Please recommend a Laptop

[b_o_b]

I bought an old dell laptop with a cheap docking station. Attached a good keyboard, mouse and monitor to the docking station. I am using my laptop mainly as a desktop replacement so I don't care that much about a great LCD screen or battery life. Having two screens to work with is great and there is no cheaper solution than this (total <200 Euro)
Probably not what you're looking for, but at least a docking station might be something to consider.

 

[DaMummy]

I bought my Lenovo directly from the Lenovo website, but that's USA. Don't know if they have something in the UK. I did have to replace one of the GPUs in it and had no issues with the warranty, and installing a 256gb msata myself wasn't an issue.

 

[rygD]

I bought an old dell laptop with a cheap docking station. Attached a good keyboard, mouse and monitor to the docking station. I am using my laptop mainly as a desktop replacement so I don't care that much about a great LCD screen or battery life. Having two screens to work with is great and there is no cheaper solution than this (total <200 Euro)
Probably not what you're looking for, but at least a docking station might be something to consider.

This is pretty much my current solution when at home. Finding a tolerable keyboard is still important when not docked, and I have yet to encounter a chiclet keyboard that doesn't bother me.

It might be worth it to risk getting a Thinkpad from the US if it will save you some money (just make sure to get the correct power cable so it will fit in an outlet over there).

 

[Binky]

This page exists: http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/

I think they offer different hardware options and different prices depending on which country you're in. (?!)

 

[Wally]

Problem is that all recent macbooks cannot be opened anymore and therefore you need to ship it to the MacStore to get anything done. It's ridiculous.

They can be opened, I just opened mine (Which is unfortunately playing up due to a faulty GPU, which is likely due to heavy use and exposures to lots of environments at work, still under warranty fortunately). You can replace the Fan, trackpad, Keyboard, Display, Heatsink and SSD (Which of course is Apple specified).

Back to the topic: It really depends on how your partner uses the machine. If she just goes on Facebook and checks her email, why not just get an iPad or such?