Choosing a cheap laptop

[Robbietalk]

Sorry for the weird HORRIBLE formatting, I'm trying to do this on someone else's iPad, and it's being very uncooperative.

So, we need to get some kind of laptop, as we suffered from a disaster a while ago and lost all of our stuff, and my family needs something that's a little portable. 

I need some advice, though, as I've not been able to keep up with tech news recently....And I hate laptops. 

We're not 100% sure how much we can afford to pay for it yet, it might have to be about £280, or we might be able to stretch to £320.

I'm somewhat perplexed as to what the most reliable and least bloated option might be, as from various reviews I came across, it was seeming like one of the Asus X555 laptops might be the best quality for my price range....and then I came across a bunch of Amazon reviews for the i3 5005U version, which were complaining about their laptops getting bricked.

I also have often found that AMD have been the best value for what I want in the past, but I've noticed that some AMD laptops seem to have more complaints than similar Intel laptops.

Ugh, I hate computer manufacturers, I wish I could just build it myself.
Here's some of the laptops I've been looking at.
 

Asus X540 with Intel i3 4005U (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01A9EO7H8/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile £270), or with an i3 5005U (£320), or with an AMD Dual Core E1-7010 for £280 or so, although I'm guessing that that option is a bad deal. 

(I'm writing this on someone else's iPad, and every time I save it in an email a different  part of it turns a flamboyant colour. This is becoming quite entertaining to write)

Asus X555 with Intel i3 4005U (£280), or with an AMD A6 7310 (£300). I'm also being irritated by this AMD A8 HP (£340) as it's just slightly above my price range...it might be possible to stretch to if it's really worth it, though.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate some suggestions, as I'm kinda stumped right now.  Thanks for taking time to read this. 

TL;DR: I hate laptops.

Edited August 13, 2016 by Robbietalk

[ShadowStalker]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GT72-Dominator-17-Inch-7200rpm-Windows/dp/B0114LOF2W/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid=1471038883&sr=8-29&keywords=laptop

 

[ShadowStalker]

i have no idea i just found it when i was looking at lapops 4 u

 

[ShadowStalker]

its worth the risk thogh that things got a core i7 and a gtx980m

[Dackzy]

Get a used ThinkPad... It is not going to get any better than that

[MSWindowsinside]

Get a second hand first gen i3 or i5 (or whatever AMD had in 2009-2011) laptop and smash in an SSD preferably. It would do just fine if you don't have a lot of cash. And it will crush first hand offerings in terms of £ per performance.

 

Example: The DELL Latitude E6410 with a first gen Core i5 will go for about 120 euros on second hand sites in the Netherlands. Pair that with an SSD and have really good bang for the buck.

[Robbietalk]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'd love to go down the second hand route (I've seen some really tempting refurbs), but for complex reasons I need something that's new :/.

I'm going to have a look at some benchmarks and reviews again. That Dell that Wedsea posted looks like it might be a good option if I can't go over £280, I'll have to think about it. And I apologise again for putting your eyes through reading that awful spaghetti paragraphing