First define your needs.

Internet, spreadsheets, emails you can use a lower spec laptop.

 

Video editing, gaming, modeling you will benefit from a higher spec laptop.

 

Do it need to be lightweight or will it mostly be used on a desk.

 

Will you use it for travel or extended periods of time unplugged?

 

I couldn't begin to recommend anything without basic usage requirements.

Neither could anyone else.

On 7/25/2025 at 3:56 PM, Mason45 said:

He also suggested trying Lazada, so has anyone purchased a laptop from Lazada, if so what was the brand name and cost. I've been told that many of their laptops are 2nd hand. So I'm in two minds because I might buy a lemon. Thanks.

I bought a budget Lenovo for my wife on lazada a couple of years ago, never been a problem.

There is nothing wrong with 2nd hand if you are aware and prepared to accept it is not new. I am just in the process of changing my 13 year old HP that I bought on Ebay for about £200 nearly 6 years ago. Just bought a 2 year old unused Lenovo Thinkpad at a fairly good price.

If you are looking to new I would suggest the Lenovo website, they offer fairly good discounts and the product is as good as you get.

On 7/25/2025 at 4:19 PM, Mason45 said:

Firstly thanks for the speedy replies. I've bought a lot of things from Lazada over the years without any problems. Lazada can be deceiving as when it's in English the items description are in Thai. So how do I know if the product is second hand/ used or not?

Advice here from a very heavy user - since the early 1990s - surviving by editing English-language text for clients in Indonesia .

 

In my experience, Asians in general, with the possible exception of Japanese, handle items like cell phones, motorbikes or laptops roughly. They do not give their personal instruments the same kind of TLC that we grow up learning to do in the west. If I happened to set a camera down hard, or carelessly on its lens, my old man might give me a good hard slap, and I would have earned it.

 

I learned early on to handle electronics very thoughtfully, like living beings, and avoid sharp kinks in cables (for instance) or setting down heavy items on cell phones (while packing or traveling).

 

A second-hand laptop may have been dropped on a corner but not cracked, or dropped and its case replaced ... but it has damage inside, and an intermittent short that cuts out the LCD screen. Major manufacturers give one-year warranties for a very good reason: personal computers are treacherous little devils, and will often let you down for the oddest of reasons. 

 

Final note: I've never gone wrong with Lenovo. Astonishing reliability, although I had to replace a power supply once four years ago (cheap). Not that fancy or fast a unit but reliable, as my laptops are workhorses.