Need to buy a laptop for my father

[lordlance]

• Budget (in USD):
  As cheap as possible but probably 300 USD. If something truly better then 400 USD. I am buying this in America so a direct link to the best option is appreciated.

• Are you open to refurbs/used?
  List one refurb option just in case.

• Priorities
  Performance. Battery life isn't that big of a consideration.

• How important is weight and thinness to you?
  Not too much. As I understand it laptops aren't thick like they used to be 15 years ago.

• Preferred screen size
  16/17" is preferred but 15 is fine too.

• List which programs/games you desire to run.
  Primarily Tally ERP, Chrome, browsing the internet and Word.

• Other information:
  Is it really good enough to have a dual core laptop? All options below 500 USD seem to be dual core and I want this laptop to last at least 5-7 years so I thought a quad core would be essential. Is that not the case?

[dizmo]

Looks like Tally can run on virtually anything, and nothing else you have listed is resource intensive.

I'd just get a used Thinkpad off of eBay. You really have to weed out the ones with more wear than others, but you can pick up absolute gems for cheap.

Then throw in some more RAM (I have 40GB in mine), and you're good to go. I'd go for 8th gen Intel or higher, or Ryzen though they're in the lower quality machines.

 

Don't bother going new with a budget that low.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[seanondemand]

I concur with the previous suggestion. Look - in 2023, 300-400 bucks is just not going to buy you a 5-7 year laptop (at least not while it runs windows), and will barely get you one that was made since the last olympics. A used business laptop like a Thinkpad or a Latitude will be reasonably repairable and upgradable (for a laptop) and cost-effective. Check out eBay, my city also sells surplus computers, do a little googling. 

[Guest]

1. https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-14-i3-1115G4-Fingerprint-Keyboard/dp/B09NMMHWCY/ref=sr_1_14?crid=V3L6QTTH7GNG&keywords=asus+vivobook&qid=1682749052&sprefix=asus+vivoboo%2Caps%2C369&sr=8-14

2. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-1115G4-i5-7200U-Windows/dp/B09ZVRMLJY/ref=sr_1_16?crid=GZZPUI7ZWDU3&keywords=acer%2Baspire&qid=1682749161&sprefix=acer%2Basp%2Caps%2C364&sr=8-16&th=1

3. https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-Touchscreen-i3-1005G1-Processor/dp/B08B6F1NNR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1IQN2QFIB2K6M&keywords=lenovo+ideapad&qid=1682749192&sprefix=lenovo+ideapa%2Caps%2C367&sr=8-3

if you are looking for new laptop these 3 are my go too recommendation. no it doesn't have the latest cpu but this is about the best you can get for this price now day unless there is a big sales then maybe you can look for some laptop that has newer cpu.

[powertoys]

Laptops in this price range can be found with a Ryzen 5 5500U / i5-1135G7 and these CPUs can last for well over a decade... previous commenters are out of touch.