticking 5 or 6 choices in and it'll compare them for you.
Caveat. One overheated and melted the riser, power cable and HDMI cable but we got a refund so no issues with them as a company and i'm sure it was an isolated incident.
The key is look at the specs carefully as you can easily end up buying what you think is a decent one without realising its 10 years old and a more modern one with lower spec would actually be much faster (last time I let the Director order
)Chat GPT is useful for sticking 5 or 6 choices in and it'll compare them for you.
.:ian:. said:
Good selection on there. You could at a push get an Mac M1 Pro for around £400 This will be much faster than the intel laptops around the same price. I presume they come with a HDMI dongle, if not you`ill need one.
I`ve had some Dell Inspirons and the case is very poor quality, the paint scratches and chips like nobodies business.
16 GB RAM is the minimum, go for 32GB if possible.
For storage, 256G will run windows, but will disappear fast if you are creating lots of files and storing locally. If you have cloud storage or a NAS then its fine. The pricing for increasing storage on that site is very Apple, £240 to upgrade from 256 to 1Tb is nuts.
Conversely, going up CPUs seems pretty reasonable, just go for the most expensive
The 11th Gen Intel chips are pretty cheap,
HP EliteBook 840 G8 14" - Fair - Core i7-1185G7 - 256 GB - 16 GB - £310.00
Their Macs,especially the newer ones are terrible value. A used M4 MacBook Air fro £798. You can buy a brand new one for £799 from Amazon. I`ve had some Dell Inspirons and the case is very poor quality, the paint scratches and chips like nobodies business.
16 GB RAM is the minimum, go for 32GB if possible.
For storage, 256G will run windows, but will disappear fast if you are creating lots of files and storing locally. If you have cloud storage or a NAS then its fine. The pricing for increasing storage on that site is very Apple, £240 to upgrade from 256 to 1Tb is nuts.
Conversely, going up CPUs seems pretty reasonable, just go for the most expensive
The 11th Gen Intel chips are pretty cheap,
HP EliteBook 840 G8 14" - Fair - Core i7-1185G7 - 256 GB - 16 GB - £310.00
For what you’ve described, the iPad route sounds like a better option -
Compared to PC or Mac, I much prefer my iPad for image editing / creative bits as the pen makes it truly a joy to use (And much easier IMO)
If you get a keyboard case, you’ve then got a reasonable approximation of a laptop - The windowing functionality of iOS 26 can be a bit finicky, but it is usable (If you want to go down the windowed application route)
As for refurbs, I’d say forget about the heavily marketed ones - Just go to CEX and get something that is in reasonable condition for you; Cheaper and there’s still a 5 Year warranty from CEX - And a no questions asked return within 7 days.
Compared to PC or Mac, I much prefer my iPad for image editing / creative bits as the pen makes it truly a joy to use (And much easier IMO)
If you get a keyboard case, you’ve then got a reasonable approximation of a laptop - The windowing functionality of iOS 26 can be a bit finicky, but it is usable (If you want to go down the windowed application route)
As for refurbs, I’d say forget about the heavily marketed ones - Just go to CEX and get something that is in reasonable condition for you; Cheaper and there’s still a 5 Year warranty from CEX - And a no questions asked return within 7 days.
Backmarket has done me well for the kids' iPhones.
Note ref. CEX warranty: I think it's full value for 6 months, then sliding scale in line with their product valuations. Sections 3, 4, and 5 pertinent.
Note ref. CEX warranty: I think it's full value for 6 months, then sliding scale in line with their product valuations. Sections 3, 4, and 5 pertinent.
Haltamer said:
For what you ve described, the iPad route sounds like a better option -
Compared to PC or Mac, I much prefer my iPad for image editing / creative bits as the pen makes it truly a joy to use (And much easier IMO)
If you get a keyboard case, you ve then got a reasonable approximation of a laptop - The windowing functionality of iOS 26 can be a bit finicky, but it is usable (If you want to go down the windowed application route)
As for refurbs, I d say forget about the heavily marketed ones - Just go to CEX and get something that is in reasonable condition for you; Cheaper and there s still a 5 Year warranty from CEX - And a no questions asked return within 7 days.
I do have an iPad Pro but find the apps I want to use are simplified compared to the pc counterparts. I’m also more comfortable using windows. Compared to PC or Mac, I much prefer my iPad for image editing / creative bits as the pen makes it truly a joy to use (And much easier IMO)
If you get a keyboard case, you ve then got a reasonable approximation of a laptop - The windowing functionality of iOS 26 can be a bit finicky, but it is usable (If you want to go down the windowed application route)
As for refurbs, I d say forget about the heavily marketed ones - Just go to CEX and get something that is in reasonable condition for you; Cheaper and there s still a 5 Year warranty from CEX - And a no questions asked return within 7 days.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff