General use laptop <700€

[ggadrian]

I need to buy a laptop for my brother. He's 16 and it will be used for schoolwork, web surfing and ocasional games, but that's not a priority given that he has a PS4 . Although the use isn't gonna be very taxing, it should have enough power to last 5 years with some dignity.

I want something reliable and sturdy, as I'm the one that's going to have to solve any problem the laptop has and I don't want a lot of trouble.

The laptop must be upgradeable without losing it's warranty, as it's going to get a 250GB SSD as soon as it comes out of the box.

For the screen size 14 or 15'6 inches are preferred, it will be used mostly at home.

I have a some of candidates right now, but I'm open to suggestions:

-Lenovo TP E550 i5-5200u 4GB 500GB 1080p W8.1 640€ +4GB 680€
-Lenovo TP E540 i3-4100m 4GB 128GB SSD 768p W7pro 599€ +4GB 639€
-Lenovo TP L440 i3-4000m 4GB 500GB 768p W7pro 674€ +4GB 714€
-Dell Inspiron 15 5000 i5-5200u 8GB (2x4) 1TB 768p R7-M265 W8.1 629€

I can't find wether the Dell is upgradeable or not, but I guess I can ask them.

Thank you.

 

[Commodus]

I'd say the ThinkPad E550 of that bunch. That's a much faster (and much newer) processor, and the resolution will help it age a little more gracefully. Dell has the specs, but I'd trust Lenovo more for reliability and support.

 

[TeknoBug]

i3 4000M was a beast processor, it had a great IGP too. Expected to be the most expensive out of the bunch. lol

 

[razel]

Upgradable back in the day meant also being able to upgrade the CPU. If so avoid any Intel processors with a u or y suffix... unless you plan on changing the entire motherboard/CPU.

 

[ggadrian]

Well, when I said ugradeable I meant HDD and RAM.

I finally went with the E550. it should be as fast as the i3-4000m and ashould have better battery life. In any case, the 1080p screen was the decisive factor.

Thanks