I'm after a laptop that is at least 17in to function as an entertainment PC. I won't use it for any serious type of gaming so reliability is more important than powerful specs, but it needs to be reliable as I will need it on 24/7 most days. I'll also need at least 1TB for hdd size. Refurbs are ok for me.
Can anyone recommend me a cheap laptop which will fulfill the criteria above?
If the PC does not need to be moved, you could get yourself a powerful intel NUC based on Core i3/i5 and mount to the back of a budget 20" LCD monitor.
Maybe a tablet with dvi output to monitor, and 1TB External Usb on powered port.
Power usage would be negligible while external drive and monitor sleep.
Plus a Win8 Tablet is <$100.
I've just saw an article about new Lenovo ThinkPad workstation line. I've heard that there will be more models based on Skylake based Xeon processors, so those might be something you'd be interested as well.
http://www.windowscentral.com/lenovos-latest-mobile-workstat…
That said, what Scrimshaw have said is cheaper by far.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys. I like to work off the laptop in bed and what scrimshaw suggested wouldn't work for me unfortunately. Budget wise I'd like to keep it below $1000 as the last 2 laptops I had both died on me fairly shortly due to have them on day and night.
Well, laptops are not designed to be run day and night due to their heatsink limitations. Given our summers are pretty hot, a laptop on idle can sometimes overheat.
Not even business grade notebooks like Dell Latitudes or Thinkpad T's can handle running 24 hours a day for 365 days a year — it'll be a miracle if they can last for more than a few years under such heavy usage patterns.
To prolong it's life, consider upgrading the cooling (not sure how you can do that, maybe have a cooling pad, and replace thermal goop with Arctic Silver compound) and also cleaning out the heatsinks more frequently.
The way I see it, your usage scenario requires you to have a PC that can run cool and is also easy to maintain. That's where NUCs and micro form factor PC's come in. You can still maintain a laptop by stripping the heatsinks and cleaning the fans (twice a year) and re-applying thermal paste annually, as well as replacing any thermal pads that are too old. But a laptop will generally still run a lot warmer than a desktop will.
Another option I can see is to have two machines. One desktop (NUC or Tiny Lenovo). One laptop / tablet (e.g HP Stream). You can use your tablet to Remote Desktop into your always-on desktop and you'd be able to work anywhere in your home, whether that's in bed, on the couch or on the toilet.
whats the budget?
I have a dell inspiron 15 5000, it's been great. Dad has had one for years and its still fine.
17 inch is a little over $1000
http://www.dell.com/au/p/inspiron-17-5758-laptop/pd?oc=y5104…