The best notebook deals in July
The best new laptop models can be very expensive, but there’s no reason why you can’t pick up a bargain and get a lot of help with the equipment you need.
Whether you are looking for a short-term fix or investing in a solid model from last season’s batch there are some key points to consider.
Here’s our guide for July to make sure you get a budget purchase that is right for you.
This month’s best laptop deals:
Lenovo Yoga 300: This convertible 2-in-1 laptop hybrid is now a fantastic price for under £250.
HP Stream 11: A small and portable Windows 10 laptop that is now fantastic value from Amazon and Currys at just £169.99.
Acer Chromebook 11: This small Chromebook is still a great bargain if you want a budget laptop. You can get it for around £150 used from Amazon or around £180 from other retailers.
Acer Chromebook 15: For a bigger screen on a Chromebook this Acer now comes in with a massive saving at under £189.
Asus X555YA: A great everyday laptop with a large 15-inch screen and 1TB hard drive.
Asus Transformer Mini:This is a stylish 2-in-1 that is down from its launch price of close to £350 It features a detachable keyboard and kickstand for laptop or tablet flexibility.
Lenovo Yoga 510: This 2-in-1 is still a fantastic price for a decent hybrid laptop that can be used like a tablet.
MSI GS30 2M 205UK Shadow: A powerful gaming laptop with latest i7 processors and 8GB of RAM for just over £800.
Dell XPS 13: Get Dell’s flagship laptop with high-end performance for around £1,000.
Macbook Air: Prices have dropped on Apple’s Air for this 2015 model.
What do I want my laptop for?
If you only want a budget stand-in or portable device you can easily pick up a Windows laptop or Chromebook for £250 or even less. This July, there are plenty of brands out there built for those who just want something simple, and cut priceHP, Acer and Lenovo laptops can all be found for just a couple of hundred pounds.
If you want a device that is a little more powerful for running run several programs without feelings the heat you will need to spend a bit more. You can find good deals on laptops with slightly cheaper Intel or AMD processors. Often last year’s models will still be highly viable everyday laptops, and you can find a decent machine for around £500.
Even for gaming laptops there are plenty of deals. While you are unlikely to see many going for less than £750, you can still find models that have had their prices slashed and will still perform well on the latest games.
Where can I get a good laptop deal?
Most major retailers will offer deals around the year. One-off events such as the January sales, Amazon Prime Day in July or Black Friday can also be the answer to securing a great deal.
UK retailers such as John Lewis, Currys, PC World, Argos and Tesco all offer deals and discounts on laptops, often with options to throw in cases, hardware, security systems and programs such as Microsoft Office.
Several of the main manufacturers have their own websites offering outlet price models at a discount and online retailers such as Amazon, Very and AO all have discounted deals and bundles.
What are the best laptop deals for students?
Many major laptop providers offer an education discount for students buying a laptop. This can help save you around 10% or better on even high-end models.
While you may be tempted to just go for the cheapest model, even top of the range Apple products offer a 10% discount to students, as does Microsoft for its Surface Book and Surface Laptop. Other manufacturers including Dell, Lenovo and HP all offer chunky savings if you buy using an education discount.
Should I buy a new or refurbished model?
Buying a new model is the safest bet to get decent performance and specs up to the level of what the developer called for.
However, it is easy to pick up a refurbished model online. Generally these will be memory wiped, cleaned and factory reset, but there is no clear standard for buying a refurbished laptop.
Some major suppliers such as Dell will resell their own refurbished models in outlet stores or online. With a major developer you can have some guarantee of quality, but you should always check what warranty the model comes with and what operating system will be installed.
Under £250
Best 2-in-1 deal: Lenovo Yoga 300
Screen size: 11.6 inches
Weight: 1.39kg
Battery life: 8 hours
Lenovo’s budget 2-in-1 option is fantastic value through Lenovo’s website and on Argos. You can now get this laptop for £239 from Argos – its lowest price ever on this laptop. It comes with a smooth 360 degree hinge, Windows 10 and up to eight hours of battery life.
Best budget Windows deal: HP Steam 11
Screen: 11.6 inches
Weight: 1.17 kg
Battery life: 11 hours
This lightweight budget laptop is one of the best deals this month if you want to get a bargain product with Windows 10. With a solid Hp proBook 4520S laptop battery life for such a cheap laptop and a Intel Celeron N3060 processor it comes in vibrant colours including aqua blue and purple.
Best Chromebook deal: Acer Chromebook 11
Screen: 11.6 inches
Weight: 1.25 kg
Battery life: 9 hours
One of the best budget Chromebooks you can buy, the Acer 11 has now dropped under £200 from some retailers. While this version lacks the flexible flip screen of its big brother the Acer R11, it runs on the same processor so will deliver similar results. You can currently save around £40 on Amazon compared to high street retailers.
It’s not very powerful and uses Chrome OS, meaning limited storage, but for simple web-based tasks and portability it is a bargain.
Best big Chromebook deal: Acer Chromebook 15
Screen: 15.6 inches
Weight: 2.2kg
Battery life: 9 hours
While it is large and chunky for a Chromebook, this Acer is a bargain if you want a bigger screen but only want a budget model.
Asking prices have now fallen to under £150 on some major retailers for a new model, making this 15 inch Chromebook a bargain if you just need a stopgap laptop for simple tasks.
Under £500
Best Asus offer: Asus Transformer Mini
Screen: 10.1 inches
Weight:789 g
Battery life: 11 hours
This brilliant Asus tablet/laptop convertible is now incredible value with several major retailers. With a great 1280 x 800 resolution screen and a stylus pen and keyboard in the box, this hybrid is now available for juts over £300 from some retailers.
Best everyday deal: Asus X555YA
Screen size: 15.6 inches
Weight: 2.2kg
Battery life: 6 hours
Grab a cheap deal with this Asus X555 for under £300. This model features an AMD A6 quad core processor which will be ample for everyday needs and comes with a 15.6 inch screen and 1TB of hard drive capacity.
While a laptop at these specs won’t excel at every task, and the screen resolution on this one could be said to be on the cheaper side, this is definitely a bargain deal if you need a cheap model now. It comes with USB 3.0 connectivity and an SD card reader.
Best deal for a hybrid: Lenovo Yoga 510 14
Screen size: 14 inches
Weight: 1.75kg
Battery life: 5 to 6 hours
This two-in-one laptop has now dropped well below £500 in its most basic form, which uses a Intel Pentium 4405U processor for managing most simple tasks. With a 128GB SSD it will run smoothly, although this version only features 4GB of RAM may mean the laptop lacks power for some people.
Prices on this model have now fallen to £349, saving £150, making this a cheap laptop convertible you can pick up which will still deliver decent performance.
Under £1,000
Best deal for gaming: MSI GS30 2M 205UK Shadow
Screen size: 13.3 inches
Weight: 1.3kg
Battery life: up to 6 hours
Get a great gaming experience for just £800 with this MSI gaming laptop. It now has 20% off with Amazon, and for that you get the latest i7 processors, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, easily packing a punch for standard gaming on the move.
Best deal for performance: Dell XPS 13
Screen: 13.3 inches
Weight: 1.29kg
Battery life: 13 hours
By shopping around you can now find almost £200 off the brilliant XPS 13 laptop, considered one of the main current challengers to Apple’s Mac range. The XPS 13 features a virtually borderless 13.3 inch Infinity Edge display, which is available with touch. With Amazon and Currys the price has fallen to just over £1,000.
Dell also claims the laptop offers up to 22 hours of Dell Xps m1530 Battery life, although in practice this is more like 12 to 13 hours when streaming video. This latest model runs on Kaby Lake processors, Intel’s newest and more powerful seventh generation processor.
Best deal for Apple: Macbook Air
Screen: 13.3 inch
Weight: 1.35 kg
Battery life: 12 hours
Apple’s highly successful Air has just had a price cut in the UK, bringing it down to around £849 on Currys. This does, however, only bring the cost of the Air closer in line with what it was on release date, with Apple having since hiked prices in the UK. You can also get Apple products from the Apple Store with a 10% discount for students.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.